page_title: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
section_title: Development
hierarchical_section_title: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen / Development
caption_attribution_description: English: Junichi Masuda. Français&#160;: Junichi Masuda.
context_page_description: Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are enhanced remakes of the 1996 role-playing video games Pokémon Red and Blue. They were developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. FireRed and LeafGreen were first released in Japan in January 2004 and in North America and Europe in September and October 2004 respectively. The games are part of the third generation of the Pokémon video game series and hold the distinction of being the first enhanced remakes of previous games within the franchise. The games have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with the games. Nearly two years after their original release, Nintendo re-marketed them as Player's Choice titles.
  As in previous games, the player controls the player character from an overhead perspective and participates in turn-based battles. Throughout the games, the player captures and raises Pokémon for use in battle. New features include a contextual help menu and a new region the player may access after a certain point in the story.
context_section_description: FireRed and LeafGreen were first announced in September 2003 as upcoming remakes of the original Pocket Monsters Red and Green games that were released in Japan in 1996. Game director Junichi Masuda stated the new titles would be developed around the idea of simplicity, as the game engine was a slightly modified version of the one used in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. As a result, FireRed and LeafGreen were made fully backward compatible with Ruby and Sapphire, allowing players to trade Pokémon between games.
  FireRed and LeafGreen's connectivity with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter was heralded by then-president of Nintendo Satoru Iwata as being able "to enhance head-to-head battles, exchange of information, and communication with others." An enhanced interface was created for the game to increase usability for new players, as well as a contextual in-game help system that could aid lost or confused players during their journey. President of The Pokémon Company Tsunekazu Ishiharu noted, "We don't feel that this a remake at all. We feel that this is a new game, with wireless technology", referring to the bundled wireless adapter.
  The exclusive Japanese production run for FireRed and LeafGreen was limited to half a million copies, despite the success of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. IGN speculated that Nintendo was expecting less demand for the new games, or that it was limited by the production of the bundled wireless adapter. The North American versions of FireRed and LeafGreen were indirectly announced at DICE in 2004. Although the original games were released as Red and Blue in North America, the remakes retained the Japanese names of "Red" and "Green". Masuda noted this as a choice on his part, stating the leaf represented a peaceful icon, in contrast to the alternative of water which he saw as suggesting conflict with the icon of fire used by the other game.
caption: Development director Junichi Masuda
exif: {"Image Make": "Leica Camera AG", "Image Model": "M8 Digital Camera", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "1.110", "Image DateTime": "2007:11:17 00:45:56", "Image ExifOffset": "186", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "320", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:11:16 14:27:13", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:11:16 14:27:13", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5906891/1000000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "8", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3729", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "3764", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "67", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "00000000000000000000000000004950"}