You aren’t cheap for thinking $20 is too much for Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, but you also aren’t a Nintendo shill for being happy to pay for it. This isn’t rocket science, folks. 

Nintendo recently announced the porting of these two games to the Nintendo Switch, and it has caused quite a tizzy. Bringing the games to modern consoles itself is something fans have dearly wanted for a long time, but it is the way it was executed which is causing drama. Instead of being added to the Nintendo Switch Online game service, which includes Game Boy Advance titles, they are instead being sold separately and individually, for $19.99 each. The games feature no meaningful new features, no online play, and Pokémon Home connectivity is not available, at least at launch.

This has created quite a stir. On one hand, you have people frustrated both by the price, and the choice to release it outside of Nintendo Switch Online. With the complete lack of new features, many folks find the idea of paying $20 for what is essentially just an upload of a ROM file, to be impossible to swallow. Not to mention the choice to release it outside of Nintendo Switch Online means the game is lacking access to quality of life features such as save states and online connectivity, that are provided to games on that service. It is understandable to be frustrated by this release.

On the flipside, I can understand the excitement of those looking forward to revisiting Kanto. A modern rerelease of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen is something fans have been begging for, and a successful launch may encourage Nintendo to bring more games from the series to the Switch, such as SoulSilver and HeartGold. Additionally, many folks prefer the titles to be released piecemeal so they can play them without being tied to a subscription service, and consider $19.99 to be a totally fair price considering what it costs to purchase the physical games on the secondary market. For these folks, this release is thrilling and totally acceptable.

The problem is that neither faction is capable of holding these opinions and being happy with their choice. Instead, their opinion is the correct opinion, and everyone else is a blithering idiot. People willing to pay a digital Andrew Jackson for the games are not merely excited, they are mindless Nintendrones who will consume any slop Nintendo or The Pokémon Company will put in front of them. Likewise those who are disappointed by the release are just mindless Nintendo haters who can’t afford $20. All nuance is out the window.

Obviously I’m not on the cutting edge of a new phenomenon here. This is how video game discourse plays out in the modern age, and to some degree, this is how it always has been. The disappointing thing is seeing writers and creators I admire leaning into this same mudslinging, as if either side of the debate is wrong. They aren’t. There are valid reasons to support or boycott the upcoming Pokémon release, and it is sad that instead of simply feeling confident in our choices, we have to remind everybody else what idiots they are.

For the record, I’m not a fence-sitter. I am not buying Pokémon FireRed or LeafGreen. I think $19.99 is way too much, and I don’t want to promote the idea of Nintendo releasing junk games on Nintendo Switch Online, and selling the “good” games separately. But if you are looking forward to the new releases? I am happy for you, and I hope you have a blast revisiting Kanto.

Featured Image: Nintendo of America

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