Nintendo has announced remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue will be released on Switch next week, to coincide with a new Pokémon Presents.
After rumours suggested Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen were set be one of the surprises for Pokémon Day on February 27, Nintendo has now confirmed that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
As announced on Friday morning, the Game Boy Advance remakes of 1996’s Pokémon Red and Blue will launch on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2 on Friday, February 27, shortly after the Pokémon Presents showcase which airs on the same day at 2pm GMT.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are download exclusive titles on Switch, so they won’t be part of the Game Boy Advance line-up on Nintendo Switch Online and will instead be sold separately at £16.99 each – a fairly reasonable price considering Nintendo.
While it’s unclear why they are being sold outside of Nintendo Switch Online (aside from, you know, money), it might be related to Nintendo Switch Online’s rewind feature, which would play havoc with the trading mechanics and ruin the tension around shiny hunting.
Additionally, both these titles will support the Pokémon Home cloud service in the future, which would be tricky to implement through a Switch Online app.
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Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch will support local wireless multiplayer for battles and trading, but they won’t have online play. As confirmed on an FAQ page, it will support GameChat functionality on Nintendo Switch 2 but otherwise, ‘there are no major difference in how the games perform’ between the two systems.
Based on this Q&A, it seems like these two titles aren’t a sign that more classic Pokémon titles are planned for Switch – or that any other classic games beyond Pokémon will be released separately outside of Nintendo Switch Online.
‘We remain focused on offering classic games through Nintendo Switch Online and Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack,’ a response reads in regards to the Virtual Console’s potential return.
In response to why Nintendo is handling these games differently, it added: ‘In celebration of 30 years of Pokémon, we thought it would be fun to return to the ultimate versions of the original Pokémon adventures in the Kanto region with these special releases.’ Nintendo also confirmed these games will not receive a physical edition on Switch.
Before this announcement, there was no way to play classic Pokémon titles from the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, or Nintendo DS on Switch. In the past, Nintendo made the games available on the 3DS Virtual Console, also as separate digital downloads.
Beyond the announcement of these ports, Nintendo has released music from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Nintendo Music App – so you can get into the spirit early.
More announcements are expected on Pokémon Day next Friday. Rumours suggest we could see the announcement of the next generation of Pokémon titles.
We might also see more from Pokémon Champions, Pokopia, and a potential release date for re-releases Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale Of Darkness on Nintendo Switch Online.
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