Despite how I'm giving it such bad ratings statistically... there's a reason I rated this game pretty highly. It's that pokemon is a pretty bad game outright. Extremely unbalanced, tedious, and with lots of annoying traditions it hasn't outgrown. It's nice to see someone make a hack that even if only indirectly, helps fix some of those gratuitous problems.

GRAPHICS: 3.
What alterations have been done actually have downgraded in many ways. While I actually find it amusing that May sports neon hair, and the machoke you see moving your boxes when you move has been replaced with a truck somehow fitting inside your house... it takes away from the entire environment. Especially when many of times it blurs the lines between movable terrain and blockades, or the fact trainers can go through each other. It's all very glitchy, but not so much that it impedes on the game. Just not attractive looking.

SOUND: 3.
Purely the soundtrack to pokemon ruby. This isn't bad... but for a hack to contribute nothing to the sound just seems a bit of a let down.

ADDICTIVENESS: 1.
I do have some things about the game I don't like. Mostly things that would exist in a pokemon game anyway, so it's not the hacker's fault. Essentially to fix pokemon you'd have to work from the ground up. But there is one major flaw.

That rare pokemon, the entire point of this hack... are pretty limited in scope. Oh sure, you can catch a gengar, rayquaza, and a slew of other powerful and unique breeds. But the fact is, I don't see them all put in there. Mind you, I did not play the "WHOLE" game... Because after you leave your home town, the rare pokemon finds end. And you are back to playing boring old ruby... There is no incentive to keep going. Maybe there are more legendaries waiting for you on the outskirts of Honen reigion... But until then, you're stuck just playing ruby over again. And I don't have that kind of patience. If you're a dragon type fan, you're going to love it. Because you get all your dragon needs right there... but for those of us seeking nostalgia in mewtwo or mew, the legendary birds/dogs, or hell... even the ruby/sapphire legendaries. You're going to be sorely disappointed.


STORY: 1.
The story hasn't been changed at all. And frankly what little commentary was changed, seems forced. It comes off too strong when May is "having to hide her internet porn". To be fair, it's a pokemon game. It's not meant to have a story, or memorable npcs, so then why bother?

DEPTH: 1.
As any other pokemon game. This has not at all changed pokemon ruby. Only pulled the teeth out of it's puzzles, level grinding, and danger level.

DIFFICULTY: 1.
Now here's the kicker... this game is not hard. "AT ALL". It's as if you were playing with a Game Genie. And you know what? That's the way it should be!

Your only challenge is figuring out right away your neighborhood is infested with level 50 powerhouses, and making it to the nearest mart to buy masterballs and rare candy so cheap, they may as well be free. Many other reviewers have complained about this iconic change, but me? That's why I sought this one out. This has given pokemon the refreshing change that it needed. It changes the standard completely of why you're playing a pokemon game. 

You're not having to solve pain stakingly annoying puzzles, just to get your ass kicked by a gym leader the first two times around. You're not having to constantly plateau level grinding. You don't have to rely on the tired, rigged mathematics of the pokemon catch rate. All the aggravations are gone. And does that take away some challenge? Sure it does... But pokemon makes itself out to be an adventure in exploration, choices, and collecting rare and powerful monsters. Not passing a chemistry exam, whilst zubat gnaw on your head, as you crawl your way out of Mt.Moon! The pokemon games have never really been hard, just aggravating. Putting barricades in front of you, forcing you to think with the left side of your brain while you're getting interrupted by random encounter, after random encounter, and forced into trainer battles because apparently Japanese people never heard of the term "no" or at the very least "later"... is not a challenge. It's a drudgery. And pokemon fans are too in love with the concept to rightfully criticize these extremely flawed designs. You would not be so quick to look past them if this were a less popular game. 

The fact that 90% of the trainers are lined up, away from immediate trigger lines to invoke a battle, the fact that you can get really powerful pokemon at the very beginning, and even if you didn't... the rare candies will make whatever you come across level up in a breeze, the fact that there are limitless possibilities in your pokemon arsenal, all make for a huge plus.


OVERALL: 7.9.
One of the better pokemon hacks I've played. I am overall very proud of this kid. (If he's a kid, I don't know...) who took the time to think about how not everyone feels like being a common whelp, begging for a morsel of luck and coinage so that he can build up his ranks. This game makes you feel like a pokemon master. (Or "champion" for the younger crowd...) The pokemon master... is the ubermensch. Free of regret, struggle, turmoil, and sacrifice. There is no death, sorrow, or doubt. Only the will to power. "Thy will be done" you could say...

I like the fact that the hacker took a different direction in scenery too. Making the vast majority of landscape snowy in design. Partially because I like cooler climates, partially because I think it's creative to think up new regions where snow and rain are the norm. I am uncertain if this was purely cosmetic, or infact effected game mechanics in that fire pokemon would get a little screwed. 

So I'll put it to you this way, if you never played third generation... this would be one of the better options over many of the other hacks out there, and definitely over the original. For a new pokemon experience entirely, it is also good. You're not going to be doing any battling unless you want too. Maybe occasionally "letting" a trainer come into contact with you to make some money so you can inevitably buy more rare candies and masterballs.

If you want a game that puts you in charge, and let's you actually test the limits of your own power, without the risk of loss or consequence. If you like the idea of just finding new monsters, building up your collection, and deciding which ones you want to hold dominion over, treating your pokemon like a line of clothes and what you feel like wearing today... this is definitely the game for you. I can't say it's the best, but it certainly isn't the worst. I would definitely say it's one of the better pokemon games I've played, and overall I just want to tell the creator of this hack he did a pretty good job, and is probably well on his way to becoming a much better game designer. 

Invictis : I think that it is good when games get reviews from people who don't like it. That way we get more than just a mountain of reviews from Pokemon Fanatics who just go on and on about how much they love Pokemon, therefore this game is great, etc etc. It makes the reviews more rounded when we get more perspectives.

I like a good Pokemon hack, this game isn't that bad. I enjoyed it, it had that feeling of a Pokemon game, and it was a feel that you thought of a different kind of game too. Nothing really similar that you could complain about.

Nice review btw. Really impressed.

I have a question. As an Retro Game Room Staff, specifically Game Reviewer, why are you giving this game 3 different 3's and 3 different 1's, but is getting a seven point nine (7.9) overall?

the review itself was kind of bland, not bad at all.

This seems to be a bit of an odd review, but I have seen worse reviews. I do like the fact that this game has cheap candy's and masterballs. I might dig up the game for a quick play once I finish Soul Silver on my DS.

rcarter2 :
Oh ok i get it that makes sence actually.

I personally don't find a point to this hack.
Any game that has a relatively non existent difficulty level gets boring very quickly.
There's nothing, really, done to the story either to keep the player interested.
If you've never used gameshark codes before and want to go crazy then you may enjoy this game.
Master balls and Rare Candies are cheap as dirt and can be purchased everywhere.
In the grass routes just outside of your home town you have plenty of Legendaries/Pseudo-Legendaries and Relatively strong Pokémon all at level 50.
It may sound like fun in the beginning but in my opinion it gets old very fast.
Nice review, it pretty much covers all of the main points but I don't really agree with the overall score.