OMG! Can it be that I have a new Pokémon title to look out for? Awesome! Time to catch ’em all like back in 2003.
Where were you in 2003 when the Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire came out? I was a sophomore in high school doing my homework during the commute to school because I spent the entire night before playing Pokémon Ruby. This November, Nintendo is releasing the remakes to Ruby and Sapphire, but with a subname addition, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. I almost shed a tear when I did my daily check on Serebii.net and saw that my childhood isn’t dead; Pokémon lives! When Ruby and Sapphire arrived, it is when Pokémon revolutionized the training methods; the origin of Natures and Abilities. Also introduced in Generation III is the double battle structure. Double battles quickly became my favorite battle type; there was something about seeing my Pokémon having each other’s back that made the game enjoyable for me. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire definitely made it go beyond the typical RPG by being able to add a personal touch to the way you train and develop your team. Poke Contest was also a new element in which was added. I truly relished my Aggron’s performance in the “Cool Contest”, as Steel type moves were all about the coolness.
So is this going to be the same Ruby and Sapphire that I once held in my Gameboy Advance (which later went missing after having company over, so I had to get a new, blue Gameboy Advance SP)? It’s easy to go back and reminisce about what it was that fascinated you back then, but I see the challenge being what they will do to make it intrigue the newer generation of gaming. I consider myself an “OG” (Old-school Gamer). Games that keep simple formulas to run and rich stories to allow your mind take the adventure to a whole new level is what gets me going. Pokémon has done this throughout my life, thus why I am a loyal Pokéfan to this day.
I have colleagues who are saying that Pokémon is on its last whim and that all that’s left of them to do is to go around in circles until they go extinct. I believe that Pokémon doesn’t abide by the Laws of Darwinism. They can revive fossils in Pokémon, so they can pretty much cheat death by way of the Phoenix and Tada! Rebirth.
I wonder if that technology is used on people in the Pokéworld. Enough politics and science! I just think remaking Generations seems to be a smart way to give an opportunity to seize the time to discover (create) new lands and Pokémon. So let us indulge in this nostalgia to give Gamefreak and Nintendo time to put their thinking caps on. As foolish as it may be I will play Pokémon until the day it isn’t taboo to be a late twenty-something year-old and still playing Pokémon. Sure we, the Pokémon Generation, are feeding our fading youth with these titles but the continuation of the show keeps bringing in newcomers. These newcomers haven’t experienced the earlier generation so these remakes can get them to enjoy what the veterans have.
Once again I see myself looking forward to a new Pokémon title. Sure it’s a remake but I’m actually glad that they didn’t pull the usual stunt and make a parallel game and call it “Z” (due to X and Y). Instead we look towards a new look at the old. Gen III was the complete package that made Pokémon training lifelike with adding personalities to Pokémon. This gives each trainer a unique approach to make their team. To tell you the truth, the only negative feedback I had back in the day about Ruby and Sapphire were the visuals on Hyperbeam. It looked like DNA’s double helix spiraling, nothing really HYPER about it. Other than that, the game comes in as nearly perfect for when it came out. I’m looking forward to playing Pokémon again and to feed my need before it is due in stores, I’m going back to play the Y Version. Anyways enough of my rambling, just stay tuned for any updates from Nintendo and Gamefreak during E3. Play till you DRUL.
