I love game remakes. Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire for the Gameboy Advance came out at a turbulent time in my life, and though I played the game, I was never able to give it the time it deserved, and I definitely didn’t finish it. It was a game that haunted me like no other — as a Pokemaniac since the beginning. As technology advanced, and newer, better Pokemon games were released, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire continued to get buried in my game library and it became “the one that got away.”
Now, Nintendo has released Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire (ORAS) for the 3DS and I finally get a chance to finish the game I started 12 years ago, and my patience (let’s just call it that) is paying off as Pokemon ORAS may be the best Pokemon game yet.
If you’ve ever played a Pokemon game, you know the story. A new kid (boy or girl, you choose) moves to town, meets a neighbor and a crazy scientist-type who studies monsters. They are then tasked with a mission to travel the world fighting strangers with those monsters kept in his or her pocket. The mother (always a single woman) inexplicably lets the kid go, even though he or she is only a teenager at best, and the hero ends up unraveling a mystery or two, staves off a nefarious plot by a terrorist organization, and fights kids and adults — and even the elderly — on their way to being named Pokemon Champion.
Players choose from a boy or girl to start the adventure. The opposite sex becomes your neighbor/friend/rival.
Bad parenting aside, Pokemon games haven’t deviated from the formula at all since the late ’90s when the series took the world by storm. The true meat of a Pokemon game is in finding, battling and capturing the titular creatures and completing the Pokedex. Even though I have over 10 Psyducks in various boxes stretched over the previous games, catching a new one is always a thrill (he’s my favorite Poke). Each new game (or remake) adds new layers to the interface, and new “legendary” pokemon to hunt and collect. And that is why we keep coming back. Its the thrill of the hunt — that drive to “catch ’em all” that has been with Pokemaniacs since 1998 (here in North America).
In Pokemon ORAS, Game Freak has upped the ante by taking all of the advancements from Pokemon X & Y and adding them to this classic game. The advancements include 3D presentations and animations, box and item storage, and the godsend of all godsends, the PSS (Player Search System), which houses worldwide trading with other players, wonder trades, O-Powers, and random trainer-to-trainer battles with actual human beings as close as the same street you live on, or as far away as continents on the other side of the world. And to top it off, Game Freak has used this remake as a “testing ground” for new features that we will most surely see in the next core Pokemon titles.
Team Aqua (in Alpha Sapphire) and Team Magma (In Omega Ruby) try to cause havoc in the region and only you can stop them, apparently.
Mega Evolutions return, this time with a whole new bunch of Pokemon getting the next evolutionary step. Some are crazy cool looking (be sure you have the 3D turned on), and you can honestly feel the power of the poke as you battle. Even Slow Poke has a mega evolution. Yes, arguably the worst Pokemon in the game can now kick some major tail with a megastone. Who knew it was possible?
Soar is by far and away the best thing in the new game. It’s like the Hidden Machine (HM) Fly, but it gives the player total control to fly all over the Hoenn region, using “mode 7-like” graphics (originally introduced on the Super Nintendo System console). The best part is that when a player uses the Eon Flute to call his mount, that Latias/Latios doesn’t have to be in the six-poke party, but can be stored in the PC. This frees up a roster spot for a true powerhouse without having to worry about which poke has Fly for fast travel.
Soaring becomes THE mode of travel late in the game.
Another major addition is in how the player can “sneak,” “tip toe,” or “creep” through tall grass to sneak up on pokemon, or avoid them. By gently pressing on the circle pad, the character’s accentuated tip-toe motions are funny, and a life saver if you are beaten up and trying to get back to a Pokemon Center for healing, or just don’t want to be bothered. Going hand in hand with this feature is the new DexNav mode in the player’s Pokedex (one of many new ‘Dex additions). This warns players when a new pokemon is close, and even keeps track of that pokes caught in each area. Once all of the little buggers are captured, a bronze, silver, gold or platinum crown (more pokes can be accessed as you learn newer techniques, and the crowns signify your progress) tells you that you caught whatever is in the region and that you can move on — provided that you are, in fact, trying to “catch ’em all.”
Double battles and even horde battles await trainers in Hoenn. Note that even Audino has a mega evolution in ORAS.
The sneaking feature, teamed with the visual representation of the poke rustling in the grass is the next evolution of the entire franchise. We could be ever closer to the end of random battles, which is something that JRPGs have held onto for far too long. Pokemon ORAS is the bridge to a Pokemon game that will allow players to see what they are hunting, and that is most welcome of all.
Secret Bases return in ORAS, and partnered with all of the new technology of the 3DS — including street pass and full internet options, players can build the best little hideout and share it with other Pokemaniacs the world over. In fact, I have never felt like more of a member of a thriving community as I do in this game. I can play the story, or hunt pokes to complete my ‘Dex, or simply press a button, and trade or battle with complete strangers worldwide.
Secret Bases return, and players can fill them up with 20 items, furniture, and cool Pokemon-themed treasures.
As with the last major Pokemon remake (2010’s Pokemon Heartgold & Soulsilver), the end game content is amazing. Once the story is completed, so much opens up that the game only truly begins once the player earns the title of Pokemon League Champion. I’m not saying that core games don’t have end game content but it just feels like these remakes pack so much more into the game. It isn’t unheard of to burn over 100 hours or more in this game, and only 25-30 of those hours encompasses the “hero’s journey.” That alone makes Pokemon ORAS a must own game for Pokemon fans old and new.
All of the previous legendary Pokemon can be caught in ORAS in the end game content.
I could actually go on and on with all the little tweaks and additions that Game Freak has shoved into this game, but then this review would never end. The new features and interfaces, and moves — like Soar — are huge leaps in the right direction for the franchise as a whole, and as the next core games are most assuredly being developed as you read this, hopefully these changes are a harbinger of even more goodness to come.
Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire takes an older game in the franchise’s history and not only gives it a polish for a current-gen system, but advances the world of Pokemon with technical and gameplay additions that could forever change the franchise forever. Building on the good things introduced in Pokemon X & Y, and adding so much more to do, especially after the end game, Pokemon ORAS may be the best Pokemon game yet, and the future looks incredibly bright for a series that will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in a couple of years.
Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire was reviewed on 3DS and purchased at retail through the Nintendo eShop for the purpose of this review. It is available now exclusively on Nintendo 3DS.
