Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Review

(Video Version)

12 years ago, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was released on the Gameboy Advance and became two of the all-time best sellers for the console. Since their release, fans of the Pokémon franchise have wanted a remake of these beloved titles and earlier this year in May, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were announced to an eagerly awaiting public.

But were they worth the wait?

Firstly the story,

To those familiar with the original Ruby & Sapphire, the story of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire won’t surprise you with them largely being remakes.

You are a kid who has just moved into the region of Hoenn where your father has become a Gym leader. After meeting your neighbour Brandon/May (depending on what gender you chose your character to be.) you meet Professor Birch being chased by a Poochyena while out doing fieldwork and here you chose your Pokémon and have your first battle.

From there you start on your Pokémon adventure and go out into the world to catch and train Pokémon, earn Badges at various Gyms to prove yourself as a trainer, challenge the Elite Four and the Champion while also stopping either Team Aqua/Magma from realising their plans.

But there are some differences in these updated versions.

Like in X & Y, Mega Evolutions play a big part of the narrative bringing an origin that was briefly touched on in the previous games by tying in a type of evolution exclusive to the Hoenn legendaries Groudon and Kyogre as being linked with Mega Evolutions.

Another addition is the Delta Episode which like the Looker Bureau of X & Y adds a last chapter to the main story of the games while also tying in some elements from Emerald. The Delta Episode also introduces us to Zinnia a mysterious Draconid woman who holds the key to the Delta Episode’s storyline. As a whole the Delta Episode carries a story worth caring about in Pokémon, and the execution was way better than I expected and hope that Game Freak continue this trend with any future additions like this.

One area where both these games excel in greatly is character development by adding more in animation as well as changes in dialogue making the cast more dynamic as a whole and adds to the more intricate storytelling presented here in ORAS.

Onto the graphics,

The graphical bump to 3D that we saw in Pokémon X and Y is here but I've been far more impressed with the world of Hoenn than I ever was with the region of Kalos. Its art seems brighter and much more lively with its locations feeling strangely more fresh than I would have thought given the age of both Ruby and Sapphire. Many of Ruby and Sapphire's characters are now more expressive and emotive and while that's often played up for laughs, it also gave the entire cast a personality and style that they had lacked before in the original games.

One part of these where the graphics are at their most breathtaking is when call on Latios or Latias (depending what version you have) and use the Soar ability. Soar allows you to ride said Pokémon in a third-person perspective and fly to every corner of Hoenn even the islands you couldn’t reach in the originals and the view of Hoenn while doing this is an incredible thing to see and the freedom of movement you get will most likely render the Fly HM pointless in the grand scheme of things.

Onto the music,

One of the reasons why the original Ruby and Sapphire stood out from the previous games was its music. The approach that ORAS has with its soundtrack is that it tries to be faithful while also trying to make it fit the situation more. In general, the remixes capture the essence of the original soundtrack, while amplifying the feeling, ambience, and tone of it. They add charm to the world, and enrich the atmosphere, while preserving the feeling and tone that the original tracks had.

That being said, every now and then, you'll run into some tracks that sound off. The differences are really subtle so some of the added tones detract from the melody and dilute the sharp feeling that the originals had. The soundtrack overall is pretty outstanding here in ORAS.

Quickly onto the features of Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire,

A lot of the features are essentially a copy of the ones seen in X & Y which makes sense because the four games shared development but it would have been great if each had some degree of flare unique to X & Y/ORAS design wise to differentiate from each other. The other problem is that these features are hidden within the interface which leads to most players forgetting they are even available in game to use.

The new addition of the DexNav makes it easier for trainers looking for Pokémon with certain moves, stats and abilities they don’t normally have and the inclusion of the PSS and its features improves on the restrictive trading found in Ruby & Sapphire by integrating with the system used by X & Y making for a smooth online experience either in trading or battling with other players across the world which allows players to determine how they want their experience in ORAS to be if that should just using the Pokémon only in their respective versions making it closer to the originals or migrating Pokémon via PokéBank to have an playthrough closer to that seen in X & Y for a more customised team.

Another new feature fresh in ORAS is the extension to the Fly HM which now allows players to access routes as well as towns and points of interest like before in previous generations.

Now onto some drawbacks with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire,

The first thing is the story writing. What I mean by this is parts of the story that worked in Ruby & Sapphire seemed dated in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire and one example of this shows when your character meets his/her father Norman and some of the dialogue would suggest that Norman is somewhat distant when read today which makes him as a character comes off as not really interested and is more encouraging toward Wally a frail and shy trainer just starting out who later becomes your rival alongside Brandon/May.

Next I’m touching on the HMs and the abundance of them. While being necessary for exploring a diverse landscape like Hoenn, it’s a double edge part of these being truly faithful remakes which means at least two Pokémon in your party will each have 4 of the total 8 HMs for the sake of progression through the game which will annoy some players.

On the plus side of the HM issue, the Pokémon Sharpedo has now got a faster swimming speed when using Surf so traversing the water heavy areas is much better if you feel that Hoenn has “too much water.”

The next issue is the lack of the Battle Frontier. Personally like many others, I was surprised that the Battle Frontier wasn’t immediately included in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire leaving only a model version of it and saying it was coming soon seen during the post game giving the impression that it would come later on via DLC.

Finally a personal issue I have with ORAS.

While I played from the beginning right through the first five Gyms, it felt more like a tutorial instead of the challenging climb I remembered from when I played the originals which disappointed me partly.

Onto my final thoughts,

I did have high standards for these remakes in how they would be crafted and if they could improve on the older mechanics as well as the storytelling and characters while improving on the games being remade enough to justify having me and many others to play through them again.

In the past, Game Freak proved with Heart Gold & Soul Silver that remakes of older Pokémon games could do just that and I’m happy to say that Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire are overall winners in this regard.

From the introduction to the ending credits, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are fantastic reintroductions to Hoenn for both players of the originals and new players alike and while they are not perfect games, they did hit the mark needed for remade titles and the strengths of the modern Pokémon games have been used well to improve on the style that the originals had while keeping the feeling of the game intact.

Pokémon X & Y Review

 

(Video Version)

It’s been just over a year since Pokémon X & Y was released worldwide which was a first for a Pokémon game especially for a main title. But this wasn’t the only first that X & Y incorporated.

Before you even start your journey across the region of Kalos, you are asked the age old question of “are you a boy or girl?” and this has been standard since Pokémon Crystal on the Gameboy added the female trainer alongside the male trainer which was the only choice available for players in previous titles.

Then you get the option of how your selected trainer will look from a choice of three different skin tones and hair colour and you then get to choose your name and the game begins.

The first thing I’d like to talk about is the story.

The story of Pokémon X & Y isn’t anything new to anyone who is familiar to the main series of games:

You are a kid who is starting on their Pokémon adventure and goes out into the world in the game’s respective region (Kanto, Johto, Hoenn etc.) to catch and train Pokémon in order to earn Badges at various Gyms to prove yourself as a trainer and going on to challenge the Elite Four ultimately becoming the Champion while also stopping an evil organisation from realising their plans. So like with the past games, the narrative is kept simple and easily digestible for the intended younger audience while at the same time not being off-putting for an older demographic.

Next onto the graphics of X & Y.

Gone are the days of the 2D pixelated sprites and overhead perspective with the conversion to 3D that started in Gen 4 with Diamond/Pearl & Platinum with the introduction of 3D elements in the over world while keeping the static pixel sprites for the Pokémon till Gen 5 with White/Black and its follow ups where the sprites became fully animated, the over world leaned closer to 3D and the inclusion of a few cutscenes using Pokémon Stadium-like visuals and others utilizing anime-like animation for the Xtransciever/Live Caster.

With X & Y, the transition into full 3D is complete with a more modern look for the over world, NPCs, the Trainer and most importantly the Pokémon themselves since a handful did go under some slight redesigns over the years. The over world of X & Y is simply amazing to look at with the new dimension of depth and its bright and colourful scenery while also allowing for more interaction than previous games in the series as well as more dynamic camera angles during battles.

Onto X & Y’s mechanics,

At the core, X & Y are using the tried and tested formula of over world exploration and turn based RPG style battles that have been there since Red & Blue (Red & Green in Japan). Succeeding generations have seen the additions of double battles, triple battles, rotation battles and even multi battles involving four trainers whereas X & Y introduce three new variations:

Horde Encounters

Horde Encounters are when trainers come across five Pokémon of the same species who are usually half the level of a one on one encounter with the same Pokémon.

Sky Battle

Sky Battles are unique battles where only Pokémon who can fly or have the Levitate ability can be used to participate so you will need at least one Pokémon that fits into those categories in your party otherwise these battles will be locked to you.

Inverse Battle

An Inverse Battle is a battle where Pokémon type matchups are reversed and this variant can only be accessed by challenging Psychic Inver on Route 18 and he can only be battled against once a day.

Other additions in X & Y include the PSS which replaces the C-Gear from the previous generation and it allows for more connectivity with other players as well as some brand new features. The new features that PSS introduces are Wonder Trade were players trade Pokémon without knowing what they will get in return, the GTS which lets players search for specific Pokémon and put up one of their own for trade in exchange for one chosen by the player. It has many different functions, including these and more. The PSS primary interface is divided into three categories: Friends, Acquaintances, and Passersby, each of which allows a maximum of 100 players.

Some adjustments have also been made in X & Y to make the experience as quick and problem free as possible. The interface is more streamlined and makes tasks like checking your map to trading Pokémon a painless endeavour and thankfully the game save is near-instant which is greatly appreciated by myself and others who play till the batteries were practically dead.

Now Pokémon has always had the message of loving your Pokémon will help you succeed as a trainer but nothing has been in the games to iterate this but X & Y has changed this with Pokémon Amie. Pokémon Amie allows trainers to “bond” with a selected Pokémon in your party by feeding it Poke Puffs, playing games (you need three Pokémon to play them). You can also pet your Pokémon and even pull faces using the 3DS camera and by doing this, it can impact how your Pokémon may battle by land more critical hits and dodging attacks.

Then there is Super Training where trainers can put Pokémon through mini games to increase their IVs and also potentially increase the amount of experience that Pokémon gets from EV training. While I’m talking about EV training, In X & Y you can now gain experience from capturing Pokémon as well as battling them which makes levelling up much easier and this is made easier even more with the EXP Share which you get early in the game and the experience is shared between all the Pokémon in your party even if they never got used in a battle. But if you would prefer to grind each Pokémon to level it up like in older titles, you can always turn the EXP Share off.

In X & Y we got the introduction of a new Pokémon type which is Fairy the first new type since Gold & Silver. Fairy type was added to give a balance to Dragon type who previously were weak against Ice and its own type.

After so long, we got the ability to customise our trainers which is very extensive with all options ranging from skin tone and hair colour at the start to clothes which are available to buy at boutiques throughout your journey across Kalos and even changing your trainer’s hairstyle and eye colour after obtaining the Lens Case.

Lastly there’s the Mega Evolutions where certain Pokémon can temporally evolve during battle increasing their stats and sometimes changing a Pokémon’s type. Only one Mega Evolution can be used per battle so theres no unbalance in the battle system.

Sadly I now come to the drawbacks with X & Y,

The first issue is that of some frame drop while using the 3D feature of the 3DS but thankfully this only is really seen during Pokémon battles but were this is at its worst is in Horde Battles.

That being said leads me to the use of the 3D feature of the 3DS because I think that certain areas in X & Y were designed with the 3D slider in mind but ultimately the feature is disabled for the most part.

This one is more a personal view than a criticism and it’s about Team Flare because not only did I find them to boring as antagonists but their goal is to create a "beautiful and better" world while making money and eliminating everyone who doesn’t follow their standards was nonsense. The reason why I say this is because Team Flare never really does anything threatening throughout the game when compared to Team Galactic who blow up a lake which somehow is meant to lead to the liberation of Pokémon.

Team Flare's goal of "making the world more beautiful." is really ambiguous and never gets fleshed out, and the game never shows how humans make the world an uglier place, aside from some war which is never talked about in detail, only vaguely described right before you fight Xerneas/Yveltal and this is why it makes it hard to understand why Team Flare is doing what they're doing. Lastly the leader of Team Flare Lysandre had so much missed potential. It was interesting how he was portrayed to be a likable and sympathetic person, a kind person even, but then all of a sudden he sends out a Holoclip saying he's going to kill everyone and this just seemed so abrupt and somewhat forced or at least it felt that way.

Next is the small amount of post-game content because after you have beaten the Elite Four and the Champion, you get the opportunity to encounter one of the legendary birds from Kanto depending on what Kalos starter you chose at the start, capturing Mewtwo & Zygarde, finding all of the remaining Mega Stones after having the Mega Ring upgraded by Sycamore that also unlocks the Looker Bureau which is the final part of the main story and ultimately completing the Pokedex. This is the biggest issue that X & Y suffer from but you get access to the Friend Safari for Shiny hunting, the Battle Maison for new challenges after obtaining the TMV Pass and travelling to Kiloude City.

Overall Pokémon X & Y has made a successful transition into the 3D plain and the adjustments made make for a reinvigorating experience which still feels like the past Pokémon releases and I would say it is more of regeneration than a revolution for the franchise so X & Y offers something for everyone from older trainers, newer players, shiny hunters and EV trainers alike.

So in closing, Pokémon X & Y are two of the best in the whole main series of Pokémon games and while the story may have its shortcomings and what are the benefits to Mega Evolutions are mostly unclear, the new features and overall presentation reinvigorates the core philosophies and fun of being the best which makes the joy of catching em all once again a joyful and impressive experience.