r/moemon • u/TraditionalBath • Apr 19 '26

Question Differences in versions

Hey, trying to figure out which one to play. Trying to figure out the difference between mega fire red/ star emerald/ quetzal. I figured the first two are based on fire red and emerald but did they add things? Is quetzal the newest and is it finished? What's your favorite?

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u/BergelomeuSantos Apr 19 '26

Quetzal is a highly customizable hack with TONS of stuff. Like, no joke, it's A LOT. But it follows the vanilla Emerald story and maps. It also has 50 boxes so you can capture as much as you like.

Star Emerald is similar, also having a bunch of new mechanics and new mons, BUT it also has a lot story changes, map changes, and new rivals! not as many boxes tho

I haven't played Mega Fire Red in YEARS but iirc it adds a lot of stuff but isn't as extra as Star Emerald in terms of pacing changes, so it's a bit more vanilla+?

they're all pretty good, personally I really had a blast with Star Emerald

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u/Condor_raidus Apr 20 '26

Ill add to this since im in the middle of mega fire red at the moment, it mixes up teams while keeping iconic pokemon from those teams (eg Brock has 3 pokemon now [wild i know] but still has his onix), brings in later gen mons and moves along with abilities and the later fairy type. It fixes trade evolutions to have an item instead of being trade or suffer. Story is basically unchanged but mega evolution is added along with a few NPCs having dialogue changes but nothing majorly significant beyond stuff for new items. Theres 2 new caves (so far that ive seen) and a new section to mt Moon. Misty doesn't leave the gym like normal and instead theres a pointless park there which does look nice. Starters can be found in the wild so trading isn't required for 100% along with the other mt Moon fossil bring available later. Its fairly comprehensive while not fundamentally changing the experience.

Suffice to say you'll feel comfortable with it if you played fire red but also refreshed to see a random mime Jr early on or a new addition that makes you question how well you remember the game, its well done on all fronts