Let's face it, this was a long time coming. I'm a huge fan of Pokemon and I had this game for more than 8 months now so it was only a matter of time before I reviewed it. Just because I had the game for so long doesn't mean that I played it though, and I only recently was able to really get into it. However after playing it for like an hour I immediately regretted having waited so long to get into it. The original Pokemon Sapphire was already an amazing game, with generation 3 being my 2nd most favorite of all the generations, but this version added so much more to it as a way to make it tons better. Let's not forget about all of the 20th anniversary events that are going on right now, which adds even more to the game and gives more of a reason to keep playing the game throughout the whole year. The point is, Nintendo took an already great game, and then was able to make it so much better, making it amazingly fun, even for someone like me who doesn't play Pokemon as much as I used to.

GRAPHICS 10/10

The graphics are amazing, in so many ways. The way that a pokemon game looks keeps getting so much better with each new installment and the capabilities of the 3DS was able to make the generation 6 games look even better. Everything looks so good, especially the animations for the moves, which are my favorite when it comes to the graphics. You have basic attacks with simple animations and then you have some big moves with animations that look incredible and accurately describe what the move would look like. For example, I really like the move Dragon Pulse because it looks like an intense colorful bolt of lightning, and a good chunk of moves look just as good.

The moves aren't the only parts of the game that look great, everything else does as well. All of the characters, the pokemon, and the environment have all had a tremendous amount of detail put into them to make sure that they all look the best that they can. Of course, there are other games out there that have better graphics, but the improvement and advancement that all of the pokemon games have gone through is incredibly and make the games so much better looking. Overall, I think that the game looks great and for a grade, this aspect gets a perfect 10 out of 10.

SOUND 10/10

Like the graphics, the sounds of the game are all just amazing, both the regular sounds as well as the music. By the random noises of the game, I mean things like pokemon cries and battle sounds among other things, which there are so many of. The regular sounds are still cool and all, but the music is where the money is. For the most part, pokemon music is amazing, whether it's the battle music, legendary music, or even random city music. The music for the generation 3 games were already pretty sweet, but the remake makes the music even better and more fun to listen to.

When it comes to pokemon game music, you may mostly think of the "iconic" music, like the music that plays during pokemon and trainer battles, when you battle gym leaders, the elite four, red, etc. However sometimes the random music may be the best and that's what I think is the case with this game. My 2 most favorite songs in all of Alpha Sapphire are the ones for Slateport City and the desert area of Route 111. As far as I know, you can't tell that they are Pokemon songs just from hearing them, but they are really good songs anyway.

The entire soundtrack has so many different songs, probably about 100 of them for the various cities, routes, battles, and actions, and I'm sure that there will be a few other underused tracks that you may find to like. A pokemon game wouldn't be the same without the iconic music, and all in all the music and sounds work together perfectly to provide you with the perfect experience. For an overall grade, Sound is going to get another perfect 10 out of 10.

ADDICTIVENESS 10/10

Since when is a pokemon game not addicting? If the plan wasn't for it to be addicting, then Nintendo would have stopped cranking out these games many years ago. First off, you have the normal aspects of Pokemon games, which basically transferred over from the original generation 3 game. You get to catch and train hundreds of pokemon, battle all sorts of PC's and real people, and you get to explore a massive and crazy region. Even if you are just a small fan of RPG's, then you should still be able to find a game such as pokemon at least mildly addicting. But we don't just stop there, this game has a whole plethora of new features that make the game so much more fun. Just think of it, what would the point be in just re selling the original Sapphire? Nintendo HAD to make it more addicting than it already was in order to make people buy it. Let's go over some of the biggest aspects of the game.

First off we have Mega Evolution, which is still a pretty new concept but not only does it allow us to become so much more powerful, but it also gives us a roster of sick new pokemon designs. Next we have Secret Bases, and even though those aren't new, they still give us another way to battle, make new friends, and decorate. One other cool feature is Pokemon Amie and Super Training, which again aren't new but they offer us a bunch of fun mini games within the main game to keep us occupied for a long time.

Beyond those aspects, there are many others that offer a whole other experience to how you play. Take Wonder Trading for example. I once spent 3 or 4 hours in a row wonder trading, without doing anything else at all, and that was because I was having a lot of fun doing it, and didn't even need to play the main game tow waste away a few hours. This game has so many different things to do, and at least a few of them will be more than enough to keep you addicted for an extended period of time. For that, I think that it's really addicting, you won't be able to put the game down until long after you have beaten it, and my grade for addictiveness is going to be yet another perfect 10 out of 10.


STORY 9/10

The story starts off like any other pokemon game and it starts off exactly like the original Sapphire game. You start by moving into your new home and saving the professor from a pokemon attack, which is where you get your first pokemon. The entire game is just a montage of catching and training pokemon and battling random trainers and gyms so you can eventually battle the elite four and become the champion. There's a bunch of various side stories like in any pokemon game whether it's the long series of conflict with Team Aqua, the story revolving around Mega Evolution and legendaries, or just random events. The story is the exact same as what it was like more than a decade ago aside for a few tweaks here and there, but the story was fine back then and it still is now. I do feel that some of the changes may have made some aspects of the story a bit shorter or too easy, but for the most part, I think the story is a lot of fun to watch unfold and its not too hard to get into, especially if you loved the original game. As for a grade, I feel that the story was really well crafted and deserves a 9 out of 10.

DEPTH 9/10

I had already brought this up a bit in each of the last two sections, but the game has a lot of depth. First off, just look at the sheer number of Pokemon that you can obtain in the game either from catching or from training. When the original game came out, if you thought that game had a lot of Pokemon, then I can only imagine how someone new would respond to the number of Pokemon that's in this game. Beyond the pokemon, you have the number of people that you can battle, which can be just as intense as the number of Pokemon. You have a ton of regular trainers, gym leaders and the elite four, and even places that are specifically made for battling. When it comes to the regular trainers, pretty much every route has a handful of them for you to battle and a good chunk of them can be battled over and over again, so you never have to look for a battle, there will always be one around you somewhere.


Then on top of that you have a giant map for you to explore, with dozens of routes, cities, rivers, caves, and more for you to search through, some of which can only be accessed once you passed a certain point of the game so there will be a lot of backtracking. What else is there when it comes to depth? A lot More, you have the mini games I mentioned earlier and a whole online experience that allows you to trade and battle with millions of other players around the world as well,as build and decorate various secret bases. The only downside that I see to the depth is that some aspects go by too quickly like I mentioned earlier. Yes, the game will still take you dozens of hours to fully beat, but some things will be left undone unless you go back and do them on your own. Overall, I think the game has a ton to offer and my grace for depth is going to be another 9 out of 10.

DIFFICULTY 3

I think the game is pretty easy, especially because of how the new experience share works. Up until Gen 5, the exp share had to be held by the pokemon that you wanted to give the experience to. What this meant was that after a battle, the pokemon who was in the battle and the pokemon who was holding the exp share were the only ones to get exp. That changed in gen 6 and now all the pokemon in your party get exp after each battle so it's so much easier to grind levels now. If you get to the point where you can't beat a certain gym leader or boss or whatever, all you need to do is go back to a random patch of grass and keep battling until your pokemon grow a few levels and then you will be able to battle again. That's all there is to it, there's no real way to get stuck in a game like pokemon because all you need to do is train and then nothing can stop you. However, you will have to be pretty patient, but other than that the game is pretty easy and the difficulty is going to get a 3 for a grade.

OVERALL 9.6/10

It's a pokemon game, so you either love it or you hate it, there's,no being on the fence when it comes to a game such as this one. If you are already a fan of the franchise, then I'm pretty positive that this game will blow you away and if it doesn't, all that means is that you already played it before and that it had already blew you away. Let's also not forget that it's a remake of a game that was already very popular and that gamers were pretty much asking for this for years before it was even announced, so the game had a lot of expectation and yes, the game did meet them and pass them as well in my opinion. Overall it was a remake of on of the best games and was a lot of fun, so for a grade, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire is going to get a 9.6 out of 10.

no

Sorry to say, but this review is EXTREMELY subjective. Reviews are meant to be objective and unbiased. From what I've read, this is just one giant opinion riddled with " 10/10 would play again." But that doesn't mean your future reviews will all be big opinions. I humbly recommend you check out play4fun's thread here: https://www.vizzed.com/boards/thread.php?id=58382 best on luck in your future endeavors!

ClearAsCrystal : Thanks, but I don't see myself changing the way that I write my reviews after so long.

zanderlex : Not a problem! Just thought I'd give you my 2 cents

ClearAsCrystal : Actually, I disagree that reviews should be entirely objective. It mostly matters on what aspect of the games you're talking about atm. For example, when talking about the difficulty it is pretty much just a thing that's there and you can't really say anything you like or dislike about it because it just is what it is. But when you're talking about, say, the music, you can put in your own two cents because no one feels the same way about it.

I also think the personal bias is pretty extreme in this review, but I don't agree with a reviewer should approach a game purely without bias. Just because someone would objectively rate Pokemon Omega Ruby with like a 7.5 out of 10 doesn't mean that I would.

zanderlex : I do love this game, but I still don't think it is that good. I approve of your score of Graphics, Sound, Depth, and Difficulty, but I don't think the story was that good. Pokemon games don't have that big of a story, but the Team Magma/Team Aqua Primal story line that was added was 6 at best, 7 with the Delta Episode. The game isn't that addictive as well, but I do love WiFi battling, so I would give it an 8, but I wouldn't replay the game for anything.