Day 22: Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Let's talk about Pokemon Generation 3. This particular generation of Pokemon holds a special place in my heart as Pokemon Emerald was the first Pokemon game I've ever played and it left a good impression on me. I'll never forget sweeping everything with my Sceptile, exploring the world of Hoenn and battling trainers, it was just a fun experience all around. So when Nintendo announced they'd be remaking Generation 3 on 3DS, do you think I was hyped as hell?
Uh…duh!
Now this is how you make an already great game even greater. Just take the original Ruby and Sapphire, give it the mechanics that were introduced since then like Physical/Special Split, Fairy type, Unlimited TMs, and Mega Evolutions, and make a story that ties in with the lore of the franchise. Speaking of the story let's talk about it…
The story in Pokemon ORAS is similar to every other main series Pokemon game: Go from town to town collecting eight gym badges to challenge the Pokemon League Elite Four and Champion, battling a series of trainers along the way, all while stopping either Team Aqua or Team Magma depending on which version you're playing from expanding the sea or expanding the land respectively, and then try and stop some cataclysmic event as a result of the evil team's chaos. Same shit different generation. But here's one thing that's totally different…
Pokemon ORAS made up for X and Y's lack of a proper aftergame by giving us the Delta Episode. A mini-story that adds another few hours or so to the story where the player and new character Zinnia have to stop a meteor from colliding with earth by using Rayquazza to destroy it! This aftergame also gives us a lot of character development from Aqua and Magma Admins Matt and Courtney respectively, and I really like Zinnia's character too. I don't know what it is, whether it's her backstory, her role in the Delta Episode, or her character design, but something about Zinnia sticks with me.
On the subject of character development, I really like what Nintendo did with the character Wally, turning him from a shy and sickly young boy, to a confident young man who wants to be a great Pokemon trainer. You could argue that that's his same personality in the original games, but in ORAS, with updated graphics, animations, and music (WALLY HAS HIS OWN BADASS BATTLE THEME!) that point becomes much more apparent. I also really like the relationship the player character shares with his rival May/Brendan depending on who you're playing as. The friendship here seems so much more real and adorable, and dare I say…almost romantic at points.
Enough about the characters and story, let's talk about the gameplay, specifically with the mechanic Generation 6 introduced: Mega Evolutions. Nintendo added a lot more. On top of returning ones we now have Sceptile, Swampert, Sharpedo, Camerupt, Altaria, Salamence, Metagross, Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, Rayquazza, and the Eon Duo joining in on the fun. And that's only the a few of the Hoenn pokemon that got this treatment. I haven't even begun to talk about Pidgeot, Steelix, Gallade, hell, even pokemon that used to suck like Sableye, Beedrill, Glalie, Audino, and Lopunny are actually fun to use now due to Mega Evolutions.
There are more aspects to love about the gameplay beyond that. Once the Delta Episode is over, you can go around and catch other legendary Pokemon courtesy of some strange portals, or screw around and fly around Hoenn on the backs of Latios/Latias. They even bring back Pokemon Contests and Pokeblocks for some more fun side content.
The Pokenav Plus on the bottom touch screen is also a nice touch. You can look at the map to see which trainers are up for a rematch, catch certain types of Pokemon, or even watch broadcasts that usually summarize events that you've done throughout the game.
And let's not forget the music! All of the great songs from the original games return and they all sound amazing, especially the battle themes of Maxie/Archie, Champion, and the brand new song for Wally. These songs are downright amazing and are up there as some of my favorite boss themes in gaming.
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire do so much to improve from the original games that it's without a doubt the best Pokemon remake we've gotten so far. Let's hope that whenever the Generation 4 remakes roll around they'll be even better than these.
