Let's Go Back to Hoenn: Pokemon ORAS

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Once again, Nintendo has outdone itself in the past year. For Christmas I received Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, having played Pokemon Ruby as a kid.

Image from http://images.eurogamers.net/2014/usgamer/omega-820x420.png

No sooner I started the game, I smiled at the years gone by and how this franchise still stuck with me. To think it had such an impact on who I was, who I’ve had the honor of meeting in the past, and the mere pleasure I still get from this series. To add fuel to the fire, the game welcomed me with the original graphics as Professor Birch began his spiel. It was definitely a blast from the past as I watched these old graphics work alongside the newer graphics.

From there, the game ran smoothly with the original gameplay modified with today’s graphics to suit the 3DS and 2DS.  What I loved the most was the specific details given to every gym leader, Team Aqua member, and major characters of the game. It was obvious the game developers had fun making each important character unique, which is what makes this game so much more fun. Flannery as a nervous gym leader trying to be bold and brash was hilarious, especially with facial expressions to match. Archie and Max are the complete opposites of each other with body language and expressions. Archie is a pirate captain of insanity and dominance (which fit Team Aqua nicely) and Max is a stoic, civilized man. When I originally received this game as a kid, we didn’t have these luxurious graphics to help us understand the characters better. We had our imagination and what the tv series showed us.

What I also adored about this game was the secret bases and how they added onto their original concept. The new secret bases allow players to transform their humble abode into a gym and gather friends to do so, play capture the flag with other bases, and share bases with many others all over the world. From these new features, players can obtain new furniture and plushies for their base.

The idea of summoning Latios (or Latias depending on what version) was thrilling, especially being able to control the flight and destination. It also helped eliminate the use of HM 02 (Fly) and gave me the ability to utilize more of the HMs in this game. I honestly forgotten how many HMs there were in this generation and I was disappointed to find that I had one or two HM slaves. By having these one or two HM slaves on my team, it messed up how I have my party. Speaking of parties, Brendan was adorable yet ambitious as a rival, but I wasn’t too fond of joining him to visit the next location. While I’m sure many enjoyed this feature of him taking you to Petalburg to fight your father because it saved time and moved the story along, I’m a type of gamer who likes to explore and take in the scenery, possibly train some more.

Along with playing just like the original Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire did, some new features from Pokemon X and Y were included in the game. Players are able to use Pokemon Amie, Super Training, Wonder Trading, and the World Trading System in this game. However, the one feature I missed from this game was character customization, the ability to shop for outfits that you can dress your player as. While I don't understand why they didn't include this fun option, I'm still content that I can play with my Pokemon in Pokemon Amie.

What sealed the deal for me though were the new legendary features and the overall ending to the game. The legendary features were usable once Latios joined my party and started to fly around Hoenn, encountering mirage locations, the Nameless Cavern, and the Pathless Path. Overtime, more legendaries and places will open up based on requirements, days, and times.I also enjoy the fact that you can capture so many legendaries and are open to a diverse collection of super powered Pokemon; which leads me to discuss the overall ending of this game.

Image from Google

Video game endings are possibly the best victories ever because of the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it. The bosses are defeated, the world is saved, the creatures are captured, it’s a fairy tale ending that everyone loves. But this game not only finished and gave me a sense of triumph; as a reward it threw my player onto the back of Rayquaza, launched me and the mega evolved legendary beast into the atmosphere, annihilated a comet, and gave us a chance to capture the elusive DNA Pokemon, Deoxys.

This ending made up for anything I disliked about the game because it stunned me. Never before have I dreamed that this would be the future of a classic childhood game. Back then I was blown away by the fact that we could catch monsters and use them for combat. But now, Nintendo has really stepped up their game and remade a classic. I easily give this game a 10/10 for those who have never experienced Pokemon and want to jump into it or for those or are replaying an old, redesigned classic.

Feel free to comment and follow me, and if you really liked this entry go ahead and share it. If you'd like to befriend me on Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Pokemon Y, here is my friend code: 4313-1750-2509. :)

So, tell me what did you enjoy/dislike about Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire?