Monday, September 14, 2015

Game Review #5: Pokemon Omega Ruby (and basically Apha Sapphire)

Pokemon. Ok, now that you've already decided that this is the best review ever, I'm off to go enjoy the astounding praise that will obviously never end. Goodbye.

Oh what's that? You're still here? What more could you want? I mentioned Pokemon, left, chugged a Redbull, and then posted this online. Perfect review right there! Fine, I'll make a better one.

If it hasn't dawned on any of you yet, I'm pretty damn young. Like, born-the-same-year-Majora's-Mask-came-out young. So, by the time I was into gaming, Pokemon was going nowhere but up and I was their stereotypical target audience. Like seriously, Google "child that probably loves Pokemon", and you'll find a little me in your search results. So, yeah, Pokemon has always sort of been one of those childhood things that I'll always go back to, right next to Yugioh and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. And, on my most recent trip back to it, I took a trip down memory lane with Pokemon Omega Ruby for the 3DS, a "remake" of Pokemon Ruby for the GBA, remake in quotes because this new one has so many differences, most people think the explanation is literally parallel universes. I picked Omega Ruby over Alpha Sapphire for really no other reason than Groudon looks cooler. The differences between the two really aren't that big if you really think about it. I mean, the teams switch places but that doesn't affect much of anything. 

So the first difference between the remake and the original is, of course, the fact that's it's 3D unlike the original 2D version. The art style almost makes me think of a 3D version of the anime. It's definitely not trying to look super next-gen but the graphics look smooth more than anything. Also, several characters were redesigned or were changed in some way in the story. Archie and Maxie look very different in ways that reflect their drastic personality changes, Maxie becoming a scientist and Archie becoming a full-on pirate. The role of your two rivals, May and Wally, are improved, May battling you more times as well as being more of an ally to your character, and Wally being more likable than before and evolving his Ralts into a Gallade instead of a Gardevoir (most likely because just a year before, Pokemon X/Y's champion used a Gardevoir as her boss Pokemon). I personally loved what they did to your rivals, since I always thought that the rival system in Ruby/Sapphire was done completely wrong. I thought May was underused, disappearing after your third or fourth battle with her, and Wally was annoying. As for Steven, I love his redesign more than anything in the entire world. Dropping his baggy outfit for a fitted suit, Steven is constantly referred to as a "pretty boy" or "handsome" or anything along the lines of that. And to be honest, I couldn't help but agree. I mean, I'm not gay or anything... Not that there's anything wrong with that...(crap, this is going south fast. Think! What do people like?) HEY, NEW MEGA EVOLUTIONS, HUH? Since this is a remake, new Megas sort of take the place of completely new Pokemon in a main title. I actually enjoy just about all of them. Mega Sabeleye is my favorite Mega, Mega Sceptile reaffirmed my love for Treecko, and Mega Rayquaza literally had to be banned from the banned tier. Nintendo be like "You got a problem?" The problem I had with Mega Evolution in this game, though, is the way it's sort of forced into the game. The scene where you go to the island with one of the Eon Duo and it sort of just joins your party always felt like it came out of nowhere. And that's sort of the thing that made me realize that from now on, every Pokemon game is gonna have to either treat Mega Evolution like its the most important part of the game or just throw it in there like its nothing and neither is all that great. So in closing, although I don't usually do numerical ratings, if I were to give this game one, it would be 7.8/10 for not enough water. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go shiny hunting. By the way, if someone wonder trades you a level 1 Cyndaquil, you know who it's from.

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