Pokemon Dark Violet

Pokemon Dark Violet is a remake of the very first Pokemon games, Red and Green, built on a FireRed ROM by Chaos Rush. It is not a reskin of FireRed: the whole game was rescripted and remapped from scratch, with map layouts that take cues from HeartGold and SoulSilver and a look that borrows more from Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald than from FireRed.

The hack has an unusual history. Chaos Rush worked on it from 2012 to 2014, releasing alpha builds in early 2013, before cancelling the project. Four years later, in 2018, a hacker named hacksrepairman picked it up and finished it, and Chaos Rush added final touches. The finished game is now listed as complete on its PokeCommunity thread.

Dark Violet's roster is deliberately compact: 210 Pokemon, covering the original Kanto species plus their evolutions and relatives from later generations. Every one of them uses sprites from Chaos Rush's DS-style 64x64 sprite project. The move pool grew too, with 113 moves from Gen 4 and 5, movesets modelled closely on Black 2 and White 2, and the Physical/Special split.

You still travel Kanto with Red, Green and Blue in the story, and the classic gym lineup is mostly intact, but the familiar route is presented in a way that feels new. In 2022 a modder called Verloren 5 released an updated build with Black/White-style menus; it is unofficial, and Chaos Rush has not publicly confirmed it.

• Remake of Red and Green, rescripted and remapped from scratch
• 210 Pokemon, including later-generation relatives of Kanto species
• DS-style 64x64 sprites for every Pokemon
• 113 new moves from Gen 4 and Gen 5
• Movesets based on Black 2 and White 2
• Physical/Special split
• Map layouts inspired by HeartGold and SoulSilver
• Reworked music
• Optional 2022 update with BW-style menus, catch EXP and decapitalized text

Dark Violet plays like a well-made classic rather than a challenge hack. Updated movesets and the Physical/Special split make battles more interesting than in the originals, but there are no level caps or extra difficulty modes.

It is ideal for players who want a nostalgic Kanto run that does not feel like replaying FireRed. If you expect modern conveniences such as the Fairy type or sideways stairs, note that this is a hack rooted in the early 2010s and does not include them.

• Patch the IPS file onto a clean FireRed ROM; it will not work on a Red or Green ROM.
• Do not assume FireRed knowledge carries over: maps and scripts are different, so explore.
• Expect one gym slot to differ from the classic lineup; the fifth leader is a surprise.
• Check new moves on your Pokemon, since Gen 4-5 attacks change many matchups.
• If you play the 2022 update, some players report a crash when opening the PC in mGBA, so save before using it.

The 2018 final version is the one completed by hacksrepairman and finished by Chaos Rush. It is the official release.

The 2022 update by Verloren 5 adds new quotes, full decapitalization, Black/White-styled screens for the bag, party, summary, Pokedex and PC, EXP after catching Pokemon, and a fix for poisoned Pokemon. Verloren 5 says they had permission, but Chaos Rush has not confirmed it, so treat it as an unofficial build.