Brendan hardly resembles Red, especially his Emerald design. In fact, he gets bashed online for that exact reason, aka. "looks like he has white hair" and "doesn't look badass like Red and Gold."
As for Gold, he's clearly based on Red, but it's actually justified (GSC were direct sequels to RBY), and he still has his own distinct style (backwards cap, red/black/yellow color scheme).
Compare this to Lucas, who, when you look past the scarf, is nothing more than a palette swap of FRLG Red. Or, Hilbert, who is nothing more than a teenage version of Red. And, there's absolutely no justification for it besides giving the Eternal 10 Year Old a new outfit to wear. None of the later games are sequels to RBY, nor have any story connection to RBY.
As for Gold, he's clearly based on Red, but it's actually justified (GSC were direct sequels to RBY), and he still has his own distinct style (backwards cap, red/black/yellow color scheme).
Compare this to Lucas, who, when you look past the scarf, is nothing more than a palette swap of FRLG Red. Or, Hilbert, who is nothing more than a teenage version of Red. And, there's absolutely no justification for it besides giving the Eternal 10 Year Old a new outfit to wear. None of the later games are sequels to RBY, nor have any story connection to RBY.