Game intel
Pokémon Fire Red / Leaf Green
This caught my attention because Nintendo dropped what looks like a nostalgia grenade onto the eShop without the usual fanfare. Two of the most beloved Game Boy Advance remakes – Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen – have turned up on the Nintendo eShop with a launch date of 27 February (Pokémon Day). For fans who’ve wanted these Kanto remakes on modern hardware, that’s an instant headline; for those paying attention to the franchise’s 30th anniversary, it’s a tidy piece in a much larger puzzle.
Listings were spotted and reported by outlets including TheSixthAxis, Nintendo Life, Gematsu and others. The Switch versions are priced the same across outlets – roughly $19.99 / £16.99 — and appear to be digital-only outside Japan. Nintendo Life and Gematsu note the re-releases replicate the original GBA content (that includes the Sevii Islands expansion that was new to FireRed/LeafGreen), and the games are compatible with both Switch and the newer Switch 2 hardware.
On the plus side, these aren’t stripped-down ports. Reports say they preserve local wireless trading/battling — the essential social loop of the originals — and include the Sevii Islands side content that expanded Kanto’s postgame. That’s the nostalgia package fans wanted.
Where sources diverge is Pokémon Home support. Gematsu and Nintendo Life cite Pokémon Home compatibility as part of the rollout — meaning you could, in theory, move captures forward into modern Pokémon titles. Siliconera, however, explicitly flagged that Home support was not present at launch in its reporting, calling the Switch builds local multiplayer-only. I’m flagging that inconsistency because it matters: Home integration turns a straight nostalgia re-release into a functional bridge to today’s games. If it’s coming later, it’s useful. If it’s absent, these remain purely standalone nostalgia trips.
Timing is everything. The 27 February release lines up with Pokémon Day and the franchise’s 30th anniversary festivities — Nintendo seems to be layering smaller, pleasant surprises into its broader celebration rather than making every announcement a headliner. Quiet eShop drops like this keep the momentum going for long-time fans and make the anniversary feel like an event without oversaturating the PR channels.
For players, this is mostly good news. If you missed the GBA era or skipped those remakes, FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch make a historically important entry in the series accessible again, and at a reasonable price. Preserving Sevii Islands and local wireless keeps the original design intact, which is what purists will want.
That said, there are practical frustrations. Language-locked SKUs mean you’ll need to buy the specific regional version if you want a different language — annoying for collectors and players who prefer English text on a non-US eShop account. The lack of a physical release outside Japan will irk the completionists who want cartridges back on their shelves. And the Home-support question is the real wildcard: if it’s fully functional, these games become part of the living Pokémon ecosystem; if it’s not, they’re neat throwbacks with limited modern value.
Watch Nintendo’s Pokémon Presents and the official channels on Pokémon Day for clarity on Pokémon Home support and any follow-up announcements. If Home support is confirmed, expect a small but meaningful uptick in interest from players who want to move classics into modern teams. If it’s not, treat this as a low-cost nostalgia drop that’s faithful but fundamentally static.
Nintendo quietly relisted Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on the Switch eShop for Pokémon Day at $19.99 / £16.99. The releases preserve Sevii Islands and local wireless play and are digital-only outside Japan with language-specific downloads. The big variable is Pokémon Home support — reports conflict — and whether Nintendo treats these as nostalgia-only ports or as living entries you can fold into modern Pokémon games.
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