Pokémon LeafGreen

THE GOOD:
Pokemon LeafGreen is set out in Kanto, the original region of Red, Blue, and Yellow. It is a remake, but that does not make it any less better. Some good points about it were the graphics, gameplay, playing value, sounds, and the controls.

The graphics were done very well, with new sprites for every Pokemon. This is not an easy task, and if can take years to make all new sprites, especially since there are 365 Pokemon. The attack animations are also very cool to watch, and took time also, since there are many, many attacks. Another graphic aspect is outside of battles, with the trees, grass, and character sprites. They make it look real, which is very cool.

The gameplay was superb, and it gives you 300+ hours of things to do. You can beat the elite four, train Pokemon, explore the Sevii Islands, and do many other things!

I enjoyed the sounds, because everything was different. Each Pokemon had their own sound, and their was music with the field and things to do. I don't listen to music on games too much, but I have to say, if you aren't listening to this, you're missing out.

The controls are the same, but good, Pokemon controls. The controls can be used to battle, access the help system (more in Comments), and go through the fields and adventure.

Everything in the game affects one another, such as Base Stats, EV's, IV's, and Natures. (See in Comments). This is good because it adds a lot more exitement to building a great Pokemon, and much more to the game.

THE BAD:
To me, it was extremely similar to Red and Blue, by way too much. After the game, it was also very difficult and confusing to get far, and it took a guide to help. Most veterans of the game had to use one, and that includes me. The Sevii Islands are very useful, once you do get to them, so don't give up. Leveling up was very hard, because it was hard to keep up with all the other trainers and gym leaders. I would have liked it more if they would have given more wild Pokemon that were good sooner in the game, and more water types. Fire types were also hard to come by, and took a lot of looking. The Sevii Islands were very annoying, also.

SUMMARY:

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Gameplay

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The same old, same old - but still amazing and fun - Pokemon story: You are a young teenager, who wants to become a Pokemon Master. When you start, your mom tells you that your rival was looking for you. You go out, and, after venturing into the grass (something you should never do if you do not have any Pokemon), you are confronted by Proffesor Oak. After a scolding, he brings you to his lab, where you can choose from 3 Pokemon to start out with: Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur. Whatever Pokemon you choose, your rival will choose the one that has a type advantage over. They all have their ups and downs, so whatever you choose, don't base it off other people's opinions. They are all equal.

Of course, after receiving your Pokemon, you are thrust into a battle straight away with your rival. After winning - or losing - your rival demands he should be better. He challenges you to take the Pokemon Challenge, and see who really can be a Pokemon Master. After hopefully pounding your rival into the ground, you leave to go to the next town - Veridian City. There is a gym there, but alas, it is locked. There is a grumpy old man not letting you by, so you decide to head over to the Pokemon Mart. There the clerk says you should deliver Proffesor Oak's package, and of course, you agree. After bringing it back to Proffesor Oak, you get a PokeDex from him, and this really starts your adventure.



Your goal in the game is to go around and beat all the gym leaders. Every gym has a certain type. After beating all 8, you can go to the Pokemon League to try and become the champion! This won't be easy, I'm afraid. You must train your Pokemon to get there, and you will eventually. There are many trainers, and limitless wild Pokemon to train with. A wild Pokemon is a Pokemon that is found in tall grass. You can catch wild Pokemon with a PokeBall. But, there are more than one type of Pokeballs! The basic ones are PokeBall, GreatBall, and the UltraBall. Also, there is a PokeBall in the game called a MasterBall. It will catch any Pokemon without fail, but there is only one! Also, you cannot catch a trainer's Pokemon, so don't waste Pokeballs on their Pokemon!



After the game, you can go to the Sevii Islands. They are fun, and have good things, but very hard to access the last four. In the islands you can get legendaries, otherwise impossible to get Pokemon, and breed. Breeding is very useful to get good Pokemon, so I would recommend you try to get here. It will enhance the game's greatness. You will have to go on a chase with the Rockets many times there, but it is worth it so you can do all the fun things there. You will also be able to trade with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald once you reach a certain point there, so make sure you complete it!



To me, the gameplay was good, it kept me very busy, and I liked it a lot. There aren't many ways they could have made it better, except for a more diverse challenge. It is always the same in the Pokemon games, only some different caves and routes. It is still good, nonetheless. The caves add to the amount of playing in the game, and you have to overcome many obstacles. It adds to the experience, and you can find certain Pokemon there. You also have to surf through the ocean, where you can find certain Pokemon.

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Game Mechanics

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Certain Pokemon will be located depending on their type. For example, you wouldn't find a Water type on land, you would find it in the ocean. That added to the gameplay, because you need to balance your team to do well in the game. If you don't find a grass, water, and fire type, which are the basic types, it will be a lot harder to complete the game.

You can also find dual-typed Pokemon, or Pokemon with two types. This gives them extra resistances and weaknesses. A resistance means that a type of move does less damage or doesn't affect it at all, and a weakness is when a move is super-effective. If a Pokemon is Fire-Flying, and you use a rock move against it, it does 4 times the damage because it is super-effective against both types. But a Ground type move, that is normally super-effective against Fire types, would not do any damage because of the Flying type, so this can be good and bad. Typing is very important. If you are using a certain type move against certain Pokemon, you will get a message saying "It's Super-Effective!" This means, because of a type advantage you did double the damage. Be careful, as this can and will be used against you! This can make - or break - any battle you are having, especially with important battles. Most Pokemon are high leveled, so use this to your advantage!



EV's and IV's are very useful in the game. EV's are Effort Values, and are pretty much stat bonuses depending on what type of Pokemon you beat. If you get 4 EV's in one stat, in will raise the stat by 1 extra point when it levels up. But if you use a rare candy to level up, the stat bonuses will not be added. EV's affect every stat, including HP. Some Pokemon supply 1 EV in a stat, while some can supply 2, 3, or even 4.

IV's are Inherited Values, or values that can be inherited through breeding. These affect all Pokemon, and to get the best IV's you should breed. Wild Pokemon do not usually have good IV's. A Pokemon can have up to 31 IV's in a stat, determining how good the stat is. IV's also determine the type of Hidden Power your Pokemon uses, so make sure you calculate them! You want a Pokemon with good IV's, but if you are not going to be battling competitively, like in tournaments, and just in-game, then it won't matter that much.

Natures will also affect stats. Natures will increase and decrease a stat. A few natures, like Docile, have no stat gains or losses, so if you aren't sure, just use a Pokemon with that kind of nature. These help a lot in building the "perfect" Pokemon, so pay attention to a Pokemon's nature, it can make or break it! Natures are very useful in-game, not just out of the game, so make sure you have a good natured Pokemon, depending on what moves it will learn (Physical or Special) and its base stats.

A Pokemon's base stats are the stats that it will have a minimum of. Almost all of the time, a Pokemon will have much higher stats, though. A base stat over 40 is good, and one of 60 is great. Make sure you look at a Pokemon's base stats to plan what moves you want it to learn, and its EV's and IV's spread. If you don't, your Pokemon may not end up being good.

When battling against other Pokemon, watch your health bar! When it is too low, it will change from green to yellow. When it is dangerously low, it will be red. Use a Full Restore, Max Potion, or other HP restoring item when this happens. Pokemon can hold berries that restore HP, so make sure than have one to hold!



Hold Items can be very useful. They can increase stats, increase HP, or make the opponent weaker. Use these a lot! You can also use some items to help heal your Pokemon, in or out of battle. Pokemon cannot do anything with man made items, so you can't have them hold them. You must use it on the Pokemon. They can hold berries and certain stat raising items, though, so make sure you give them an item to hold.

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Graphics, Sounds, and Controls

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The music was enjoyable, and controls good. They made great use of everything, from the A Button to the R Button. Using the L and R Buttons, you could access the help screen, which can be somewhat useful. I didn't use it much, because I am somewhat of a veteran, but newer players may have found it very useful.



The graphics were incredible - surpassing everything I could have thought. I have to give them kudos on that. The sprites were well designed, which I enjoyed a lot. Comparing them to Red, Blue, and Yellow, they have been improved greatly.



When you are fighting against someone, you will notice the little scenes when you attack them or they attack you. These may look cool, but if you don't like them, just turn them off. When you are in a battle, there are cool little terrains under the Pokemon to represent where you are.

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Other Notes

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After the game, though, it is very confusing on how to get ahead. I know they could have done better, because many things are very hard to access and get ahead on. You must explore the islands, which can be very annoying if you aren't experienced.

Some HM's were removed, which got rid of good aspects. The main thing I didn't like was how they got rid of Dive, which was great to me. You could go underwater and explore, but now, that is all gone. You must remain above the surface, unfortunately. Dive was fun to use and opened a new world to Pokemon. And they kept Flash, the HM no one likes.

Some Pokemon are only available by Nintendo Event, which is obviously by Nintendo. This means that some Pokemon (special ones or legendaries) can only be gotten at special times. These happen sometimes, and you should be on the lookout for them.



The Help System is very useful for people new to the Pokemon games. It can explain a variety of things, such as type advantages, type disadvantages, and stat boosting. It can also help on telling you where to go next, if you get lost or stuck. Some newer people to the Pokemon games will find this helpful, and possibly even some of the veterans. It can supply information needed to beat the game, and then some.

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Summary

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There are new areas to navigate and explore into, which is another great thing because it just overall makes the game not seem so repetitive, even though it is. All in all, I think its a pretty great game, and I would recommend LeafGreen for anyone, even the not-so-Pokemon-fans. Here is what I would rate each section:

Gameplay: 9/10
Sounds: 8/10
Controls: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10

Total: 38/40 = 4.75

You should get this game, it is a must have. It has good gameplay and sounds, and I gave it a 4.8 on the Neoseeker Rating system.