User Review : Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

The long-awaited remake. Does it hold water?

In a world filled with HD visuals, surround-sound voice acting, and big-budgets, the Pokemon handheld series takes a much more rebellious, minimalist approach. Stubbornly refusing the temptation for modern flair, we've seen the series progress at a slow pace since Red and Blue, using simple music, graphics, and only upgrading to 3D visuals a mere year ago. Despite the seemingly simple exterior of the game, Pokemon has a unique charm that keeps old fans coming back and gathering new fans at the same time. In Game Freak's remake of the original Ruby and Sapphire version, fans of the series will be treated to a nostalgic remake that does the original game justice.

Pokemon ORAS takes us back to the third region of Hoenn, and we are placed into the shoes of either May or Brendan as they move into the new region. Right away, the graphical upgrade will be apparent to those who played the original game on the Game Boy Advance. While Pokemon lacks the shiny HD visuals of modern day video games, the old-fashioned top down perspective reminiscent of old Final Fantasy games has a certain nostalgic charm to it. Characters communicate through text boxes, and the environment is structured in a classic way, but with more detailed textures than in the previous games. Small features like waves crashing and Wingulls flying add a nice touch to the game and make it feel more immersive.

Gameplay sticks to the relatively traditional formula. A turn based system of combat where you have to capture Pokemon, train them, and become the greatest trainer that ever was while stopping the evil organization at the same time. While the storyline is a hit or miss in each generation, at times falling to painfully generic as it was in X and Y, Hoenn's story does not disappoint. Faced against an enemy that wants to manipulate the elements for their own gain, we are treated to an engaging tale where nature is turned on its head and it's up to the character to restore balance. This combined with the post-game Delta Episode will satisfy any Pokemon fan's story needs.

With a storyline that can pass 20 hours, and over 700 Pokemon to catch, Pokemon has more to offer than ever when it comes to replay value. Compared to larger budget games, I can honestly say that I've put more hours into Pokemon than I have for almost any other game. The connection you get with your Pokemon as you raise them, coupled with deep mechanics that you can explore if you want to be a competitive battler or a shiny hunter can keep you in the game for much longer than the story mode gives you. Like other Nintendo games before them, Pokemon knows how to keep you coming back with deceptively layered gaming mechanics disguised in a simple looking game.

However, ORAS is not without its flaws. For gamers who love a challenge, the story mode can fall flat. Trading is easier than ever in the internet age, and with trading comes boosted experience points. Couple that with the newly returned EXP ALL, and you end up with Pokemon that are constantly outpacing the story. My Pokemon throughout the game were always 10 levels above the opponent and it felt like I breezed through the whole game by the end. That coupled with no new additions to GTS, Wonder Trade, Battle Spot, and a copy/pasted Battle Maison from X and Y make me feel like there was a little short-cutting on the part of Game Freak. Since they had some time to design this, I expected a little more innovation in these areas.

Despite these flaws, my experience with ORAS was well worth the 40 dollars paid for it. The simple presentation in the game takes me back to a time when games did not have to be so flashy to impress, and instead inspired the player's imagination to bring the story along. Pokemon is proof that not all games need to look the best to play the best and for that, Pokemon gets my seal of approval.