My first-ever Pokémon adventure is still fantastic on the Switch 2, but I wish the Leaf Green asnd Fire Red rerelease had something to make it a little more special | Tech Radar

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My first-ever Pokémon adventure is still fantastic on the Switch 2, but I wish the Leaf Green asnd Fire Red rerelease had something to make it a little more special

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(Image credit: © Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

Pokémon Leaf Green and its sibling Pokémon Fire Red are as excellent today as when they were released in 2004. They’re the best ways to experience the Kanto region — boasting a challenge and sense of adventure some future entries in the series have forgotten. Though, while close to perfect in my eyes, I do wish these 30th anniversary rereleases felt a little more special, especially as they cost more than any other GBA ports on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

-Value could be better compared to other Switch GBA ports

Value could be better compared to other Switch GBA ports

-Impossible to complete National PokéDex with just Fire Red and Leaf Green

Impossible to complete National PokéDex with just Fire Red and Leaf Green

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I was six when my Pokémon journey began. In 2004, I got a Game Boy Advance SP and went to a local toy store with my parents to get two games — I chose Sonic Advance 2 and Pokémon Leaf Green.

I’d play Fire Red later, as well as Yellow, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and so on through the series (though I did stop doubling up for most generations from Diamond onwards), but Leaf Green was where it started. So it felt right for me to celebrate the series’ 30th birthday by enjoying the Nintendo Switch rerelease.

Pokemon Leaf Green (Switch Download) at Amazon for $19.99

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 Release date: February 27, 2026

The look, the sound, the sense of adventure, it's all there perfectly recaptured on Nintendo’s latest system, and on Friday, 27th February, from 6pm until 3am, I couldn’t put this game down — I literally fell asleep on the sofa with my Switch 2 controllers in my hands.

When I awoke — at 1pm the next day — I grabbed a glass of water, nestled back into the groove in my couch, and picked up where I left off. I was in my own personal corner of heaven.

I adore this game. It hits the nostalgia sweet spot in a way only a few titles ever hope to be able to, and at the same time, I think it delivers the quintessential Pokémon experience that anyone can enjoy (be they newcomers or longtime fans like me). In fact, if you have yet to experience the phenomenon, this might be an excellent jumping-in point.

I do, however, feel this special release needed something a little more to completely justify itself to returning fans — beyond being simply existing in a way that isn’t a GBA cartridge.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

Remakes of the original Red and Green, which kicked off the series, Fire Red and Leaf Green follow the same classic beats of the Kanto region that players first experienced in 1996.

You begin in Pallet Town where in Professor Oak’s Lab you choose one of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle to be your starting companion before heading off on your adventure to catch and train more Pocket Monsters (aka Pokémon), and defeat eight powerful Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and Kanto’s champion — while also foiling the plans of the evil Team Rocket, and collecting 150 Kanto ‘mons for your PokéDex (Mew isn’t available in the Switch version for now).

There’s a sense of exploration to Kanto that isn’t so present in later titles. While there are hints you can learn by talking to non-player characters (NPCs), there’s not often a clear ‘Go here next’ sign to follow — especially in the middle section of the story, post gym three, where you are much freer to explore the remainder of the map.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

This imbues Fire Red and Leaf Green with a sense that this is a proper adventure rather than a pre-defined story you’re wandering through the beats of.

There’s something tough about the battles, too, that presents a more engaging challenge than the most recent generations. EXP isn’t shared amongst your whole team in these classics, keeping your party at a more balanced level to your foes, and there isn’t an abundance of Pokémon to choose from to build a perfect team early on, like you can in later entries.

I’m playing through the game as a Nuzlocke — a fan-made challenge based on the Pokémon: Hard Mode web comic by Nick Franco which imposes a few extra rules limiting how many ‘mons you can catch, and forcing you to release any that are defeated in battle — and after Nuzlocking later generations, where the concept of losing two companions to a Rattata in a single fight is inconceivable, I haven’t been entirely respectful of the difficulties Leaf Green can present and faced the consequences.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

You can tell I adore Leaf Green and Fire Red as much now as I did the original Game Boy games, but as I’m sitting playing them on my Nintendo Switch 2, I am left wanting more.

Unlike other Game Boy Advance ports on the Switch consoles, these aren’t part of the GBA catalogue you can access via the Switch Online + Expansion Pass membership, which costs

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

The chiptune music is everything. The eeriness of Lavender Town, the tension of Gym Battles, the bombastic adventure exploring the routes between towns, it always perfectly captures the mood and is easily my favorite thing about these games.

There are some advantages to keeping these games separate from the emulator, such as indefinite offline play and Pokémon Home integration, and some of the Nintendo Classics emulator’s tools (like rewind) could enable exploits the series tends to avoid (though that didn’t stop the return of arbitrary code execution with these Switch ports).

However, if Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are asking us to pay a premium for these entries compared to other GBA games on the Switch system, I would have liked something a little more than a simple rerelease (though I do appreciate the inclusion of event tickets, which you can unlock after defeating the Elite Four).

I’m not asking for much. Maybe a new small area to help with filling out the National Dex, challenge mode options like a randomizer or releasing them as a double pack with Ruby and Sapphire.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

Perhaps I’m just spoiled by still having both of the original cartridges in a box under my bed alongside my aged Game Boy Advance, so I can play the originals whenever I want, but given this is the series 30th birthday, an extra splash of special to these launches would have been a cherry on top of what is otherwise a superb return to Kanto.

You want the best Kanto experience Whether you're a newcomer or a long-time Pokémon fan these games are the best way to enjoy the series' first region and its story.

You have a second Switch in your home If you live with family or friends and there's a few Switches in your home these are excellent pickups as you can enjoy multipl; ayer battling and trading like you're back in 2006.

You hate Pokémon These games define what it means to be a classic Pokémon, in both good and bad ways. If you don't love the typical formula then you won't enjoy these remakes.

(Image credit: Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

Pokémon Leaf Green and Fire Red don't have any specific in-built accessibility features, but they don't need them to be accessible.

The game's turn-based battles and simpler exploration allow you to play completely at your own pace in a way that should be approachable to almost everyone. You only ever need to be able to press one button at a time, so if you can do that, you can enjoy Pokémon Leaf Green.

I have mostly played Pokémon Leaf Green for this review, and I have been enjoying it on my Nintendo Switch 2. To best mimic my classic GBA experience, I’ve played a lot of this game in handheld mode, though I did also play a lot in docked mode — especially during longer sessions where my Switch’s battery life became a concern.

On my Amazon Fire QLED TV, the classic game actually looked pretty good. I was expecting a blurry mess, but the sprites maintained their handheld charm.

My docked controller of choice is usually my 8 Bit Do Ultimate 2, though I did use my Joy-Cons a lot in my testing, so I could play a little more lazily on my couch.

Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for Tech Radar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.

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Key Takeaways

• My first-ever Pokémon adventure is still fantastic on the Switch 2, but I wish the Leaf Green asnd Fire Red rerelease had something to make it a little more special

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• (Image credit: © Nintendo/Creatures Inc

• Pokémon Leaf Green and its sibling Pokémon Fire Red are as excellent today as when they were released in 2004

• -Value could be better compared to other Switch GBA ports