The Pokémon series has been one of Nintendo’s primary franchises for decades now, with the various iterations of the franchise often serving as some of the publisher’s biggest hits. It’s gone through a lot of evolution in the last decade, in particular, however, from massive globe-spanning spin-offs and cinematic adaptations to expansive reinventions of what the series even is. However, recent releases have struggled to really connect with fans.
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The latest mainline entries in the series — Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, as well as Pokémon: Legends Z-A — all suffered from mixed receptions from the larger fan base. As such, the recent announcement that a great classic entry in the series is getting a modern re-release comes with an additional layer of concern. While it’s exciting to see new Switch versions of these games, hopefully, it isn’t followed by the series trying to replicate that effect over pushing the franchise forward.
A Great Retro Pokémon Is Getting A Fresh Rerelease, But That Makes Me Worried
Released in 2004 as fresh remakes of the original games in the series, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are set to make their debut on the Nintendo Switch on Friday, February 27 — and while I’m happy that it means we’ll get to replay those two games, I’d rather the company move in a different direction. Make no mistake, FireRed and LeafGreen are great games, terrific examples of how a remake can really expand upon the original with more than just a fresh coat of paint. There’s a new depth to them that retains the charm of the original Pokémon Red and Blue versions but enhances the experience with several generations’ worth of refinement. Given that the games will be sold for only $19.99 each as well, there’s a level of excitement for players to get another chance to become the Pokémon champion.
However, it also speaks to how Pokémon seems to be more focused on reflecting past games than charting out something new. There’s no shame in looking back to the earlier days of the franchise, especially given that the series is hitting its 30th anniversary this year. Rereleasing these two games, which themselves served as tributes to the earliest days of the series, seems like a good idea. However, given the reaction to the franchise’s more recent big swings, it’s not necessarily the most promising development to see Nintendo and Game Freak returning to such well-trodden ground. It could even be seen as Nintendo moving backwards after two launches that were messier than the company was likely hoping for, which would be an unfortunate and short-sighted decision.
Pokémon Needs To Look Forward, Not Back
The release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in 2022 was met with a very mixed reaction from fans, with bugs and performance issues causing a lot of strife in the fandom. It reached a degree where Nintendo and The Pokémon Company had to directly address the issues, claiming that the future games would keep that reception in mind during the development stage. Still, that didn’t help win back the majority of fans, who were similarly frustrated by the follow-up. While the subsequent Pokémon: Legends Z-A earned a respectable 78/100 on Metacritic from critics, players were far more mixed on the game and gave it an overall score of 4.7. As a result, seeing the company shift gears and revisit an older title instead of continuing to evolve into new forms feels like something of a retreat. There’s been little word about the next mainline entry in the series, outside of supposedly leaked concept art that hasn’t been formally verified.
The franchise may be taking a step back to older days to celebrate the anniversary, but it would be a shame if they reverse course too much. Despite technical issues that impact the game experience, there’s been a lot to love about the more recent entries in the series, including a greater emphasis on an open-world experience and strong creature design. I’d rather see the series continue to experiment and push the boundaries of what a modern Pokémon game can be, especially with the power of the Switch 2 giving the developers more opportunities than ever to push their imaginations to the limit. As such, I’m worried that the series could decide to try and reverse course and return to the older design of the series. While those games remain great and it’ll be fun to revisit them, Pokémon is better when it continues to grow. I want the mainline series to continue on the path laid out by games like Scarlet and Violet and Legends Z-A, fixing what didn’t work and enhancing what didn’t. Hopefully, FireRed and LeafGreen are just a fun way to celebrate the history of the series and not the overall direction of the franchise, because I really don’t want the series to go backwards.
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