Needed something to play that didn't require much mental effort. It was very nice to play a version of Red with modern Pokemon QoL improvements. The physicial/special split in particular introduced viable party options that I had never used before (Kingler, Chansey, etc.). And the offline Wondertrade feature meant I could access those Pokemon from the very beginning of the game.
That said, Pokemon Red is still a slightly frustrating game to play in 2022. Navigating the item list was always a chore as you get later into the game and the amount of non-compartmentalized items grows bigger and bigger. The early parts of the game, before your party develops type coverage or strategy are still a grind, especially with the increased difficulty Red++ introduces. Speaking of difficulty, after Pewter City, the battles in this game are delightfully challenging. The AI had some hiccups here and there (switching back and forth between Pokemon over and over, using a regular Potion on a level 70 Pokemon, etc.), but the level scaling and team composition of the NPC trainers felt just right.
Red++ offers a better experience than the vanilla Red version while hitting you with the same nostalgia. It's an elegant revamp that shows restraint relative to other ROM hacks. But for someone unlike me who is more choosy about how they spend their time, I can't quite recommend it.
That said, Pokemon Red is still a slightly frustrating game to play in 2022. Navigating the item list was always a chore as you get later into the game and the amount of non-compartmentalized items grows bigger and bigger. The early parts of the game, before your party develops type coverage or strategy are still a grind, especially with the increased difficulty Red++ introduces. Speaking of difficulty, after Pewter City, the battles in this game are delightfully challenging. The AI had some hiccups here and there (switching back and forth between Pokemon over and over, using a regular Potion on a level 70 Pokemon, etc.), but the level scaling and team composition of the NPC trainers felt just right.
Red++ offers a better experience than the vanilla Red version while hitting you with the same nostalgia. It's an elegant revamp that shows restraint relative to other ROM hacks. But for someone unlike me who is more choosy about how they spend their time, I can't quite recommend it.