Cyber Review: Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Hey all,  Josiah here, (I say that because I'm having other people write on here too.)

When I was growing up, I played Pokemon quite fervently. I remember (and have video tape of) the time when I got the Pikachu themed game-boy and Yellow Version. It was a glorious birthday. You can see me in my Pokemon pajamas with my older brother looking over my shoulder. I had stuffed animals, I had the cards, the figures. But the first time I actually knew what I was doing in a Pokemon game was when I got Pokemon Ruby Version.

This review (and all subsequent reviews) will be based on four categories;

Story
Gameplay
Accessibility
Replayability

There is a fifth for this game since it is a remake. It will be called Comparability.

I will give each of these categories a score out of 10. Let's get started!

Oh, how I remember playing Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. I chose Torchic as my starter and finished the Elite Four with a Blaziken, Electrode, Linoone, Groudon, Aggron, and a Cacturne. How precious. But when they announced the revamping of the Hoenn region, I knew I had to get it and test it out, seeing if nostalgia would kick in.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire has several changes from the original Ruby and Sapphire. The graphics are obviously better, similar  to Pokemon X and Y. But also, it brought in Mega Evolutions. For those of you who aren't familiar, Mega Evolutions are a temporary Fourth Stage to a Pokemon's evolution chain but only for a single battle. For example:

Torchic > Combuskin > Blaziken > Mega Blaziken

In order for a Pokemon to Mega Evolve, they must be holding a Mega Stone and the player must have the Mega Bracelet. During battle, before you may attack, you can choose to Mega Evolve your Pokemon but you can only do this once per battle. (So I can't Mega Evolve Blaziken and Swampert in the same battle.)

Several Pokemon, including the Kanto Starters and now the Hoenn Starters, have Mega Evolutions. Upon playing through the game, I decided to get as many Mega Evolution Pokemon as I saw fit. So, my Elite Four Hall of Fame was this: Blaziken, Sharpedo, Shiftry (No Mega Evolution), Gardevoir, Groudon (Primal Reversion, which is basically Mega Evolution for Groudon and Kyogre etc.) and Bannette. All, except for Shiftry, Mega Evolve. 

Alright, first category, Story.

If you've played Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire Version, the story in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire wouldn't be significantly different. It follows the path of a boy/girl named (JigDuff or other name) as they travel throughout the Hoenn region. The game begins in Littleroot Town after the player's family has moved in to their new home. From there, the player battles gyms (like all other Pokemon games) and in the process, attempts to put a stop to the dastardly plans of either Team Aqua (Alpha Sapphire) and Team Magma (Omega Ruby) who attempt to reawaken an ancient Pokemon to cover the world in water/land respectively except this time with the help of Primal Reversion.

This story follows the basic mechanic. Become Pokemon League Champion and stop the Team, be it Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, Plasma, or Flare. I found the story to be nostalgic, yet still adding some elements like an early encounter and capture of Latios/Latias, and the greater involvement of the Beldum-bearing Steven Stone. Overall, I thought the story was a little laboured though with a good bit of unnatural dialogue. I think Nintendo tries to serve two demographic masters, new younger players, and older veterans. I think they normally do pretty well though it can't be perfect.

So you thought the story thing was making this go a bad way. Well, actually, the story was much more interesting post-Elite Four. This is known as the Delta Episode.

You see, after the credits, there's a short conversation between the player's mother and father who talk about not being able to attend the Meteor Shower in Mossdeep City so they give the player the ticket. There's also a short cut-scene in Mossdeep Space Center where scientists freak the crap out because the meteor may hit the Hoenn region, similar to the one that hit a LONG time ago and created Sootopolis city. This cutscene references some of the events from X and Y about the ultimate weapon any what not. After this, you meet a girl named Zinnia. She seems to be stealing people's Key Stones, or stones used by the trainer to initiate Mega Evolution. But why?

Well, Steven wants to stop the meteorite by using a warp machine that has something to do with a Link Cable and some technology that was a clever story addition. We finally know how all the Team bases throughout all the games were able to use warp panels. So with the warp tech and this Link Cable, the meteor will be sent far away.

But Zinnia, who reveals herself to be a descendant of the indigenous Daconid people in Hoenn, breaks the Link Cable and says that the meteor could strike another world with people who don't have that technology. She knows that the player isn't necessarily taking sides therefore she trusts the player but only a little. So she disappears.

Sky Pillar mural depicting Rayquaza intervening in the battle
between Groudon and Kyogre. 

Long story short, (too late, right?) Wallace, the Sootopolis Gym Leader, opens the way to Sky Pillar where Rayquaza rested in Ruby and Sapphire. In Sky Pillar, Zinnia tells you the legend (drawn on the Sky Pillar wall) that we hear in Ruby and Sapphire except with a bit more detail. Basically, Groudon and Kyogre kept fighting and Rayquaza split 'em up every time. Now, we need Rayquaza to stop this meteor. 

So Zinnia tries to harness Rayquaza but can't do it. Why? Because his "mega stone" is none other than the meteorite you received from Maxie all the way back at Mt. Pyre. So you catch Rayquaza, there's a ballin' cutscene of his Mega Evolving and destroying the meteor which contains Deoxys. You fight and catch Deoxys and you're a hero. Yay!

For Story, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire get a: 8/10.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Pokemon has not changed entirely since Blue and Red version. From Ruby and Sapphire to Omega and Alpha, the battle mechanic, save for Mega Evolutions, has not changed too drastically. Turn-based combat, leveling, four attacks, and abilities return for another iteration of Pokemon. But other than that, the player can now move freely instead of strictly in the four cardinal directions, progress saving is much quicker and the bag menu is significantly easier with a menu of your party Pokemon on the left. This is especially helpful when giving items and applying revives or potions.  

But the primary mechanic added that really changed how Pokemon works is a little item called the Eon Flute. This item calls Latios/Latias to you wherever you are, even if they aren't in your party and will fly you around a 3D modeling of the Hoenn region. This allows you to keep a flying Pokemon with you without wasting a party Pokemon slot. While soaring, the player can fly to any visited city, encounter flying Pokemon and, when certain conditions are met, mirage locations giving a unique species of Pokemon to make a debut. Just the other day, I found a mirage island with a Darmanitan on it. There are also inter-dimensional rifts that engage in Pokemon battles with legendary Pokemon from other games. 

Overall, the Gameplay of Omega and Alpha gets: 8/10.

Accessibility

Veteran players of all ages can pick up OR and AS and feel comfortable as soon as they skip the opening sequence. But, how would new players fair, knowing nothing about Pokemon in the past except for that their favorite and only known Pokemon is Pikachu or one of the Kanto starters. They also may have seen other humans playing the Pokemon games/card game and said across the room, "I choose you, Pikachu!"

Well, actually, I think OR and AS wouldn't be super difficult to pick up but there is a learning curve. Having not played any other Pokemon game, this one doesn't do as well at explaining everything. For example, there was no way a new player could've known type differences unless they read the dialogue text STUDIOUSLY and actually took the time to go to the Pokemon Trainer's school in Rustboro.

So, the Accessibility of Omega and Alpha get: 5/10.

Replayability

OR and AS is a Pokemon game and as such is granted certain unalienable rights among these are quality post-story gameplay, Pokemon Contests, and the pursuit of a full PokeDex. Now, I don't think OR and AS have a terribly high scoring replayability but we're not focusing on that this time. Instead, we focus on the post-story game which consists of finding COUNTLESS legendaries, catching themall and developing a rockin' team with whom to crush your enemies. Pokemon has never really had a replayability factor but a post-game factor. You don't play Pokemon until you beat the Elite Four. You play until the next one comes out and trade the best of your team to the new game.

So for replayability, OR and AS get: N/A

But for Post Game, OR and AS get: 9/10

Comparability

There's one final category to consider here. How does the new game compare with the old? After all, Gen 3 Pokemon are my favorite. OR and AS were largely similar with updated graphics. Same story, similar gameplay, and Mega Evolutions. Pokemon Contests are still largely the same. So do the new games fall short (Low score) or match well (High score.)

For comparability, OR and AS get: 11/10.

I think it did the original games perfect justice and even improved upon them a little but. I guess that's what a remake is for. Well that's the review for Pokemon Omega ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Overall, the score is  41/50. Also, if you're going to buy it, it's cheaper on Amazon. So that's interesting.

I hope you found the review helpful. Disagree? Comment! We love your opinions! Until next time, Cyber Mammoth out.