Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire Review

Only a year after Pokemon X and Y propelled the series into the third dimension, the core generation 3 games were finally given the remake treatment by Game Freak to mostly positive reviews.
Despite taking an entirely new approach to various story elements and many of its iconic characters, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire did a stellar job of translating many of the original's best features onto a brand new adventure for the Nintendo 3DS.
However, despite being the best selling remakes in the franchise many feel like the new direction taken by the series as well as a much easier difficulty setting resulted in shallow impostors that couldn't overcome the brilliance of Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald's adventure.
So why are ORAS the most polarizing remakes in the series? Is is just old nostalgia refusing to die? And is there too much water? Well enjoy this review of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to find out!
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[@RandomTens]

This actually came out on time for once?! Thanks to everyone who watches these and I’m excited to keep putting out content consistently again! While I have your beautiful eyeballs reading this rotund comment, I have an important question for you. When it comes to reviews of the Generation 7 games do you think I should combine Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon into Sun and Moon for one giant Gen 7 video, or give USUM their own treatment similar to how I did ORAS? I’m curious to know how you guys feel about USUM and if you think they stand out enough on their own!

[@liamsmith8518]

I like the idea of possibly combining the two games, maybe doing a Sun and Moon review, but before you go over cons or anything touch on the differences you experiences in the ultra verisons

[@MEGAGAMERX1000]

Please do Sun and Moon seperately from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon,I know that the Ultra games are basically copied and pasted,but the change in Narrative is so Drastic in the Ultra games I think it warrants it's own entire video

[@segunthepikachufan1470]

Separate video plz, Ultra Sun and Moon have more differences than ppl realize due to Candyevie's discovery

[@alexfoster1495]

Personally, I say separately.

[@ashtonbrown1393]

There are 3 timelines: *Red/blue/yellow -> gold/silver/crystal *Ruby/sapphire/emerald=firered/leafgreen -> diamond/pearl/platinum =heartgold/soulsilver -> black/white -> black 2/white 2 *X/Y=omegaruby/Alphasappirhe -> sun/moon/ultra sun/ultra moon

[@clarkside4493]

One of my favorite things about ORAS was how they made Wally way cooler in the end and the little touches they added, like how the televised Contests overshadowed a Sentai show or how the Game Corner is still there, just closed, and it laments poor business or something. They didn't have to include any of that, but those things make Hoenn feel more realized than before.

[@sammydray5919]

Shame in the end Wally pretty much amounted to nothing. They were going to make changes to the story anyways, why not give Wally a better part other than a "rival" that developed off screen

[@zachb4561]

It fascinates (and saddens me) when I think back to how content packed and feature packed even these games and SuMo/USUM were, and all the little details they had. Sword and Shield could have been so much better with more time in the oven, they had so much missed potential.

[@clarkside4493]

@@zachb4561 Agreed. I haven't tackled the DLC yet, but it seems clear to me that that's what they always wanted to deliver with Sword and Shield. I imagine the next generation (or remake) will be more substantial.

[@michaelhuh8397]

“This is getting out of hand. Now there are TWO of them (in one month)”

[@gallantmon4]

Star Wars The Phantom Menace reference there?

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

This is better than direct rumours

[@truegreen7]

Amazing review as always. But I gotta say, as a person whose first Pokemon game was Ruby, and is a Gen 3 fanboy, I never heard of the idea or thought that all the story additions, lore and character expansions in ORAS's main game were anything but a positive thing. On the contrary to what you said, I was grateful that Game Freak upgraded the story and characters of my most personal region and gave more context to an older game. (HGSS definitely did have differences in story from the original games; events that were necessary to progress, like the Kimono Girls expanded importance and catching the mascots before the E4)

[@BoogieArt]

I’m a gen three fanboy two I LOVED ruby when I was little and still play it today on my custom painted Pokédex dis lite

[@insecure8926]

Yeah, I also love those changes. Hoenn is all about nature, and Mega Evolution is so connected to natural energy that it just makes sense to have it as an important part of the plot. Also, I like how the trainers from Victory Road uses Gen 4-6 pokemon, proving that Hoenn doesn't need to have only the Gen 1-3 Pokemon, but also other pokemon from other generations, making the region more unique, which is always a good thing.

[@battlepower777]

@@insecure8926 See I'm still the biggest Gen 3 fan and Emerald is my favorite game (I do think it objectively is still one of the best) however I still cannot pinpoint what I feel is missing when it comes to the remakes. I loved the story additions but it still feels emptier, is it the very poor level scaling? idk

[@obiikem5323]

@@battlepower777 it doesn't feel empty when compared to ruby and sapphire. I think it feels empty compared to emerald, lack of battle frontier/gym leader rematches hurts a lot. Also I think I prefer the trumpets to the techno sound of gen 6.

[@dannykazari2875]

These games have some big flaws but honestly I’d rather play these than the original Ruby/Sapphire (but Emerald beats them all)

[@itsmesteve1081]

I'm the polar opposite. I couldn't play through oras for some reason but u was able to completely play through the whole entirety of ruby

[@itsmesteve1081]

I*

[@dannykazari2875]

It's Me, Steve I can totally understand why some wouldn’t like ORAS. Gen 6 games in general I have a hard time recommending to people because other gens do what they do way better.

[@justanotherisekaiprotagoni7293]

Facts Emerald should’ve got a remake

[@mrcombustiblelemon2902]

The only advantages IMO is soaring and dexnav (and the phys/spec split, but that wasn't an integral part of the remakes). The lore change to sootopolis (and the delta episode) is shallow and juvenile, the handholding and the free legendary feel like the game is condescending, and I cried with sadness to see what they did to mauville. Also the mega starters look stupid (with the exception of dev-favorite blaziken) and they failed to achieve the desired power balance since swampert still outclasses the others. It really shows how less sometimes is more, because the players' imagination will fill in content that is out of GF's budget.

[@machodgdon]

Is ORAS way easier and more simplified than the originals? Yes absolutely but the reason I enjoy ORAS more is due to how these remakes expand on the story, making it much more enjoyable than the originals

[@loc9588]

yeah i really need to replay omega ruby, i kind of didnt get the full experience. I dont even think i finished it haha but definitely a good game

[@UGMD]

I’ve been playing the Drayano challenge hack of the game recently and I think it’ll solve your issue. While it can be too hard at times it also forces dexnav, items, super training, and smarter strategies.

[@lloydirving6209]

i just recently replayed pokemon ruby and i gotta say i much preferred it to the remakes. having more freedom to explore and do things at your own pace, as well as the gba aesthetic was just much more enjoyable for me. i dont play pokemon for the story there are plenty of other jrpgs i play for that, but even if i did i also prefer the story in original gen 3 by far.

[@GameMasterProducts]

@@UGMD rising ruby and sinking sapphire there is also rutile ruby and star sapphire.

[@battlepower777]

simplified in what sense?

[@gadobriel5417]

The reimagination of the plot is exactly what makes this game great. If it was the exact same thing of the original games it would be really boring

[@gadobriel5417]

In my opinion obviously

[@N12015]

And well, just look at the reaction of people for the D/P remakes; The main complains were 3, being the artstyle being too chibii instead of something like Let's Go, the poor animation from SW/SH and being TOO FAITHFUL to the original. In that sense your commentary aged like wine.

[@svd3444]

Yes! if we just got updated graphics like Brilliant d and shining pearl even firered and leafgreen.

[@Orangeninja5000]

Look at BDSP and see just how right you are

[@Ziloups]

The few things I absolutely loved in ORAS are the re-imagings of Archie/Maxie, and giving Steven Stone a more important role in the story.. The music too? chef kisses. the OG games were something I hold close since Ruby was my second game ever (first being crystal) and I did enjoy the remakes so much. I really enjoyed your review a lot Stan! Keep up the amazing work, as always~

[@RandomTens]

Thanks so much for sharing your story ZiLoups! Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@liamsmith8518]

After this review reminding me of the mega timeline thing I don't want remakes of the black and white games, I want a black and white 3 that is three years after black and white 2 and covers Mega evolution just surfacing in the region whether it was from Hugh's search for strength so that he could protect his sister or from Junipers assistant, Bianca who Travels the world, witnessing ths discoverys of the other professors first hand Edit: put hanf instead of hand

[@bosstyrant]

tbh, I wouldn't mind black and white remakes, however they would have to do something with combining b/w and b/w 2. Idk how they would even do it. A black and white 3 would be better, or a long awaited grey version. Maybe black and white prequels? I do think gigantamaxing could lead to an awesome inclusion of the original dragon tho.

[@yewstew8312]

I xx would like to see bw3 as Hugh or your last playable character as the champion

[@liamsmith8518]

@@bosstyrant I really like pokemon Insurgences take on the original dragon and it would be nice to see Hugh

[@liamsmith8518]

@32rush that's a cool idea

[@jjc4924]

KingGlac. Yeah. That's what I've been saying all along. I don't want GF remaking Gen. 5. The original Black & White 1 & 2 worked perfectly fine & I hate to see it get screwed if it did get an remake. I rather that they either maked an port or an remastered to these games in future consoles like on the Switch if it runs for an long time or make another sequel to the Black & White games that takes place after the events of Black & White 2 & possibly add more lore liked an new Mega Evolution or some other super duper gimmick for that era.

[@yurikuki]

I remember when I played my copy of Omega Ruby and wondering why the gift pokemon Latios was a different color. Turns out it was a shiny. First shiny I ever got in Pokemon which was cool

[@RandomTens]

Woah that’s amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever had that much luck in anything in my entire life hah

[@RandomTens]

Heads Up: I got the release date wrong as they actually released on Nov. 21, 2014 along with Smash 4 and amiibo! I was working at Wal-Mart at that time so it's very likely I saw them earlier as part of a shipment to the store. Apologies for this mistake!

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

next adventure takes you to the alola region, pack your bags for a divisive generation.

[@puffypuff3144]

Personally I disagree with the comment on ORAS not "preserving nostalgia" being a problem by having a more diverse dex and a plot altered to fit new mechanics. Yes, these are remakes, obviously they should recreate the original, but ORAS understands when arbitrary limitations out of an appeal to nostalgia are still just arbitrary limitations. HGSS fails horribly in this regard by inexplicably excluding a large chunk of the new gen 4 evos for gens 1 & 2 Pokemon and inconsistently handling the few they do include. I agree the *placement* of the diversification of the Hoenn region is a bit bizarre, occuring before the 8th gym instead of, say, in the Delta episode, but other modernizations like Megas and evolutions for originally lacking mons in the Hoenn Dex (most notably Roserade, Froslass and Gallade) does a lot in making these be proper remakes enhancing the original experience instead of just recreating it out of fear of violating the established originals. FRLG takes a different, decent path with the Sevii Islands, Let's Go doesn't really attempt this at all, and HGSS prioritizes fluffy new content and expanding Kanto over fixing what was broken about Johto. ORAS isn't perfect and has glaring issues, but it's the only Pokemon remake i can say I would always rather play over the originals.

[@RandomTens]

I love this comment and I recognize that my takeaways are going to be different than a lot of others because these games are bound to be more polarizing than most. Your explanation is spot on though and I genuinely appreciate your take on these games as I love seeing others experiences so thank you!

[@puffypuff3144]

@@RandomTens Hey no problem. I'm glad you didn't take my disagreement as hostility and I appreciate the time and effort you put into your reviews. I often find myself at odds with other Pokemon fans as some of the most popular games (notably BW2 and HGSS) are the ones I have the most issues with. Approval of critique from people who do love those games is very refreshing to have and it's a mindset I hope to become more prevalent going forward. Thank you!

[@eevee1583]

Finally somebody said it. I really don't like how hgss never allowed you to have gen 4 evolutions- what's the point of remaking it in gen 4 if you're not going to take advantage of the things gen 4 brought to the table? Hgss inaction towards improving itself and instead adding new features that don't do much is a big gripe I have against it. I think this is also why I find myself more drawn to Oras than Hgss- Oras took risks in making a new experience. It's what I think all Pokemon remakes should be- the base game with modern twists to give us a reason to play them besides having better graphics. Although I wonder if it really payed off, as most Pokemon fans don't like oras that much but praise Hgss for some reason

[@puffypuff3144]

@@eevee1583 to this day i dont understand why johto remakes left Weavile and Gliscor unobtainable outside of battle frontier grinding AND the gen 4 eeveelutions completely unobtainable. and HGSS on top of all that fails to address Johto's problems; the weird disuse of Johto Pokemon, the horrendous level curve and weird difficulty spikes, idiotic plot that goes nowhere, and in some cases these problems are actually exascerbated, nevermind the game's refusal to take advantage of Gen 4's advancements directly... Pretty much every good change is either a new mechanic altogether or changes Kanto specifically, which is oddly prophetic when you consider nowadays :V So yea, I don't get all the hype to be honest. I feel like I'm missing something.

[@eevee1583]

@@puffypuff3144 Finally somebody who agrees with me. Hgss are so horribly overated it's ridiculously annoying. I hate that people praise a remake that did barely anything to improve on Johto's flaws but constantly harp on Oras for not having a stupid tower that wasn't even in R/S. Oras definitely has its flaws but it's fleshing out of characters in the story along with new content added that actually matters really makes it shine. Maybes it just because G/S had more flaws than R/S but it's still annoying to see Oras get limited love compared to Hgss.

[@notafan5573]

"Sends a message to players that Ruby and Sapphire's narrative's weren't good enough to preserve for modern day audiences" You mean the same players that spent the last decade plus leading up to these games saying the original R&S's story was stupid and bad?

[@Mqstodon]

To be fair it wasn't that bad. The team's goals were understandable, they just want a better world for pokemon but underestimated the respective legendaries, understandong their mistakes at the end. And the orb thing too makes perfect sense, as Groudon has blue lines on it's body and same with Kyogre

[@nathanwalker6284]

@@Mqstodon The story was pretty bad tho The team’s goals kinda sucked. Hoenn is almost a nature utopia - so why do these two teams even want to change it? It tries to tell a narrative about environmentalism but it doesn’t work as the setting of Hoenn is a place without environmental issues in the first place. Junichi Masada has been on record to say that the Pokémon world in general was made to be a a place without environmental issues. So trying to create a narrative that tackles environmental extremism in a setting without environmental just leaves a disconnect and it’s hard to be engaged in the messy conflict We don't see the good either team is trying to do anyways. Both teams talk too much and show too little.

[@SpacialRend7]

The first Pokémon game that I owned was the OG Sapphire version and it was a lot of fun. However, Alpha Sapphire was a lot better in my opinion. Measurably the same story, but the expansion upon Mega Evolution lore, Primal Reversions, new locations, and the exciting Delta Episode made ORAS all the more enjoyable for me. If I had one nitpick with ORAS, it’s that I wasn’t able to experience the Battle Frontier from Emerald version (which I was looking forward to) and is something that was I wished was brought into the games. Still, the ORAS games are some of my favorite Pokémon titles in the franchise. Not the best, but enjoyable in my opinion.

[@PeruvianPotato]

Frontier was cut content which is why there are leftovers models in the final release

[@tzizr2593]

I agree with this, people wanted loyal remakes and see the inclusion of the items that you listed as negatives, but to someone who has never played the originals ORAS will most likely be better to them, I feel like there is bias when it comes to deciding on the og or oras

[@emeraldblack842]

@@tzizr2593 I feel like the same phenomenon that makes genwunners causes the bias towards the original ruby/sapphire

[@bigbubbawade]

Smash, ORAS, and those amiibo came out the same day, i remember my wallet suffering vividly

[@delphoxxthevulpera68]

Most underrated remakes.

[@SanaxUltd]

Totally disagree with minute 13:00 and this whole rant! These remakes made nearly everything better! They are my favorite pokemon games since like 2010. Gorgeous graphics, more character depth, expanding unused story lines, etc. THESE games brought me back into the franchise!

[@DuskLegend]

Incredibly based

[@silver9767]

Men, that last line about him waiting for the sinnoh remakes to be as bold and creative as Oras....how do we tell him? :(

[@cyberbitterdragon]

Tell 'em they made an entirely seprate Sinnoh prequel :)

[@theknightstar8640]

Honestly my only real complaint I have with these games is the difficulty, They are laughably easy. But easy doesn’t mean bad and these games were great. From Music, to characters, to visuals, everything was great imo. And the stuff they added were very welcomed, especially glide and hidden islands. Hoenn is a land of discovery and adventure and the hidden island mechanic really fleshed out that exploratory feel imo

[@jjc4924]

Could've said it better myself.

[@henrycowen8164]

I think difficulty in Pokemon games is rather subjective. My first pokemon game was sun/moon and I found the games rather difficult. In fact I didn't even finish as Kukui's Lycanroc swept my team but I found it much easier on my second playthrough. I think people call the newer games too easy as they have already played through the older ones many times before and are used to all the mechanics... Rant over. P.S I do agree that the newer games are easier as I have gone back and played gen 4 and 5. Just my thoughts on the whole thing.

[@segunthepikachufan1470]

The hardest games are always the enhanced versions such as Emerald, Platinum and Ultra Sun/Moon also add Black and White 2 even though it's a sequel

[@henrycowen8164]

@@segunthepikachufan1470 I 100% agree, but do you know what is even harder than those? The ROM hacks...

[@ebarbs4049]

if its that easy turn off the exp share

[@AdamLloyd128]

I adored these games. Yes, the lack of the battle frontier was a blow, but I already loved gen 3 and these games were such a charming interpretation of Hoenn. I don't want a 1-1 remake, honestly. If you're going to make one, do something interesting with it. Also, these were the games I used to construct my living dex. The online features have yet to get better than in ORAS, and the range of Pokémon/legendaries you have access to is immense. It was nice to finally no longer need a degree in archaeology to find old rare Pokémon

[@illmind1560]

I've been playing Pokemon for about 16 years and never really liked gen 3 until I played these games. Now it's my most played with 1200 hours!

[@ihatehandles69420]

Thats a lot of hours

[@logansaxby7224]

How many Pokemon can be caught in the game?

[@turtleanton6539]

Wow dats alot of hours !

[@Martin-ux8du]

Such coinsidence. I got an used Omega Ruby this week. I'am playing through it now.

[@RandomTens]

That’s awesome! Enjoy it!!!

[@WetSquidy5]

I hope you love oras as much I do

[@CharlieZColt]

The problem with ORAS is that while Heartgold and Soulsilver were basically gold and silver with all the crystal enchantments, ORAS is Ruby and Sapphire without any of the Emerald improvements except maybe a little in the Delta Episode. Ruby and Sapphire were already my least favorite in the series by Emerald is my top 5 which should demonstrate how much better it is by leaps and bounds.

[@Mqstodon]

??? Emerald didn't add that much though? Mainly just the rayquaza thing

[@Mqstodon]

??? Emerald didn't add that much though? Mainly just the rayquaza thing

[@CharlieZColt]

RosesBubble you see the Rayquaza thing is always what people think of but Emerald actually made a ton of improvements that I didn’t even realize until I went back and played Ruby and Sapphire again. While there’s the obvious story changes and how weird it is that Team Aqua wants to turn a volcano into a lake and that the land loving team is the one that hijacks a submarine so they can go into the sea floor and resurrect a volcano maker. Other than the story being much longer with the addictions of the Magma Volcano hideout and the battle at the rocket station, there were also overhauls to all the gym leaders teams to make their laughably easy teams harder. Watson and Flannery got a lot harder with teams that actually made sense and the other gym leaders got minor improvements too. The only trainers who got easier teams were Rival 2 and Norman but I actually like Norman’s emerald team better because I think it’s dumb when you have two of the same exact Pokémon on your team. Other than that there’s the obvious addition of the battle frontier as well as the replacement of all but one of the contest halls with battle facilities with all the old contest halls now being pack into one so no content was lost. Lastly this obviously doesn’t apply to ORAS but Emerald added animated sprites that Ruby and Sapphire did not, marking their comeback from 2001’s Crystal version.

[@CharlieZColt]

Seven V assuming that more content and harder difficulty makes for an objectively better Pokémon game than Emerald is objectively better as it improves the teams of all the gym leaders to make them harder (except for Norman who now only has one Slaking), added new content to the story line such as the Team Magma base and battle at the rocket station. As well as 4 battle facilities before the elite four and even the entire battle frontier afterwards all without getting rid of the Pokémon contests Incase you really liked those. Plus Emerald brings back the sprite animations from Crystal and doesn’t have you battling the water loving evil team on top of a volcano because they want to turn it into a lake. I mean how weird was that? Lastly the cherry on top is that the game has a Red style battle with Steven at meteor falls. So if you think that higher difficulty, a more coherent story and more content makes for a better Pokémon game than Emerald is objectively better than Ruby and Sapphire. My opinion is worth about as much as everybody else’s, besides this is a review video so literally the whole thing is opinion based.

[@Blank-jt3nj]

Wish I couldve posted my live reaction to Tate and Liza only having 2 pokemon 😤😑

[@Magenta_Nimbat]

One thing gen 6 has as a whole is the insane amount of shiny hunting methods. Honestly the most fun generation to shiny hunt on

[@icemanlj2k7]

One of the things loathe about gen 8 is the awful shiny hunting methods. If you don't want to Masuda breed everything, you're basically fucked. Gen 6 was the pinnacle of shiny hunting (though Lets Go is my personal favourite game for shiny hunting)

[@CoasterBrain]

TheIcemanLJ I like wild shiny hunting, but it can be annoying, however it is a way you can EV train and find shinys, witch is cool, also game freak needs to fix the odds

[@butcherofblaviken4000]

friend safari is my fave

[@abc-salat2629]

I actually liked the games for what they were. Sure, they removed some features from previous games and the ones they are based on (Battle Frontier in particular). But they had so many QoL changes and additions that I can still confidently say that these are the best Pokémon 3DS games.

[@2yoyoyo1Unplugged]

These are my favorite pokemon games. As someone who started with Sapphire, these remakes were everything I imagined Pokemon as in my head as a kid.

[@Empressranda]

Hoenn is my favorite generation, having played the OGs, and I adored ORAS. The originals will always hold a special place in my heart. The hype I felt before the games came out about getting to play through Hoenn again was REAL. And I love mega evolution. Mega Swampert is my favorite mega so I welcomed most of the changes they made to these games

[@leno764]

You made me cry of nostalgia. these games were already very important to me but your video made me love them even more.

[@akin2093]

i absolutely loved ORAS and everything about it. the story, the characters, the pokémon, the moves, anything and everything about ORAS.

[@nathanwalker6284]

The story was even worse than the originals tbh

[@Silvqr]

This video is the crowning example as to why I've really enjoyed your review series on the mainline Pokemon series. You've done a really great job at showing the demographics within the Pokemon community (ie those that love gens 1-5, those that love 6-8, and those that are more in the middle) and showing what the developers were actually thinking, even if a bit speculative at times. Really well done!! (Also hype for Alola reviews!!)

[@stephvondames6369]

How I would change ORAS by adding Gym Leader rematches only to help understand the characters more also take some small adventures with them

[@---Mattia---]

Just like we did with Wattson, learning about its past in sea Mauville

[@stephvondames6369]

Yup you got it@@---Mattia---

[@mata218]

Omega Ruby was the first Pokemon game I actually beat, it still holds a place in my heart. After I beat the game twice I started shiny hunting squirtle but sadly never got one. I sold my copies of Omega Ruby and Y so sadly all of my files are gone. I still have tons of shinies in pokemon bank if that's still even up.

[@txenog]

These days you don't need the original games anymore. You could just get a 3DS, mod it and use Bank with your ROM savefile on your 3DS. Works perfectly fine with Bank.

[@mata218]

@@txenog I'm honestly not sure if I still have the same account from before. It's not too big of a deal since the new games look like garbage so I don't have much to transfer too.

[@kr1st7y]

Mata Nui I honestly rather keep my legendaries and shinies in my 6th and 7th generations save files than in the actual 8th generation...

[@mata218]

@@kr1st7yI've been wanting to try 8 but then I realise it's a waste. Gen 7 and 8 have such good pokemon designs but 7th had so much hand holding and 8th looks like more of the same but somehow running worse.

[@Ikcatcher]

As someone who started out in Gen 3, I couldn't ask for a better Hoenn remake

[@icemanlj2k7]

Honestly....there's only one way these remakes could be improved and that's the battle frontier If they had included the battle frontier (and their reasoning for not including it was absolutely asinine), OrAs would rival HGSS for best games in the series

[@PeruvianPotato]

The true reason was because it was cut, Game Freak doesn't like admitting that their products are rushed (I mean, look at Gen 8)

[@tzizr2593]

@@PeruvianPotato, Gen 8 is a prime example of a game getting rushed, a good chunk of the fan base can universally agree that it’s the worst Pokémon game in terms of quality, no dlc will make up for it’s short comings, no dlc should even be considered for a Pokémon game, I hope DP remakes get the time they need to be complete, along with future gens

[@arandompatrat9202]

20:16 “hopefully the gen 4 remakes are a little more faithful” Be careful what you wish for ig...

[@JumpinJew]

I kinda like that Hoenn has so much water. It just makes it unique and really stands out to all the other regions. Maybe that's why it's my favorite, im not sure

[@RandomTens]

I honestly never found it that bad, especially if you use repels tbh

[@Q-TebGamesNL]

And it is more logical for Maxie to want more land and Archie more water, since it's pretty much 50/50

[@N12015]

@@RandomTens At least in OR/AZ you are asked about using more repels.

[@carmelcutie1991]

I kinda wanna talk to the person who did the review... The hoenn region is basically a huge island. Tf you mean theirs too much water?! Like he sounds slow for saying that

[@kattnip500]

When I saw this I was reminded of the 7 hour Omega Ruby review some guy made

[@brandonm8901]

It came up on my recommended again a few days ago so maybe a lot of people did too 😅

[@zaarongaming8174]

Pierce Brosnan ate Mrs. Fitzimmons's seabass

[@Jozombies115]

The "Exhaustive" review? Yeah, that video was crazy. I only watched like 20 minutes of it but that dude analyzed literally everything.

[@r5pod]

yeah that was more of a review of Pokemon has a whole with Omega Ruby as a consistent case study. I've watched it twice now and it's a real ride. I think I actually enjoy it more than the game itself LOL

[@DenizDivine]

damn that delta episode-music catches me everytime

[@benthecrusherofbooty676]

I know this might sound sacrilegious.... But I honestly love and prefer these games over Emerald. Please don't hurt me.

[@medictf2198]

Honestly, as much as I love Emerald, the Battle Frontier is literally its only saving grace when it comes to the postgame, as there’s not really anything else to do after beating the game aside from that. ORAS are objectively better, with more stuff to do in the postgame like the freakin’ Delta Episode (plus catching Deoxys without an event ticket!), a plethora of legendaries to catch, online battles, the DexNav, Contests and such. But as they say, nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

[@benthecrusherofbooty676]

@@medictf2198 Thank goodness I'm not the only one who thinks this. I thought I was gonna be eaten alive in the comments lol.

[@benthecrusherofbooty676]

@@medictf2198 And yeah, Rayquaza calming kyogre and groudon down in emerald is cool and all.... BUT ORAS HAS YOU SUMMON A FUCKING SUPER MEGA DRAGON FROM THE HEAVENS THAT WHICH YOU THEN RIDE INTO SPACE TO FIGHT AN ALIEN TO SAVE THE WORLD. DRAGONS VS ALIENS, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY GET MORE HYPE THAN THAT!!!!

[@killax5628]

i just wish oras wasn’t so easy, and the best thing about emerald was the difficulty imo but i agree oras story gets developed more and emerald just added battle frontier.

[@ExertionsPvP]

Your Pokemon reviews are actually the best. And its not even close. The amount of time and effort you dedicate is beyond commendable. I'm happy to see your return (I stopped once you took your break last year, or maybe the year before I am not certain) and I'm looking forward to the future.

[@IgnitedQuils]

0:22 The games came out on November 21st, 2014. Just saying since it had been exactly 12 years since the original RS games (11/21/02).

[@JohnsonSaUceZach]

I used to think the hoen story-line was silly until I learned that it is based off of a real life scenario that took place in japan

[@Leon-tq5kz]

Damn i remember just flying over hoenn with latias and listening to music. I think i'll play these games again now!

[@threes_leaves]

Great video, love seeing more from you. I have a few points to make though. I think the problem with comparing the remakes of Gens 1 and 2 to ORAS is that the first two generations really didnt have much of a story at all, so neither do their remakes. And even in FRLG there was a sudden intrusive shift after the Cinnabar Gym to the Sevii Islands. Oras deeply expanded on the lore of Hoenn and mega evolution. Had there been something like mega evolution in previous generations I have no doubt they would have done the same for those remakes. Another problem I find is that people complain about not being able to evolve pokemon like Golbat that evolve in later gens until the postgame in FRLG, but when actually given the chance in ORAS, they say its not faithful enough to the originals.

[@ChaddyFantome]

As much as the Battle Frontier's absence sucks, framing it as a "unfulfilled promise" is dishonest and deceitful, not gonna lie. As for why a lot of the stuff in ORAS was in ORAS instead of XY, my guess is it WAS meant to be in XY but time constraints let to it all being left to ORAS instead. its not unlikely given Zygarde formes ended up in Sun and Moon. Same thing with hoopa and post game legendaries.

[@sammydray5919]

Have to disagree with you a bit there. The fans are completely justified in wanting Battle Frontier and being miffed and cheated that it wasn't included. Because with their history of remakes before, they had always added in the newer features even if they weren't in the base games. Fire Red and Leaf Green had the sevi islands to explore as well as the battle tower. Heart Gold and Soul Silver had a ton of additional features in comparison to their base games and even had the battle frontier. And all that was accomplished even with the hardware limitations at the time. Its perfectly reasonable to assume that following tradition, the gen 3 game remakes would have the battle frontier since the gen 3 game emerald introduced it in the first place. All the previous remakes felt that we got something additional along with the base game remade, ORAS doesn't feel like that all (no the delta episode and the battle maison are NOT a suitable replacement). So yeah I'll say fans are pretty justified in feeling cheated here and not to mention the reasoning given as to why it wasn't included just reinforced that.

[@ChaddyFantome]

@@sammydray5919 That isn't what i said tho. I said presenting it as an "unkept promise" is dishonest. There was no promise of a Battle Frontier. The fans being upset about it is all fine and dandy, just as i expressed in my post. But to frame it as Gamefreak not pulling through on a promise they made is just straight up narrative spin, regardless of how much you or i believe it should be there without having to be asked for. Im not gonna bother with the rest because its a tired rhetoric that seldom comes from a place of rationality as opposed to emotion.

[@oyeh8908]

@@ChaddyFantome I seem to recall an NPC from Hoenn in XY talking about his homeland having an "incredible battle facility" as a hint towards ORAS being made. For some reason I doubt he was talking about the exact copy of the Battle Maison we ended up with.

[@LGT2796]

My favorite shiny hunter finally back! Just re-watched the shiny salandit video and found out you started uploading again!

[@user-dx9hf1gm6c]

Ohh yeahhhh, I'm so excited: new vid at 2 am~ Haven't watched it yet in its entirety, but I know that you've done as great of a review as always :D

[@Nobody-ls3bp]

As someone who loves the original gen 3, i must say this is a really good remake. I loved it when i played it! The only thing i was missing is the battle frontier, as you mentioned as well. I played it hundreds of hours back in the day in emerald.

[@McsnailGaming]

20:09 hey, you got those faithful reimaginings of Diamond and Pearl….. yeah?

[@thunter992]

Whats everyone's thoughts on the Diamond and Pearl remakes? I would of preferred the characters to look like this over the chibi look

[@JeremyB381]

I'm currently 30 hours into my alpha sapphire play through and so far it's my favorite in the series, as a lover of water types i quite liked all the water traversing and underwater exploration. And to top it all of I get a cool water type legendary, it's amazing!

[@natehasenecz4100]

TWO IN ONE MONTH? I’m so happy! Bro these are so fun to watch

[@crisen_]

This is one of the best remakes ever ... i really like the aesthetics and the new features of the gameplay much more improved than the last game.

[@MrKlausbaudelaire]

ORAS was my favourite after Platinum, and it really holds a special place because Emerald was essentialy the first pokemon game I really played. Sure I tried Gen 1 and 2 but never really INVESTED, I knew diddly-squat of english to understand what to do, I was too young to really put effort and have fun, but Emerald was when I hit the perfect age to not only understand the text, but REALLY play, train the pokemons as they have to be, know the good moves, which type counters the other, and I played THE HELL outta that game, even came back and replayed it LAST YEAR as I found my old GBA SP in working condition and the charger and cartridge still around (and you would be surprised at how well the GBA SP's battery actualy feels like it holds charge for as long as it originaly did). So when ORAS came out, I was thrilled. I already enjoyed XY a lot, and being able to replay my most special game, I would be lying if I say I wasn't playing the game with a goofy wide smile through most part of it, especialy when listening to the reorchestrated soundtrack which I unconsciously memorized. I can just stop right now and picture a route or town and my mind will play the song they have, I don't know why I'm able to do it xD

[@thetealturtwig5667]

This video is beautiful And even if I wasn't a Pokemon Lorekeeper I'd still find the alternate timeline thing one of the best concepts for the series As for something I'd change maybe the option to ride normal Latios/latias in soar mode

[@thatnerdnamedchase6915]

I’ve been waiting for this video for a while, thanks for the great content

[@flameblade5127]

Always appreciate these reviews. My only main issue with your video is the idea of it having too many changes from the original. If they were remasters I would understand, but they’re remakes. They’re meant to be different.

[@rachelslur1404]

Love these reviews man, the way you break them down is absolutely perfect

[@ell635]

I played ORAS about 2 years ago and I fell in love with them. I played the originals too, but I’m just not as diehard fan as others. So I don’t care for whether or stayed exclusively true to the originals. I thought this review was terrific, as always. Thanks for such amazing reviews!

[@CainG12]

Amazing video, wish you were right about the gen 4 remakes lol. As someone who was the perfect age for gen 3 releases i love the points you made about changing story plots. All things considered tho i do love these remakes and am currently playing thro them for the 3rd time in my downtime. Thanks for helping me pass some time this morning loved the video

[@fastestgameralive8300]

Oh goodness I love these remakes so much. Gen 3 was already my favorite Gen but Alpha has been the pokemon game I have played the most even if my first pokemon was Diamond. I really love your videos dude keep going at it I want to eventually see all your opinions on one of my favorite series🤗😎

[@holzman00]

Sadly, BDSP ended up being soulless remakes that added nothing to Sinnoh. I would’ve loved a retelling of Sinnoh, with fleshed out characters and modern amenities.

[@jasimalthani]

Thank you for the great content as always 🙏🏼👏🏼

[@SpeedTwister96]

Great Review! I still remember the day I revisited the Hoenn region in Omega Ruby. I really enjoyed it even though Iam not a big fan of gen 6.

[@Blossoming_Fate]

WOOOOO! Edit: That Felt Short... Oh Thats cause it was short.... Also I loved these games. I remember getting a cold along with Alpha Sapphire at Christmas time the year these came out and fishing it in like 2 days of in game time cause they were the only things that could hold enough of my attention to keep me awake. I never played the originals so I can't comment on how they compare to them, but they are probably in my top 3 favorite play-throughs (just behind X Version and White Version).

[@sechabatheletsane9784]

Woow, he uploaded so soon after the other. Proud of ya

[@peteman9032]

I’m suuuper nostalgic for the Gen 3 games since Sapphire was my first game in the series, and I loved the remakes. I already loved Mega Evolution so seeing it invade my favorite region was great, the Delta Episode and all that deep lore was amazing for ME, while I think a lot of the characters did benefit greatly from the reimagining, I can also see why all this turned off some people and definitely the worst choice was to copy and paste the Battle Maison and then have a cardboard cutout of the Battle Frontier

[@JCE0415]

Great job, Stan. Very professional videos, as usual.

[@savagecat6924]

I just started playing this and you posted this

[@ThunderKnightSilver2]

It's interesting, as someone who grew up with Sapphire and Emerald, I never minded the reinterpretation aspect of the games. I thought it was pretty welcome actually considering how much of a more hands-off style of storytelling and characterization the originals had. I almost wished they had gone more in with the games through this perspective in regards to gameplay; introducing more Pokemon earlier on for the player to catch and adjusting the level curve to make the experience more interesting. Though I would say that this does mean that R/S/E probably have more replayability than the other games that got the remake treatment just by virtue of ORAS being so different.

[@davidsanchez5828]

Best in-depth reviews of pokemon games on the whole youtube, I've watched all your reviews and all were awesome! Are you releasing a Sword & Shield review after the crown tundra releases?

[@loc9588]

no way you uploaded another one! I have been binging these reviews the past few days, and I'm super excited to play all the old DS games, I just purchased one of the ds multi games on ebay with all ds pokemon games. So hyped! Thanks for making great reviews :)

[@RandomTens]

Really glad you’re enjoying them!

[@loc9588]

@@RandomTens yeah!

[@loc9588]

@@RandomTens hey what would your favourite ds game be? I've only played bw and that was the year they came out. I don't really know which game to start on, since all gens look like a lot of fun. Your recommendation would be appreciated! :)

[@jaydenc367]

do you mean like...the actual ds? or like all the ds and 3ds games?

[@RandomTens]

Lochlainn Dw You really can’t go wrong with Platinum or HGSS! They’re a bit more challenging than later games, but definitely still not too bad and there’s a ton of content in both of them that’ll make it worth the price tag!

[@ivansaavedra8647]

Was waiting for this one. :D

[@belh9587]

This was my first pokemon game and i love them to death and even though i love the originals these will always hold a place in my heart

[@barley2262]

Battle frontier? More like, battle fantasy 😔

[@Emily-lh6em]

I like this review you made great points. Hoenn has always been my favorite generation and I love both the remake and original. I hope they do sinnoh justice like this one. 💓

[@rogerklotz7737]

Competitive wise this game was a blast and the ability to fly above the world and discover new places was also better than in any other Pokémon game. The story is nothing new but the post game was huge. Can’t believe people didn’t like it. This game re-introduced me into Pokémon when I already had given it up.

[@logang.2953]

I'm hyped for Gen 4 remakes. Diamond was the first pokemon game I've played, and I REALLY hope the remakes come out soon.

[@toby8564]

Good review, my man. Good review.

[@SpoonStyleS2K]

I just discovered your page and I've already watched almost all of your pokemon reviews! I'm know I'm jumping ahead but I'm ready for the Sword/Shield review! P.s. Gen 1 FTW!!!!!!!! (Gen 2 is second best though!)

[@thunderboltwarrior]

Good review! Take all the time you need before Sun&Moon's video, no worries.

[@ZenigameDirect]

Great video. I even learned a few new things about these games, despite putting around 700 hours into them.

[@MrFootballman52]

Just bought a used copy of Omega Ruby a few days ago. Emerald was the first main-series Pokemon game I got into back in the day and played the heck out of. I still have a ton of nostalgia for those days, especially struggling to beat even one of the Frontier Brains since I didn't understand competitive Pokemon at all or design good move sets. So far I'm enjoying the music, visuals, and story but wish the Frontier had returned now that I play competitive Pokemon pretty regularly in SwSh and Showdown.

[@chezmix64]

Ngl. As someone who used to consider gen 3 his favorite gen, I love the story changes. They’re not perfect games obviously and I feel like the way they changed the story addresses a lot of the issues

[@apollojustice5338]

ORAS could've been a bit better but it had the misfortune of being a Gen 6 game. Which means very easy difficulty and not using its full potential. (Case in point, X and Y) Basically, Emerald is completely absent in these games while HG/SS 2 gens before had remade the features of all the Gen 2 games and was the better game compared to this. If it only was made after Su/Mo, the quality would've been great. Nothing will top HG/SS as the best Pokemon remakes.

[@lloydirving6209]

i honestly believe that if hoenn remakes happened during gen 5 they would have been THE best pokemon games. not shoehorning in megas, as well as retaining the 2D aesthetic (albeit a much more updated one) as well as gen 5 battle mechanics and no fairy typing to stay more consistent with the originals. i firmly believe that the jump to 3D reallly hurt ORAS because it is hard to translate a map from 2D to 3D and gamefreak clearly did not have this figured out yet (which is very evident in X/Y where despite being a 3D game the entire map layout is still a fucking grid for some reason).

[@jaydenc367]

I feel you should always compare xy to other first versions honestly...like if you wanna bring up emerald...I could say how much missed potential would have been in gen 3...not to mention if platinum wouldn't have existed and how that game fleshed out cynthia so she appeared more then like twice like in the original gams making her appear more like a harder version of diantha in the original sinnoh games I don't see how if it being made in gen 7 would change anything...actually im curious what your opinion on the alola games are

[@jaydenc367]

@@lloydirving6209 no fairy typing and no megas and no 3d? no thanks...I really found oras a unique game partly because it was a 3d remake of a 2d game. I don't see how they would change the grid for a remake game honestly.gen 5 battle mechanics would be in but not gen 6 ones. I don't think it was the jump the jump to 3d that hurt oras

[@lloydirving6209]

@@jaydenc367 again this is all just my subjective opinion. I hate the aesthetic of 3D pokemon games, and I think gens 4 and 5 were peak pokemon aesthetic. sprites are WAY more attractive to me than 3D models, for example. the pre-3D pokemon games also very obviously had a vastly different design philosophy to them (as admitted by Junichi Masuda in numerous interviews with him) which ultimately made gens 6-8 much worse games to me. there were some good quality of life changes in those gens I'll admit, but besides QoL changes every other change they made to the difficulty, constant tutorials/handholding/cutscenes, gen 1 pandering, introducing a new gimmick each gen like megas/z moves/dynamaxing, things like that are all negatives. since gen 5 was the last gen with the old design philosophy, and all of these changes that I despise do not start until gen 6, this is why I think they would have been perfect if the hoenn remakes were done in gen 5.

[@jaydenc367]

@@lloydirving6209 well...yeah it is subjective and I disagree about the aesthetics of the 3d pokemon games. I like the 3d models honestly. while it's clear a philosophy is change...honestly? not every game nward was easy...seems like with gen 7 they were making things more difficult despite it being more hand holdy whiel gen 6 were the easiest but felt less hand holdy...although starting with gen 5 it feels more like they started taking stuff out and making the games linear to it seems. gen 1 pandering....eh depending on what it is isn't that bad. megas and z mores were pretty cool and interesting while dynamaxing seems rather bland...doesn't mean the former 2 sucked though. would have been better if oras was harder like if it was in gen 5...but again them removing some content arguably started in gen 5...plus gen 5 was complete at that point...so it was likely either that or bw2

[@cultofmalgus1310]

Well ORAS were my favorites of the 3D handheld games....probably because Hoenn was my favorite region of all time. I'd been playing since R/B/Y but Hoenn really rubbed off on me. The beaches, the ocean, the trees, the chill atmosphere, I just loved it so much. It's always hard for me to declare ORAS my favorite because I loved HG/SS a lot too. The main issue I have with ORAS is that it is easier than the originals imho.

[@a_ninja2376]

Very happy to see this video

[@najlahalsayed5392]

3:27 "their faces and expressions are brought to life"

[@spadesofpaintstudios1719]

This is a pretty good review I can see why someone would say they aren’t fateful but it’s ok in its own regard

[@chrismason3351]

Man, I know these 2 games get a lot of hate, but I really really loved them once I embraced mega evolution as a whole. I played gens 1-4 all the time, then after a few years hiatus I got back into Pokemon during gen 6. It was admittedly a lot to take in, that only a few Pokemon got megas and such, but I really loved the visuals of oras, the eon flute, those portals where you can fight legendaries, the dexnav, I just thought they were all so user friendly kinda like the vs seeker and running shoes in lgfr. I completely agree that it was odd to see pokes from other generations in the game before the post game, and I could have done without that specifically because it adds an odd dynamic to the game compared to it's original. Anyway, as always, great video, I love your reviews.

[@BarnyWaterg8]

It just needed to be a little more difficult and have a proper battle frontier and we would have had the best remake in the series

[@PeruvianPotato]

Just turn off Exp Share as I consider it optional and the Frontier was confirmed to be scrapped as it needed to be a bit rushed to hit 2014

[@swrawzzzjwz5292]

Been looking forward to this 😆

[@christianpark471]

This was my first Pokémon game so it holds a special place in my heart

[@Borchert97]

ORAS were almost my favorite Pokemon games ever... Almost. I loved all the updates you mentioned, particularly soaring, more contest personalities, deeper lore with Groudon and Kyogre with the Primal forms, Zinnia and the Delta Episode, but fuck am I still pissed to this day that there is no Battle Frontier. Removing endgame content never bodes well for a game of this nature, it gives players something to strive for. As a kid fighting Red was hard, but it made me push myself to improve at the game until I did finally defeat him. To this day I've never gotten all 7 gold symbols at the Emerald Battle Frontier as I didn't understand competitive battling or breeding at the time, and was hoping to put my recently-learned breeding and battling skills to the ultimate test at the Battle Frontier in ORAS, which unfortunately never came, so I've actually gone back to play Emerald just to try to beat the Battle Frontier, because I've lost all hope that Gamefreak will ever give us a full-fledged Battle Frontier. If they truly want to redeem themselves, it'll be in the Sinnoh remakes with the Gen 4 variation of the Battle Frontier. ORAS scores a 9/10 for me personally, and a 10/10 would've been everything it had AND a Battle Frontier. BW2 come close, because the Pokemon World Tournament was sort of like an All-Stars version of the Battle Frontier, with the best of the best from every game up to that point being present. Emerald of course, while a little aged now, is still one of the best titles all-time, if not the best, and I'd definitely throw Platinum and HGSS in there as well, those would form my top 5 games.

[@RandomTens]

The Frontier’s just so iconic for all of the variance of battling it had. And I still can’t believe it hasn’t made a proper return in any games since (though I also love what they did in Platinum)

[@liamsmith8518]

ANOTHER REVIEW ALREADY LETS GOOO

[@papajohn3632]

Love the story and it actually feels like your rival was "alive" and they feel like they actually have character. Steve has a better role than before.The music is just spectacular and i love the post game story since rayquaza is my fave legend. The new way to fly etc etc. The gym leaders also feel so alive.

[@psyffee3755]

I recently did a nuzlocke in Alpha Sapphire. The only change I'd want made would be the addition of the Battle Frontier. ORAS's postgame was already really fun, adding the battle frontier would make it 10x better imo.

[@TMOSP1]

I really liked the direction they took the story in ORAS, and I really liked the way that they used it to flesh out the lackluster story in XY. I also really enjoyed how they dived deeper into the overarching Pokemon Universe in ORAS, and then later in Sun/Moon. The whole multiple universe's thing could have been super super cool if they kept pushing it game after game. Too bad Looker got relegated to Mr. Fire Stone in USUM after all the cool stuff they did with him in Sun/Moon. Then the big cool cliffhanger at the end of USUM's post game ended up just having a tiny little reference thrown to it in Pokemon GO. Hopefully whatever the next game we get in Gen 8, or even Crown Tundra, manages to tie Sword/Shield into the greater Pokemon narrative again. Even if it just further solidifies the region's ties to the 3000 year old war with Kalos beyond one little line. I love when they do cool large scale stuff with the Pokemon universe, and they just kinda stopped after Sun/Moon and it made me pretty upset.

[@twilightvolt]

Y'know, i think you just helped me figure out my feelings toward these games. While i would be totally lying if i said i didn't luv ORAS regardless, i did come out of it feeling like something just wasn't right. which is probably why it took me so long to go back and finish the Delta Episode. they may look like the characters and world that i remember, but they aren't the ones i knew. and after learning more about the lore post Delta Episode, that only confirms it. of course, 1-1 remake wasn't something i wanted either. i'd much rather have the FRLG/HGSS treatment where it's the same story, but with more fleshed out lore and characters to make things better while incorporating the things RSE didn't have originally. and ORAS...did it in it's own strange way. So long story short, i'm both hesitant to say i absolutely adored them, but also i can't lie and say i didn't enjoy the ride. i remember it more than X and Y at least. lol

[@crackman9376]

Just got gens 4-7 for christmas. I was about to make the mistake of playing omega ruby before Y. I needed this video, thank you for the slap in the face.