Review: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Pokémon Alpha Sapphire | Principal Platforms: Nintendo 3DS | Developer: Game Freak | Publisher: The Pokémon Company | Genre: RPG | Year: 2014

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When I first heard that there was going to be remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the first thing that sprang to mind was "Why?". I wasn't disappointed by the announcement but at the same time I wasn't particularly excited either, at least not as psyched as I was for the previous installments.

The original games are now well over a decade old and those who were perceptive enough would've surely noticed the little Easter egg in Pokémon X and Y foretelling the release of these two games. So without further ado let's take a look at the positives of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

First things first, let's talk about the demo. The demo starts you off in a late-game area which has some nice scenery to gaze at and people to talk to. Aside from having a chinwag with the local population, your main goal is to go on little "adventures" with your compatriot Steven. These are essentially bite-sized missions for you to complete; the more you finish the more rewards you'll receive which can then be transferred to the full game. For some bizarre reason you can only transfer one item every day but it's a minor quibble and on the whole the feature is good.

Naturally the demo is just designed to give you a taste of things to come; there isn't much to do other than complete missions with your preset Pokémon. Being able to transfer items to the full game was a nice idea though as it encourages you to play through the demo multiple times and experience the different content it has to offer.

The demo certainly helped whet my appetite so when the full game finally arrived it wasn't long before hours and hours of gameplay were being sunk into it. The game starts off with a wink to the fans; you're presented with the same introduction from the original games until it zooms out to reveal the actual 3D world of Hoenn; incredibly re-imagined. You'll be left gawking at the wonderfully vivid opening cutscene, taking in sights of lovely vistas and frolicking Pokémon.

The 3D technology certainly goes a long way to bringing the region to life and is probably the best aspect of these remakes. But of course where would this Pokémon game be without a good soundtrack to back up its impeccable visuals? Once again the very talented composers at Game Freak have done a great job of recreating that trademark sound of the originals, and have provided great tunes to listen to even when you're not playing the game!

Some of the rough edges of the predecessors have been touched up; flying is now capable of transporting you to almost anywhere on the map; something that probably should've been there to begin with. There is now a dedicated area for growing berries, very important if you strive to take on the challenge of the Pokémon talent contests. Not to mention that secret bases have been given a serious makeover; with tons of new decorations and locales available to ensure a highly customizable hideaway to call your own. The Pokémon gyms have also been cleverly redesigned with each one featuring its own unique shtick. Both games also feature some nice cinematic sequences, some of which are wildly different to each other and look really nice in 3D.

I seem to remember the signposting in the previous games being somewhat dodgy, I often got lost not knowing how to proceed. Needless to say the signposting in this game has been vastly improved, characters will sometimes take you with them to places in order to forward the story, something I'm sure the many younger players of this game will appreciate. The Exp. Share is received very early on and helps your whole team grow strong, perhaps too much so, but more on that later.

The improved user interface has been stocked with extra features and is sorted neatly into separate tabs. The Dexnav is one of these features; a scanner that indicates which Pokémon have already been caught in the area. It also helps you find the ones you haven't caught yet, an exceptionally useful tool for any serious collector. Each Pokédex entry has been significantly lengthened as well giving a bit more flavour to each Pokémon, something that is different between the two versions.

Later on in the game you'll receive an item called the Eon Flute, this instrument allows you to summon your pal Latias/Latios and take to the skies. For those of you who are tired of using the HM, you can instead take the scenic route by soaring over Hoenn, performing loop-de-loops and visiting hidden areas.

Whilst piloting Latias/Latios you can drop off anywhere on the map as well as access what they call mirage spots; areas which grant you the opportunity to catch Pokémon not normally found in the game including legendaries. Overall I thought this mechanic was a bit gimmicky, however it does add a few extra challenges for seasoned players.

Once the game has been finished you'll get to play the endgame quest, Delta Episode. A separate storyline which involves Rayquaza; the mascot of Pokémon Emerald, and a massive meteoroid falling towards earth (sound familiar?). The majority of gameplay really just involves you going to one place and then going to another with not much happening in between.

If you finish Delta Episode then you'll gain access to the battle institute; here you can test your Pokémon's mettle under tournament rules and experience the hardest challenge the game has to offer.

That just about wraps up my positives for the games; there's no real surprise that these turned out to be the best of the remake games so far (HeartGold, FireRed etc.).

They definitely have the advantage of 3D graphics and a streamlined UI, and it's nice to see that Game Freak have taken good care of the original games that are remembered for bringing Pokémon into the 32-bit era.

So, we've looked at the positive aspects of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and I've had plenty of good things to say, however all games have flaws and this one is no exception. Hold onto your hats because this could get ugly, mega ugly.

I challenge you to find one person who thought Mega Evolution was a good idea; go on, prove me wrong. Yes, it's no secret that this has to be one of the silliest ideas they've introduced to this generation. Did someone at Game Freak say "Here's a good idea, let's make all those really strong Pokémon even stronger!".

At first this concept seemed like a good way to give the old Pokémon a new lease on life, bringing previously subpar Pokémon to competitive levels. Whoever thought the likes of Metagross, Salamence and Garchomp needed to be even more powerful is either a complete idiot or an 8 year old child. Seriously, WHY!? Some Mega Evolutions are so powerful they upset the game's already fragile balance.

Not only does this completely unbalance the current metagame but it also kind of ruins the challenge of the games themselves. As soon as I got access to mega evolution, I completely walked the game from that point onwards. As you proceed through the game you'll be picking up lots of mega stones which, for a reason unbeknownst to me, don't even get a separate tab in the bag.

You'll be scrolling like mad through all these mega stones that you're not even using just to get to the items that you do want to use. Some of them are for Pokémon which I don't think even appear in the game, maybe not until after you've completed the story; very sloppy.

To be honest, even without mega Pokémon, the game still would've been a cakewalk anyway, mainly thanks to the Exp. Share I mentioned earlier. This item essentially gives experience points won from battles to all of your Pokémon and completely breaks the game in half! By the time I finished the game, my Pokémon were about 20 levels higher than any of the opposition!

It just goes to show that this item was probably included to help out the younger players who aren't as skilled at the game. I liked the idea of the Exp. Share because it can make having six Pokémon in your party viable (instead of cumbersome), but in this capacity it is completely broken. It wouldn't of mattered anyway, due to the execrable nature of the HMs (Hidden Machines).

That brings me to my next point, HM moves, ugh! Come on Game Freak, isn't it time we did away with this archaic method of locking the player in? There are eight HM moves in the game, that means at least two of your Pokémon won't have the moves you want them to have. Unless you've prepared for the ordeal by having two Pokémon that can learn them all, you'll be constantly switching out again and again. Even if you do have the ideal setup it still means that you'll be down two Pokémon slots, forcing you to train four instead of six. Haven't we come past the days of this nonsense? Pokémon deserves better than to be constantly hamstrung by these asinine rules.

I wouldn't say Pokémon is known for its consistency and there are a number of glaring omissions in this game which I think support this:

- Pokémon centers no longer contain the Pokémart, they are split up into separate buildings

- No auto-run, what happened to the skates from Pokémon X and Y?

- There are too few PC boxes for storing Pokémon, I count just seven (More are unlockable, but why have them locked in the first place?)

- The one-bike format has been dumped in favour of Acro and Mach bikes, why not save the hassle of constantly switching?

Don't get me wrong there are some good omissions too, but these just seem so pointless and annoying. It can be argued that these changes were made in an effort to keep the games closer to the originals, but then that comes at the cost of making the game more awkward for the player and that doesn't make it more enjoyable.

I was never a fan of the talent contests in the originals but their presence in this game seems almost entirely pointless, mainly because they're so easy. As long as you've fed your Pokémon enough Pokéblocks, you'll trample your opponents into the floor. It actually seems like more of an effort to lose than it does to win. I think it's something that would be better when played with other people, because that could potentially be challenging and fun.

The Elite Four was another thing that bugged me; three out of four of them were using duplicate Pokémon. This is also true for the originals, but isn't this something they could of changed? Out of all those different Pokémon to choose from, they couldn't switch a couple of them? It's not even a case of sticking to only Hoenn Pokémon, as three of them are using Pokémon from other regions. This just seems like a lazy effort with no actual thought having gone into it.

Well that concludes all of the negative things I have to say about the games. Don't let it put you off though, if you're a Pokémon fan then you'll undoubtedly still enjoy these games; I know I did for the most part.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are by no means must-haves, but they're worth picking up if you're looking for something to tide you over until the next big installment in the series.