Pokémon Red and Blue finally get a 3D rerelease after 30 years of waiting

After 30 years of being the best (like no one ever was) and catching 'em all, you might think we've run out of ways to play Pokémon. Well, you'd be wrong, as one intrepid modder is celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary in style.

While Pokémon X & Y welcomed us to the Kalos region on the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, there was disappointment that the 20th-anniversary rereleases of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue on the 3DS were simply emulations of the original Game Boy titles.

Vocal Pokémon critics have complained that the 30th anniversary has given us little more than Switch rereleases of FireRed and LeafGreen, special TGC sets, and our first official LEGO collab, but while we'll take as much of the latter as we can, we'll admit things have been a bit quiet on the gaming front.

Fear not, because modder BryanThaBoi has released a mod that recreates Red and Blue in glorious 3D and lets you play your own retro diorama.

How can you play Pokémon Red and Blue in 3D?

Trust us, you haven't experienced the horrors of the Lavender Town Pokémon Tower until you've experienced it like this.

Serving as part of the Pokémon Gen 1 Recompilation Project, modders have done away with the need for traditional emulators and instead, turn the classic RPG into a native game on your computer or phone. Yes, you can take these 3D 'Mon on the go.

Although BryanThaBoi continues to tinker with features like online connectivity, swapping out characters, and a variety of colour palettes, the big talking point is the "Dramatic Shape" Voxel Mod.

Due to the Recompilation Project's dynamic angle abilities, BryanThaBoi has released a full 3D version of these classics, boasting an HD-2D aesthetic similar to Octopath Traveler.

We've seen this kind of concept before in terms of HD-2D Pokémon, but this is the real deal.

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The future of the Gen 1 Recompilation project

This isn't even the best part, with the mod giving us 2.5D battles that play out on the backdrop of the 3D world, as well as an Animal Crossing-inspired rolling world curvature. To be honest, what's not to love here?

If you're already sold on the idea and are becoming a real-life version of Futurama's "shut up and take my money" meme, bear in mind you'll need the latest Gen1Recomp release and a US ROM of either Pokémon Red, Blue, or Yellow.

We'd personally go for Yellow so you can have that adorable 3D Pikachu following you around.

Although BryanThaBoi admits there's more to be done and things can get a bit glitchy down there in Kanto, you're encouraged to follow updates via the project's Discord. His YouTube channel is already full of updates, even turning Red and Blue into a DOOM-esque shooter.

Updates are pretty regular, and BryanTheBoi is great at keeping fans in the loop, so we can't wait to see how this project evolves.

Sadly, the Gen 1 Recompilation Project is in danger of having a Streisand effect, as the more people take note of it in all its glory, the more likely Nintendo's legal eagles are to swarm.

Even though the project has been carefully engineered as an open-source tool that includes no ROM files or copyrighted Pokémon games, both The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have a long history of trying to dismantle fan creations like this.

If we were you, we'd grab our packs and caps and head to the S.S. Anne while you still can.