Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen happened to me (Thanks Nintendo...)

[@Tama-Hero]

I thought I would clarify that the points made about the way the modern mechanics change the game (Cubone in Lavender Town, the status abilities, Metal Claw on Charmander, etc) were NOT criticisms of those specific changes necessarily but the overall point that the fact that these things WERE different at all meant that the dex restrictions did not accomplish maintaining the exact experience of the original games, pointing to them being mostly there in order to necessitate trading only between FireRed and LeafGreen. I don't have a problem with some parts of the game being more difficult, less difficult, or even different from the original games. The point is just that because they're different at all, the dex restrictions weren't about maintaining the experience of the originals, so they must exist for a different reason. I don't think that Pokemon Tower is even difficult in the original games, it's more of a neutral thing that there were these changes. The problem I'm critiquing are the trading restrictions being arbitrary and dumb. Also my bad, Pidgey doesn't learn flying type moves until level 28 in Gen 1. Spearow does however, and is available on Route 22 right outside Viridian Forest.

[@dawakat08]

Tbh I hated the Red and Green remakes because it was the same game with new mechanics but I couldn't get my favorite pokemon Crobat until I got the Ruby and Sapphire plates despite the fact the game takes place in a different universe as the OG RBY, GSC games, it made things simpler for new folks and a chore to folks who never left It's why I couldn't finish Let's Go Eevee because it brought nothing new to table except combine Pokemon Go with Kanto for the third time

[@danielcm4237]

I got it now. I was confused while watching the video. Thanks, Tama!

[@oldsoldier4209]

Even without this clarifying comment, I learned a lot from this video. You have a real talent for sharing background information, in a way that enhances my love of the series. Before I stumbled across your channel, I never really thought about everything that went into making the games. Now, I have a greater appreciation for the people and circumstances that have brought me so much joy over the years. Thank you. 😁👍

[@Dtr146]

I actually agree with some of the points you made. When I played them they just seemed really stiff. Almost like they made them to make a quick buck. To be honest as I grow up I believe that they just made them the hold off the raging community until Ruby and Sapphire

[@mintyerb]

@@Dtr146 ruby and sapphire came out first tho

[@NoMoreLegBrace]

One little feature of FR/LG that I really appreciate so much more nowadays is that little black and white recap of the last things you did before you stopped playing. I used to think it was kind of annoying back when I was a kid, but now that kinda stuff is a life-saver. Sometimes I'll take long breaks between playing these sort of time-consuming RPGs while focusing on school, so its good to get a refresher.

[@abarette_]

It was so good for let's plays to be honest.

[@CosmicGaijin]

It’s the one thing I kind of wish they would’ve kept. They truly made that feature that you wish everyone had taken notes on.

[@gamerguy425]

It's great if you want it, but extremely annoying you can't skip it using it day to day.

[@KingpinCarlito]

@@gamerguy425 except you can. You press B on the first slide and it skips all of them immediately

[@gamerguy425]

@@KingpinCarlito oh thank god. IIRC correctly I got stuck flipping the journal in D/P sometimes pressing A forever instead of start.

[@LewtwoYT]

some say that golbat still hasn't evolved to this day

[@castform7]

That poor lock jawed bat.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Well, people who want to use Crobat in FRLG got rekt

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

And you can't get Sludge Bomb to beat the story, which needs for a strong STAB for Golbat

[@superlombax1561]

I guess those people never beat the game then.

[@ariz1516]

"Use a Psychic Type in Kanto" -Sun Tzu, The Art of War

[@ArtisChronicles]

Psychic gets its own tier in gen 1 as it's the defacto most powerful typing in that gen.

[@kareemcallender3799]

@@ArtisChronicles normal is right up there with psychic

[@azurnal7573]

@@kareemcallender3799 not even close

[@yungmuney5903]

@@azurnal7573 Yeah it is. Has some of the best Pokemon like Chansey, Snorlax and Tauros and some of the best moves like Body Slam, and Hyper Beam along with great coverage. It's weakness, Fighting type has been scared away from Psychic.

[@azurnal7573]

@@yungmuney5903 It's nowhere near as overpowered as psychic was.

[@The_SupremeKing]

Honestly your little tangent about how it sucks that they keep bringing Kanto back to the way it was after Gold and Silver gave it some chance to advance just reminds me that lets go pikachu and eevee should have just been full on sequels. Had they just been straight up Red 2 and Blue 2 and had attempted to add more depth to Kanto and show how its changed since the original journey through it(basically what Gold and Silver did but to a much larger scale as its been a far longer timeskip this time around), that would have been really cool. You could have even kinda made it the opposite of gen 2 in the way that you travel into Johto in the post game and get to see how things changed there a bit too, maybe even see some returning characters like Silver who we haven't seen in a long time.

[@GoldenSunAlex]

Agreed. Tbh, my biggest issue of the let's go series is that they prevented another decent Kanto remake for another decade or so.

[@tlst94]

What if in an alternate timeline, Gens 1-8 came out worldwide between 1996 and 2004? With the first half on GB and the latter half on GBA(with both systems being compatible for trades). With the Pokemon World only having eight Regions; each based on one of the eight Japanese Regions. With Gen 2 only having Johto. Gen 5 being Hoenn and it having day/night cycles. Gen 8 being Sinnoh. All 1,000 Pokemon discovered. Mythicals always obtainable rewards for Regional Dex completions. With all 8 Gens together taking place in the Classic Timeline. After that, the series got rebooted. With the first set of remakes released 2006-2014 and took place in the Mega Timeline. Then the series got rebooted again from 2016-2024 and took place in the G-Max Timeline. So in conclusion, how'd the Pokemon franchise have been like? And how well would the games have been recieved?

[@emilyadair8380]

One thing that really bugs me about all the Pokemon remakes is how conservative they are, particularly when it comes to the Pokemon line-ups. I feel like these games would be so much more fun if the gym leaders and other major NPCs had revamped teams. This is the main appeal of going back to Kanto in GSC for me - or Yellow for that matter - seeing these totally new line-ups that make the major battles feel fresh. Give Misty a Goldeen or a Horsea or something instead of just the Staryu line. Give Koga a Crobat or a Nidorino instead of his eight Koffings. HGSS really had this problem too, as much as I love those games overall. It would be a pretty minor change but would add so much.

[@markanthony7191]

The problem is that not everyone has played the originals to need all that for remakes.

[@No_Sleepee]

Play Pokémon Clover then.

[@mischievousjr.9299]

@@markanthony7191 Definitely would've been more replay value if the gyms had revamped Pokemon teams

[@markanthony7191]

@@mischievousjr.9299 for the post game or something yes. But if your like me and FrLg is your first play through of kanto than the times are fine

[@No_Sleepee]

@@markanthony7191 Yeah they do that in a game, it's called Pokémon Platinum

[@PokeDude011]

“You want crobat? No.” ~Junichi Masuda probably

[@Sorakeyboy247]

Masuda: “You want to evolve Eevee into Espeon? No.” Me: “But Espeon’s my favorite...” Masuda: “Sucks to be you. Go with Flareon.” Me: “Flareon sucks.” Masuda: “A perfect match for you.” Me: 🙁

[@tyler_keeble]

I wonder if she’ll bring up this same criticism assuming she eventually does a video on HG/SS: “Want to evolve your Magmar into Magmortar before the elite four? Too bad, the item is locked behind the post game.”

[@PokeDude011]

@@tyler_keeble Not quite the same argument since you can just trade over your Magmar into a Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, or another Heart Gold/Soul Silver game that already has the item and then trade back. I did that in one play through of Heart Gold where I wanted an early Scizor. And before you mention that in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire you get the Dawn Stone after beating Wally in Victory Road to evolve a male Kirlia into Gallade or a female Snowrunt into Frosslass, you can still get one earlier by doing the Super Training mini-game. Fire Red and Leaf Green literally make it impossible for you to get Crobat and Blissey who evolve by max happiness before the post-game by just halting their evolutions all together.

[@superlombax1561]

"You want Crobat? Play through Kanto again first and try not to let it die a million times while you do that."

[@D-Havoc]

@@tyler_keeble I would say Probopass, Magnazone, Leafeon and Glaceon have it the worst. They are literally impossible to obtain unless you trade them over to DPPt to evolve them in their specific areas. I like unique evolution methods, but I thought it was dumb and just inconvenient that they couldn't add these areas to HGSS. They have fairly consistent areas to evolve them at too. Ice Rock in the Ice Path, Grass Rock in Ilex Forest and quite frankly any cave/rough terrain/etc. with Electric Pokemon can serve as the Mt. Coronet surrogate. Glad they just updated most of these Pokemon evolutions in Gen 8.

[@mattm7220]

To this day, the "last time on your journey" feature is still the single best feature of FR/LG, and I wish they'd bring the feature back in current/future games. There's a lot of times where I get too busy to play for a good couple of weeks, and by that time, I've completely forgotten what I was about to do before shutting the game off last.

[@Poever]

They did bring it back, but inconsistently. There was the Journal in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum and...nothing else later

[@amrutamogal149]

It should be optional, because it's a curse for soft-reset hunts.

[@mattm7220]

@@amrutamogal149 Good point - as a casual player, I didn't even consider this, but yea, the ability to turn the feature on and off is probably a must

[@natsume-hime2473]

@@mattm7220 Well even as a casual player, soft resetting FR/LG, the "Previously in your Quest..." section was a nightmare. Specifically when legendary hunting. Which is why I love how fast comparitavely it is to get into game in X/Y, OR/AS, S/M, US/UM, and SW/SH.

[@TXFDA]

Honestly, I think EVERY game ever should have that feature. I don't have a great attention span nowadays. So I need a break on pretty much every lengthy game I play. I've had to restart so many games that I never end up finishing, simply because I don't remember what was going on, or how to play. Having a 'previously on-' and an optional short gameplay refresher would be amazing.

[@revolver2750]

AAHHHHH THAT'S WHY MY GOLBAT STOPPED EVOLVING EVERY DAMN TIME!!!!! thought it was freaking bugged years later i finally have an answer holy....

[@zinc2zinc2]

@revolver2750 yeah, i also was confused af. I was excited to play through old kanto with a (at the time) new evolution.

[@chugga]

I feel you so much on these games rubbing it in how I was the only person I knew still playing. Tons of late nights spent trading with myself like a loser to accomplish anything. And that wireless adapter I paid for never got used even once.

[@enzoforgets9456]

Same tbh when i got that wireless adapter i got like 0 use cuz i had no second gba for trading and lack of friends who played mons’

[@oolacilesbotnet6564]

I still liked pokemon but none of my friends liked it anymore so I ended up dropping it as well as a result. It took until X/Y for me to buy another mainline title I played most of gen 3 on emulator years after the fact

[@Wackaz]

Hey Chugga!

[@nrlty1253]

sucks having no friends. i had friends with fire red and leaf green and the wireless adapter was dope

[@bigbadchupa9511]

@@oolacilesbotnet6564 same here. After I got to JR high school I quit playing Pokémon. I recently got back into a couple years ago when I ended buying platinum again. Then hunted down HG and SS again and really got back into it. I regret getting rid of those games because I didn’t realize how rare the authentic games were. Haven’t quit playing since. 😊

[@Vanillastump]

Pokemon won't follow kids into their teens and adult-hood.." I'm sitting here at 28 doing my third nuzlocke of HeartGold.

[@DieAlteistwiederda]

I let my nephew borrow a bunch of Pokémon games over the course of quarantine and shit last year and currently he still has White and White 2,he did give me back my 3DS and all the games for that system though My nephew is 18 now and I'm 28 and own all the main Pokémon games and most of the side games too. It definitely chased me into my adulthood successfully and it doesn't look like I will stop liking those games anytime soon.

[@enzoforgets9456]

@Pissed Off White Guy you guys are getting clowned on? Either i went to a friendly high school or just got lucky

[@annarenfold438]

Third? Boy, there are 4 other generations of Pokémon games.

[@enzoforgets9456]

@@annarenfold438 uhm, isnt there more than taht? Assuming only hgss was being played within that span Edit; counting all 8 but excluding 4 is what i meant

[@Vanillastump]

@@annarenfold438 Yeah, and after nuzlocking Ruby, FireRed, LeafGreen, and Pearl, I wanted to do HeartGold. And it's still my favorite Pokemon game

[@CaptainPiika]

Really interesting perspective on these games I had never considered before. FRLG are actually my favourite Pokémon games to replay (besides BW2), mostly because I love how fast Gen III runs and how open/non linear Kanto is compared to other regions. As a kid, I had never beaten RBY or GSC by the time I got my hands on these, so I didn’t have the same been there, done that frustration. The national dex and evolution restrictions are so annoying, though. I’ve used every single Kanto Pokémon at this point and it’s ruined the replay value. I think a hack of FRLG with running shoes, nat dex, and physical/special split added in from the beginning would be my ideal game.

[@jbun730]

You’re in luck, there’s several hacks of FRLG with the exact thing you’re asking for, one even has mons up to gen 8 (it’s a difficult hack though, more for people who are into competitive)

[@ArtisChronicles]

Radical red has most of that, but it has many generations of pokemon in it. You could check that out if you'd like.

[@dwanedibly8129]

I can recommend two fan-games for you: Pokemon AlteRed and Pokemon Paradox. Pokemon AlteRed, in a sense, is an AU of Firered, like Deltarune to Undertale. In it, the first three generations of Pokemon are available, along with all evolutions Pokemon got later... kind of (they have an evolution for Farfatch'd, but not Corsola?) But the really cool part? Every Pokemon, and I mean EVERY POKEMON, has been redesigned, given a new name and new type, and there are a couple Fakekon too, but the focus is very much on reimagining the official Pokemon. The game has an updated moves list including all eight generations, along with the modern physical/special split. If the spark has gone out of Kanto, AlteRed is the perfect way to re-experience it. Then there's Pokemon Paradox. In it, you play as Blue, set two years after he lost he Champion title to Red. At this point Blue has given up being a Pokemon trainer, and just stays at home all day, reminiscing on what could've been. But, Professor Oak comes to him with some amazing news; he's built a time machine that can let Blue travel back in time, in order to alter history so he can become Champion instead of Red. Okay, so Paradox is radically different from Firered. Instead of collecting the eight badges,your goal in each new area is to find and defeat Red, altering the timeline, and giving you a Time Crystal that powers up the Time Machine and unlocks new areas to explore. In addition, Pokemon from the first five gens are in the game, and the game uses their gen 5 animated sprites in battle. In addition, there's a really interesting mechanic letting you get Legendaries from all the first five gens. Across your travels, you'll come across Time Chunks, which take you to the lair of a Legendary Pokemon you can catch. The game even has some Mythicals, like Darkrai and Shaymin! Thank you for coming to my TED talk, and I hope you try one or both of these games. If you line pokemon, these are great new ways to play through Kanto!

[@wangchung2157]

4 years late but Pokemon Ultra Violet is what your looking for. It even has trainers with stronger pokemon and actual good move sets its alot of fun its basically the Fire Red Tama wants

[@KugelBlitz0]

Beginning of 2021: Tama comes out swinging at 2004

[@fernandomarroquin8901]

Hangry mode lol

[@flyforce16]

Someone stole my Kerry/Edwards yard sign in 2004 and I'm still not over it

[@StudioBrock1337]

Hey 2004 deserves it!

[@36moshpit7]

@@StudioBrock1337 Hey now, 2004 did give us Danny Phantom, so it wasn't all bad.

[@StudioBrock1337]

@@36moshpit7 I don't know who that is but I do agree it wasn't all bad. :P

[@NerdStrikesBack]

The frustration of the way trading and the dex work in this game is so accurate. I keep a copy of LeafGreen completed and bought a copy of FireRed for replays just so I never have to do that bullshit of finding the Ruby and Sapphire again. That being said, as someone who didn’t grow up playing Gen 1 (Silver was my bread and butter) I still do prefer the remakes here. There’s some fun to be had with the limited mechanics of the older games, but I just adore the Gen 3 engine so much. My favorite part of Kanto is the way it emphasizes the player’s choice on their journey in terms of where they want to go and what they want to do. The whole game feels like a genuine preparation for the final battles against the Elite 4 and Blue. The limitations of trading and not being able to use newer Pokémon are a huge bummer, but even with them, the 149 original Pokémon are still diverse enough that I’m able to play through it with new teams ever couple of years. Even still, your take here is extremely valid and I can see how if you were playing this purely for the reasons you were, both growing up and now, that it would be very frustrating and not a positive or worthwhile experience.

[@Mahihkan24]

“Those motherf***ers forgot slowpoke” I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.

[@ExitScam]

I still believe that Fire Red & Lead Green are the best way to experience Kanto

[@quincy7258]

I believe G/S/C is the best way to experience Kanto, but maybe thats just me

[@sweis12]

@@quincy7258 the kanto in g s and c are so watered down. Missing many features and almost no story.

[@tricatmeows]

@@quincy7258 nah not just you. I wanna breeze through Kanto and get to the good Pokemon to take back to Johto.

[@AustinHartwig]

@@sweis12 true

[@scottchaison1001]

@@tricatmeows No.

[@Readingeye]

15:25 Gonna hard disagree on that one, Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee were even more restrictive, with the evolutions and babies being flat out nonexistent, post game or otherwise. I do agree it was silly to not include the evolutions and to restrict trading in firered/leafgreen until post game though.

[@castform7]

Which is super weird cause they kept the Fairy type,Megas and Regional variants even though they weren't in Kanto. It was like they wanted to have their cake and eat it too when no, that's not how it works. Either you take out everything for "authenticity" or you don't. An inbetween just feels like you wanted to say this is the Kanto you grew up without fully commiting to it.

[@thetreyceratops]

At LEAST Let’s Go didn’t even code them, so they didn’t taunt you with those BS evo screens

[@KendylTV]

I liked every comment here because I agree with all 3 somehow lmao

[@Raderph]

@@castform7 i would argue that the regional variants were at least justified to balance the typechart a bit, as without them you’d have a small pile of fairies next to 0 dark types and 1 steel line (not including meltan) I haven’t played the games personally but assuming fairy type was staying in (which lbr they weren’t going to cut it) having an older type in dark with literally no members would look pretty odd (It also added an extra ghost which is nice)

[@ArtisChronicles]

@@castform7 there was code in the game for umbreon, but it looks like somewhere along the way they decided to change direction and let's go is what we ended up with. It was a very strange game in that way. Easy shiny hunts though.

[@mattheus6416]

I was expecting myself to be highly upset by this video as FR/LG are my childhood and by far my favorite way to experience Kanto, but all of your points made sense and were properly thought out. Great video!

[@lvl5charmander]

no they weren’t? df 😂

[@yellowtheyellow]

everything except for gen 1 being a better experience than fr/lg, at least. that's insane.

[@angel_apricot]

Nintendo : "FireRed and LeafGreen" Tama : "Why though?"

[@SYMShutYoMouth]

I think Fire Red and Leaf Green are great introductions to Pokémon as a series. Should they have expanded and added more? Sure. But what we got wasn’t bad at all.

[@rydenhope3602]

We still got the sevii islands that the original game had plans for but never finished.

[@littiescorp4197]

I love your intelligent critiques of these games, and you always bring up facts and interesting tidbits that I, a lifelong Pokemon fan, never knew about the games. I hope you do a Black and White video, cause I feel like that game has a lot of hidden stuff too that's missed, especially since it's one of the more disliked generations (from my experience with people)

[@dinar471]

I actually enjoyed Black and White. I kinda liked that they forced me to only use Unova Pokémon instead of falling back on familiars.

[@loveless9528]

I’ve actually never played this game legitimately, only having played it on emulators when I first discovered them back in... I wanna say 2010...? My experience with this game feels unique and definitely contributes to my positive feelings for it. This was the first time I played a Pokémon game on a big screen with a controller and I felt like I was some sort of computer genius to get this actually working on my cheap-ass computer which was crippled with Windows Vista (Remember *that?*) Of course, it’s very anecdotal and I could have picked any Pokémon game to download and play and probably would have loved any of them with the novelty of my scenario, but I picked FireRed because I had missed it when it came out, as Pokémon had fallen out of favour like you said, and no one was keeping up with it anymore, which unfortunately meant I didn’t either... I remember seeing a commercial for FRLG on tv one day after I hadn’t played for years and was shocked to see they had remade the game that defined my childhood. I wanted to play it back then but never pursued it because I would have no one to play with... Flash forward to when I was about to do so on the emulator. I had dropped out of school a few years prior, lost all my friends and just wanted to forget about my current life. I was excited to play the GBA version of the game I fell in love with at 7 years old. That was all I needed. Even though the music was bad and the game was a mediocre cutout of RBY using RSE cardboard, I still had a great time, with the Sevii Islands being a highlight somehow. The fact that I didn’t pay for this experience may have helped influence my opinion as well... 😒 Story time over 🙂 Your line delivery has gotten so good it’s crazy. You sound so confident and natural, like I’m just right there with you and you’re unleashing a passionate rant for the first time. 🙃 Happy new year~! 🥳

[@oromain]

That's a very good point. The fact that I didn't drop $40 - $80 on this game may also affect my positive experience with it.

[@dimensionninja4929]

that was deep

[@notsad0096]

Gen 1 was always so nostolgic and charmander will forever he my favorite pokemon, also i can heavily relate to this comment

[@garfreeek]

You've written everything I wanted to write! 😂😁

[@loveless9528]

Given the amount of support this comment has gotten... How many people played GBA Pokémon games illegally on emulators in the past decade...?! ‘_’ They’re really easy to run really well, even on the worst PCs : ) By the way, Tama, if you see this, I love the fact that you kept the take where you couldn’t help but laugh when you were talking about the wireless Game Corner 😄

[@TheYoshiGamer]

Because I went into FireRed with a very different context than Tama Hero, I absolutely loved it, to the point where it's my favorite Pokemon game and within my top 10 games overall. It was my first Pokemon game, so I learned all of the main Pokemon lore and mechanics from this. The Sevii Islands took me by complete surprise and I had no idea they even existed until I encountered them myself. I also had a really great friend at the time who was into Pokemon like me, so we enjoyed the game a ton together. However, I totally respect your opinion, and while i strongly disagree with it, I understand we simply went into the game with different context. Great video as usual!

[@joseaguilera1609]

I had already passed my Blue version more times that I could count. I had Yellow, Gold, Ruby and Emerald too. I enjoyed FireRed alot. The new sprites and mechanics felt right at home by that time. My friend had LeafGreen. It was actually really fun. Although most of the battling happened with Gold even at that point in time.

[@fourthstrongest]

this game came out for me just in time for my reading comprehension to develop enough where i actually understood every word in the game, unlike the previous ones. it helped develop my love for charmander and a lot of other kanto pokemon, taught me how to actually build a well rounded team that works (not just use my overleveled swampert to win everything), and actually let me complete the kanto elite four, yet i agree with every word you've said. by the time i actually got to the end and wanted to build a whole pokedex, it really settled in what the game really was. i remember going to one island with a golbat, leveling it up, and getting stopped because i didn't complete the postgame. even at 9 years old i knew something was wrong and it lead to me developing a sharp eye for pokemon games to come. thank you for this video; it has been very validating lol

[@BlargTheDestroyer]

I remember being obsessed with this game. Playing gen 1 and 2 on repeat for years and then this dropped. It breathed new life into games i loved. I replay the originals and remake games for the same reason now that i did when they came out. It was to see the new sprite art. It was a new step in technology too and familiar was nice. I enjoyed fire red leaf grean more than emerald ruby saphire. The original games and remakes are both great in their own right. I played pokemon to role play teams and look at pretty sprites and it delivered for me. Gen 2 will always be my fav gen and fr/lg to me was more like being able to continue my silver/gold playthroughs in a roleplay sense. It was the FEEL that made them great to me. Just a good blend of familiar with new design.

[@TheWTFMatt]

I also love gen 2 brother

[@akane.sakurada]

I loved FireRed for simply 2 reasons. 1- It was my first pokémon game 2- It had what I saw on TV in the game, I was familiar with Team Rocket, I was familiar with the gen 1 starters and these pokemons and the only other alternative I had back then was original Red which looked way worse graphically. Still a force that pushes me away from newer and other pokemon games is the fact that I have no idea about most of them and I just return to FireRed because of the familiarity.

[@raphaelkgh218]

I agree with that! Gen 1's strenght seems to be familiarity, and i shows!!!

[@Luvutoo]

As a player who grew up with this version of gen 1, the real letdown was having the wireless adapter but no one in my school that played Pokemon

[@YawnBlue]

Didn't have anyone to trade with with the actual gen 1, didn't have anyone to trade with in generation 3's reinterpretation. So that wasn't a dealbreaker for me.

[@erikholmysti]

I like how informative your videos are, but lately with Ruby and Saphhire and this - you’ve really been wowing me with all the little details to these histories of our favorite games

[@MidniteAndBeyond]

In terms of why I got FireRed back in the day, I'm in the camp of "I've never played a Pokemon Game before." Technically, I had played XD: Gale of Darkness at a friend's house before, but FireRed was the first one I ever personally owned. It's probably the Pokemon game I've replayed the most amount of times and holds a lot of sentimental value to me for a variety of reasons. Despite how much I've replayed FireRed, I never really took the time to think about how poorly the National Dex and trading mechanics were implemented in that game. Like you, I never had anyone to trade with, growing up. However, I've never been a "catch em all" person, to be perfectly honest. I think a lot of why that is was because of me being introduced to the series through XD. In that game, you're not trying to catch em all, you're trying to save them all. There's a limited number of Pokemon and the situations in which you're obtaining them is so much more high stakes and it feels so much more personal when you catch and purify them. It makes each and every one of them feel like just as much of a character as their evil former trainers are. Because you're doing more than just building up a team for the sake of "being the very best, like no one ever was". From beginning to end in XD, you're trying to rescue creatures that are in need. So I guess I just always felt weird about collecting one of every creature in the mainline games, just for the sake of keeping them locked away in a storage box for all eternity. I definitely agree with all that you're saying, though. I feel like a lot of what you felt during the FireRed and LeafGreen era is what I'm feeling right now in the Sword and Shield era. I've just felt really... empty, when seeing and playing modern Pokemon. I had this exact feeling after the first SpongeBob movie. The franchise I once loved and that meant the world to me had become a corporate, soulless, moneymaking shell of its former self. It'd be nice if GameFreak would cater to both old and new fans alike, but it really feels like their mindset is a combination of "Catering to old fans means bringing back Kanto for the millionth time, just like how celebrating Mario means re-releasing Super Mario Bros. for the millionth time." and "Old fans are just like new fans, in which they'll buy anything with Pokemon attached to it, simply because it's Pokemon". I was worried I might've been at a point where I simply couldn't enjoy Pokemon, anymore. So a few weeks ago, I went back and played Pokemon Red.... and I had a wonderful time with it. Its simplicity was refreshing and the charm and personality of these creatures shined through, even after all these years. As for which game I would return to in the future if I ever wanted to return to Kanto.... it's a bit of a tossup, honestly. I think Red, Blue and Yellow and really interesting to return to, to remind myself of how much the series has evolved (or in some cases, devolved) and to enjoy a quick, simple and enjoyable experience. I'm able to get enjoyment out of the Let's Go games by simply walking around in them. Would I ever wanna replay them? Heck no. But now that I've finished it and can simply walk around an HD version of a world that holds a lot of memories for me, it can be a pretty nice time if I ever just wanna unwind or have some background noise. And as for FireRed and LeafGreen... I feel like since it's technically where I started my Pokemon journey, I'll always have a soft spot for it. Hearing their specific remixes and seeing those specific sprites always makes me feel at home.

[@friendlyninja5048]

I felt the same way when Sun & Moon launched. I was still riding the high from Gen VI, especially ORAS as Hoenn was a big part of my childhood. I think, because of this, I had preconceived notions about what a Pokémon game should be. As I played through Moon, I just didn't feel the same excitement I felt with the previous games -- almost like I was just going through the motions. Alola didn't seem to inspire the same passion in me as Kalos or the same nostalgia as Hoenn. Although, it being night in-game almost the entire time probably didn't help. I was worried that I was falling out with Pokémon. It was already a rough period in my life and I didn't want to lose the thing that had been a huge part of my life for as long as I could remember. So I forced myself to complete the game, hoping it would eventually inspire those same feelings. But it never did. Years later, however, I would eventually grow to appreciate Alola for what it was rather than what I thought it should be. I think the anime played a huge role in that. It truly conveyed that Alola was a laid-back, tropical paradise, in a way the games didn't. It was also didn't take itself as seriously as the XY arc, and was a lot more fun to watch as a result. When I returned to the games with this mindset, I found a lot more to like about them than I had previously. I had finally learned to love this region and its inhabitants. To put it another way, I feel like I went through similar character development as Gladion did over the course of the game. I feel Alola also has stronger lore than I initially gave it credit for with the Tapus and Ultra Beasts. Ever since B2W2, I've noticed it takes me a while to "warm up" to a new Pokémon game. It's pretty weird.

[@Amber_xo_133]

The "definitive" experience is FRLG IMO. You have abilities, held items, breeding, more than 151 Pokemon, post-game quests, legendary hunts, and a relatively challenging maingame

[@Raethecommoner]

This is the best comment

[@ich3730]

wrong. mega Moemon fire red is the definitive version :P

[@Green-Hoe]

nah Crystal is the definitive experience

[@MAMAJUGO]

The heck you on about? I got the kanto remakes because I wanted a kanto game without the mutant sprites and with more than 4 colors

[@TheSliferSlacker]

I wanna start off by saying that when I was a younger lad, your original review of these games rubbed me SO wrong that I ended up unsubbing for some years (my mistake honestly, but I've since come around to see that was an extreme reaction). These were not only my first Pokemon games, but some of the first GAMES in general I ever ended up playing. I'm a 97' baby who didn't get into Pokemon as quickly as other kids I knew, so R/S kinda passed me by, and Emerald was my real deep dive into Gen 3 and Pokemon in general. I'll admit, I was skeptical going into this video, because remembering your old review brought back a bad taste in my mouth. However, knowing how much you've grown as a content creator (and how much I have in considering nuanced opinions outside my own since Teen-hood) I gave it a shot. And I'm happy to say that you've opened my eyes to a lot of things I've thought about, but never truly considered. These games ARE bare bones remakes, and could have done so much more to add to the baseline experience. I recently replayed LG and felt desperate for the Physical/Special split for instance. I found myself cursing the game for being TOO close to R/B, which I hadn't ever really done before. I'll also say that I was glad to see your original point about the Teachy TV and help systems being a major factor in disliking these games as "baby's first Pokemon" were no longer a prominent point against them in the video. I was happy to see you come around on that, since I always felt it was an unfair argument towards kids who did grow up with these games and not the originals. Mind you, I still love the additions these games made, and I'd genuinely rather play them over the Gen 1 games any day of the week for quality of life improvements alone (and I /have/ played Red and Blue a lot since, believe me), but I am also not so blinded by nostalgia that I'm unwilling to admit they falter more than I believed initially. So, from one of those replacement fans (:P), I gotta say, thanks for the honest constructive view of the game that started my love for Pokemon. I appreciate it. And hell, it's nice to see somebody talk about them at ALL for once.

[@thepancakemann]

Kind of weird craving the physical/special split when the system in FR/LG is the same in R/S/E and remains consistent with the past two generations. Whatever though, I craved Johto in general throughout gen 3, so we all have our thing I guess. Overall, I love gen 3, but the individual games don't really stand out. FR/LG needs R/S/E and vice versa, and during the time of their release, this proved problematic. Noone's buying 5 full priced games to properly experience what is ultimately 1 system of gameplay between two distinct storylines and settings. Year later though, with emulation and flash carts - I'm done my Hoenn-dex, mostly done my Kanto-dex and well on my way towards 100% on the National. It's been the most fun I've had with the series since my childhood playthrough of Crystal.

[@acehealer4212]

I was going to comments something similar. It sounds like you had a lot of the same experiences I did.

[@thecelgames2937]

I heard no lies in this rant. Back then I just mindlessly played cause I was a fan but looking back and even now with sword and shield it feels like Nintendo is basically saying "it's time for you to move on cause we have, thanks for your money though lol". When I heard I couldn't bring majority of my pokemon from the 3ds games to sword and shield I knew it was time for me to hang up my pokéballs.

[@TheLostArts]

Oh boy, I'm excited to see people's reaction to this one! Also, Happy New Year everyone!

[@NerdStrikesBack]

Happy new year Jonna!

[@Greninjia]

Crobat: *exists* GameFreak in Fire Red and Leaf Green: And I took that personally

[@matguimond92]

Fire Red and Leaf Green Gen 1 remade Having a Crobat in FR/LG would be like trying to send back a Crobat through the time machine in Gold/Silver/Crystal.

[@GamersXnostalgia]

And then they did the exact same thing in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. 😂

[@epicdarkraifournineone8006]

The worst example of the games being hurt by not accounting for the mechanics of gen 3 is the Diglett's Cave, since Diglett now has Arena Trap, so if you're not leading with a flying type you have to fight every wild Pokémon you find. To make matters worse, repels won't be able to save you from the overlevelled Dugtrio you can find here (which also have Arena Trap, of course).

[@rydenhope3602]

I never ran from encounters in this or other pokemon games, as they all have a massive exp problem and I'd always kill wild mons to make up for that. Also diglet cave is super short you wont even run into a dozen encounters from one side to the other

[@josephthomas8318]

Even in the original red/blue digletts high speed stat would keep you from escaping if you weren't leveled enough. Getting that level 26 dugtrio to spawn was a mini boss battle in the OG games. His speed is incredibly high for that point in the game and if you manage to catch him, that dugtrio will steamroll through Lt. Surge, Erika, Koga, pokemon tower, and most team rocket. encounters. Game freak was throwing you a bone with that dugtrio encounter and you didn't even realize it

[@gohanxftw]

“Finally, The Rock has come back...”

[@williamlavagna1096]

“...to Pewter City!”

[@MexNYG93]

@@williamlavagna1096 this is gold LOL 🤣🤣😂😂

[@KiddsWithClass]

@@MexNYG93 no, this is fire red/leaf green

[@acelegendarymyths2376]

@Purple Almost Blue u meant the brock

[@gohanxftw]

@@acelegendarymyths2376 lol that is a good one. But I meant Tama is back lol

[@katecastreviews4639]

I'm one of those Pokemon fans who has been around since the beginning, and I've often cited Leafgreen as one of my favorite games in the series. I can't really dispute anything you say, I just didn't feel them myself. FR/LG felt like a welcome return to a familiar place. With better graphics and mechanics I understood a bit better. Did the new battle mechanics make things more difficult in a region that wasn't designed for them? Oh certainly yes. But I think that taught me to be more prepared, and to learn new things about Pokemon I already knew so much about. Which helped me get better at playing the game compared to Red and Blue and Yellow when I was 7 years old, and didn't really know what I was doing. All of this at a time where I was playing Pokemon games a lot more. Leafgreen was the first time I even reached the Elite Four. Gen 3, FR/LG included, holds a special place in my heart since they were a source of comfort and something fun and reliable in one of the most uncertain times of my life. I personally didn't feel cheated or taken advantage of, but welcomed back to a familiar land, with a bit more of an understanding of it thanks to getting better at the game, having a better grasp on the new mechanics, and loving the updated Gen 3 graphics which I was growing very attached to thanks to Ruby and Sapphire. But like I said, I can't really dispute any of the arguments or criticisms you had here. I just wanted to share my perspective as a fellow lifelong fan of Pokemon who was here since the original trip to Kanto, and who was also the only person I knew who still loved oreven liked Pokemon at this point.

[@Scott-gl4zz]

it's definitely a better game for casual players because of the limitations in trying to 100% the game. I agree i love FRLG to death regardless but I def see the criticisms

[@soxnpats4lyfe]

Its almost like its cool to hate on Kanto. I have been playing since the beginning. I remember seeing FrLg in walmart and being excited to go back through. I play it every once in awhile because gen 3 has my favorite sprites in the entire series. Is it flawed yes but its almost like anyone who didnt start in kanto in 1996 loves to hate it.

[@robertmosley1188]

I also started with RBY as a kid. Was so exicited to play FRLG after being so disappointed with RS.

[@mariowalker9048]

@@soxnpats4lyfe With Tamashi it's the opposite since she played the originals in the late 90s.

[@NowRacattackForce]

"Who the fuck cares about Pocket Card Jockey?" I'll have you know that there are a dozen of us. Anyway, FireRed ended up being the last Pokémon game I played before I fell off the series for nine years. Not through any fault of the game though: someone just stole my GBA SP and I fell out of gaming in general until high school, then didn't get a new handheld until a 3DS XL in college. I recall enjoying my time with the game as a kid, though not to the extent I did with Silver or Emerald, which I remember playing constantly. The Sevii Islands were a cool addition that I didn't expect, as I went in thinking it would just be a nicer version of the originals, which I didn't personally own. I recall up spending most of my game time running back-and-forth between the islands, as I found them more interesting than mainland Kanto. I didn't really have anyone to trade with back then, so that never really factored into my enjoyment of the games. The only other kid I knew who was still into Pokémon had a Game Shark, so he couldn't care less about trading. So my enjoyment came just playing through the story, then maybe restarting my game so I can try out a different team. On that level, FRLG were fun games for me, even if they didn't get the replay treatment as often as Silver or Emerald (or Black, when I got back into the series). I remembered the evolution restrictions, but I didn't remember trading being that restrictive. Sounds like an absolute nightmare and I'm glad I had no desire to complete my Pokédex at the time.

[@Wackaz]

Although sadly this is on a new account because my old one got deleted, I've been a massive fan of your channel since 2015. I don't know if you'll ever see this, but that doesn't matter, I would just love to say how much I thank you Tama, for everything. You've got me through not only the toughest and most depressing times of my life, as I've always been a lonely and anxious kid, but simply changed me as a person, and for the better! You became a literal part of my life. Your videos and wonderful personality managed to help me so much, I always got so excited for a new Tamashii Hiroka upload, I also remember binging all of your old videos when I discovered your channel, and I remember how happy I was when I watched them; it's been that way ever since! So thank you, thank you so much for always being my favourite KZbin creator on the platform, thank you for carrying through not only my childhood, but simply my life. I am so glad you are back full time again, it was tough having that year or so without you when you took that long break! I can't express how much I love you as a person Tama, your channel saved me. I am so so very happy you are back. Thank you for everything, keep being awesome, keep making my favourite content here, but most of all keep being the amazing person that you are :)

[@raphaelkgh218]

Hello!!! I commented to tell you that Tamashi Hikora gave your comment a heart! Congrafulations!!! I also commented dow here because your comment reminded me of some happy memories, and i jotted them down here, so if you want, feel free to read them, as i didn't really want to delete them now sinece i wrote all this, but i will save a copy and delete it, if somebody or you feel that the rest of this comment is out of place, but Congratulations again!!! Your comment is quite good... It's amazing to see how some KZbinrs and their Yputube Channels can impact us, or make us feel better... Tamachi Hikora's KZbin Channel Tama Hero may not be my most favourite KZbin Channel of all time, but that may be because i dislike watching long videos, even with the playback speed up... But i have liked watching most of her vids, and i am glad she's back to give us more of those detailed KZbin videos about some deep informations in the games!!! I never experienced her problem when i was a really younger kid, since i grew uo in the DS era, my close friends and my best friend all had Nintendl DS console's with the Gen 4 DS Pokemon games, and i was so intererested and entertained when they would bring all their Nintendo DS consoles on a school bus trip, and would play along with each other, battle each other and trade with each other before ee got on the school bus or during the school bus trip!!! Also, they would talk a lot about all the rumors, tips and tricks of the games, and it was so interesting hearing them!!! As a kid, i really wanted a Nintendk DS console with a Pokemom game, maybe Generation 4, but me and my family couldn't afford it, and didn't really know a lot about Nintendl DS consoles, Nintendo DS games, what is needed to play all of them, where to buy them and how much they cost... My friends would also play Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, Mario Party DS, some Iron man DS games and a whole lot of other DS games... They made me love Nintendo consoles, Nintendk games and Nintendo as a whole... I have so much fond memories of them playing, and they would let me play on their Nintendo DS consoles a lot too!!! At the time i didn't know a lot about Pokemon mechanics, so i would make hilarious mistakes, like i onece encounttered a Sheldon but didn't remember it's name, and i was so confused about Pokemkn types.. But i was so hapoy at that time! Thank you for reminding me of those happy times, thanks you Nintendo, and a big thanks to my vlose friends, and my best friend!!! Thank God too!!! Thank you everyone!!! ❤

[@WarBuilder5426]

It's interesting hearing things from your perspective. Personally, if I'm going back to Kanto, it's to Fire Red and (well, more accurately, just) Leaf Green (I don't have a copy of Fire Red). I find the gen 3 mechanics more satisfying to play with compared to the originals (mainly because my first experience with Pokemon was Emerald, and didn't grow up with Gen 1 and Gen 2 other than cultural osmosis), even though I agree that they feel forced in. I find it baffling though that they refuse to change Kanto. They'll begrudgingly add stuff like the berries or the Alola variants, but they've never made a pure Kanto game that better incorporates the modern mechanics in, even if some wouldn't take much effort to include. I feel like it was at its most blatant in Let's Go, because by the time the game came out, Pokemon Go fans (the main audience they were trying to bring in) were being exposed to Gen 4 Pokemon. They knew about all the Johto evolutions/ babies, and would soon find out about all the Sinnoh ones that were tied to Kanto Pokemon. Why those weren't included is baffling to me. I'd honestly like to see a version of Kanto that better incorporates the modern mechanics and modern Pokemon tied to the original 151 (not counting raid dens and other "this is made for online only and will be awful once the servers close" systems from Sword and Shield), because I think it could be an interesting experience.

[@makesomething4093]

I think she had more positive to say about D/P

[@cubedmelons876]

D/P may have its flaws, but it brought so much to the series that both old and new players could enjoy. Stuff like the Physical/Special split, wifi, and various QoL features that made the gen 3 mechanics like natures and IVs much more accessible made D/P the first Pokemon games I really wanted to get good at. Before D/P, Pokemon games were fun RPGs that I enjoyed as a kid, but D/P opened up the possibility that it could be something deeper that I could play for years to come.

[@crowmaster9652]

@@cubedmelons876 then gen 5 happened that paved way for edgier themes to substitute for actual good gameplay

[@KipTM]

@@crowmaster9652 ????????????????????????????????????

[@crowmaster9652]

@@KipTM ?????????????????????????? gen 5 was bad

[@Rybread52]

@@crowmaster9652 Even if you don't personally like it, you can't deny that Gen 5 was the most well-made and polished of all the generations.

[@MusicianOfExtremes]

I think, at the very least, many of your criticisms re: "Remaking RBY was purely a business decision and not necessarily a labor of love" were addressed in HGSS in some way, shape or form. At the VERY LEAST, you could trade from Sinnoh from the get-go and, even if the items required to actually do so weren't accessible until the postgame, you could at least evolve older Pokemon into their new Gen IV evolutions. You'd still have to either pay to have the Sinnoh games or know someone willing to trade with you, but at least you feasibly could have a different experience playing through Johto than you did back in GSC, which were around ten years old by that point. Even changing the Legendary mascot's battle to a mandatory storyline requirement made it a different experience from the original. I guess Game Freak had no problem doing that the second time around, which to me either suggests that they genuinely like Johto more or that they learned from their mistakes and disappointing (as you said, relative to other games in the series) sales numbers. I guess it helped that Diamond and Pearl were the best-selling Pokemon games since Gold and Silver at that point, though, so Game Freak must have thought that they were doing something right, despite the (valid) criticisms you levied against them in your other video. (I'm sure Platinum helped in that regard, since it fixed a lot of what was wrong with D/P -- not that that excuses D/P from being the way they are). Loved the video, can't wait for the next!

[@thewolf8660]

Pokémon: Okay, we're going to make you work super hard for any Pokémon not found in Kanto! People: Oh, okay, cool. So you're going to have in game events so we can catch all the Mythical Pokémon like you did with the Regi's? Pokémon:....Have another Sentret...

[@KrymsonScale]

"Pokemon is about trading!" FireRed-LeafGreen: "NO!"

[@leavemealone802]

Why I prefere FR/LG over Red and Blue - same game - no gliches - it actually looks good to look at it

[@apac-manfan2008]

FRLG was a really good way to experience kanto

[@Gafafsg]

If we didn’t get FRLG, we wouldn’t have HGSS. I think that’s reason enough to appreciate their existence. They brought to us God 😌

[@nidohime6233]

HGSS had issues too, like how they had to rid off the casino for the western versions because of new laws agaisnt gambling in videogames aimed to children so they substitute with that terrible Voltorb minigame. Minesweeper, really!? Of all the games they could choose they put minesweeper? That's bullshit!

[@benjaminchi1989]

@@nidohime6233 Isn't it more like minesweeper + picross? I enjoy picross, so I didn't mind it

[@peterkorman77]

@@nidohime6233: not an issue. What they were replaced with is better.

[@nidohime6233]

@NesMeister They already did in Let´s Go. They change it into an arcade corner. Is a shame they didn´t add minigames on them. Is kinda the problem with recent games, there is nothing else to do outside of battling and breeding.

[@nidohime6233]

@@benjaminchi1989 Still don´t like it, specially when there is no way to buy coins. For some reason they removed that feature to make it even more jarring.

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

I remember the first time I used a Golbat on my FireRed team and after reaching leaving 37 it started to evolve. I was about to have a heart attack because I thought I would get a Crobat before facing Blaine, but I almost threw my damn GB Advance when it randomly stopped evolving! TALK ABOUT PISSED! I was boiling more than a Groudon about to use Eruption 😡😡😡

[@manguy01]

I caught a Zubat expressly to get and use Crobat for the first time ever when I first played LG. I was so pissed.

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

@@manguy01 damn :/

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

It does? I thought it doesn't allow you to get Gen 2 above til the postgamr

[@Stinkoman87]

@@naturalharmoniagropius4486 It restricts you from getting items needed to evolve until later, but for Crobat and Blissey (who don't need anything to evolve) it starts the evolution process, then automatically cancels it, every time they level up with high enough friendship.

[@yunogasai1338]

I didn't know this was a thing even though I've owned firered for years. That really sucks.

[@dateintokyo]

You’re not wrong... and your reviews are always SO thorough, I appreciate it so much. But I still love these games...

[@veemiyagimusic3892]

Honestly, these are some of the best remakes in the series. Despite loving many Pokemon games afterwards, I still come back to these every few years.

[@BruhMoment-mn9kn]

Maybe it's my bias talking but I was introduced to the entire series with R/S/E when I was 6. I vastly prefer Gen 3's battle mechanic over Gen 1. I went to Gen 1 after playing FR/LG and honestly? They were a downgrade. Sure, I love those games because nothing else in Pokémon would have existed without them. But if I ever want to replay Kanto, I would choose FR/LG in a heartbeat over no abilities, no held items, Psychic immune to Ghost Gen 1.

[@tristanneal9552]

The biggest factor in FRLGs favor is just how bad and buggy RBY were. Being in the Gen 3 engine alone makes them head and shoulders above the originals, let alone being in color.

[@bewd4310]

If you're any good at Pokémon the bugs are child's play to deal with 😏. I'll take buggy over daft status moves like levitate and static etc any day.

[@tristanneal9552]

@@bewd4310 Really? :o Personally I'll take the added strategy of those (albeit sometimes annoying) abilities over Psychic type being completely unchecked, high-speed critical hit sweepers, certain types being basically completely unviable, etc.

[@cptnomar492]

I just finish a play through of Blue on 3DS vc and yes Gen 1 is a glitchy mess. But at the same times it’s really easy. If you know what you are doing then Gen 1 won’t be difficult, hell I beat the E4 and Champion with my team being 20 levels under leveled. As with FRLG, I had to grind just to even have a chance with most of the bosses.

[@tristanneal9552]

​@@cptnomar492 Was that a good thing or a bad thing in your opinion? Some people hate when Pokemon games are "too easy" and like having to grind because they like the added challenge, whereas other people don't like grinding and see it as the wrong type of challenge.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

@@tristanneal9552 I prefer games that challenge me, personally. Having braindead AI that spams Agility because it is "Supereffective" against my Poison Pokemon is downright silly. I love the original games, I recently did a playthrough as a Bug Catcher only, it was fun, but it wasn't exactly the most challenging thing in the world (like Cptn Omar, I was roughly 20 or so levels under-leveled.), but they have some really bizarre mechanics which cheapens the experience in some ways. Fire Red/Leaf Green are both wonderful games in the amount of challenge which is present. It is consistently solid rather than a steamroller.

[@jmporkbob]

I played RBY to death in the 90s and early 00s, as well as GS a few times, and Ruby once (at launch). I got LeafGreen & FireRed on ebay in like, 2008 or 9 I'd say? I tossed one of them over to my friend and we did simultaneous playthroughs and trades/battles. To me, it was a nice way to play again what is essentially the games we loved so much without it being the exact same experience to the T again. The facelift and QoLs were welcome and refreshing. I respect that you can have all of these complaints, but honestly nothing of the sort ever occurred to me. The Sevii islands weren't that amazing to me, but I just enjoyed the game for what it was. It's possible that the extra time that had elapsed since I last played gen 1/2/3 helped to color my experience positively, but I did have more fun with this game than the base gen 3 game.

[@ghost245353]

I was a teenager when FR/LG came out so I knew a lot of things that I had no clue about while I was a kid during R/B/Y. I remember being really bummed that I could not trade with R/S (idk if Emerald came out yet). For this reason, I replayed R/S a lot more than FR/LG because I was able to send eggs to hatch and create my own, unique teams. It was very enjoyable and rewarding. When Emerald prevented trading eggs from the beginning, it really hampered the unique experiences I was trying to create because I wanted to build my own teams without having any pokemon using boosted experience due to being traded. Emerald destroyed the concept of being able to hatch, grow, and develop any pokemon due to pokedex restrictions. So even though Emerald was better, I enjoyed Ruby and Sapphire more.

[@sato_prettyvillage323]

Emerald was released after FRLG and a lot of stuff from FRLG got carried over to Emerald. One example is the trade restrictions from FRLG. In Emerald, you can't obtain Pokemon from FRLG without the Natdex

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

FRLG opens the gate for me for the Gen 1 storyline

[@toffeeFairy]

The only thing i disagree with is the combat system, as in my opinion the gen 1 combat system is horrendous.

[@HighPriestFuneral]

And the moveset variety... *shiver*!

[@enzoforgets9456]

@@HighPriestFuneral one dragon move and its the dragon rage Sucks for Dnite back then man F for respect

[@literalcreativity2639]

I hate when Genwunners praise Red/Blue/Green/Yellow because they are such broken, unbalanced, messy games. Now, does that make those games bad? No. But does it hender my ability to PLAY those games? Yes. I could literally go on about the (in my opinion) bad lay out of Kanto, but that's for another day.

[@toffeeFairy]

@@literalcreativity2639 Im sorry but i dont really get what you re trying to tell the us?

[@literalcreativity2639]

@@toffeeFairy Sorry, I should have made myself more clear :) What I'm trying to say is, Pokemon Red and Blue were very good, nostalgic games, but the were extremely flawed. the lay out of Kanto is so annoying (again, in my opinion) and my support of this is that once you go through Mt.Moon, and hop that ledge to Cerulean City, there is no going back until much later, You need cut to get into Lt.Surge's Gym, Diglit Cave is a nightmare because they have the ability Arena Trap, which forces you to battle them unless you have a repel, in which case, wont always work because Dugtrio can be found there, and they are almost always level 29-34, about 10 levels above your entire team (If you battled Lt.Surge as your third Gym Leader.), You need Flash for Rock Tunnel (To navigate clearly) which eats up another slot in your move set, and don't get me started on the Tea for the guards. Sorry, this is sort of messy, but I hope you get what I'm trying to say.

[@charlottearanea7507]

I actually got a lot of use out of the Help menu because it had a detailed type chart when you pulled it up in battle. I skipped Gen 2, so having two new types and reworked matchups for bug, poison, fire, ice, psychic, and ghost really made me feel like I never knew the types in the first place.

[@sargentbaco9182]

I commend the research that you’ve done. Even though I am part of a completely different audience and love these games, I can respect the effort you’ve put in and the understanding it’s given you. I will say, some of the things you point out about R/B being simpler and team rocket being out of the way all are why I seem to like FR/LG. Both generations offer simple adventures that are more about you and are driven less by what other characters want. They seem pretty open as well once you leave rock tunnel which, as you pointed out, is different than most other games in the series. With these things in mind, the kanto adventure feels like a free, relaxed breath. As a fan of more open games whose first Pokémon game was Fire Red, I love it. I see very little personal benefit in playing gen 1 other than simply having that experience. And of course I know these remakes have different roles in other people’s lives so I get why they would feel different. You seem to be very understanding as well and that really helps put everything into perspective. Thank you.

[@MrRioluRileyRykins]

FRLG, while definitely flawed, will always hold a special place in my heart. My first Pokémon game was Gold on a gameboy that my friend gave to me before I could really read well enough to finish the game. My journey ended after beating Pryce, not knowing that I could Surf down from Olivine to unlock the rest of the game. A few years later a different friend sold me his copy of Leaf Green for $2 and it was the first Pokémon game I ever completed and could understand all by myself, and that was empowering for little old me who never enjoyed reading that much. Not only that, but being the only one of my friends with a Gen 3 game while everybody else had Gen 4 on the DS meant that I’d be able to send them Pokémon they wanted but couldn’t get in their own game, so I have a lot of fond memories about time spent with friends through Pokémon. Leaf Green also sparked my love for the Squirtle line after I accidentally chose it instead of Charmander since I was in such a rush to get my Starter, and that very Squirtle was my first ever Lv. 100 Pokémon by the end of my journey. And finally, as a kid who mainly has access to the original series of the anime, seeing all the Pokémon, locations and challenges Ash and friends went through, and being able to experience them for myself was a highlight of my time spent in Kanto. So while it’s definitely not perfect, FRLG will always be a very special part of kicking off my love for Pokémon that continues to this day

[@VeggiePopper]

I had the exact, but opposite experience with my first starter (in Gen I in my case): I planned to select Blastoise, because who wouldn't love a monster with freaking CANNONS on it's back? (to this day I still wonder why people prefer Charizard's generic Dragon design to that of Blastoise) But I messed it up and accidentally chose Charmander. I could simply reset the Game but I decided to give it a try. I loved it and since then, the Charmander line is my most dearly loved starter line (although I still think Blastoise looks cooler). Anyways, I have to agree with you, FRLG are heavily flawed, in part for being remakes to such broken games, in part for the corporate decisions behind their development... And yet, they are still lovely experiences that I deeply treasue.

[@MrRioluRileyRykins]

@@VeggiePopper Hey that's totally awesome! Paralleled accidental starter choices for the win hahaha

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

People talk about the EXP Share making things too easy in recent generations, but the VS Seeker was the early way to get fast money and over level your team! I remember one time I had a Charizard and Pikachu before fighting Misty. No lie, I just constantly used the VS Seeker on the route of trainers between Vermillion and Cerulean City over and over again. Pikachu was at like level 36 and my Charizard was at level 37. Heck, it even knew Flamethower because I kept it a Charmander until it learned the move at 31! Though I guess the difference is that you actually HAD to work in order to get the money and levels because you would need to constantly battle, but it was well worth it!

[@manguy01]

Yeah. That's the difference. To be honest, if that's the way you want to play, I feel like you should be able to play it that way.

[@OurKindofEntertainment]

@@manguy01 yup

[@RetroFurui]

I think an Important distinction to make here is that xp all are on by default and recently even forced upon you with no way to to turn it off. Earlier pokemon games is hard when you choose to not purposefully grind. Recent games you cant even make that choice, gamefreak chooses easy for you.

[@naturalharmoniagropius4486]

Me, who uses Pay Day Persian to earn money:

[@zenverak]

Honestly, I am still fine with it how it is now. Saves me from grinding and gives me easier access to different team types I wouldn't be able to do normally.

[@krabbble]

Back when I got my first GameBoy, my second ever game that I really got into on it was Pokémon leaf green (first was lego Star Wars). I actually thought Pokémon was stupid when I had first heard about it, but some how I got to playing leaf green and falling in love with it. Me and my older brother and sister played it constantly, and we still remember specific things that happened in our first play through of the game. I still make fun of my brother for wasting the master ball on a pidgeotto. Long story short, this game is what truly sparked mine and my siblings love of Pokémon games and was a defining part of my childhood. I agree that this game had some flaws in terms of comparing it to other games at the time and in its creativity, but as it is very special to me I feel it is my duty to defend this game as a solid stand-alone experience. For someone who had never played Pokémon before in my life, this game managed to capture my imagination in a way that nothing else has done before. For this reason, I think it is fair to say these games are truly great in their own regards.

[@MichaelJones-gh4lq]

girl, that was the first year i entered highschool from homeschooling up to that point. this game broke my spirit and i couldn't express why. I felt alienated by a thing I loved and extreme peer pressure to call it childish and lame. this game killed my belief in a thing i loved and i never understood i hadn't changed it had.

[@QuestionBlockGaming]

I feel like I might've had a really unique experience with this game, leading to my fondness of it. I was playing this in high school, I was a senior, working on a half-day schedule but still needing to be on campus the full day, which led to 4+ hours of downtime every day. I was also in the Drama Club, running lights and sound for a handful of plays over the course of the year. I had my best friend at the time, and his girlfriend, purchase the game alongside me. His girlfriend had never played a Pokemon game ever before, so playing alongside her was fun and interesting, seeing her perspectives over the adventure that my friend and I had with the original games. With all those elements in place, it was a perfect storm- 3 people, playing in tandem, working together at the same pace; in close proximity almost all the time- close enough for the wireless adapters to work, anyway. It was an amazing time and my fondness for these remakes hasn't waned. I will say, the mechanical differences you pointed out are something that has never crossed my mind; but I can absolutely see how they'd be an issue to purists; and I can definitely see how the dex restrictions would be frustrating, and I understand how playing thru Kanto for a 3rd time for a dex completion in RSE would be equally as frustrating; but as someone who doesn't routinely 100% games, I feel that FRLG actually stands up on its own, as a standalone "entry level" pokemon game. Plus, it's just kinda fun to play these over the originals; the same adventure but without the "crust" as it were. It'd definitely have been nice to have the Phys/Spec split though, for sure...

[@chrisperez3387]

I had a different experience with this game. My first game was Pearl and I had a great time with it, so I wanted more pokemon games to play. The DS was backwards compatible with GBA games and I found Ruby and Leaf Green for cheap used and had a blast playing them as it was 2 new pokemon adventures. The lack of trading never bothered me because I was just going to transfer them to Pearl as that was the only pokedex I actually cared about. I never found the original gen 1 games in stores around that time so it was the only way for me to play thru Kanto. For someone who was a brand new fan to the series, these games were great. Loved the video and nice Evangelion pun!

[@CroakPad]

While these games are some of my personal favorites, your reasons for disliking them are 100٪ valid. I'm currently playing through LeafGreen with the restriction that I can only use gift Pokémon or eggs. To make things interesting, I want to replace one of my team members with a Johto Pokémon like the post game Elite Four do. But the only Johto Pokémon I can obtain without throwing a Poké Ball (besides the Togepi egg) is to breed Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan for a Tyrogue and evolve it into Hitmontop. But I will need 60 Kanto Dex entries to evolve it, and that's not going to be easy since I'm not allowed to catch Pokémon. My only solution would be to trade Pokémon from another Kanto game and back just to get their Dex entries. I already had to do it once to get 10 entries for the Flash HM to teach to my Ivysaur, and I'm not excited to do it again.

[@SuperUnknownPerson]

time to breathe in all that 🧂 GREAT VIDEO TAMA

[@dantemiller2839]

I did have a different reason for playing that wasn't mentioned: The updated art style. Once I played Ruby and Sapphire, it was hard to go back.

[@bein18]

it's so refreshing to see someone criticizing the older games. i hate sword and shield as much as the next person, but people just seem to love to forget that pokémon always had its flaws

[@SamFroki]

It's interesting to hear the POV of someone who played the games from the start. This was my first Pokemon game, having previously only watched the anime and collected the cards around the time Gen 1 came out here, but not having a GB/GBC. Having never played the originals but knowing the original 151 well, these games were incredible to me at the time and are still among my all-time favourites. I was aware of some of the issues with trading but never realised the full extent of it all until now, can definitely see why yours and many other people's experiences with these games were different to mine. Always enjoy these in-depth review videos 🙂

[@MLESoup]

I bought a Gameshark specifically to get Kanto Pokemon in RSE because I just could not wrap my head around the trading restrictions as a kid 😂

[@annaangelic2318]

I frequently come back to this video and share it with fellow Pokemon fans. Your thoughtfulness to look past the commodity fetishism that is everywhere in the Pokemon community makes your voice so strong. Thank you!

[@MrTendo0]

Makes me wonder why I like FRLG so much, I recently got the Gold card and like you said I had to jump through hoops to get the some of the stars. I had LeafGreen and Yellow as a kid, played both alternating I can say as someone who likes Gen 1 a lot its honestly harder to play Gen 1 just for the UI alone, shuffling Pokemon and item storage SUCK in Gen 1, only really go back for how different it is compared to modern Pokemon. I never really minded the whole locked everything behind post game largely because when I play through FRLG it's for FRLG. They do have an obnoxious amount of road blocks, and I only really noticed them when I specifically played FireRed to finish the Pokedex. Every other play though has been a non issue.

[@Unknown-wb4ex]

I just need to say, I completely love the new things you've done to your channel.

[@Jayyemi]

Great video! The points are all very well made and presented and your writing is as great as ever. I'm just gonna be upfront and say I don't agree with a lot of it because I think the way people play pokemon differs so much, and a lot of the problems you described can only really apply to a certain subsection of that audience. The completionist aspects of the dex and the mutiplayer minigames were never a concern to me, though the way they handled trading was still very frustating- I remember it being especially annoying when I was playing with friends. I'll raise another point in favour of the games- they bring Kanto up to the modern standards of the time. Speaking as someone who started with these games and is therefore extremely biased, Gen 1 is *so* rough to go back to. The mechanics and implementations differ so much from everything from gen 3 onwards that playing it these days, as someone who has no nostalgia for it, honestly isn't even fun. I suppose this ties into your point around the games being made for younger players as a way to get into the series, but I also see it as a game being updated with better mechanics. A lot of this is stuff I can't relate to because I wasn't already a fan of the series, and I was very, very young when I first played these games and couldn't really comprehend the issues that I can see now as an adult. Even still, I still like these games and I'll still play through them because I don't see the issues as a reason not to. Also nostalgia is a powerful drug. And that's fine. Like I said, everyone has different ways of playing pokemon and that's one of the things that make it great.

[@Anoymouslolz]

Games dont have to have some super special message to be good. These games were a treat and they were ABSOLUTELY a labor of love.

[@megamegaO]

Dis you watch the video?

[@BenAndJakeLightsaber]

See, I love videos like this. I LOVE these games and will always defend them. However, her arguments are so VALID, THOUGHT OUT and HONEST, and I can’t help but agree with her points, regardless of my love for the games. Thanks, Tama! You killed it :)

[@brunodantasm]

Really interesting to see your perspective about these games and the business/development motives behind them, thanks for making this.

[@bol15z57]

I’m currently playing this game and it really gets me... one of the best remake video games

[@dimensionninja4929]

I've also played this game recently and to be honest it can't hold a candle to the other 2 remakes but but I'm glad you like it

[@pelucheCR7]

@@dimensionninja4929 omega ruby and alpha saphire arent great remakes. Emerald is better for many reasons not only the battle frontier.

[@violetsparkles5453]

@@dimensionninja4929 IMHO HGSS are the best remakes, then FRLG cuz they were good and had decent content despite being based off gen 1. ORAS disappointed me, no battle frontier, made the game super easy and I don't like the trainer designs.

[@bol15z57]

@@violetsparkles5453 well, I wish I could play HGSS, but at this point I didn’t played because I don’t find the games, but I personally think all the Pokémon remakes were good, including ORAS, I prefer Emerald, but still like ORAS as well, i agree with a lot of things that Tama said in this video, but well, I still like FRLG a lot

[@KevinXmusic]

I don't know what it is with Kanto remakes and not letting you have ANY pokemon from other regions. Excluding Meltan and Alolan Froms. It was already ridiculous on FRLG because they were already in the game, but for some absurd reason they don't want you to evolve your precious Golbat because "the original 151 are untouchable." but it's even MORE outrageous in Let's Go, where they learned from their other remakes with HGSS and ORAS letting you at least evolve your pokemon who get new evolutions in Sinnoh. Alright I get not putting every pokemon in the game to let's go to some extent because it's meant to be a smaller game for kids and something to fill the space between USUM and SWSH but... Come on you couldn't at least throw in the Johto and Sinnoh evolutions in there? You expect me to use a fucking Tangela without evolving? So many Kanto Pokemon are just worse without their evolutions to complete the line, like they PUT Alolan forms and Melmetal in the game, so they didn't even go full in on the "original 151" idea. It's weird Nostalgia pandering when the game isn't even MEANT for those who started with the original 151. If anything, kids who get into it with the anime and then play Let's go will be mad they can't evolve their Eevee into Espeon, and things like that. It's just really sad that 25 years in and they remade Kanto TWICE and we still don't have a "definitive edition" version of Kanto.

[@svenbtb]

It's because it was meant to have a clear connection to Pokemon Go and trading with Pokemon Go, and at the time Let's Go started development, Go didn't have anything but gen 1. Also because it was made to be accessible to new fans AND people returning because of Go, so people who only knew the original 151 could just enjoy the remake without having to know everything about the later gens and have fun importing their faves from Go. Very simple answer. Chill, karen. No one's forcing you to buy/play if you don't want to, lmao.

[@bongoan]

New kids (my nieces for example) dont really care about catching all pokemon. Lycanrock isnt in this? Then I will go with Pikachu. It is mostly us older people that really want to have all pokemon in the game

[@KBXband]

It's BEEN lonely being a Pokemon fan. Since the DS era all of my friends either fell off the wagon or moved. Nowadays I have a few out of state friends that still play but if they have a choice they're more into Smash, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing.

[@神河精神]

As always, I enjoy the thorough analysis, and honestly, you just have an enjoyable voice to listen to. That said, however, I think a lot of the criticisms are overblown. Going into Ruby and Sapphire after just coming off of Gold and Silver, I was shocked that I was unable to visit any other region after traveling through Hoenn. So when these games came out, I was thrilled to be able to go back through some new and familiar areas with some of my favorite Pokémon that hadn’t been available to me in Hoenn. I tend to prefer using Pokémon native to a region with few carryovers, so being locked into Kanto mons didn’t really bother me that much. Loved the little landscapes that would appear on screen when you entered certain areas. For me, this was the premier Kanto experience up until Let’s Go, and even then, if you’re someone who wants a more traditional experience, FRLG might still be the way to go.

[@amberhernandez]

I vibe with the trading restrictions part so much. One time, I wanted to try a run with Mudkip as my starter, and did a starter hack to change Squirtle to Mudkip. Ended up building a solid team, resetting for good natures on Mudkip, Pikachu, and even a lucky Adamant shiny Zubat. And, after a climactic battle against Brock, my Mudkip reached level 16, aaaaaaand "…?" Words cannot describe the rage I seethed with for days afterwards. Even better? If you try to hack the National Dex in, the Elite Four is blocked off because Lorelei is doing a side plot in Four Island and can't split in two, and you can't go to Four Island until you beat the Elite Four, which means you're just out of luck. :( Great video btw; it really brought back some memories and made me think more about what I want from a remake! Thank you so much!!

[@chronology556]

Damn...

[@Sorakeyboy247]

Wonderful and enlightening video. I never took the time to think what a nightmare Game Freak created for completionists in Gen 3. I was never one for Pokédex completion so it was never an issue for me. The limitations they set for Pokémon you can use early on was frustrating but not a complete deal breaker. For me, FR/LG was my first true journey through Kanto. I was 4 when Red and Blue came out and I barely remembered playing them. It was exciting to me that I could experience the original journey remade on new hardware. But you know what? Even then, I haven’t returned to those games in years. I agree completely, Kanto just isn’t an interesting region and they have never done much to improve upon it even in Lets Go Pikachu/Eevee, a game that came out over 20 years after the originals. The salt in this video was a joy to listen to and I hope it felt good letting it all out. 😂

[@magmangle]

you always offer perspectives for these games in ways ive never even thought of looking at before. to me, ive always viewed these games as better versions of red and blue because of the improved battle mechanics added since gen 2 and 3 and the charming graphics of the gba games, never even thinking about the setback of the abilities contradicting the experience that was intended in the original games. i will say that i still like these games more than red and blue, if only because im not too fond of the oversimplification the games used to have, and i simply see red and blue as a stepping stone for the series and what its become happy new year!

[@yeepsleep]

Seeing the title / first 1.5 minutes: "wtf what, I disagree" Seeing the video length: "... okay they feel strongly about this, I'll watch" Great vid

[@systemrestart120]

God it is wonderful to hear someone put so much thought into their perspectives on these games. From a design standpoint, a business standpoint, a consumer standpoint, a dedicate fan standpoint.......... there was a lot of care given to the strengths and weaknesses from all angles, it's refreshing to hear. Love videos like this, thank you Tama

[@CazTheGamerGuy]

35:56 How most people felt about Bush being re-elected.

[@BG12sofia]

35:56 How the Portuguese feel about the Euro 2004 final.

[@youtubesucks1821]

Ya let's just insert politics into everything so I can act like I'm smart by being propped up by people that happen to agree with me

[@sillybeanthing]

That's not fitting at all here.... Trying to get away from all the political bullshit by ways of having fun and enjoying video games AND YOU PEOPLE JUST GOTTA KEEP IT POLITICAL.

[@youtubesucks1821]

@@sillybeanthing What do you mean "YOU PEOPLE"?

[@thunderflare59]

Hey, I voted for him... ...and you're absolutely right.

[@oromain]

It sounds to me like the vast majority of the problems with this remake come down to the trade restriction. As someone who does like to replay Kanto quite a lot as I have a huge soft spot for it, I love FRLG because it ultimately improves on RBY in every way. Adds a lot of the engine improvements from RSE (arguably my favorite gen), has a more polished and up to date graphical style (I think it ages much better than the GB games and still is appealing to this day), and adds a lot of new content not found in RBY. Even if this content was a testing grounds for stuff to be found later, that doesn't really diminish it in any way for me. And while the trade restriction is certainly annoying, it's worth mentioning that the original RBY isn't compatible with any other games but each other at all. So ultimately I find FRLG superior to RBY in just about every way, and choose that as my preferred game when revisiting Kanto (which again I just kind of do like a lot. It's sort of a comfort game for me.) If you look at it mostly as a requirement you have to slog through to completethe gen 3 pokedex then I can understand the annoyance, but I guess I just don't go to FRLG to 100% any Pokedexes. I go to FRLG to play FRLG. The one thing about completionism, especially when you brought up the multiplayer games for stars, that I feel like a lot of people lose sight of is that it's never, ever mandatory. Games are often designed with a LOT of content, not all of which is going to appeal to everybody. It's understandable to want to complete a game, but ultimately you never HAVE to subject yourself to things that make you miserable in a game if you don't want to, just to see a completion percentage go up or to get more stars or badges or achievements in your list. Once you're doing so much with the game that you're starting to _resent_ it because not EVERYTHING that game had to offer was something you enjoy doing, it's time to put it down. If you're full, you don't have to continue eating. It's often healthier to put it down and enjoy what you enjoyed and not force yourself further. I do complete a lot of games I really like. But often times there'll be something in the completion criteria where I'll be like "I don't find that fun, I'm not going to do that." And ultimately I'd say my experiences are better for that. If I subject myself to _optional_ experiences I don't like in a game just for the sake of "completion" then I really only have myself to blame, not the game. All this to say... maybe you don't need to play FRLG to enjoy Hoenn? Maybe Hoenn is fine on its own? And so is FRLG for those of us who enjoy revisiting Kanto and aren't so hung up about trading with RSE.

[@superlombax1561]

Well, actually, the original Red and Blue are actually compatible with Gold and Silver, since you can trade some Pokemon back and forth.

[@oromain]

@@superlombax1561 Oh huh, didn't know that. Well at the very least you weren't trading non-Kanto pokemon or pokemon with non-G1 moves.

[@ZombieBarioth]

The island count for the sevii iles actually go up to 24 and some of them function as routes. Based on that, the number of HMs crammed into tthem, and how disjointed they are even including having areas with low level Pokemon I think its pretty safe to conclude that they had a much different game planned than what we got. We probably were originally intended to visit the islands early on throughout the game and it may have been how they planned to retcon the newer Pokemon into Kanto. It'd also be a revival of ideas from the Gold/Silver beta, since they were also originally meant to represent the whole of Japan. So I don't think you're wrong about the remakes being very corporate, but I wouldn't blame Game Freak either. Its so blatant that I would argue this is proof that the modern issues with the series aren't their fault. Anyway, that all being said I don't hate the remakes, but I feel much the same way about them. I like the little niceties like the grayscale recap, the addition of abilities, ect. but its not enough compared to how sterilized Kanto feels. And its not because its the first, or an urban setting. The region could be just as lively as Unova if GF were given the freedom.

[@TheKawaiifan]

personally something I want out of a Kanto game is a new and unique adventure. I love the Kanto Pokémon, the Gym Leaders and characters, the region, it's a fun place. But because of these arbitrary restrictions they've placed on the region *twice* now, the region feels less like a place and more of a hollow pandery cash-grab to 90s kids and trendy pokémon go players. As someone who is too young to relate to millennials but has also been dedicated to the franchise long before smartphones were even a thing, I fit into neither of these groups. I just want a new story, more character development and a version of Kanto with an extended Pokédex so I can face the gyms with a crobat and sylveon on my team. im tired of seeing whiny entitled genwunners get pandered to, im tired of going through the motions with the exact same adventure, and I'm tired of the wasted potential. I mean c'mon, are you really trying to tell me that people in Kanto don't love their eevees?

[@EIDiabeetus]

I was hoping Let's Go would have all of the 800 or so Pokémon at the time. Especially when the trainers are not supposed to be Red/Blue/Green. Weird to replay their story but not as them.

[@Danbo22987]

@@EIDiabeetus at the very least, they should’ve had the Pokémon in the family chains to the original 151 (such as the other eeveelutions, Pichu and Crobat), they bothered to include Alolan forms after all

[@jimmy3people0]

if they want to go back to the KANTOOOOOO well again, fine. do something different. put the spotlight on another character this time, focus on _their_ life and _their_ story. have the player take control of Sabrina and defend Saffron from more, _unique_ Rocket-esque faux-Yakuza clans in an action-RPG or something.

[@heyitgeg]

How about we don't revisit kanto at all? Because im really sick and tired of it at this point...

[@princesspikachu3915]

@@heyitgeg There’s plenty of Kanto games at this point. Let’s Go Eevee filled the void of not getting a “Special Eevee Edition” during my childhood. If they were to go back to Kanto I do think it might be interesting to take a Pokémon Legends Arceus approach and maybe explore the origins of Mew and Mewtwo. I would actually enjoy seeing a story line involving a young Oak and his rivalry with a young Agatha and also explore Mewtwo’s creation. But alas my ultimate Kanto in the past game will never be made so I just have to head canon everything I think would have occurred...

[@jamiesmithvox]

The trading thing never bothered me much whenever I want to replay Gen 1 I always go to leaf green. I love it :/

[@YukeWeiss]

The salt is real and I am HERE for it. I have a pretty different experience. I was the same age as you when I played it, but I had never played Red/Blue/Yellow outside of a few goes on my friends games. So my first experience of Kanto was really in Gold/Silver. Further, I actually didn't play Ruby/Sapphire until after I got this around October 2004, so I went from Gold to Leaf Green. Thus, this was my first Gen III game and exposed me to natures and abilities and confused the heck out of me as they're not really well communicated. Hell, I think the handy instructions actually told me what types were physical and what were special. I finished the game with a pretty badly put together party and unfortunately my original copy either went missing or got stolen years ago, but I enjoyed being able to play the originals. I do agree that it's a game that's really confused in how faithful it wants to be and the trading restrictions are extremely arbitrary. With Gen III, it feels like getting the Pokedex would have been such a daunting task given how you can't do it online and require so much hardware. I think that alone justifies the existence of these games given it also updates Kanto and how Red/Blue are held together with gluesticks and hope. That said, it definitely benefitted me as someone who never played the originals, nor was familiar with the innovations from Ruby/Sapphire. So while I think these games definitely took their existing audience for granted they were some of the best for teaching people how Pokemon worked at that point in time. It's also great to see you come back to these games after watching your original reviews. I also appreciate the extremely concise and super insightful history of Pokemon's corporate structure at the beginning. That kind of context just isn't really talked about enough in Pokemon KZbin and I think it's vitally important. Happy New Year, Tama

[@CosmicGaijin]

I didn’t know that they sold poorly, I could’ve sworn that they were one of the highest selling GBA titles.

[@camcat26]

RSE were the best-selling on the GBA

[@Jomander]

They sold 12 million which makes them the second best selling game on the gba (behind R&S which sold 16 million). Compared to the Gameboy and Gameboy Color days Pokemon was not selling as well but I wouldn't say 12 million copies AND being the second best selling game of the console it released on was poorly selling.

[@CosmicGaijin]

@@Jomander thats what I was thinking. Hence my surprise at the claim. Because even if it wasn’t the second coming of Jesus in video games, it still sold more then most games in that general time span.

[@inasuma8180]

Tama, you touch on something near the end of the video that I've long suspected being a problem at Game Freak, which is that they always "experiment" in their games with ideas before implementing those ideas more fully in subsequent titles. In fact, it feels like every generation/game has had this problem, and so none of the Pokemon games have ever really gotten a fully thought out experience that serves to benefit just a singular game. I don't think that's inherently bad either of course, but it's interesting just to note how a lot of the "cool" extras and features of each game tend to have been added half-heartedly. Super bummer, tbh.

[@Danbo22987]

They also “one and done” a lot of aspects. A good example is being able to track your Pokémon’s day care status on the bottom screen in Sinnoh. This seems like an obvious quality of like, but nope, gone the next game. Same with seasons

[@Left4Cake]

The help menu did include a complete type chart. So I did find that helpful.

[@igorstark9514]

20:53 - Spot on! I've always thought Cubone/Marowak's signature moves should have been able to hit Flying types and Levitate users and you've pointed out one more reason for that. I mean, despite Ground type, Bone Rush and Bonemerang are technically as physical moves as Wing Attack or Body Slam, without any restriction that prevents them to attack something that does not touch the ground. Especially Bonemerang... I would go even further and make Bonemerang capable of inflicting damage during a Fly turn, since this move requires a long shot. It gives Cubone a special niche among Ground types for this particular area. Even for lore's sake, it makes sense because it explains how Cubone is able to survive in Lavender Tower, once it has a powerful tool to defend itself against poisonous ghosts which surrounds that place.

[@hmw6256]

Omg im so excited to watch this! Update: I watched it and it was so good- thank you so much for making 2020 at little less sucky with the amazing videos youve been putting out :)

[@whiteluna9008]

Last week was a real struggle for me so it has, once again, been a godsend to see a new video from you! Just absolutely fantastic video as well!!

[@peterhogan362]

My short thoughts from my recent replay of FRLG: I have inherent bias towards FRLG because it was my first Pokemon game and it introduced me to the series. I was one of the people that GameFreak were marketing towards, and their strategy worked. After FRLG, I got hooked on the series and went on to buy Saphire, Emerald, XD, etc. etc., and became a long time fan. I revisted FireRed a few months ago expecting to enjoy it the same amount as I had years before. Unfortunately, I had to knock the few games a couple levels on my personal score. What was a 10/10 game for me originally had been knocked down to about a 6 or 7/10. I was a diehard defender of FRLG for years, but my nostalgia goggles failed (for the most part) and I saw their cracks. The basic reason for this is that I had evolved (lol) into the fan this game wasn't meant for, a veteran returning player who was only revisting for Pokedex completion purposes. My Problems: Most of my returning issues you described spot on. Upon revisting, I discovered the incomprehesibly stupid trading restrictions that were discussed in this video. I wanted a Crobat for the elite four, but was dissapointed when I learned gen 2 Pokemon were completely locked behind the post game, even if you could reasonably obtain them beforehand. Originally, the Sevii islands felt to me like these whimsical places with a bunch of exotic Pokemon I had never seen before, but they felt like half-baked places that GameFreak rushed out to differentiate the games from their originals; Altering Cave being completely useless is the poster child of this, but that's a different problem. Issues I had when I originally played this game also began to resurface. Like you discussed, HM requirements are out in full-force, and were doubled down on in the Sevii isles for no reason other than to, I assume, artifically extend them. The minigames on the Sevii isles were developed as one of the core features, and yet the majority of Pokemon fans, new or old, could not utilize these features in the time of declining Pokemania. I look at the Pokeathlon in HGSS as a far better way of integrating these types of minigames. Pokeathlon could be done solo with AI or with friends, and gave the best of both worlds by not locking solo players out of 100%ing the game while stilling providing a fun shared experience. The inclusion of an AI option in the Sevii minigames seems so obvious to me, and yet it's completely absent. Overall, FRLG was GF's chance to majorly improve upon the Gen 1 experience, and while I still prefer FRLG to Red and Blue, it felt to me like there was so many things they could have done to make them worthy successors to their ancestors. If they weren't going to stay completely true to the Gen 1 experience, they should have just gone all out. These games were on the same system family as their originals, and if someone wanted the true Kanto experience they could just get RB to play on their GBA. My final point in this section, why is Porygon signficantly more expensive in the FR Game Corner compared to the LG Game Corner? WHY GAME FREAK? The Good Stuff: Like you said, the gen 3 engine is beautiful and these games majorly benefit from it. Sprite work and music are very well done in these games, but that's more of me praising gen 3 in general than just FRLG. You brought up Teachy TV, which I agree is a very good tutorial device that gives new players a nice organized tool for learning without getting in the way of veteran players. GameFreak has a big problem with extreme hand holding tutorials in their latest games, and I think the Teachy TV could be an old solution to a modern problem in that case. I do still enjoy the postgame of FRLG as well. The Rocket remenant storyline feels like a nice prologue to the story of Gold and Silver. Hearing some of the gen 2 music in that crisp gen 3 engine was also a really nice addition. There are some areas of the Sevii isles that I enjoy. Sevault Canyon has a mystical vibe to it, and is where I primarily associate Xatu and Natu as Pokemon. Green Path has NPCs near it that discuss some environmental stuff about the area, which is a brief alleviation from the otherwise uninteresting NPCs in the game that also calls back to Ruby and Saphire's message at least a bit. Conclusion: Your review really hit the nail on the head on how I was feeling when revisiting these games. I remember a year or two ago hearing you didn't like them, and I was ready to fight, but I completely understand where you're coming from now. Despite their flaws, FRLG will always hold extra bonus points in my heart for introducing me to Pokemon, and taking up a significant chunk of time in my childhood. I lost my original FireRed copy years ago with my precious level 100 Charizard on it, and I still have dreams of finding that cart.

[@prpgecko]

i always like how you have interesting takes like this and the crystal one that feel like they break the fairly hegemonic takes on wider pokemon youtube, makes these videos a lot more interesting when it feels like im hearing something new

[@prpgecko]

i think part of it is you view pokemon in a more functional way than a lot of poketubers? it's interesting either way!

[@spitefulcrow5026]

It's so cool that the earthbound team became the poke team. I'm almost positive gyig was the inspiration for mewtwo

[@SensitiveDeku]

frlg are *probably* my most played pokémon games, and they allowed me to experience kanto as a kid without having to play glitchy and ugly gen 1 so i’ll always love them for these reasons, but you made MANY excellent and valid points in this video. i like the way you think, and your arguments definitely make a lot of sense and point out flaws I didn’t even know existed! what i will say about these games is that the trading restrictions were RIDICULOUS and the post game was just bad. regardless though, with them being the first remakes I do think they’re solid. :) great vid as always!