Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire: Four Reasons to get Excited

With the Pokemon franchise still selling in the millions, Nintendo plans to deliver more games November 21st in the form of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire for its 3DS system. If these titles sound familiar, that’s because both games are remakes of the popular 2002 Game Boy Advance hits, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, which went on to sell over 16 million copies worldwide.

Thankfully, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are more than simple ports. Both have a solid foundation to build from, allowing the developers at Game Freak to add more content that’ll help make these experiences somewhat fresh for longtime fans.

We still don’t know much about either game, but there are a few reasons to get excited.

Both Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire received positive reviews

While not the highest rated Pokemon games, critics praised both GBA titles. Ruby has an impressive 82 percent review average on Metacritic, while both Ruby and Sapphire achieved a more respectable 84 percent on Gamerankings.  Ultimately, you have two well-thought-of games making a welcome comeback, most likely serving as holdovers for brand-new Pokemon adventures on track for late 2015.  

There’s a chance you never played Ruby and Sapphire

One of the “worst” things about covering video games as long as we have are the assumptions made about the millions of players around the world. Not bad stuff, of course, but rather the assumption that since we were around when Ruby and Sapphire launched, obviously you were too. For one thing, we’re old. For another, you might be much younger.  If you were born in 2002, you’re 12 or almost that age today, so you may have never experienced the original games. Each one will provide a wholly new experience, and that’s awesome. We envy you.

There’s enough new content for the old timers

With a late November launch, there will be a time and place for Nintendo and The Pokemon Company to host a Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire blowout. For now, details are scarce, but we already know that new Pokemon will receive powerful Mega Evolutions (these first appeared in Pokemon X and Y), joining the likes of Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise. For now, Nintendo officially confirmed Mega Evolutions for Sceptile, Swampert, Sableye and Diancie.

In addition, Game Freak will unleash the all-new Primal Reversion, extreme transformations that affect Legendary Pokemon Kyogre and Groudon, which adorn the covers of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, respectively.

That sweet Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire graphical upgrade

Look for a huge visual jump as Nintendo transitions to the Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby remakes. Keep in mind that the original games are in 2D, whereas the new games will be in full 3D, similar to Pokemon X and Y. In a way, it makes these games somewhat new for longtime fans, since they’ve never experienced the content-rich Hoenn region (its many islands and very active volcano) in the third dimension. 

This is what Ruby and Sapphire look like on Game Boy Advance.

Now compare it to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for 3DS.

It’s a huge jump in graphics, and a rarity to see a 2D game receive this kind of treatment, where instead of worrying about preserving the original games’ legacy, Nintendo chose to aggressively update the formula, and that’s not all. We also expect a full suite of online, StreetPass and SpotPass features that’ll make these the most connected Pokemon titles in history. Of course, you can expect even more Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire news leading up to release.

For now, make sure you avoid these Pokemon X and Y mistakes.