Pokémon Soft Red is basically a smoother, more polished take on the original Red version—same classic Kanto adventure, but with little tweaks that make it way less janky. The sprites got a glow-up, some of the weirder mechanics are fixed, and battles feel snappier. Still has that nostalgic grind, though—you’ll be leveling up your Charmander in Viridian Forest just like the old days, but without as much frustration.

Honestly, if you’ve played the original a million times, this is a nice way to revisit it without the clunkiness. The rival’s still a jerk, Brock’s still a wall if you picked the wrong starter, and MissingNo. is… well, let’s just say some glitches are too iconic to remove completely.