If there was ever a run of toys and games deserving of the 'franchise' label, it's Pokemon. Nintendo's loveable Pocket Monsters first hit the world of video games back in 1999 when two synonymous Game Boy adventures called Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue were unleashed to a population of crazed gamers. Further releases of Pokemon Yellow, Green and Stadium pushed sales into tens of millions with the help of a cartoon series, cards and even movies.
The re-release of Pokemon Green, now dubbed Leaf Green, sees a return to the 8-bit roots of the RPG series. Though previously unseen in the UK, Leaf Green sees the adventure given the obligatory graphical overhaul, a superior multi-player game and wireless support.
The single player game is much as it was on the original Game Boy. Players assume control of young Pokemon trainer Ash, as he embarks on a journey to complete his Pokedex and become the greatest Pokemon trainer from Pallet Town. This generally entails interacting with literally hundreds of NPCs, pitting your Pokemon in random battle encounters and capturing any new Pokemon you might stumble across in the wild. There are a few subtle differences that players of the earlier games will spot fairly early on, but on the whole little has changed. Gym leaders must be defeated, and the infamous Team Rocket remains to give Ash and his Pokemon a hard time.
Like before, Pokemon hits a real stroke of genius in its link-up mode. As many of you will already know, the Leaf Green game cartridge itself doesn't carry the full complement of 151 Pokemon. In order to complete the adventure fully and complete the Pokedex, players must trade with owners of Pokemon Fire Red.
But the multi-player game doesn't stop there. Where the original game only permitted players to trade, Leaf Green offers a complete, wireless multi-player mode. Here, Pokemon trainers can gather in groups of as many as 30 to compete head-to-head with each other. Though battles remain a one-on-one event, groups of players waiting for their next battle can socially chat with one another by means of a basic interface.
Even though Pokemon Leaf Green is essentially a re-run of the original with regards to the single-player game, Green's GBA overhaul, graphically speaking, pushes the game into the realms of the more recent Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Furthermore, the enhanced multi-player options afford players a much bigger game if they so with.
Put simply, Pokemon Leaf Green is everything its older brother wanted to be, but couldn't due to the technical limitations of the old Game Boy hardware. Whether you've played the original game or not, Leaf Green is most definitely worth a place in anyone's GBA collection.
| Publisher: |
Nintendo |
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Platform: |
GBA |
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Category: |
RPG |
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| Players: |
1-5 |
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Release Date: |
01 Oct 2004 |
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PEGI Rating: |
 |
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