Game Titles: Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Genre: Role-Playing, Adventure, and Puzzle

ESRB Rating: E

Developer: Game Freak

Platform: Nintendo 3DS

Release Date: Nov. 21, 2o14

Our Rating: A

Quite a few Pokémon fans remember playing the original Ruby and Sapphire games on Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance when they were released at the end of 2003. Now, exactly 11 years later, Game Freak has released Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in order to update the past games with aspects from the newest generation of Pokémon, and to walk fans down memory lane.

Some of these updates include new “Mega-Evolutions” (introduced in Generation VI) of fan favorites like Swampert, Sceptile, and Blaziken. For those that have not kept up with the Pokémon franchise, “mega-evolved” Pokémon are more powerful versions of fully evolved Pokémon. This evolution, however, only lasts the duration of the battle, and afterwards, the Pokémon reverts to its original state. In order for a Pokémon to mega-evolve, it must be holding the appropriate “mega stone” and the trainer must be wearing the “keystone” bracelet.

“What I liked most about the remakes were all of new Mega-Evolutions, the ability to land in any city or route, and the new primal reversions given to the legendary Pokémon Groudon and Kyogre,” said sophomore Miguel Cardona.

Another update is the attribution of the Fairy type to already existing Pokémon in the Hoenn region. For example, Gardevoir, which used to be solely Psychic, is now a Psychic and Fairy type. Fairy type Pokémon may seem a little silly, but in actuality, they are extremely useful by virtue of their immunity to the Dragon type and their increased effectiveness against Dark, Dragon and Fighting type Pokémon.

The two games differ from one another in terms of their respective “legendary” Pokémon, with Groudon being specific to Omega Ruby and Kyogre, to Alpha Sapphire. In addition, there exist certain game exclusive Pokémon, and Pokémon trainers, or those who catch and train Pokémon, in Omega Ruby will have many encounters with Team Magma, and trainers in Alpha Sapphire will encounter Team Aqua, villainous organizations bent on achieving a dichotomy of myopic and exclusive goals.

Unfortunately, this game does have its downsides. Primarily, it is playable only on the Nintendo 3DS, which makes it unattainable for fans who don’t own one. In order to play it, one would have to dedicate upwards of $140 to purchase the handheld console. Another common complaint attacks the tedious process of navigating through large bodies of water, which can be very time consuming.

For those that are looking to relive fond memories of adventuring through the Hoenn region, or new explorers of the omnipresent Pokémon franchise, this game is highly recommended.