GBA
The Vault

Game Boy Advance
Pokemon: LeafGreen Version

Graphics:
Sound:
Gameplay:
Overall:		 8.63
8.47
8.82
8.85
Votes: 95
Reviews: 1


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Reviewer: X Date: Nov 7, 2023
You are not going to find a better classic Pokémon game. LeafGreen is the best way to experience Kanto, or any of the remasters. Unlike HG/SS or BDSP which fixes absolutely nothing with the super flawed original games, FireRed + LeafGreen flatly improves on Red and Blue.

Graphics: 8
Utilizes the same graphics engine as Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. No animated sprites or night time is a letdown, but the game is otherwise generally pleasing to look at with its vibrant array of colors. It is a massive step up from the original Red and Blue, which is limited to a sad 4 very similar shades at once on an awful resolution.

Sound: 10
Direct improvement from original in literally every single way. The music is higher quality, has more instruments and thought put into each composition, and it isn't grating to listen to like the first two generations. Every piece of music found in this game actively adds to the experience, where it felt more like background noise in the original. The Route (Route 3+) theme and battle themes (most notably the Champion theme) are particularly well put together.

Gameplay: 6
Unfortunately, not as much praise can be said for the game play experience in FireRed/LeafGreen. It still has the standard straightforward game play found in every single other game in the franchise, but still has the questionable game design decisions made in the original Red and Blue. In typical early Pokémon fashion, the game still has bizarre level spikes (Koga and Sabrina are 13 levels over Erika, the 5th/6th gym leader vs the 4th); and it still has the Kanto problem of giving you absolutely zero indication of what to do. This isn't really a problem in the modern era where you can look up a walk-through, but it's still pretty bad game design, as it interrupts the experience and doesn't provide any satisfaction.

Overall: 9
Despite its drawbacks, there's no two ways about it; FireRed/LeafGreen is a simple, refined Pokémon experience. It's challenging, it's pleasant, it's just great.