Pokemon on Nintendo handhelds is a sure thing, and for the last three generations so are Pokemon remakes. The Game Boy Advance saw Fire Red/Leaf Green (remakes of Red/Blue), the DS saw Heart Gold/Soul Silver (remakes of Gold/Silver), and now the Nintendo 3DS ($399.99 at Amazon) has Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (remakes of Ruby/Sapphire). It's third-generation Pokemon given a 6th-generation overhaul, with the same graphics and mechanics as Pokemon X/Y ($39.99 at GameStop) . I played through Omega Ruby for this review, but no matter which version you get (there are slight differences in the Pokemon you can catch, and the plot of the game), this $39.99 title is an excellent way to play a classic Pokemon title on the 3DS. It's packed with loads more features and content than the original versions.
The Same Pokemon
Omega Ruby is a Pokemon game, so the idea is the same as it's been since 1998 (and incidentally, Pokemon is now old enough to get a learners' permit). You're a 10-year-old kid given one of three elemental monsters you keep in a ping-pong ball and run around a region completely unsupervised to conquer eight gyms, get eight badges, and become the undisputed Pokemon champion, all while foiling the plans of a dangerous crime syndicate.
You know, for kids!
Every Pokemon game is self-contained, and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire (known to fans as ORAS) is just as good a starting point for a fledgling Pokemon fan as any, and just as good a continuation/remake as any. The series has been refined and updated extensively since the first game, but the formula remains largely untouched and completely accessible. You catch Pokemon and keep up to six in your team at a time, each with four moves and its own unique stats and passive abilities. You fight wild Pokemon and rival trainers with your team, playing a game of elemental Rock-paper-scissors with different Pokemon types and moves. The Fairy type from Pokemon X/Y has been added, which adds a new category of both Pokemon and moves to the mix.
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Pokemon X (for Nintendo 3DS)
Super Smash Bros. (for Nintendo 3DS)
From Kalos to Hoenn
Our review of Pokemon X/Y goes deeper into the updated graphics and mechanics for the current Pokemon iteration, Generation VI. Everything in the game is now a 3D model rather than sprite-based, and that means lots of colorful, animated Pokemon replacing the pixel blobs of the first few generations. Pokemon Super Training and Pokemon-Amie mini-games from X/Y are also added, so you can develop your Pokemon past basic leveled stats and have direct control over the once-obfuscated Effort Values and extra attributes. Pokemon ORAS also includes the Mega Evolutions introduced in X/Y, which can turn a Pokemon into an even more powerful version of its most evolved form once per battle. ORAS has even more Mega Evolution Pokemon than X/Y . You can only Mega Evolve one Pokemon per battle, so you have to be judicious in using the option correctly; you can't just Mega Evolve your entire party at once.
Revisiting the Hoenn region after visiting the Kalos region in X/Y, and playing through the basic structure of Ruby again was a lot of fun, even if it felt very familiar both as a standalone Pokemon game and as a remake of the original Ruby. I went through the main plot, earned all eight gym badges, and became the Pokemon champion after about 15 hours of gameplay. After the credits rolled, however, I was treated to additional content that kept me playing. Not to spoil the post-game action, but there's a new story that justifies a quick jaunt around Hoenn again, and numerous extra Pokemon you can only catch after you become the champion (including legendary Pokemon from other games).
There's also the Battle Resort, ORAS's version of the Battle Tower/Battle Subway/Battle Frontier/Battle Maison from previous Pokemon games. This lets you fight an endless stream of trainers under different battle conditions, temporarily increasing or decreasing all Pokemons' levels to 50 to make matches more strategy-based than the raw power grind you can use to play through the main story.
Secret Bases and Multiplayer
The "secret base" feature first used in the original Ruby/Sapphire returns, with plenty of enhancements. You can dig out your own secret base in specific points on the map and decorate with furniture, and then share your secret base with passersby over StreetPass, or online by showing a QR code the game can generate. The more secret bases you get from other players and flags you collect from other bases, the more things you can do with your own secret base. You can even eventually populate it with trainers and become a leader of your own mini-gym.
Multiplayer and online features abound, and you can fight friends either through a local wireless connection or online. This competitive scene is what keeps most Pokemon fans playing after they beat the main campaign, and offer the stiffest competition.
You can transfer Pokemon from Black/White, Black 2/White 2, and X/Y if you buy a Pokemon Bank subscription for $4.99 a year. It lets you store up to 3,000 Pokemon from those games and ORAS, and transfer them to ORAS at will. It's a nice way to keep your generations-old collection of Pokemon together on the latest game, but it can easily break the main storyline playthrough. Once you pull a level 100 Kyurem from your Black 2 save and take it out of the storage computer from the first Pokemon Center you encounter, the already easy campaign becomes impossible to lose. After you beat the game the first time and are ready to take your Pokemon to the Battle Resort or online, however, it's a handy feature.
Conclusion
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are, like every other main series Pokemon game, excellent Pokemon games. They update the third-generation Ruby/Sapphire games with all of the great-looking, polished enhancements added to the series through the sixth generation, producing a game that's just as fun, pretty, and big as Pokemon X/Y.
Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the Nintendo 3DS update the classic Gen III Ruby/Sapphire games with 3D graphics and polished mechanics worthy of a modern Pokemon title.
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