For the 30th anniversary, Pokémon Leaf Green as well as Fire Red, the first remakes of the original games for the Game Boy Advance, were ported onto Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. People complained that there wasn’t anything new or that they were $20 each for games that cost only $40 when it came out and don’t have any real new content.
There’s really no reason to complain, though. Getting old games like this that were otherwise console locked to really old and inaccessible platforms is a huge win, even if they’re not the most economical games out there. And after playing through Pokémon Leaf Green, I come away thinking that they gave us great old games for just $20.
And in doing so, they revealed one of the fatal flaws of modern gaming and especially the current state of Pokémon. Less is more, and Leaf Green is proof of that.
Less is More with Pokémon Leaf Green
What I am most struck by is that Pokémon Leaf Green is truly a simple game. The controls are basic. The gameplay is not complex in the slightest. It’s basic and straightforward. You just explore the routes almost in order, unlocking a couple of new features as you go. Collect, train, and battle with Pokémon.
None of that is a bad thing. We have a tendency to feel like things need to be more complicated, especially in the gaming world. Longer games are perceived as better because there’s more for our money. This isn’t a short game, but it doesn’t have much to offer. That’s a strength, especially when compared to other Pokémon games.
And for the record, I enjoyed Scarlet and Violet. I did not have many legitimate performance issues, and I really liked the true open world they delivered. It has its flaws, but it’s a solid Pokémon game. But when compared to something like Leaf Green, it’s so easy to see where the franchise has gone wrong.
This also does not mean I am not excited for Winds and Waves. It looks incredible, and it looks like The Pokémon Company is learning from the criticisms levied against Scarlet and Violet and Legends: Z-A. It’s possible to expand things and increase the scope of the games without sacrificing quality.
It’s just that so far, The Pokémon Company and Game Freak have not exactly shown an aptitude for that. They’ve only displayed an ability to make things bigger, but not necessarily better. After playing Pokémon Leaf Green, I learned that simplicity can be wonderful in this franchise.
Sure, it can be tedious at times, and the grind can be slow, but overall, it beats having a bland, empty world that is almost boring to explore. It beats having 3D models of the Pokémon when the graphics aren’t all that great. It’s the same thing with Fortnite. The older game is and always will be better because it was simpler. That doesn’t mean seasons beyond Chapter 1 aren’t also good (Chapter 5 Season 1 is a prime example), but simpler is usually better.
Pokèmon isn’t going to go back to pixelated, 2D games with the Fire Red and Leaf Green mechanics, but they can take the lesson I learned and just simplify things even as they expand the scope for Generation 10 and beyond.
Conclusion
People say gaming is not at its peak right now. Nostalgia is a powerful force, and hopefully, I’m not being too influenced by it since I never actually played through either Pokémon Leaf Green or Fire Red (entirely, though I did briefly play Fire Red when it came out). But ultimately, it is proof that in some cases, the old ways are better. In this case, simplicity that was so long a staple of the Pokémon series should be a much stronger consideration for future titles.
