Fans Turn Pokemon Fire Red Into an MMO

PokeMMO could be the multiplayer experience fans have been craving, as long as Nintendo doesn’t find out about it.

Of all the dream projects that Nintendo fans wish would become a reality, perhaps near the top of the list is a Pokemon MMORPG. Nintendo has always been a little reluctant about the idea, even though the single-player game already has multiplayer components built in through its Pokemon-trading systems. Of course, this is the internet, where modders brave the lands that Pokemon developers fear to tread, so fan-made projects naturally crop up from time to time. And so, for what is guaranteed to be a very limited time, you can download a PC mod for Pokemon Fire Red called PokeMMO that allows hundreds of players to play through the game at the same time.

Let’s just get this much out of the way right now: based on Nintendo’s past history with fan remakes, there is no way the Pokemon publisher will let this project survive past its alpha state. Not only is Nintendo incredibly protective of its intellectual property, the mod only works with the already illegal PC ROM of a Game Boy Advanced Pokemon title. Considering that the project has been in development for months, it’s actually somewhat surprising that Nintendo hasn’t issued a cease-and-desist yet.

On the other hand, PokeMMO seems to provide the exact multiplayer experience that fans have craved for years. Watching twenty players hunting the long grass for Wild Pokemon is surprisingly natural and fitting, despite the single player proportions of the original game. Since PokeMMO is fully equipped with Red Fire‘s quests and content, there’s already lots for players to do. All the mod does is add standard MMO features to the mix, including group parties, friends lists, in-game chats, and multiplayer battle tournaments.

While we can’t say for certain how long this project has, at the very least PokeMMO could prove that Nintendo doesn’t need to remake the entire Pokemon formula to design an MMO. All it needs is a tweaked classic game and accessible servers, and the fans will rush online faster than you can say “Gotta catch ’em all!”

Source: Eurogamer