Pokemon Fire Red & Leaf Green: Prima Official Game Guide [Paperback]

Oops .. I did it again. Bought the Prima guide instead of the Nintendo Power guide. Five minutes after receiving my Prima guide (and taking a VERY brief glance inside), I ran straight to my computer and ordered the Nintendo Power guide instead.

The Prima guide clearly states on Page Two that it has "as few spoilers as possible so the game's surprises aren't ruined" .. well, that's not what we're looking for, is it? LOL

I don't cheat when I play games, but I do like to know what challenges are available in each section. This book shows you pretty pictures of each town, but there is not even an overall map. The Nintendo Power guide tells you EVERYTHING, but you can still play the game without feeling like you are cheating.

Here are the differences between the two guides that I found most irritating:

Battles:

Prima tells you are going to have a battle, but doesn't give any other info.

Nintendo Power (NP) tells you the Pokemon TYPES you will be facing and what types you should use for best effect.

Maps:

Almost non-existant in Prima. There isn't even an overall map of the area. Only way to see where you are it to look at your "town map" in your bag.

NP gives you detailed maps so you can clearly prepare for what lies ahead.

Pokedex:

Prima only lists the Pokemon by NUMBER .. not in alphabetical order. This bugged the heck out of me! I don't know their NUMBERS for crying out loud! LOL

NP includes an alphabetical listing for easier reference.

Charts:

Prima tells you nothing about health items, ball types, things to collect, Pokemon natures, etc. ONLY lists included are the list of berries (but no info on even if they are included in the game of not) and a list of HM/TM's.

NP tells you everything. No simpler way to say it.

Anyway ... save yourself some money. I GUARANTEE that any avid player will end up buying the NP book in the end. Might as well only spend money on ONE book instead of TWO. :)

I've played every Nintendo Pokemon game, and I have guides for most of them. The Prima Official Game Guide for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is the worst guide I've seen.

The guide will get you past all the gym leaders and tell you where to catch Articuno, Moltres, and Zapados, but that is as far as it goes. It says on the cover "maps for every area," but I've found at least seven areas that it does not have maps for. Next, on the cover it says, "hard-to-catch Pokemon found," but I have so far found wild Pokemon in areas that the guide says you cannot find them. For example, in Viridian City, it says you can catch Gyrados, Horsea, Magikarp, Psyduck, Slowpoke, and Staryu, but I have caught Slowbros in that water as well.

I have also found several glitches in the guide. For example, it says you can catch Gyrados in Fuchsia City, but the picture of Gyrados is really a Weedle. The maps show where some of the items are hidden but I have found items in places not shown on the map. Another annoying thing is that it does not list the level of the legendary birds, so I don't know whether to try and capture them now or later.

In the Pokedex section of the guide, it says that some Pokemon can be caught on Seven Island and Six Island. What does that mean? The guide does not say anything about a Six or Seven Island. All they tell you is that some Pokemon can be caught there. Does that mean it's a hidden Island? Does that mean you can catch some Pokemon, but the guide writers don't know where? No map or description is included in the guide.

The maps don't always show where all the passages and paths lead. The maps do not show where some caves go. At the edge of some of the maps it says "to town," but it does not name the town.

The guide only tells you the name and location of the items, but not what it does. I have found items that are not listed in the guide. It tells you different events, for example if you talk to somebody you will get a Pokemon, but so far I have found at least three events that it does not list. It tells you the name and level of every trainer's Pokemon but it does not say the attacks or items of each Pokemon. Every other guide I've seen at least has the attacks of the elite four and your rival. But this guide only says the name and level; it does not say the attacks or items of any Pokemon. It does not even say what level the Pokemon are that you get in events. Overall, don't get it. I am planning to get the official Nintendo guide; when I sell the Prima guide, be sure not to buy it. I have used the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire Official Nintendo guide and it is everything I need.

Not much. If you want to complete the game but get absolutely nothing else... then get the guide. The walkthrough and layout is really detailed... but aside from the walkthrough getting you through the game (which even that isn't saying too much) there's not much else.

To be frank. The guide has nice maps and screenshots. They're fairly detailed and good for navigating. But as others have stated below. Some things in this guide are just plain useless.

Take the Pokedex for example. If you want a detailed pokedex Prima expects you to spend 25 ADDITONAL dollars to buy a better one. Lets add that up shall we? Pokemon Game 35 dollars; Prima's Official Strategy Guide: 15 dollars; Prima's Collector's Edition Pokedex, 25 dollars. If you go with Prima you'll spend over 70 dollars to get it all! Do you really want that?

That's not the only problem. There is no moves lists and they don't give you an explanation on things like berries, nature, breeding or even on trading! What kind of Pokemon Guide doesn't give you info on Trading!? Isn't the point of Pokemon to Catch 'em All? You won't do that with this guide.

Obviously, Prima assumes that everyone who picks this game up is already a Pokemon Veteran. A guide should never assume such. Not everyone played the original version. The fact that this guide was on the shelf two weeks before the game was even released tells you that Prima didn't exploit the game for all it was worth. There's a lot of info missing from this guide.

My advice, grab the Nintendo Power guide. Its 100 pages larger and doesn't have quite so many errors. If you DO grab this guide then know that you won't master the game. If you just want to get through the game without really mastering it or finding anything out (or you don't have questions) then go ahead and grab it. But if you WANT everything this game has to offer save your money and buy the Nintendo Power guide.

*Review will be revised later*