- Primary Subject: Pokémon Legacy Titles & Emulation (GBC/GBA/DS Era)
- Key Update: On February 27, 2026 (Pokémon Day), Nintendo officially released Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen as standalone digital downloads on the eShop for Switch and Switch 2, marking the first time these GBA classics have been legally available on modern consoles.
- Status: Confirmed (Official Re-releases) / Volatile (Emulator Takedowns)
- Last Verified: February 25, 2026
- Quick Answer: While official hardware provides a nostalgic feel, emulation is often preferred for its "Quality of Life" features like speed-up toggles, save states, and 4K filters.
Throughout the years, Pokemon has given its fans many games. Since the first generation of mainline entries, the series has evolved to ensure it's accessible to modern players, updating features and mechanics and making everything much more user-friendly.
However, older Pokemon games still have a lot of charm that current ones just cannot replicate, and it's natural for fans to want to dive back into them. Some are fortunate enough to have official hardware from the past that allows them to do so even today, but most people normally don't.
And while there are ways to still play them from modern consoles, like the Switch 2, there are limitations that don't make them the ideal way to play. So, what's left for people who want to play older Pokemon games and have the best experience possible? Well, that's where emulation comes in.
The more die-hard fans would say that using emulators to play the earlier mainstream entries is wrong, as it won't have the authentic feel that playing them on official hardware would have. While I do agree, I would also say that this point is actually a positive rather than a negative.
Firstly, attaining that feeling of authenticity won't be easy, as old consoles like a Game Boy Advance or a GameCube are considered retro nowadays, and that means they're rather expensive. Also, not every store will have them, so they'll be tough to come by, and you'll be very lucky if you do. This goes for the older Pokemon games you'd want to play as well.
However, that isn't the case if you're planning to use an emulator. The only thing you'd have to do on your end is open your PC or even your phone, do a quick search for the kind of emulator that lets you play the game you want, download some files, and then you're good to go. It's quick, easy, and you don't have to spend anything to play masterpieces like Pokemon Emerald, Yellow, or even Sun and Moon.
Next, if you were to play such games through older hardware, then you'd have to deal with the issues that came with them. It's no secret that while Pokemon games of the past were fun and charming, they had problems like being too slow at times or having only one save file.
While they're not exactly huge and game-breaking problems, they pile up and can somewhat take away some of the joy of the journey. Some longtime fans see them as part of the charm, but if we're going to be honest with ourselves, they're a hindrance.
Emulating the older Pokemon games ensures you'll barely deal with those issues at all. This is because the software that allows you to do so will likely have a ton of features that let you bypass them. For example, grinding in older titles like Pokemon Red is fun, but takes way too long even when you turn off battle animations.
Since you don't exactly have a lot of time to waste, the emulator helps you with that by providing a feature that increases in-game speed to whatever you wish. Something like that ensures you have a much better experience, and it doesn't stop there. Emulators also have other features that make playthroughs of older Pokemon games more enjoyable, such as save states and even cheats, making them the best way to play.
The final reason that makes emulation better than authenticity is the fact that it's much more convenient. Let's say you're planning to play Pokemon FireRed or LeafGreen on a Game Boy Advance. When doing so, you need to consider things like batteries, proper lighting, and whether your cartridges aren't damaged enough that you can't play with them.
Having to take note of all that can be quite a hassle, and it's honestly not worth the trouble just for wanting to experience the older games the way people used to back in the day. If you choose to go the emulation route, then whatever you download is right there on your phone and PC, and all it takes to play is a simple click or tap, and you get right into it.
Also, you can arrange the files any way you please, you can locate them without any problems, and it's all just there on one system rather than multiple ones. Another thing is that emulators even have filters to give you that feeling of playing the older Pokemon games on official hardware, further emphasizing that it's the better option compared to going the authentic route.
At the end of the day, it is entirely up to you on how you want to experience older Pokemon games, but I would say you're much better off emulating them. If there comes a time when Nintendo makes every mainline entry playable on a single system, then that's when I'll say official hardware is better, but that isn't the case now. So again, consider emulating the older titles, as more worth your time.
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