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Published
by Nintendo
Developed by Nintendo
Release Date: Out Now
Price : £29.99 each
It's
been five years since Pokémon Blue and Red appeared
here in Europe and the impact the games had on handheld
gaming cannot be over emphasised. Before the release of
the Pokémon games there were many good Game Boy games
but none there were so captivating and so polished. The
original Pokémon games changed all the rules though
and proved that a handheld game could rank amongst the greatest
games on any other format. Their impact was so profound
that Nintendo have since released a version of Pokémon
to take advantage of their handheld consoles ever since.
Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal were designed for
the Game Boy Color whilst Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
were released for the Game Boy Advance. Even at this moment
the brand new Nintendo DS console is having new Pokémon
games developed. Why? Well the Pokémon brand is a
console seller. When a Pokémon game is released for
a system sales soar and sales records are smashed. The Pokémon
craze might not be at fever pitch as it was back in 1999/2000
but gamers who've played a Pokémon game can't resist
owning a new version, even if it means buying a new console
to do so and that says a lot.
Before
we go any further a little explanation is in order for those
who might not have experienced the TV shows and wonder how
the game can be so popular. The Pokémon games are
role-playing games and they are excellent ones at that.
You'll begin any of the Pokémon games with one Pokémon
and you'll go on a quest to gain gym badges (which are the
mark of a trainer's quality) and when you've amassed all
eight badges you'll try to beat the Elite four in an attempt
to become the ultimate Pokémon master. Most RPGs
allow you to control up to six characters (games like Baldur's
Gate for instance) and similarly Pokémon allows you
to have six Pokémon in your party at any one time.
The Pokémon gain experience and level up (level 100
being the maximum) and gain extra abilities on the way.
As your Pokémon progress through the levels they
will eventually evolve into advanced, stronger creatures
which allows you to take on stronger opponents.
The
Pokémon in the game are divided into types and each
type has advantages and disadvantages. For instance a fire
type Pokémon will be weak against a water type Pokémon
but strong against a grass type Pokémon. You have
to take into account the Pokémon type you're fighting
against when choosing which of your Pokémon should
battle. Each Pokémon can have up to four attack or
defence moves at any one time and should they acquire additional
abilities you'll have to 'forget' one of the existing ones
if the Pokémon already has four. Should their HP
reach 0 in a battle they will only faint and not die so
you'll never lose them. On your journey you'll meet other
trainers who you'll have to battle and victory against these
will earn you money with which you can buy potions and other
essentials. Random encounters never happen in Pokémon
unless you walk through the tall grass or journey through
a cave. When doing this you'll occasionally bump into Pokémon
who can be caught and added to your party. The games might
have been labelled by some as a children's game but anyone
who has ever played a Pokémon game will tell you
that they are quality RPGs of the highest order and their
ability to soak up hours and hours is unsurpassed.
As
you probably already know Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf
Green are remakes of the original Pokémon Red and
Blue (which was Green in Japan). Essentially this means
we're back in the Kanto region (after the game is completed
though new locations are available that were not in the
original Red and Blue games) and the game begins in Pallet
Town but this time we have the benefit of the enhanced graphics
the like of which we saw in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
As with Red and Blue, Leaf Green and Fire Red are virtually
identical but each version has 20+ Pokémon that are
exclusive. If you want all of the Pokémon you'll
either need to buy both games or trade with a friend who
has the alternate version. It's not just had a facelift
though and there are some other worthwhile additions to
the game. Wireless battles have been included (more on that
later), Pokémon from titles that came after Red and
Blue have also been included as have some of the other concepts
such as Pokémon breeding, 2-on-2 battles and being
able to pick a female character to play as etc. At it's
heart though it's the same magical experience that Red and
Blue were with all those original Pokémon. It's been
great to control all those favourites such as Squirtle,
Pikachu, Charmander and Bulbasaur and take on trainers such
as Brock, Misty and Giovanni.
One
of the major improvements in Pokémon Fire Red and
Leaf Green is the presentation. Once again the games come
with an excellent manual but an in-game help system has
been included also. When you begin a new game you'll receive
text that introduces you to the game and explains the basics.
When the game has begun you can press the L and R shoulder
buttons to call up a help system which will answer any questions
you might have. If you played the original Red and Blue
Pokémon games you'll know that you never had any
idea of what the TMs and HMs were but in Fire Red and Leaf
Green full text descriptions are always given for items
so you won't need a strategy guide just to find out what
they are. The game is also snazzy for the way you resume
a saved game. On loading up a saved game you'll be shown
your five most recent key events in short monochrome sequences.
This is superb if you haven't played the game in a while
and need a quick recap of what you had previously done.
Without a doubt Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green have
raised the standard for presentation in handheld gaming.
Game
Boy Advance games have always been great for deaf gamers
and Pokémon Leaf Green and Fire Red are no exceptions
to this and are perfect for deaf gamers. All information
in the games is given in text and as the text requires you
to press the A button to progress, you can read this text
in your own time. We mentioned above how Fire Red and Leaf
Green have superb presentation and much more information
than any previous Pokémon games and it really is
superb. The game manual is also first class and caters for
Pokémon novices so if you haven't played a Pokémon
game before you only need to look at the manual or use the
in-game help system to find the answers to any questions
that you might have.
The
Wireless experience
Both
Pokémon Fire Red and Pokémon Leaf Green come
with a wireless adapter and at the time of the games release
they were the first games to support wireless multiplayer
games. At the time of writing though more games have been
released (Mario Golf Advance Tour for example) that support
the wireless adaptor. What must be made clear though is
that in order to use the wireless adapter you need a game
that specifically supports it. It cannot be used in place
of a link adapter. This is unfortunate but there must be
technical reasons for this. All the same I would have loved
to be able to play games such as Advance Wars without a
link cable. If you want to battle with someone using a Ruby
or Sapphire game a link cable will be needed and Fire Red
and Leaf Green have full support for the link cable.
What
does this adapter allow you to do then? Well it allows you
to battle, trade, play mini-games (when you've reached a
certain point in the game) and chat with up to 5 of your
friends without the hassle of being tied together with a
link cable. For a battle you'll need to be within 10 feet
(3 metres) of each other which should cover most normal
room sizes. I've noticed that chatting allows a far greater
range though and we were able to chat with each other from
any room in the house (probably because of the reduced information
being sent) without any problems at all. The wireless adapter
takes it's power direct from the GBA so there's no need
for more batteries which is great. All things considered
it's a great peripheral and it marks the end of the road
for link cable gaming especially as the Nintendo DS has
built in wireless support.
Pokémon
Leaf Green and Fire Red are superb examples of what handheld
gaming can really be. Cynics may point out that the bulk
of the game is the same as in the original Red and Blue
games but that would be a harsh attitude to what is a superb
remake that not only includes a major graphical update but
plenty of new features too. The only area of the game that
hasn't received a major revamp is the sound and that's not
an issue as far as we're concerned. Nintendo have also made
the kind gesture of including a wireless adaptor which retails
for £14.99 when purchased separately, and this makes
the games superb value for money. It's also worth mentioning
that Fire Red and Leaf Green both work with Pokémon
Colosseum on the GameCube so you'll be able to take the
Pokémon you've trained and see how strong they really
are which again adds value to the games. To sum up then
it's a classic remake of a classic game and no matter which
version you choose you'll be experiencing one of the best
games on the Game Boy Advance.
Overall
Game Rating: 9.2/10
Five years on and the Pokémon formula is still as
addictive as ever. Fire Red and Leaf Green are a lot more
than simple remakes and both are excellent value for money
before you take into account the included wireless adapter.
Deaf
Gamers comment:
Pokémon Leaf Green and Fire Red are both superb for
deaf gamers.
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