Games – Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Version – 3DS
Rating – E for Everyone
Price – $39.99 USD
Obtained – Review codes courtesy of Nintendo
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions were first released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Despite mixed reactions from fans of the franchise, they have remained this writer’s favorite titles in the series ever since. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire take what I loved about those games – the mechanics, the additional features, the story – and add in modern Pokémon gameplay as well as a few twists and turns that improve on the originals in many ways. In fact, there are only a handful of design flaws that prevent them from providing the perfect Pokémon experience.
From the moment you begin your adventure, it is apparent that these games have an unprecedented level of cinematography for the franchise. Pokémon X and Y made great use of different camera angles to capture the beauty of the Kalos region, but Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire go a step further with dynamic camera angles and by populating parts of the overworld with Pokémon. In previous games most Pokémon could only be seen in battle, but here you might spot a flock of Wingull flying above you, dive underwater and pass by a school of Chinchou, or sneak up on a Pokémon whose tail is sticking out of the tall grass to instigate a battle. These new ways to encounter Pokémon make the Hoenn region feel alive as it never has before and truly immerse the player in its diverse and compelling environments. While there are handfuls of these moments to experience, my only complaint is that I wish there were more of them.
A swarm of Beautifly flutters off into the trees in this early Pokemon encounter
I wish I could experience the entire Hoenn region in stereoscopic 3D, but the effect is restricted to one-on-one battles and certain in-game locations. Even when the effect is available, it isn’t very pronounced and drops the framerate, so you’re better off not using it anyways.
The meat and potatoes of Ruby and Sapphire’s stories are centered around two powerful Pokémon, Kyogre and Groudon, that fought for control of the world’s natural energy. Their battle was put to an end by a third legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza, causing Kyogre and Groudon retreated to the depths of the Earth. Two criminal organizations named Team Aqua and Team Magma are fighting for the power to awaken these legendary Pokémon. The remakes include new plot points in a post-game adventure called “The Delta Episode”. The story is far from childish, but it is very clearly directed towards a younger demographic. This is great news for parents – the story is easy to follow and offers some great messages for children, and although the narrative is far from riveting, there are some thoroughly entertaining moments and a few likeable characters that will make it appealing to adults, too.
At its core, Pokémon has not changed much since the ’90s. You collect, trade and battle hundreds of creatures known as ‘Pokémon’ and challenge powerful trainers known as Gym Leaders so you can ultimately take on the Champion of the Pokémon League and prove your worth as a Pokémon Master. In typical RPG fashion battles are turn-based and victories result in the accumulation of experience points – acquire a certain amount and your Pokémon characters will level up. Levelling up will improve your stats, gain your character new attack moves, and even allow your Pokémon to change forms and ‘evolve’ into more powerful creatures. The formula works incredibly well, and with so many potential team and attack combinations the possibilities are nearly endless. If you haven’t played a Pokémon game in a long time, have no fear – it is still as inviting as ever with such depth that it can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire have some pretty incredible setpieces.
The original games introduced a handful of new features, the most significant of which were Pokémon Contests and Secret Bases. Pokémon Contests presented an entirely new way to use your teammates’ moves – rather than battling, Pokémon would use them to appeal to judges and compete against each other in a variety of categories. Secret Bases can be discovered throughout the world by using a special move called Secret Power on suspicious-looking spots like indents in mountains, large trees and thick bushes. Once inside, these bases become your player’s personal hideout and can be customized with a wide variety of furnishings. These features had multiplayer components that could be accessed with a Link Cable, but Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire make them even easier to enjoy with your friends through wireless functionality. People you pass by with your 3DS in real life will appear in your game within their own Secret Bases and become available for battle. As always, you can battle, trade and compete in Pokémon Contests with friends via local wireless or across the internet.
As Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are running in the most recent game engine, most of the features present in Pokémon X and Y are also included. Pokémon-Amie allows the player to interact with their Pokémon by petting them, feeding them and playing games with them. A Pokémon that is very happy with its trainer will perform better in battle by evading attacks, hanging on to its health when it sustains large amounts of damage and even recovering from status conditions like poisoning and paralysis. The Player Search System handles all the multiplayer aspects of the games and will display not only your 3DS friends who are online but also players that are around you locally. Super Training is used to make your Pokémon partners stronger – you can play a soccer-like minigame to boost their stats and toughen them up. With so many different things to do independent from the main campaign, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire offer hours and hours of additional content.
Collecting furnishings for your Secret Base can get pretty addicting.
The majority of the negative reception the original games got came from the layout of the overworld itself. Slightly less than half of Hoenn is covered in water. This plays an important role in the story, but because random battles occur while travelling over the water it can be quite tedious to get from one place to another without Pokémon repellent. Another qualm I have with the game has been an issue since the very first games: there are certain environmental hazards that can only be overcome with very specific Pokémon moves called HMs (Hidden Machines). If a small tree is blocking the way, one of your teammates can use Cut to open the path, while another HM called Strength is used to push large, obstructing boulders. The problem is, each Pokemon character only has four slots for attack moves and many of these special HM moves aren’t very useful in battle. This is a very antiquated Pokemon trope that could easily be modified to speed up gameplay. For example, why can’t a Pokemon with sharp claws cut down a tree unless it knows the move “Cut”? This has been such an apparent flaw since the first games, but it remains a hassle to this day, albeit a minor one.
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire offer tons of fantastic content – a great main story, hours of additional content and features, fantastic music and a new cinematic take on the overworld. If you can get past the large amount of water and tedium of HM moves, then you’re sure to enjoy this adventure.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10
PROS:
+ Cinematic, vibrant world
+ Time-tested Pokemon mechanics with new twists
+ Handfuls of additional features
CONS:
– Lots of water to travel
– HMs impede progress
– Lousy, sparingly-used 3D effect