Now having finally played through them all, this is definitely the best version of the Kanto games.
I've been a Pokemon fan as long as I remember, and now having beaten this one I can say that I've finally played through all of the mainline games. And I had a genuine blast with this game. I definitely think that the experience with a Pokemon game will ultimately be impacted by what team is used, so my team was: Charizard, Parasect, Arbok, Marowak, Cloyster, and Aerodactyl. All Pokemon I've never used, and to mixed results. But those mixed results provided some really memorable moments, and some battles that went to the wire, which was so thrilling.
The mechanical updates to Kanto is one of the major aspects of why I feel this is the best Kanto experience. I've played a good bit of Red/Blue, and a lot of my frustrations were completely removed, especially in stuff like Wrap, Sleep, and the Special Stat. It may not be perfect, as Psychic types are still a bit unbalanced, albeit a bit less than before, but what they do change provides for a better experience.
I also just absolutely adore the Sevii Islands. I didn't spend a whole lot of time in them, but the amount that I did spend, I absolutely loved it. There's not really many locations in the entirety of pokemon that feels like a collection of small islands, and it's been a long time for me to explore an area in Pokemon that, to me, was entirely new, it was absolutely breathtaking.
It's been a long time coming for me to finally get to Pokemon Fire Red. And it was definitely worth the wait, as this game was absolutely amazing. And with this, I've finally played through all of the mainline Pokemon games.