Pokemon LeafGreen – GBA – Review

The land of Pokemon Red and
Blue.  It’s been years since I’ve visited that land, yet I feel like I was
there just a few months ago.  Pokemon LeafGreen, the remake of the original
Pokemon games, does not at first appear to be the next great chapter in the
Pocket Monsters saga.  The graphics have been upgraded considerably, but they
still don’t match the visual detail of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.  Could this
remake be nothing more than a rehash?

A few hours into the game
the truth began to seep through.

The intro to LeafGreen
brings back memories of 1998.  You pick one of three Pokemon: Bulbasaur,
Squirtle or Charmander, each packing their own magical element.  Your rival
picks second, and he will always choose whichever Pokemon is most effective
against yours.  Nothing new, nothing too exciting.

Pokemon has a way of
growing on you though.  Slowly it begins to hook its claws into you, making
you Pika for more chu.  In other words, the game is like Pringles – once you
pop the game into your GBA you won’t be able to stop playing it.

Eight badges need to be
won in order to explore the world in its entirety, which is the only way you
can catch all 150+ Pokemon.  The "+" signifies the new Pokemon that have been
added to this remade world.  Pokemon can be transferred from Ruby and
Sapphire.  For perfectionists and anyone who loves to trade, this is just the
thing to ensure that LeafGreen is one of the games that helps wear out your
battery.  (Something tells me I’ll need to buy another SP in a year or two.)

Pokemon is still Pokemon,
but it isn’t the exact same world you conquered with Ash Ketchum.  Most
everything looks familiar – some less than others thanks to the improved
graphics (this time the Pokemon are in color and have slightly improved body
detail).  Not too far into the game you’ll encounter expanded areas, or areas
that have been revamped to match the massive size of Ruby and Sapphire. 
Casual fans may not notice a difference, but it’s unlikely that they’re going
to be the ones buying it.  The hardcore fans will surely spot the differences,
even those that are subtle.

Catching and battling –
the banana and cereal of every Pokemon game – is just as fun in LeafGreen. 
I’ve caught a million Sandshrews before and crossed paths with plenty of
Snorlaxes, but that didn’t make it any less entertaining.  I still got
excited, cheering loud enough for other people to hear me.  Now they don’t
talk to me because they think I’m crazy, but I still have the companionship of
Charmander.  He’ll always be my friend.


"Char, char!"

Some Pokemon are harder
to catch, others are harder to beat, and still others are less powerful under
your command.  The new level-up meter indicates how close you are to
strengthening your Pokemon, eliminating the need to click through menus just
to see how many more battles are needed.  That didn’t make the first gym
battle any easier.  I suppose if I had leveled up more I would’ve had an
easier time, but I wanted to move on and see the world, not spend my time
battling 3-level Weedles.  Struggling to win proved to be a wise choice.  In
the woodsy areas that follow, many new challengers are looking for someone to
battle with.  Some of the challengers’ cheesy dialogue you’ll recognize from
the original.  My favorite comes from a guard: "Gee, I’m thirsty."  It’s lame,
but it’s something a Pokemon player will never forget.  Gives us something to
laugh at 10 years from now.

As mentioned before,
Pokemon LeafGreen has received GBA plastic surgery.  The new graphics would
have been more impressive had we gotten to experience them before playing Ruby
and Sapphire, but that shouldn’t take away from the upgraded battle
animations.  The monsters look bigger and a tad more ferocious (not ferocious
like you might be thinking; ferocious for a Pokemon game).  The graphics are
almost on the level of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.  Most of the
worlds look bigger even if they’re not.  Faces can be seen reflecting on the
lake’s surface, a little touch Nintendo added to Ruby and Sapphire.  You’re
not going to be blown away by these visuals, but that’s true of all the
Pokemon games.  I didn’t buy the previous games for their graphics and I’m not
about to start making that an issue.

New to Pokemon LeafGreen
is the berry and "item hold" feature that debuted with Ruby and Sapphire. 
Also new is the soundtrack, which no longer sounds like Pokemon music.  Why
they changed it is beyond me.  The music is good though.  It’s reminiscent of
other Game Boy Advance RPGs, featuring sounds that are a bit more mainstream
than the other Pokemon games.  This should appeal to new players who are not
stuck in the series’ roots.

I was fearful, I was
skeptical, but in the end I was happily hooked.  Hooked on its inability to
let me stop playing.  Pokemon LeafGreen is costly for a remake: you’ll pay
$35-$40 if you can’t find it on sale.  But the game includes the all-new
wireless link cable, and the hours of replay value just can’t be beat.  I
wouldn’t recommend it to casual players who have all the other Pokemon games,
but for the hardcore fans like myself, this is a must-buy.


Review Scoring Details

for
Pokemon
LeafGreen

Gameplay: 8.5
If you had told
me that someone was going to make an RPG for all ages — one with a weak story
and kid-friendly monsters — I would have probably laughed.  Kid-friendly
games just aren’t fun.

What we forget is that a
game doesn’t have to be childish to be kid-friendly.  My 12-year-old cousin
will not go near Pokemon.  He was once a huge fan, but now he thinks they’re
designed for kids.  My friends (who are in their early 20s) all love the
game.  Not just the original, but all of them.

The reason: we just gotta
catch ’em all.  There’s something about the simple (but unobvious) puzzles,
the simple battles and the attack limitations that make it impossible to put
down.  Every time I review a Pokemon game I walk away with the same feelings:
tired from the lack of sleep but satisfied by the unrelenting gameplay.

Graphics: 7
LeafGreen looks
good for a Pokemon game, but there’s still a lot more that can be done. 
Imagine how incredible the game would look if it had the visuals of Final
Fantasy VI.

Sound: 7.5
Good music, but I
liked the original soundtrack better.  I associate the original music with
Pokemon, and when I’m playing Pokemon I expect to hear the classic music.


Difficulty: 
Easy/Medium
Pokemon has never been a mind-boggling, scream-at-the-screen kind of game,
and that doesn’t change with this remake.

Concept: 7.9
New monsters, new
locales, new items.  Count me in!

Multiplayer: 7
The trade feature
is great, but for me, Pokemon has always been about the massive single-player
quest, not the two-player battles.

Overall: 8.4
Got a family trip
coming up or a business meeting you wish to sleep through?  Don’t have the
secretary bring you a pillow, send for Pokemon LeafGreen.  While the boss is
rambling about statistics, product sales and other hyperbole, you can nod your
head and look like a smart employee.  The managers will think you’re hanging
on the boss’s every word, when in actuality you’re just nodding your head so
you can see the screen concealed under the table.