Pokemon - FireRed/LeafGreen

Despite what you might think after reading the title of this post, I'm not really a Pokemon fan. Loved the first ones, Red and Blue, (Red was actually my very first GB game) but I'm particularly hard on sequels, for me if they're just going to release a game that looks like an expansion they better release nothing at all, and as you probably know all the Pokemon games are pretty much the same. They make new areas, add a crapton of new creatures (I have a firm belief that 150 is more than enough) and a couple of new gimmicks, but deep-down it's still the same thing all over again. That's why, after playing one of the GBA games for some time and the DS games for just 5 minutes, I had given up on the series altogether. I just couldn't stand playing the same thing again and again.

Given this it's a bit ironic that that's in fact what I'm doing right now. I'll explain. Given the huge success of the first games, and seeing a new opportunity to make even more money, Nintendo decided one day to remake the first games, Red and Green (Blue was the American/European altered version of the Japanese Green version), for the GBA. This means a total facelift and some new Pokemons but with everything else intact. So, if I'm so tired of these games, why am I playing this? Simple. For once they were actually honest and told us that those are indeed the same old games, and then there's also the nostalgia factor. I loved Pokemon Red, but nowadays the GBC's graphics are hideous, and with Fire/Red I can have an old and new experience at the same time. Also, it's all familiar ground, so although things look slightly different due to the revamped graphics, I still always know where I am and what do I have to do next. It's funny, actually, to see that even after so many years I still remember such things.

Also, the game remains as addictive as ever, and that feeling of achievement everytime I catch a new creature or one of mine evolves is just great. So, if you don't like Pokemon this one is definitely going to change your mind, but for fans this is just great. For younger fans it's another new adventure and for old Poketards it's a trip to the past.

By the way, as a way to make up for my lack of posting on this most esteemed of blogs, here's a comic that parodies the beginning of this very game and here's another one that basically shows the feelings of old Poketards like me.

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