Overall 9 Graphics 6 Sound 1 Addictive 8 Story 1 Depth 10 Difficulty 3
9.8
One of the better pokemon hacks out there. Jim Profit
I'm not going to go easy on this hacker, but he obviously did put a lot of work into it, and it shows. But there is some blatant problems that need to be pointed out. If you're going into Pokemon Orb just expecting Gold or Silver with more pokemon and a bit of differences trainer wise... think again. This is an entirely different pokemon game then any you have played before. The only similarity is the sprites, and even that has been severely altered. (Though not always for the better.)
GRAPHICS: 6.
It needs to be said. The graphics are a huge downgrade to the original. The maps are torn apart messes of rocks and random tiles. It's hard to really figure out where to walk, let alone progress. Many of the berry trees glitch up, some people walk right into buildings, it's severely clunky. Ironically though... all the homebrew pokemon sprites are extremely well done. They're accurate to their third and fourth generation portrayal. So despite the maps design flaws, the advantage goes to the well incorporated pokemon design. Six points for Gryffondor.
SOUND: 1.
The sound is a complete downgrade, there's no getting around this. Second generation had by far the best music, and it was completely butchered here. A mismatching of appropriate music to scenery, with a lot of loud screeching and ringing. The walkway in which you normally would chase Farfetched actually just repeats the pokemon battle music. As if you don't hear that enough. On top of that the low HP ring seems to have gotten louder and faster, becoming even more annoying.
ADDICTIVENESS: 8.
With so many pokemon able to catch, new ones to see, and gym leaders/trainers with unexpected combinations... you will not get bored anytime soon. My only gripe is of course, it's still extremely difficult to catch a pokemon, but that is not particularly this hacker's fault, that's always been a fault in pokemon games. As well, while I can see the point to more random encounters to both expose yourself to all the diverse pokemon, and level up your guys faster, it can get tremendously aggravating quickly. Soon it becomes like water-boarding, trying to endure every single step you take being a random encounter. I wish I was exaggerating. Yes, repels are easy to comeby in the back, but they'll do you little good. Trust me. One hundred free steps won't seem like much at all when you hear another blippity boop bop about a random encounter.
I have to admit though, the game kept me coming back for a solid thirty hours. But where I had my fill was the lack of information. There isn't any walkthrough to speak of, and normal walkthroughs for gold and silver won't always work. Everything has been changed. Maps, even the names of H.M.s. Which by the way it might just be I haven't played second generation in years, but I don't remember pokemon needing seven or eight H.M.s. Should have been called Pokemon H.M. I never did find flash, which I did not think I needed up until I had to do one of those typical protagonist errands of running all around the world to cure a sick gym leader. (So I'm fetching his medicine so that he can brutalize me later... how grateful of him.) Rock smash is called something else now, and when I used it, I was plunged into darkness so I'm pretty much stuck. In my desperation to find flash, I ended up walking all the way back home, only to surf my way right into Kanto. Where I thought oh boy, at least I'll get respect here.
Nope... just an infinite line of trainers kicking me around, asking me about the pokemon league I knew nothing about. Crawling back home bruised and disgruntled, I could only think to myself "Kanto sucks..." and the Deliverance banjo melody in my head.
Story: 1.
You don't play pokemon for a captivating story. The hacker tried to spice things up by making your rival a ninja for some reason, and you even talk a few times in conversation. (Nothing forced or fancy.) But typically these add-ons while appreciated, do not constitute as adding upon the story.
Depth: 10.
Depth is this hack's strong suit without a doubt. This is by far the deepest pokemon hack I have ever seen. I saw pokemon from all generations, there are side quests to battle legendaries, all new pokemon the hacker created, and many many new items whose secrets I have yet to uncover. Even if I had found flash and could continue my gaming, I would not be able to tell you even a portion of what this game holds. You'd have to play it yourself. But I have to admit... it's actually fun and interesting. And that's saying a lot for a pokemon game.
Difficulty: 3.
Certainly not knowing anything and blindly just waltzing around, praying and hoping is difficult. You worry about if you glitched up the game because it's a hack. For example, was radio tower mission just completely taken out? Originally flash was at bellsprout tower, where is it now? It's nearly impossible and should not be necessary to talk to every single NPC, go into every single house, trying desperately to piece together your next move. That is an element pokemon never had, and it's a huge liability on this hack's over all grade.
But... where pokemon does fail, this hacker fixed right up. Level grinding. We all know how much I hate it, and this one I don't even notice it. He did not only speed up the leveling process, but provides reasonable level random encounters for that region so that you never have to work too hard to get your pokemon about even. Thus the largest time waster of the game is nullified. And you can spend more time actually fighting those gym battles, catching new monsters, and other activities that don't involve walking in the same bushes over and over again.
There really is no denying it. This is by far the best pokemon hack I have ever played despite it's big flaws. I am very impressed.
Graphics 6 Sound 1 Addictive 8 Story 1 Depth 10 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 4.3/5
Submitted: 05-02-13
Review Replies: 3
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-2-full.png "Dual Orb II (english translation)"){kind=spacer}
