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This guide ranks the main Switch choices by the part of FireRed and LeafGreen you want to preserve: Kanto nostalgia, traditional turn-based progression, exploration, or modern systems. It also explains where each game departs from the 2004 Game Boy Advance remakes.
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Quick answer: which Switch Pokémon game is most like FireRed and LeafGreen?
| Game | Best for | Similarity to FireRed/LeafGreen | Biggest difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! | Kanto nostalgia and newcomers | Highest setting and theme match | Wild Pokémon are caught with an aiming-and-throwing system rather than the usual weakening-and-throwing loop |
| Pokémon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl | Classic routes, gyms and turn-based battles | High structurally | Sinnoh setting and a modern 3D presentation |
| Pokémon Sword / Shield | A conventional modern mainline adventure | Medium | Galar setting and newer battle and exploration systems |
| Pokémon Scarlet / Violet | A newer, open-world mainline game | Medium to low | Open-world progression changes how routes, objectives and exploration work |
| Pokémon Legends: Arceus | Exploration and experimentation | Lowest mechanically | It is explicitly an all-new action RPG rather than a conventional gym journey |
If “like FireRed and LeafGreen” means the same region and characters, choose Let’s Go. If it means the same progression loop—towns connected by routes, a team built through battles, and a gym-by-gym quest—choose Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl.
1. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!
Why they are the closest match
Let’s Go is the only Switch pair that deliberately revisits Kanto in a form designed around the early Pokémon adventure. The official product description says the games bring “the experience of a classic Pokémon RPG to Nintendo Switch,” approachable for newcomers while retaining enough depth for experienced Trainers. The Pokémon Company’s product page also states: “At the start of your tale, you encounter either Pikachu or Eevee, depending on which game version you choose.”
#1 Best Overall
- Revisit the Sinnoh region from the original Pokémon Diamond Version game and set off to try and become the Champion of the Pokémon League
- The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond game brings new life to this remade classic with added features
- Explore the Grand Underground to dig up items and Pokémon Fossils, build a Secret Base, and more.
- Test your style and rhythm in a Super Contest Show
- A reimagined adventure, now for the Nintendo Switch system
You travel through familiar Kanto locations, meet the region’s recognizable Gym Leaders and villains, and build a team from the first-generation Pokédex. That makes the games the strongest answer for someone asking, “Is Let’s Go Pikachu closer to FireRed?” In setting, atmosphere and story landmarks, yes.
What changes from FireRed and LeafGreen
Wild Pokémon encounters use a timing-and-aiming capture interface. You throw Poké Balls directly, with motion controls or button input, instead of entering a battle with every wild Pokémon, reducing its HP and then selecting a Poké Ball. Trainer battles remain turn-based, but catching is no longer the same resource-and-status-management exercise found in FireRed and LeafGreen.
The partner Pokémon is also more prominent. Pikachu or Eevee travels with you, participates in the presentation of the adventure and can use special partner techniques. The choice is version-based: Pikachu begins in Let’s Go, Pikachu!, while Eevee begins in Let’s Go, Eevee!.
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Who should choose each version?
- Choose Let’s Go, Pikachu! if you want Pikachu as the central partner and prefer that version’s exclusive Pokémon lineup.
- Choose Let’s Go, Eevee! if Eevee is your preferred partner or you want its version-exclusive encounters.
- Choose either if your priority is replaying Kanto with updated presentation rather than reproducing FireRed’s exact mechanics.
2. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
The best choice for the classic gym-and-route feel
For readers asking, “Which Switch Pokémon remake has the classic gym-and-route feel?”, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the clearest recommendation after Let’s Go. The official site describes them as an adventure “reborn on Nintendo Switch” that recreates the nostalgia of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. The Pokémon product page identifies them as updates of the Nintendo DS role-playing games.
The structure is familiar to FireRed and LeafGreen players: progress through connected routes and towns, challenge Gym Leaders in sequence, assemble a team through battles and exploration, and work toward the Pokémon League. Battles use the traditional turn-based format, so your choices include moves, type matchups, switching, held items and team composition rather than only capture timing.
Rank #2
- Journey to the Sinnoh region in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl!
- Embark on an adventure through the Sinnoh region with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl on Nintendo Switch, coming on 19th November, 2021!
- Adventures in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl will take place in the Sinnoh region. Rich in nature and with towering Mount Coronet at its heart, Sinnoh is a land of many myths passed down through the ages. You’ll visit many different locations in the Sinnoh region, while striving to become the Champion of the Pokémon League.
- The original story has been faithfully reproduced, and the sense of scale in the originals’ towns and routes has been carefully preserved. People who played Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl can revisit familiar places and relive familiar scenes once more. For those setting out through Sinnoh for the first time, plenty of new encounters and surprises await.
- These remakes include easy-to-understand, player-friendly conveniences of the modern Pokémon series, plus up-close-and-personal Pokémon battle scenes.
Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl?
The two versions share the same broad campaign and differ mainly in version-exclusive Pokémon and some encounter details. Pick based on which exclusive creatures you want, which cover legendary appeals to you, or which physical edition is available at a better price. There is no need to buy both for the core adventure.
How it differs from FireRed and LeafGreen
Sinnoh is not Kanto, so the map, regional Pokédex and Gym Leaders are different. The presentation is a modernized 3D interpretation rather than FireRed and LeafGreen’s pixel-art overhead style. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl therefore preserve the shape of the classic adventure more closely than the exact setting.
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3. Pokémon Sword and Shield
For a straightforward modern mainline campaign
Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are good choices when you want the established Pokémon formula with a newer region and systems. They take place in Galar, introduce a different regional Pokédex and use contemporary 3D environments, but the central rhythm remains recognizable: explore, battle Trainers, defeat Gym Leaders, earn badges and challenge the Pokémon League.
That makes Sword and Shield a medium-similarity option. They do not recreate Kanto or the FireRed/LeafGreen storyline, yet they are closer in structure to those games than Legends: Arceus or an open-world Scarlet/Violet playthrough.
What modern systems to expect
- Galar’s stadium-like Gym battles give badge challenges a larger spectacle than the older games.
- The Wild Area provides a broad explorable space with Pokémon visible in the environment and changing encounter possibilities.
- Newer battle mechanics and regional features make team building less constrained than in a direct remake.
Choose Sword or Shield if you want a traditional Pokémon campaign but have already exhausted Kanto and Sinnoh, or if you prefer a more contemporary presentation without moving fully to an open-world structure.
Rank #3
![Pokémon Brilliant Diamond: Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41rWkUhlsaL._SL160_.jpg)
- Revisit the Sinnoh region from the original Pokémon Diamond Version game and set off to try and become the Champion of the Pokémon League
- The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond game brings new life to this remade classic with added features
- Explore the Grand Underground to dig up items and Pokémon Fossils, build a Secret Base, and more!
- Test your style and rhythm in a Super Contest Show
- A reimagined adventure, now for the Nintendo Switch system
4. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Best for a newer open-world experience
Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are the Switch choices for players who want to move beyond FireRed and LeafGreen’s linear route order. Their region is designed around broad exploration, with objectives that can be approached in a less rigid sequence than the older games.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThis makes them medium-to-low matches mechanically. You still catch Pokémon, build a party, fight Trainers and pursue major story goals, but the world presentation and progression logic are substantially newer. If the part you miss is selecting a team and watching it grow, Scarlet and Violet can be satisfying. If the part you miss is following a carefully ordered route from one town to the next, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are closer.
When Scarlet or Violet is the right recommendation
- Choose them when free exploration is more important than reproducing the classic map structure.
- Choose them if you want a newer mainline region and systems rather than another remake.
- Do not choose them solely because you want a Kanto nostalgia trip; Let’s Go is better aligned with that goal.
5. Pokémon Legends: Arceus
The exploration-first alternative
The official site calls Pokémon Legends: Arceus “an all-new action RPG Sinnoh adventure.” That wording matters: this is not a conventional remake of an older gym journey. It changes the pace and priorities of Pokémon, placing more emphasis on surveying the region, observing Pokémon, completing research tasks and interacting with the environment.
Legends: Arceus is therefore the least mechanically similar game on this list, but it can be the most refreshing follow-up if you have played several traditional entries. You will still catch and battle Pokémon, yet the game asks you to study species and explore deliberately rather than simply move from one badge checkpoint to the next.
Who should play it after FireRed?
Pick Legends: Arceus if your favorite FireRed moments were discovering new areas, finding unusual Pokémon and assembling a team through exploration. Skip it as your first follow-up if what you specifically want is the familiar eight-Gym progression and conventional route design.
Rank #4
- Revisit the Sinnoh region and the story of the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond version game.
- Adventures in the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond game will take place in the familiar Sinnoh region.
- Rich in nature and with mighty mount coronet at its heart, Sinnoh is a land of many myths passed down through the ages.
- Experience the nostalgic story from the Pokémon pearl version game in a reimagined adventure, Pokémon shining pearl, now on the Nintendo Switch system.
- You’ll choose either Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup to be your first partner Pokémon and then set off on your journey to become the champion of the Pokémon League.
How to choose based on the part of FireRed you miss
| If you miss… | Play… | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Kanto, familiar characters and first-generation nostalgia | Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Let’s Go, Eevee! | They return to Kanto and center Pikachu or Eevee as the partner. |
| Routes, towns, badges and classic turn-based progression | Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl | They retain the traditional remake structure in Sinnoh. |
| A newer but still conventional mainline game | Sword or Shield | They use a modern region while preserving the broad badge-and-League framework. |
| Freedom to explore and tackle goals in a newer format | Scarlet or Violet | The open-world presentation changes how progression works. |
| Discovery, research and a change of pace | Legends: Arceus | It is an action RPG built around exploration and research. |
Can you play FireRed and LeafGreen themselves on Switch?
Nintendo investor material states that Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen released for Nintendo Switch on February 27, 2026, and reports more than four million units in global cumulative sell-through during their first six weeks. Availability, edition details and regional storefront listings can change, so check the Nintendo eShop for your account region.
If those Switch releases are available to you and your goal is the original FireRed/LeafGreen experience, they are the direct answer rather than a substitute. The games above are useful when you want a different adventure with a similar appeal, a newer presentation, or a particular kind of progression.
Moving Pokémon between Switch games
Pokémon HOME is Nintendo’s supported storage service for moving compatible Pokémon among multiple Pokémon games. Nintendo’s compatibility information includes Let’s Go, Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, Sword, Shield, Scarlet and Violet among the Switch titles supported by Pokémon HOME. Compatibility is not identical in every direction: a Pokémon can only be transferred where the destination game supports that species and transfer path, and moving a Pokémon may prevent it from returning to the original game.
Use HOME as a collection-management tool rather than assuming that every Pokémon, move or feature carries across every title. Check the current compatibility list before making a one-way transfer.
A practical play order after FireRed and LeafGreen
- Start with Let’s Go if you want to revisit Kanto while experiencing a more accessible Switch presentation.
- Continue with Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl if you want another remake with the most recognizable route-and-gym structure.
- Play Sword or Shield for a conventional modern region and a moderate increase in systems and presentation.
- Move to Scarlet or Violet when you want open-world exploration and less rigid progression.
- Use Legends: Arceus as the change of pace when you want exploration and research to replace the standard badge journey.
Common mistakes when choosing a FireRed-like game
- Assuming Kanto means identical mechanics: Let’s Go shares the region and nostalgia but modernizes catching and partner play.
- Expecting every remake to use the same map: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remake Sinnoh, not Kanto.
- Choosing an open-world game for a linear-route preference: Scarlet and Violet intentionally loosen the classic sequence.
- Treating Legends: Arceus as a standard gym adventure: Its action-RPG and research structure are deliberate departures.
- Assuming HOME transfers are universally reversible: Check the current compatibility rules before moving a valuable Pokémon.
Bottom line
Buy Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Let’s Go, Eevee! for the closest Kanto and nostalgia match. Choose Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl for the strongest classic gym-and-route substitute. Pick Sword or Shield for a conventional modern mainline game, Scarlet or Violet for open-world progression, and Legends: Arceus for an exploration-focused reinvention.
Quick Recap
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