Early this morning, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company confirmed some big leaks from earlier in the month that two classic GameBoy Advance titles are coming to Nintendo Switch.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will launch as digital downloads for the Nintendo Switch on Feb. 27, Pokémon Day, after the big Pokémon Presents live stream. And that should be good news, but many are scoffing at the notion that the games are available only as digital purchases—and for $20 apiece to boot.
While I’m with everyone in wishing that the games would instead be available as part of the Gameboy Advance Nintendo Classics catalog as part of the online subscription, this move is obvious. Regardless of how many people have emulators on their phones and already have both games in their pocket as-is, many more will fork over the 20 bucks to have it on their Switch or Switch 2, so I can’t blame the companies at all.
What does stink, though, is that an awesome special edition for the re-launch is coming out as well. And of course, it’s coming to Japan only. Pictured below, it features a special case to display three glass PokéBalls depicting Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle within. It looks like it would make a gorgeous display piece.
The package also has some replica GameBoy Advance packaging reminiscent of the original GBA launch, along with a download code for FireRed. So, while it’s not a physical edition of the game, it’s still a really cool collector’s item that most of the world will have to miss out on.
It’s pretty decently priced, too, listed for sale on the Japanese Pokémon Center website at 19,800 Yen, or around $130 USD, so I can’t say I wouldn’t be interested in it if it wasn’t available stateside. Hell, that’s less than most of the Pokémon LEGO sets that are going online next weekend.
I’m still really excited to see whatever Pokémon announcements come out of the presentation next weekend for the series’ 30th anniversary. But I’m also quickly realizing that I can’t afford most of this stuff anyway, so I’ll just have to admire from afar…especially if it’s Japan-only.
