Arguably the best Pokémon games of all time are re-releasing on Switch 2
LeafGreen and FireRed rise from the ashes
It's a favourite topic of debate among Pokémon superfans – which generation of games is the very best ever? So much of how you answer seems to depend on which (if any) you played as a kid, but there are a whole heap of people out there who'd fervently argue that things never got better than the early games.
For one thing, back then, a Pokémon game was generally as good-looking as anything else on its platform; the Game Boy games were charming, the Game Boy Advance games had lovely art, and the same went for the DS and 3DS titles. Once we moved to the Switch, things got more complicated.
If you want a dose of concentrated nostalgia on your Switch or Switch 2, though, we just got some big news. Ahead of Pokémon Day next week, and the franchise's 30th birthday, a pair of its best-ever games are now available to pre-order on the eShop.
Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen are coming to Switch (and therefore Switch 2), each for $20 or £16.99 here in the UK, and both release on 27 February. For slightly complex emulation reasons, there are multiple versions of each, English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
These Game Boy Advance games were remakes of the first-generation Pokémon games, Blue and Red, updating their graphics and adding some nice new features – and because they're a little more user-friendly, many fans list them as the very best Pokémon games ever made.
After all, they're still super pure and have a more manageable roster of monsters to collect. They're also from the era when you still had some actual challenge to overcome – don't train your team and you'll find gyms leaders way tougher, whereas in modern games the difficulty slope can be incredibly flat.
The games look brilliant and still feature a stunningly impressive chiptune soundtrack, but it's also worth remembering that a whole heap of other classic and memorable GBA games are available through Nintendo Switch Online without needing a separate purchase.
Given how long people have been waiting for some Pokémon games to join that roster, it's perhaps no surprise that they're going to be separate purchases instead – and the upside is that you'll own them and have access even if your NSO membership lapses at some point.
£17 also isn't too bad, given many were predicting they might be £30, although it'll also be fascinating to see whether we get more titles in due course, or spaced out over the coming years. After all, in the stakes of "best-ever Pokémon games", there are some other huge hitters waiting for love, from Pokémon Emerald to my personal pick, Pokémon Soul Silver and HeartGold.
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