Nintendo recently expanded Nintendo Switch Online’s offerings with the addition of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, but it has left out some of its most popular titles. ManyPokemonfans thought that the series' original titles would wind up on this new service, and that The Pokemon Company was going to announce their inclusion at the latest Pokemon Presents. Instead, the livestream wasdevoted toPokemon ScarletandVioletDLCalong with variousPokemonspin-offs.
It seems like the classicPokemongames will not be coming to the Switch right now, and that feels like a strange choice. These titles laid the groundwork for whatPokemonwould be, and the series would not be here today if it was not for them. Fans would no doubt flock to Nintendo Switch Online if they could relive the earliest days of the series. While the future ofPokemonis very exciting, it would be a missed opportunity if Nintendo did not also visit the past.
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Game Boy Pokemon Games Would Be Perfect on Switch
ThePokemonseries got its start on the Game Boy withthe release ofPokemon RedandBluein 1996. These games laid the groundwork for how every futurePokemontitle would play, and they are both still fondly remembered to this day. They introduced players to the concept of Pokemon, let them see the Kanto region for the first time, and kickstarted this multibillion-dollar franchise in a fantastic way. These two games are often considered some of the greatest games ever made. However, outside a remake for the Game Boy Advance and a re-release on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, these have mostly been left untouched.
Pokemon RedandBlueare not the onlyPokemongames that have been left behind on Nintendo’s classic handhelds.Pokemon Yellow,Gold,Silver,andCrystalhave also been left mostly untouched since their debut.GoldandSilverwould at least get a remake for the Nintendo DSunder the namesHeartGoldandSoulSilver, andCrystalwould get released on the now defunct Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, but the titles have since been left behind. Unless players own these consoles, there is no way that they can really play these classic games without an emulator.
Along with the Game Boy, Nintendo has also left out all the Game Boy AdvancePokemongames. Players are not able to revisitPokemon Ruby,Sapphire,FireRed,LeafGreen, orEmeraldon the Nintendo Switch. While some of these games alsogot released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, that service has been discontinued. This has left these classic titles gathering dust on their respective consoles, and onlyRubyandSapphirereceived a full-on remake for the 3DS. However, that too has been left behind in favor of the Nintendo Switch.
There are so many classicPokemongames that are unplayable today unless players have the old hardware or use emulators. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company seem to have little interest in revisiting these titles, and instead they want to forge ahead with brand-newPokemonexperiences. There is nothing wrong with creating new adventures for fans to enjoy, but these developers should also honor their past. Abandoning these games on older consoles does a disservice to what came before, and may also hurtvideo game preservationin the long run.
The addition of Game Boy andGame Boy AdvancePokemongames to the Nintendo Switch is the perfect way to preserve history, and the Pokemon Presents livestream would have been the perfect place to announce something like that. However, it seems like the studios have chosen not to do either. That may all change someday, but for nowPokemonfans will just have to find other means to play these iconic games.
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