20 years ago we saw what is to many the peak of the Pokemon series. Pokemon Emerald released as a definitive version of the series’ third generation, combining the storylines of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire before it, and adding a post-game battle area the extent of which hasn’t been seen since. If like me you still go back to the game once every few months, you might be on the lookout for a simple way to keep the experience feeling fresh and new.

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Today, posted on The Ultra Nerd’s Twitter account, a collaborative respriting hack for Pokemon Emerald was released in celebration of the game’s 20th anniversary. Emerald ReSprited features the work of 130 artists to give every one of the game’s Pokemon sprites a makeover. There’s a huge range of art styles on show here, with plenty of jokes and references thrown in for good measure. Alongside the Vanilla release that keeps the base game the same, a Plus version is also available. In the Plus version you’re able to catch all 386 Pokemon on one save file, and fight edited trainers to represent all the artists who were involved. On top of this, your chance of finding a shiny Pokemon is increased from 1/8192 to 1/512 to give you a better chance to appreciate some of the custom shiny sprites too.

Both the Vanilla and Plus versions of the hack are available as ips patches on Google Drive, alongside a document showing all the sprites alongside their artist.

Google Drive Download
Source

 

[BaamAlex]

Holy moly. Almost 20 years. Where's the time? I feel old.

I downloaded it before Nintendo takes it down xD

 

[kuro0628neko]

Twenty years... This game is older than my boyfriend

 

[SDA]

I downloaded it before Nintendo takes it down xD

Dude, it's most likely an IPS patch. It can't be taken down.

 

[BaamAlex]

Dude, it's most likely an IPS patch. It can't be taken down.

It's Nintendo. Who knows xD

 

[SDA]

It's Nintendo. Who knows xD

Nintendo only goes after fan games and mods for the most modern games using characters from their IPs (remember that Palworld mod?)

 

[Purple_Heart]

eh not a fan of this, but still a cute way to celebrate it. and eevee.....or wtf it was.......NO

 

[daicahuyoi]

That very funny!

 

[Jaxom]

Very nice work on some sprites (Paras/Parasect line is perfect), but I have the feeling that allowing some 3 yo "artists" to have their first MS Paint project featured wasn't the best idea.
But I like the tribute to Crystal art style and others that are more cartoony, you feel that some participants really put some heart into it.

 

[Izual Urashima]

Unown-L lost me.

 

[DexterYeen]

Unown-L lost me.

im supriesed none of tho unknowns were just a completely different letter to fuck with pepole

 

[cearp]

Yep it's a nice idea but I don't like the way some of the sprites are - some just look stupid, like a poster said above, like a 3 year old did it.
(Look at Jirachi)
If they were all properly done, just different styles, it would be much better I think.
Like the moemon hack!

 

[JuanMena]

Meh, yuck.

 

[Dax_Fame]

20th!? Oh my... God

 

[Crystal_tofu]

the Mr. mime back sprite made me spit out my chocolate milk i'm literally in tears LMAOOO

 

[Scarlet]

Yep it's a nice idea but I don't like the way some of the sprites are - some just look stupid, like a poster said above, like a 3 year old did it.
(Look at Jirachi)
If they were all properly done, just different styles, it would be much better I think.
Like the moemon hack!

There’s definitely charm in the weirder ones though. Designs like Paras also hit so much harder because of the juxtaposition with others like Lotad. I’m personally super happy for the balance, though I can appreciate it’s totally not for everybody.