Last year, Pokémon released the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl games. These were the latest in the Pokémon series of remakes, but they aren't the only remakes available on the Switch. The Switch has five Pokémon remakes in total, but fans and critics don't hold them all in equal regard.
Of the eight currently-released generations, only the first four have been remade so far. Gen 5 fans and beyond have to wait for their day in the remake sun. Most "paired" games, like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, lack major differences and are covered together, but some remake pairs received different Metascores from critics.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX - 68
Pokémon’s mainline games aren’t the only ones getting remade. Spin-offs have always been released with aplomb, but Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is the only remake among them. This Switch remake re-imagines the GBA and DS originals in one package. It adds a painterly art style that makes it one of Pokémon’s best-looking games.
Unfortunately, other aspects of the game weren’t as well received. The game is a very faithful remake, and as such doesn’t include any new Pokémon from the newest generations. Additionally, it was criticized for its repetitive mechanics and lack of tutorials. Players wanting to get into this sub-series may be better served by the 3DS entries.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl - 73
The Sinnoh region remakes of Pokémon BDSP were heavily anticipated by fans. Game Freak ended up taking a different approach than expected, though. Rather than handling the remake in-house as they had before, they outsourced it to ILCA. This allowed them to focus on the excellent Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but some found BDSP lacking in comparison.
The game is a lot more of a faithful remake than previous games in the series. Rather than add new features to the gameplay, the gameplay is largely kept as is. This is with the exception of a large balancing change with the EXP Share that most players found made the game too easy. While perhaps the most accessible way to play Sinnoh’s adventures, it may not be the best.
Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu - 79
Much like Mystery Dungeon, Let’s Go Pikachu is another remake first on the Switch. This game remakes the third edition of Gen 1, the Gameboy’s Pokémon Yellow, which attempted to bridge the games with the popular anime. Let’s Go Pikachu was similar, not only having elements from the anime but also Pokémon Go.
The game starts with the player receiving a Pikachu from Professor Oak, much like the anime. Interestingly, the game appears to be a sequel to Red and Blue rather than a retelling. The original rivals appear to have already completed their journey. Players enjoyed the game’s unique feature of being able to dress up Pikachu, but other remakes on the Switch enjoyed more praise.
Pokémon Let's Go Eevee - 80
Let’s Go Eevee, released alongside Let's Go Pikachu, ditched the yellow mascot monster in favor of the evolution Pokémon. Eevee is a fine pick, as it has received a lot of support over the years in comparison to other Gen 1 Pokémon. It has a more adaptable moveset, which is why this version was reviewed slightly higher than Pikachu’s. It also came with its own unique outfits, of course.
Let’s Go also featured gameplay elements from Pokémon GO, most notably the catching. Players could import Pokémon from GO to Let’s Go as well, but not vice-versa. The game also introduced mechanics that would go on to appear in future games, most notably Pokémon on the overworld. At the end of the day though, there are still better choices for Gen 1 Remakes.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen - 81
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance were well-received by critics and fans alike. These were the first remakes made by The Pokémon Company, and they completely overshadowed the rest of Gen 3. They upgraded the graphics and added the new mechanics, but there was a simpler reason for their success.
Pokémon Red and Blue were held together just barely with shoddy code. There are numerous glitches, exploits, and errors in the original games that made it unbalanced. These two remakes brought the games closer to the original vision. They remain perhaps the best way to play the originals.
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire - 82
The Gen 3 Pokémon remakes took a lot of liberties with the original but have ended up becoming some of the highest-rated Pokémon games. Alpha Sapphire takes the 2D sprites of the original and makes a 3D epic out of it. While many still thought it had too much water, players discovered plenty about Pokémon’s Hoenn region.
The game added the recent phenomenon of Mega-Evolution to the region. The most memorable changes though were to the character and world design. The villains, Team Aqua, were fairly generic-looking terrorists originally. The remake gave them an attractive redesign in the style of pirates.
Pokémon Omega Ruby - 83
The Omega Ruby version of the gen 3 remakes received better reviews, though. The villains of this installment were Team Magma, redesigned as a team of scientists. Their plan, like Team Aqua’s, involved awakening the legendary Pokémon of the Hoenn region. That’s not where the story ended though, as the remakes included the Delta Episode.
The Delta Episode is a new story that adds to the lore of Pokémon. A meteor is on a collision course with the planet and players must team up with newcomer Zinnia to stop it. It also features third-version stars Rayquaza and Deoxys in prominent roles they didn’t originally have. At the end of the day, Omega Ruby pulls ahead of its counterpart due to its better roster of Pokémon, which many players preferred.
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver - 87
HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes of the GameBoy Color's Gold and Silver and are the best remakes to come out of the franchise so far. They added much-needed improvements and also have plenty of features of their own, like adding the ability to choose the player character's gender. Changes aren’t limited to this type of quality of life improvements, though, as there are plenty of plot changes to add detail to the story.
Gen 2 was unique in that it was the only generation to share an evil team with the one previous, which used largely leaderless minions of Team Rocket. In this game, these characters are not nameless and have more prominence in the plot. There’s even an event that ties the rival closer to Giovanni, which was only implied in the original. The games were also the first to let Pokémon follow behind the player, which would reappear in some Switch titles. These remakes surpass the originals, and that makes them the clear best.