As if handheld Pokémon titles weren’t portable enough, a resourceful Reddit user has developed a mod that runs what appears to be Nintendo’s Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on an Android-based car radio.
User ZanClackRuso posted a photo of the Pokémon game, which was apparently ported from the Game Boy Advance and played using the touchscreen display of their car radio. The user didn’t share details of the mod or if it can also play other Game Boy Advance titles, but that didn’t stop others from asking how it works or chiming in on their experience modding games to play on random devices.
One user asked if the setup involved a Game Boy emulator running on a phone and then fed to Apple Carplay or Android Auto. Another user even suggested a way to play games on the car radio using a controller, writing, “If you have a free USB port on that screen or the copilot’s glove box, you can plug in a controller for them to play as you drive without needing to use the touch screen, which is much more comfortable.” Others poked fun at the mod, implying the many ways it distracts from safe driving precautions.
There are certainly safer ways to play Pokémon games, such as on the Nintendo Switch or the numerous Nintendo DS and Game Boy iterations. Pokémon GO is arguably the most mobile version of the handheld games since it lets friends team up to scout and catch Pokémon in the “real world,” but game developer Niantic explicitly discourages anyone from playing the game while driving. Pokémon mods are at the very least novelty exploits or creative ways to breathe new life into otherwise mundane devices.
The Pokémon games have come a long way since the first Red and Green Game Boy versions were released in 1996. The brainchild of Satoshi Tajiri and legendary game director Shigeru Miyamoto, the two collaborated to create a “bug-catching” game that eventually rivaled Nintendo’s best titles, including the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda games. The newest handheld games in the franchise, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, came out in November 2022.
Despite the newest release, the Pokémon fan base remains divided when it comes to version favorites, with some claiming that Pokémon FireRed and LeafGrean still hold up as the best in the franchise 20 years after release.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.
Source: Reddit
