Pokemon Leaf Green Review by: iN008 - 10/10
Pokemanz Leaf GreenIn 1999 the first batch of pokemon games hit the markets, these games are known to many as Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue which started one of the most popular game series in the history of gaming, but instead of going off and reviewing the original... why don't I review the remakes so here I am reviewing Pokemon Leaf-Green, this game offers a nostalgic sence of the original game as you still experience the same events, encounter the original pokemon and battle the amazing Kanto legendaries. Pokemon is a known franchise to almost every child, teen and adult alike, it has one of the biggest fan-bases of all video game franchises and is popular all over the world. Each new region brings an assortment of fantastic new Pokemon to the table. But today I talk about a remake of the original two games Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. Pokemon Leaf-Green is the third-gen equivalent for the Kanto region, it certainly brings all the charm of the original two games back, but with many new Pokemon, areas and adventures that come with it. As you may or may not know each game in the series of Pokemon games have unique pokemon distributed between the two or three games in the game set, In Fire-Red and Leaf-Green have a total of 45 pokemon split between the two games which you must trade for to obtain along side the usual other two starter Pokemon, in this case either Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. This is the key thing for many Pokemon fans as for picking there choice between the two games ( that is, if they only buy one copy of the two games ). Unfortunately because of this Leaf-Green usually is the least played of the two. Pokemon Leaf-Green managed to get itself into my heart and I'm sure it will get into your heart as-well !
So shall I continue on with the scores :
Graphics :
Score : 9/10 Rating : Great!
Sound / Music :
Score : 9/10 Rating : Great!
Addictiveness / Re-playability :
Score : 10/10 Rating : Perfect!
Story :
Score : 8/10 Rating : Great!
Depth :
Score : 10/10 Rating : Perfect!
Difficulty :
Score : 5/10 ` Rating : Neutral.
Overall / Conclusion :
Score : 10/10 Rating : Perfect!Game-play :
The game-play is to be expected from a Pokemon game... You aim to be the best you can be by catching, training and battling to obtain badges to become eligible to challenge the elite four. The main difference with the third generation from the previous two, is that the EV and IV system changed. This is one of the biggest game-play mechanics of Pokemon and vital for success. The system had been changed from previously being able to completely max out every one of your Pokemon's stats to only being to gain a max 255 Effort Points per stat and you can only gain 510 Effort Values, after which your Pokemon can only gain more stats through leveling up. Heavily effected by their natures. Pokemon may not seem like it on face-to-face value... but you will find, maths is heavily involved.
Because of the new EV and IV game-play mechanism. The games difficulty increased for the hard-core players as they would have to be aware and track what they fought to gain what they saw as the true potential for all Pokemon. This offered a new style for competitive battling making the game more strategic which is one of the best features to be added to the game. Because of the increase of strategy required the most exciting thing to do is competative battling, which sadly on vizzed cannot be experiences as of this moment over net-play.
*HINT HINT FOR DAVIDEO* ... Not like I'm dieing to see if they can manage that or anything.
Graphics : 9 points.
The graphical styling of Pokemon has always been charming and inviting. When you play through a Pokemon game you really can feel the effort they put in to make the game look as best as they could... and in the case of Leaf-Green, the closest to the original as they could.
From the previous two generations the games had a duller game-play feel but as the Game-Boy advance took hold of full color on a hand-held Pokemon sprang to life in full color. Along with the new found full-color the games brought around the pokemon sprites we are now used to. This was a definite change and one for the better, as you can see the Pokemon became brighter and more distinguishable compared to their anime counter-parts. This was one of the biggest changes to have come from the third generation and it was much to the enjoyment of myself, a change for the good of Pokemon. The only other thing I can really say is that you can really feel the love and dedication put into Leaf-Green and that you can really see the visual improvement they managed to achieve.
Sound / Music : 9 points.
Lets face the fact, we've all heard the battle music from Pokemon.. although it can be annoying when zubats annoyingly attack you constantly in Mt. Moon, you cannot deny the care of that went into the composing of Pokemon music. Okay I'll admit it... they didn't really fix Lavender town... but... at least you still had you bicycle! Each location you traveled across gave a little tune for you to enjoy.
Addictiveness / Re-playability : 10 points.
Pokemon definitely stands out as one of the most re-playable game franchises in the history of gaming, you beat the elite-four? go beat them again. You caught all every last Pokemon? Go max them out and use them in competitive battling. There is no limit to what you can do in Pokemon which is one of the strongest points of the franchise. As for this game however, you also get to explore the Sevii Islands.
Pokemon by far offers a lot for the re-playability factor, but what of the addictiveness of Pokemon Leaf-Green?
When you start to play Pokemon Leaf-Green you slowly get absorbed into the story as if you were actually the main character.
You continue to play because the characters in-game experiences and achievements feel like your own. Your effort feels un-wasted as you travel the land and train YOUR Pokemon to their maximum potential. You lose a battle, you feel bad but you get right back up and play like a god to become the very best. Pokemon stands out as an learning experience within a game. Which is a truly marvelous thing indeed.
Each play-though is unique for the franchise as no two Pokemon are the same. Which makes it even more interesting to go back and replay.
Story : 8 points.
In Pokemon Leaf-Green you follow the original story of training yourself up to become the very best you can be and to defeat the elite four is your quest. You challenge your rival as you go from gym to gym battling for the badge you rightfully deserve so you can continue towards your goal of beating the elite trainers of the elite four. The fact of the matter is, even if you think the story is now completely over done... where you planning on training the whole story for a remake of an original game? I think not. Although now it has been done to death, it still has a crucial learning experience for anyone as you must continue if your knocked down and you have to try your very best to get what you want. This sort of message fails to appear in many other game making countries... I mean what valuable life lesson did you learn playing call of duty? To shoot a gun? Doubtful...
Depth : 10 points.
Pokemon Leaf-Green has a vast majority of things to do, from starting to collect every last Pokemon to training them to their maximum potential. The game manages to spread itself vastly taking each moment to make the game more enjoyable to play... for hours on end.
Pokemon games just don't end within a day of playing, they last weeks or even months for the more casual players, which is the true reason for playing Pokemon Leaf-Green. As it offers so much and doesn't force you to play constantly to beat, it can be one of the best games to use as an introduction to video games for anyone.
Difficulty : 5 points.
Pokemon can be for the die-hard or the strategic people within anyone. With many varied ways of playing it's no wonder the game is played by people of all gaming styles. The game can be harder if you want to make it hard for yourself, or easy if you plan ahead and use type-matches. This is an ideal approach to gaming one that is rarely missed, this style can appeal to all types of gamers which is the most brilliant thing about gaming, you may be a casual gamer, but you can still go battle a die-hard poke-fan can't you?
So here I am again on the topic of EV's and IV's, because of this huge change in the third generation, the game added a whole new level of difficulty as the most strategic players would spent more time perfecting there team than casual players which in turn would give them the advantage through-out the game as they're team would be suited to their play-style. This effected Competitive battling tremendously as you would have to train carefully to gain the best potential Pokemon. This was one of the better changes to the difficulty in my opinion it was definitely one for the better as the game became so much more in-depth.
Overall / Conclusion : 10 points.
Pokemon Leaf-Green holds it's own and is a great game for anyone! Each play-though is unique as no two Pokemon are the same.
Leaf-Green definitely has a part of my heart with it and will always been a pleasant memory of my childhood. If you haven't played Leaf-Green or it's counter-part Fire-Red I urge you to do so because It will definitely be worth your time.
Finally Pokemon Leaf-Green offers a vital lesson about believing in yourself to achieve what you want by giving it your very best.
I've been iN008, thank-you for reading my review! :P
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Graphics
9 Sound
9 Addictive
10 Depth
10 Story
8 Difficulty
5