Pokémon: FireRed Version [GBA]

Pokemon is often dismissed as just another vehicle for extracting money from children. But there's one important difference between this and other franchises -- in spite of their kiddy tone, the Game Boy releases have all had remarkable depth for handheld games. Pokemon Leaf Green and Fire Red are retellings of the original Pokemon classics, Blue and Red, updated with new graphics, sounds, and a handful of additions from more recent releases.

Remember the 150 Pokemon featured in the original games? They're all back, along with a handful of exclusive new additions. As fans of the series can guess, you'll need to trade Pokemon between Fire Red and Leaf Green to "catch 'em all" -- and with Ruby, Sapphire, and GameCube release Colosseum to complete the full set of around 350. Now that's commitment.

Trading your monsters -- and battling fellow trainers -- is made a lot more convenient in these new games, thanks to the new wireless adaptor that's bundled with each one. Plug it into your GBA and you can take on other players, or swap your catches, without a link cable. Quoted range is around 100 feet, which tests support, as long as you have line-of-sight to your opponent. This feature should make math class or meetings pass a lot quicker.

While a couple of features -- two-on-two battles, for example -- are taken from Ruby/Sapphire, there are a handful of ideas Leaf Green and Fire Red can rightfully call their own. A detailed context-sensitive help function, never more than a button-tap away, should make life easier for new Pokemon addicts. When loading a game, a short recap scene will remind you where you were and what you'd achieved in the previous half-hour or so -- again, handy for more casual players.

Towns from Red and Blue are included untouched, even down to the frequently bizarre dialogue of the villagers. Pokemon games have never been noted for the quality of storylines. Nine new Mystery Islands mean there are new areas for old Pokemon hands to visit, and many include new features or characters.

Disappointingly, the presentation isn't updated as much as we'd expect. GBA owners are accustomed to better visuals, and the music remains painfully strident. They're a small improvement, but if you played Ruby or Sapphire, you'll know what to expect.

Cynics might say that a remake is the perfect way for Nintendo to squeeze money from legions of dedicated fans, but the Leaf Green and Fire Red games are solid titles, improvements over the originals, and pleasant pieces of nostalgia. Including the wireless adapter certainly increases their value. It's just hard to shake the feeling that they could have been more.