Off the Shelf Media

Pokémon built a video game empire over the past few decades, largely driven by the success of its earliest titles. Pokémon FireRed Version for Switch is a re-release of a remake of one of those original games, which brings you back to the golden years of the franchise. 

Gameplay: 2

The gameplay in Pokémon games is typically as complex as you make it to be for yourself. You can spend hours obsessing over the best moves to teach Pokémon for maximum efficiency, strategizing over items to use in combat, and what type match-ups work best to take on the task at hand. Or on the other hand, you can grind with a handful of Pokémon until you are 20 levels ahead of your enemies and one-shot them with the same attack every time. Both strategies are viable, and it allows you to play the game your way. 

The game does a good job of progressing you through the complexity of combat at a reasonable speed. Early game, you are just using things like “Tackle” and “Scratch,” which can feel tame compared to later-game high-powered moves. It is helping toward understanding the management of many systems, such as HP, PP, Attack Types, and managing your party of six Pokémon. As the game progresses and you move through the different gym leaders, these systems become more important and demand a bit more of your attention to rise to the challenges the game throws at you. 

One thing I really love about these games is the replayability that comes along with it as well. You can play through it tens of times with a completely different six Pokémon each time. Typically, early games end up with the same party of Pokémon, but as you get to the mid-game, that is where the flexibility to explore different combos hits its stride. Sometimes, a Pokémon you have ignored forever can be an absolute tank and dominate a gym, and that sense of discovery that exists all these years after its release is what makes these games so incredible. 

Story: 1

Pokémon games are typically pretty bland in the story, and this one is no exception. I typically don’t play these games for the story, and nine times out of 10, I am just hitting the skip dialogue button to get through all of the chatter to get to the next fight. While I don’t think it takes anything away from the game, it’s not something I will remember or think back to, so it’s right in the middle of the pack, ratings-wise, for me. 

Atmosphere: 2

Everything about the atmosphere in an earlier Pokémon title like this is perfect to me. Iconic music tracks in every location you reach are peak nostalgia. The original cast of Pokémon all feel like they belong in this world they have created, and there are no filler Pokémon like some of the later titles. There is something magical about just exploring this world with your personal cast of characters and taking on the challenges the game throws at you. 

While the graphics are not 4k and don’t rely on heavy-duty water physics or any modern-day tech, this is a peak Nintendo game where you don’t even factor that into how the game looks. The art style is so crisp and without flaws that it has a certain charm to the 8-bit adjacent style that immerses you in this digital world. It really is telling that the graphics of a re-release of a remaster from 1998 look better to me than most AAA games releasing at $70 price tags these days. 

Value: 2

Speaking of value, let’s dive into this price on this one. At $19.99, it is a rare perfect price point in my opinion for a Nintendo release. Typically, the system has a bad habit of releasing games for $60 that are way overpriced, and this one feels just about right. 

A big gripe many gamers have is that if you want to play some of your favorite older games, you either need to spend an insane amount of money to a third party to buy the original games and systems from decades ago. I am a big fan of studios making older games available for a reasonable price and allowing me to play these nostalgic titles on modern systems. I find that these companies don’t want to do this, as they want you focused on buying their newer titles, so it is nice to see Nintendo allow us to dive into the past with these titles for a fair price. 

That said, the only issue I will take with the value is something that has plagued Pokémon for many years. There are two release titles, and if you want to have all the Pokémon from each generation, you need to buy and play both games. I am not super interested in fully completing the Pokedex, so I only bought FireRed, but if that is something you are looking for, it is worth noting that the cost would be $40, and the time of playing both games that are borderline identical. 

Duration: 2

This game hits a sweet spot in duration to me, with its estimated time to beat being 20-25 hours. I think that time is entirely dependent on your play style and what you like to do in the game. If you are really being efficient, you can certainly breeze through the main story fairly quickly and get to the endgame. You can also take your time, train up all types of Pokémon, and mess around with your party configuration to find what is the best match for you. There is a lot of meat on the bone here, and you can really spend 100s of hours in this world on your way to the final four if you want. 

I’m a big fan of games that allow for the flexibility in gameplay and don’t just railroad you through the main story. I think Pokémon typically does a good job of this, and this title is no different. And when you factor in the price point, I think you can really get a lot out of this title for a reasonable value in today’s modern gaming economic landscape. 

Total Score: 9/10

In summary, I think this is definitely a title worth checking out, especially if you loved playing the original games when they came out years ago. It’s not re-inventing the wheel; it is exactly what it is marketed as, which is a re-release of an old title, but the game still holds up in modern day. 

The price is reasonable, the gameplay is fun, and the world will have you hooked for hours on end as you race to become the very best and catch them all.