Pokemon Omega Ruby And Alpha Sapphire Review

I actually lost my original copy of Pokemon Ruby while moving several years ago. When I finally noticed it was missing, stores were no longer selling new copies of my once beloved Game Boy Advance game. To my surprise I saw a used copy of Pokemon Emerald in EB Games, immediately snatched it up, and spent the entire weekend playing it.

You would think after playing through this game essentially three times that I would have gotten sick of it, but that’s definitely not the case. This 3D remake is perfect for veterans and new players alike. All of the fantastic new features and aesthetics we saw in Pokemon X and Y are back and find a way to make the 3D version of the Hoenn region even more beautiful than its 2D counterpart. Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire (ORAS) offers dynamic viewing angles, more cut scenes, plus an upgraded PokeNav (called PokeNav Plus) which changes the way you catch Pokemon.

Stuff I Love:

Trying to catch a Pikachu via “Sneaking”. [Source]

– Sneaking. With a slight push on your circle pad you can sneak up on a Pokemon using DexNav or avoid wild encounters… which is perfect when you’re out of escape ropes and need to get your weakened team back to a Pokemon Center.

– DexNav is a new feature in ORAS that makes the term “gotta catch ’em all” somewhat possible… at least in the area you’re in. It’s a neat little tool that shows you the Pokemon you’ve already caught in a particular area and a faint transparent outline of the ones you have yet to catch. After you’ve caught them all a crown will appear in the corner of your screen so you know you can move on from the area.

It includes a scanner that searches for hidden Pokemon. You’ll know it’s hidden because you’ll see something moving in the grass. As you use the games “Sneaking” feature (explained) below the scanner will reveal more information about the Pokemon like its level, type, moves, hidden abilities, etc. The more you encounter a certain Pokemon, more information is revealed. Which is great for anyone who is interested in competitive breeding and battling because it allows you to find Pokemon with different types of moves and abilities that would otherwise take hours of breeding to produce.

Pokemon Latios using Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's new feature Soar.

Latios soaring over Hoenn. [Source]

– Soar is a cooler and much more convenient version of Fly. No longer did I have to have a Pokemon in my party that knew Fly, with Soar I could ascend above the Hoenn region and land wherever I wanted (including Towns and Routes). This feature was not only fun to use but reminded me how beautiful Hoenn is at a bird’s eye view. I really hope that it’s included in all future games.

Stuff I Miss:

– No character customization. I miss being able to change my character’s clothing and hairstyle. I understand that it would be kind of weird to change how May looks, but I feel that this feature is what made me feel like my trainer was unique in X and Y.

– Pokemon Centers and Poke Marts are no longer in one building. Not really a big deal… perhaps they were trying to keep the maps as close to the original as possible?

– No Battle Frontier. Maybe we’ll get this added as DLC at a later date.

Bottom Line:

Pokemon ORAS is a welcomed addition to the franchise and a superb remake of 2003’s Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. With features like DexNav, Soar, Super Secret Bases, and a ton of post game content, Pokemon ORAS belongs in every Pokemon fan’s collection.