[Image courtesy of christiantoday.com]
By James Flanagan
On Nov. 21, there will be an international release of the highly anticipated Pokemon games — Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Enticing as these games are to fans, the real reason for their popularity is the effort put into each game by the designers. Pokemon has been very popular since it first came out with the first Generation games, Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. This series of RPG’s has the player travel around the game’s respective region, capturing creatures with amazing powers, called Pokemon, in order train them to battle other trainers.
The goal is to collect eight badges from specific trainers, called Gym Leaders, and ascend to the Pokemon League in order to beat the Elite Four and the region’s respective Champion. Each trainer can carry up to six Pokemon at a time.
Each Generation of Pokemon added new things to the franchise, including new Pokemon and new features.
Generation 2, with Pokemon Gold, Pokemon Silver, and Pokemon Crystal, introduced the ability to choose your gender (trainers could only be male in Generation 1 games), 100 new pokemon in addition to the original 150, the ability to get Pokemon from earlier games, Pokemon daycare, eggs, and the Battle Tower and Trainer Red (things to do after defeating the Pokemon League).
There was more to do than just one goal, and many more things to draw the player in. Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Sapphire, and Pokemon Emerald introduced popular concepts; including contests, ribbons, secret bases, and the Battle Frontier as well as the new Pokemon in Generation 3.
The fourth Generation (Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Pearl, and Pokemon Platinum) gave the franchise Ball capsules and the ability to decorate Pokemon for pictures and contests.
Generation 5 (Pokemon Black, White, Black 2, White 2) added less to the franchise besides new Pokemon, except for cut scenes and a deeper story that added to the initial value of the game (after the initial story, it did become boring with a lack of other enticing features, since contests and ribbons were eliminated from this generation).
Pokemon X and Y from Generation 6 were generally more well received by fans than Generation 5 games because of features added, new and old, such as ribbons, 3D graphics, deeper story, trainer customization, and Battle Chateau.
Generation 3 was, according to statistics and personal preference, quite possibly the most well received set of Pokemon games, due to the amount of content they added, including; the Pokemon, moves, ribbons, secret bases, contests, and the Battle Frontier. According to Evan Carter, a student attending the University of Rhode Island, “Generation 3, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the first Pokemon games to feel modern in comparison to the first two generations, implemented unique features such as Hidden Bases and new biomes to create a new and artful experience.”
The immense amount of exciting content that was introduced into these games made them an experience far different than any Pokemon game before and since their release. No other generation in the Pokemon franchise has brought the gamer as much of an immersive experience since the third.
Now, fans have something to look forward to.
The upcoming games, Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, will be remakes of the highly popular third Generation games, Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire. Being exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS, these games will incorporate the original story from Generation 3 games, while also incorporating the many new features introduced in later games.
The Pokemon, environment, and battle animations will be completely 3D, and because of this, the game play will feel significantly more immersive than any earlier generation game. Mega evolutions, a new concept of evolution during battle (introduced in Generation 6) will be appearing in these remakes, playing an integral part of the updated story.
Due to the addition of a significant amount of new content, the game will delve deeper into the whole story, creating a new gaming experience in the Pokemon franchise, and setting the bar for games to come.
Overall, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire look amazing so far. Can they, however, meet or exceed the community’s expectations, or will these games fail to even make an impression on Pokemon fans?
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