Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Review

Developed by: The Pokemon Company

Published by: Nintendo

Release Date: 11/23/14

Available on: Nintendo 3DS / Nintendo 2DS

The year was 2002, and I had just started my freshman year of high school. I remember on my birthday, my parents surprised me with a Nintendo Gameboy Advance and a copy of Pokemon Sapphire. I was disappointed with the game then, and I’m disappointed now.

Pokemon: Omega Ruby and Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire are, as the title would suggest, updated remakes of the third generation of Pokemon games. For the last few years, Pokemon Company has been following an annual release schedule, alternating between new stories and remakes, so the announcement of the Ruby/Sapphire remakes came as little surprise to most Pokemon veterans. Many such fans of the series typically agree that Ruby/Sapphire were the weakest in the series, so on a personal level I thought the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire had a unique opportunity to redeem themselves and move the Pokemon franchise forward. Turns out, Pokemon Company decided it would be just as well to not risk getting too innovative.

When the game opens it becomes abundantly clear that the developers’ goal was to tug at your nostalgia as a long-time Pokemon fan. Rather than the typical introduction to the world of Pokemon from the region’s professor, you instead view the world through the first person eyes of your character as he plays an in-world Gameboy Advance with the same sprite graphics us older gamers may recall. This sprite technique is also used on the little map/radar that appears in the lower screen of the 3DS system. It is a cute and clever way to present the game as a clear homage to its roots, and the nostalgia certainly does not stop there. Each town, NPC, and tune are loyally recreated. I surprised myself by how frequently I could recognize characters or know where to go to find that one hidden potion that I remember for some reason. On that end, it is clear that Pokemon Company lived up to the sales pitch of a remake. Anyone with fond memories of the Gameboy Advance version of the game will certainly rediscover everything they loved of that title, and for that I need to give Pokemon Company some brownie points.

That said, this is where I begin to deduct points. Long time fans have been playing this game for a long time, and each Pokemon game still follows the same plot: You are a youthful character who starts with nothing, you walk through forests and caves, you defeat cartoony villains who are evil for the sake of being evil, and after that subplot wraps itself up you defeat the Elite Four and are labeled the best that ever was, even though there are really no big rewards for doing so. The only game in the series to deviate at all from this plot structure was Black/White which introduced characters with actual motivations and tried hard to catch you by surprise. Ultimately, even Black/White doesn’t do much to break away entirely, but it at least offered an experience worth talking about.

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire had an opportunity to recover from last year’s X/Y game and perhaps push the story a little more or at least offer more for the player to do, but if anything it feels like a step back.

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire is almost too loyal in the recreation of the original Gameboy Advance title, save for one broad stance on difficulty: All the quality of life additions made in X/Y are now present. This might seem to be a boon to most players, but I quickly realized the misstep here. For example, early in the game players are given a classic item known as EXP Share. This item was changed in X/Y and works in this game by giving every Pokemon in your party experience from a battle, even if they did not participate. Additionally, experience is gained from capturing wild Pokemon, making it easier to kill two birds with one stone. On top of all that, most of the Gym Leader bosses have parties with lower level Pokemon than in the past. Long story short, the game is definitely on the easy side.

Visually, none of the new graphics are overly impressive. Pokemon X/Y last year took a big change in art direction by introducing 3D battles and towns to explore. At the time it was a refreshing new way to experience a Pokemon game, but Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire reuses a bulk of the models and characters seen in last year’s game. To players who didn’t skip X/Y portions of this new game will come up feeling a tad stale.

Mega evolution is one of the updates to the old GBA game that at least remind you it is a new title, but also one of the features that makes the game a bit easier to clear.

It is important to note the positive side of having an easier game. I spoke with a fellow Pokemaniac who pointed out that for him, a working dad with two kids and long shifts, having an easier Pokemon game means less time he needs to stay competitive and enjoy the story. With less grinding necessary to clear the game, it means he has a hope of finishing it. Similarly, some children out there may wake up Christmas morning to discover their first Pokemon game in their stocking, and with Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire as accessible as it is, these concessions make it an excellent entry point in the series. In all likelihood, a younger child would enjoy their first JRPG as long as they don’t head online. The online matchmaking seems relatively unfair. In my experience, each online battle I tried was fairly one-sided. I felt like I was either beating up some kid’s precious Pikachu or beating my head against a professional’s min/maxed Blissey. The matchmaking process may even out a bit better over time, but because players can transfer their parties from X/Y it’s easy for long-time tried and true teams to dominate the brackets. As far as multiplayer goes, I suggest players keep it with friends until you’re confident enough to get really competitive about it.

My only major complaint is that these same concessions leave nothing for long-time players to enjoy if they are looking for a game to sink their teeth into. Offering an easier experience is fine, but with no hard option, no new creatures to collect, and no new story to scroll through, I struggle to think of any gamers similar to me who will enjoy it. After my playthrough of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, I have to ask myself what it will take to get me to buy next year’s Pokemon game. If there is no hard mode at boot, no amazing new monsters to master, I might just end up restarting my copy of Pokemon Black and playing that classic instead.