Many fans will gladly proclaim that the Kanto region in Pokémon has been done to death. We got the four original games on the Game Boy, and then got to revisit a slightly touched up version graphically in the post-game of Gold, Silver, and Crystal on the Game Boy Color. Afterwards, we got the first full remakes on the Game Boy Advance, which will be discussed here, and in the post-game of the Johto remakes on the DS. Finally, we got two more remakes last year on the Nintendo Switch, which will also be talked about here.
Despite this being a tired trend, the Kanto region gave us a great region and creatures even if they’re not the best ones in the main series. But which ones are the ideal games for newcomers of the series and those seeking to return after a long time away? Most people likely won’t argue for the four originals, but what about the later ones? Here are five reasons why FireRed/LeafGreen are still the ideal Pokémon games for potential new fans and those returning to the franchise from hiatuses, and five why Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! are more suited to those demographics.
10 FireRed/LeafGreen: More Post-Game Content
Post-game content is something that many long-time Pokémon fans dearly miss. The most recent entries in Sword and Shield received quite a bit of fan backlash for many reasons, with the lack of proper post-game content being one of them (at launch). Although, the Generation 8 games weren’t the first to show this quality decline. This really started with X and Y.
FireRed and LeafGreen didn’t just stop at being one-to-one remakes of the originals. They added a good chunk of content to do after the Elite Four/Champion, like with the Sevii Islands, re-battling revised E4/Champions, etc.
9 Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!: A Fully 3D-Realized Kanto
Perhaps the most obvious reason why some may argue in favor of Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! are the go-to games for newcomers and retired veterans is because it has been completely graphically revamped. Granted, it wasn’t the graphical revamp like a lot hoped, but it also wasn’t severely limited by the 3D that the Nintendo 3DS could do.
It still beautifully realized Kanto in 3D and used a wonderfully fitting art style for a game in this series. This alone could be a reason for why these are the games fans will flock to to experience the series for the first time or re-experience it, even if it’s mostly nostalgia-based for the latter.
8 FireRed/LeafGreen: More In-Game Pokémon
Another clear attribute in the favor of FireRed and LeafGreen is simply that there are more Pokémon to catch. During the main quest-line you are limited to the original 151 (most of them), but things open up after the Elite Four and the Champion.
In the process of getting to go (either for the first time or back again) to the Sevii Islands, you open up the possibility of encountering species after the original 151. This even includes capturing the three legendary beasts from the Johto region: Entei, Raikou, and Suicune.
7 Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!: Mixing Up The Gameplay
While controversial to some, it struck a chord with plenty since these games were still received and sold well. The main series Pokémon games could definitely be criticized for reusing gameplay loops, but at least for the first five generations of games, this worked quite well. Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! (partly) mixed up the usual gameplay mechanics.
It did so by having you enter into a Pokémon Go gameplay loop by having you catch species in the form the mobile game has you do it. While the controls for this when having the Switch docked could be atrocious, in handheld mode it worked quite well.
6 FireRed/LeafGreen: They Keep The Traditional Gameplay
On the other hand, many fans will say these would be the best entry/gateway games as they don’t try any controversial or unconventional altering of the tried and true gameplay formula. This opinion, like the previous, is also valid as it keeps the core gameplay mechanics very much that of any other JRPG.
When some criticize the franchise’s recycling of gameplay, they aren’t always necessarily talking about the combat system. No one blamed the Final Fantasy franchise for being turn-based the majority of the time. Fans of the Pokémon series deeply enjoy the turn-based combat present throughout.
5 Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!: Gives Certain Pokémon More Time To Shine
Several Generation 1 Pokémon later got evolutions in subsequent generations, which is great and this point isn’t saying that this was a bad move, but some of the now pre-evolution species got their time to shine here since they couldn’t evolve. There are some great Generation 1 species like Scyther, Rhydon, Magneton (admittedly to a lesser extent) that now don’t get much gameplay time as they are evolved later on.
Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Eevee! gave fans of those particular species a chance to play with them exclusively and not be punished for it in-game or competitively for being statistically inferior to their evolutions. The same could be said for Pikachu and Eevee themselves.
4 FireRed/LeafGreen: Potential Access To 386 Pokémon
Piggy-backing off the earlier point of being able to catch/raise/evolve more Pokémon within FireRed and LeafGreen, you also had potential access to over 200 more of them, even if a good chunk were through trading/special events. This gives an even bigger edge in favor of these games over the Switch remakes.
While there are currently a staggering 890 species in existence and, as of the release of the Game Boy Advance remakes, there were only 386 by the releases of the Hoenn games, the latter is still a big number by any standard. In addition, with the Switch remakes releasing during the seventh generation where there were 809 available, they were still limited to the original 151.
3 Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!: The Perfect Gateway Games In The Modern Franchise
A more obvious point for the Switch remakes, since this was how Game Freak intentionally marketed them, is that this is the perfect jumping-on point for the franchise. Likewise, it was a good way for those who retired from the franchise to come back. These are arguably the greatest gateways into the series with all the Pokémon games currently out since Kanto always sells.
Both of these demographics were, to some extent, reached because of the shared factor of previously diving into the mobile video game: Pokémon Go. This further gives credence to the earlier point of mixing up the gameplay loop, even if only by a chunk, makes these games a good entry pair of games.
2 FireRed/LeafGreen: They Guide You Just Enough
No main series Pokémon game is actually hard and this entry isn’t suggesting that they are. They do have certain parts within them that can be hard or challenging enough, but are not as a whole hard. However, despite the games being overall easy, there is such a thing as too easy and that unfortunate trend also started with 2013’s X and Y.
FireRed and LeafGreen are also not difficult games, but they aren’t so easy to the point where they’re not fun. These guide you just enough in-game to where you’re still having fun. The Switch remakes could be seen as painfully easy.
1 Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee!: The Most Accessible
For sure this could be seen as a very basic, shallow reason in favor of the Switch remakes. As of now, it’s fairly obvious that these are the most accessible of the two pairs of games. They’re not even two years old and, as such, can be found new or used at just about any store selling video games, and at a normal price to boot.
This article isn’t necessarily about which are the best games–however that can be decided as well depending on your preferences–but rather which ones are the best entry games for people who are looking to start or come back.
NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Things You Never Knew About Hyper Beam
