If you were a fan of the Generation I games (in all their buggy glory), Nintendo Switch’s Pokémon: Let’s Go must’ve been a huge nostalgic treat. A remake of Pokémon Yellow, infused with the capture mechanics of Pokémon GO, it was created to appeal to new players and grown 1990s Pokémaniacs alike.
From the Pallet Town opening to the thrilling showdown against the Elite Four and Champion, Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee does its very best to recreate each area as accurately as possible. They’re not exact, of course, but these places in particular will have your GameBoy sense tingling.
10 Seafoam Islands
While Articuno is far from the strongest Legendary Pokémon in the series’ roster (very, very far), it’s still quite a threatening and underrated Ice/Flying critter with solid stats. It’s one of the most coveted Pokémon in Kanto, making its home in the remote and tricky to navigate Seafoam Islands.
If you weren’t a fan of this huge cavern and its Strength-based rock-shoving puzzles in the original, you won’t have much more luck here. Pikachu or Eevee move the boulders themselves with Strong Push, but other than that, this dungeon is largely the same as it always was. Push the rocks, change the current and Surf/Sea Skim your way to Articuno. It’s worth getting lost a few times for!
9 Viridian Forest
Viridian Forest is a huge rite of passage for Pokémon trainers, both in the game’s world itself and for players. It’s the first real dungeon, and while it’s simple enough to find the passage through, it’s quite a lengthy path through a gauntlet of fellow trainers. Trainers that use little more than Caterpie and Metapod against the player, granted, but that’s neither here nor there.
All that feeble-Bug-type-battling action has been faithfully recreated in Let’s Go, as has the general route through the forest itself. Old hands will feel right at home here, with just the overworld encounters and capture mechanics really changing things. Alongside the potential for rare spawns (Bulbasaur), of course.
8 Cerulean Cave
From the first dungeon in the game to the last, it’s the encounter that a lot of players were looking forward to all the way through Let’s Go: the battle with Mewtwo.
As before, this Generation I titan lurks deep within Cerulean Cave, a complex cavern of watery sections, glittering crystals and too darn many ladders. The battle is very different in Let’s Go, owing to the game’s mechanics and Mewtwo’s barrier-projecting shenanigans, but this area will take you back to Generation I all the same. Yep, you’ve got to become Champion before you’re allowed access.
7 Professor Oak’s Lab
If there’s any area that’s instantly going to evoke that spirit of childhood adventure, it’s the place where you chose your very first starter Pokémon ever: Professor Oak’s Lab.
The kindly and iconic Oak doesn’t give you the chance to choose between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle in Let’s Go; it’s Pikachu or Eevee for you. Regardless, players knew what they were getting into and the lab looks fantastic. It’s instantly familiar, yet bursting with interesting details and vibrant colors that the humble hardware of Pokémon Yellow’s time couldn’t even imagine, let alone emulate.
6 Cycling Road/Pokémon Road
There’s an important caveat here, as Let’s Go fans will already have spotted: there’s no bicycle to acquire in this game, making Cycling Road seemingly redundant. As a result, its name was given a convenient switch to Pokémon Road.
In the process, though, this area lost none of the charm it had in the original title. A tweak here and there, a Coach Trainer who gives you a TM for a move that didn’t exist at this point (Drill Run), but Pokémon Road channels the spirit of Cycling Road so effectively that you’d scarcely notice.
5 Lt. Surge’s Gym
The trouble that remakes of beloved games face is that every aspect of the original has become iconic. The original crop of Kanto critters was not to be messed with, and neither were the region’s gym leaders.
All of these milestone challenges are more or less exactly as they were before, with Lt. Surge’s Vermilion Gym being no exception. Remember all the fun you didn’t have messing with those trash can switches until you got them both right? Well, here it is again, in HD!
4 Mt. Moon
Another legendary and endlessly meme-worthy Kanto area, Mt. Moon will also be instantly recognizable for any seasoned fan. Deceptive corners, out-of-the-way items and irritating trainers are all as abundant as they ever were.
The good news? Zubat doesn’t seem to be, though there are still lots of them. This is a good time to chain some catches for bonuses, as well as shoot for a rare encounter or two. Chansey, Onix, Clefairy and Clefable have very low chances to spawn here, so try your luck!
3 Celadon City Department Store
If you’re one of those players who just loves to splash your Pokémon Dollars, you probably spent a lot of time in Celadon City’s Department Store back in the day. This place was on an entirely different level than the small-time Poké Marts you’d visited up to this point.
The store is just as gigantic as ever, with floors laid out just as they used to be. Beyond the bright beautiful colors and all the added details in the store displays, this Celadon City landmark hasn’t really changed a bit.
2 Lavender Tower
In Gen I, things got all kinds of spooky when the player arrived in Lavender Town. Between the macabre vibe of the town, its eerie music and all the urban legends associated with it, this was a slightly scary place to be. Lavender Tower itself didn’t help with that one bit.
All those super spooky Ghost-types are present and correct, taking on a whole new level of menace in this vibrant remake. The Tower is an unsettling place, though its layout will be instantly familiar to returning players. We just hope your heartstrings are ready to be thoroughly plucked by the new sequence with the Marowak and Cubone.
1 The Pokémon League
Just as with the Gym Leaders, fans have certain expectations of the Elite Four and Champion. They want a spectacle, a challenge, a worthy finale. When it comes to the Kanto Elite Four, they want cape-wearing theatrics from Lance and everything else they remember so fondly.
Well, Lance looks just as impeccable in his cape as ever (and remember that capes are darn tough to pull off), and Lorelai, Bruno, and Agatha –and their teams– have been recreated accurately too. The only major difference here is that Gary “smell ya later” Oak isn’t the Champion this time around, having not been the player’s rival at all. Still, Trace’s team certainly has more than a whiff of Gary/Blue’s about it, even if he was never really on that level.
NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Reasons Trace Is The Worst Rival Of All Time
