Pokemon ROWE 2.0 - an open world version of Pokemon Emerald
It’s been a good while but we’re back with GBAtemp’s Project Spotlight, a series where we try to shine a light on the incredible projects and creations of our larger community. Today we’re taking a look at a colossal ROM hack by @Rioluwott that takes the core Pokemon Emerald experience and reworks the graphics, adds new areas, a quest system, and of course, makes the entire region open world.
I’ve been following Pokemon ROWE loosely for years now, and it’s absolutely incredible to see just how far it’s come in that time. Today marks the release of version 2.0 and with that we get to see another leap forwards, with a sleek new menu, a revamped follower system, Pokemon up to Generation 9, trainer skills, and even eight new gyms to beat. And I really am just scratching the surface here. You can have a look at the trailer below:
What I really found myself most impressed with when playing the hack was just how accommodating an experience it was. Sure you have your hard mode for those wanting to challenge themselves, which makes battles more challenging by restricting item use, adding a level cap, and putting you against harder teams. Amongst a whole assortment of other things naturally. But that’s really just one way to play the game; this isn’t a difficulty hack. For those just wanting to have a good time, the easy mode does away with level caps and puts you against the same dumb AI you’ve come to love from the original Emerald experience. And between those two there’s the normal mode that just stops your Pokemon from gaining stats instead of hard capping their level, still giving you access to evolutions and new moves before you overpower the next major trainer. These difficulty options are already thorough and give you unique ways to replay the game, but they’re really just scratching the surface.
Beyond the difficulty, you have 17 modes that can be toggled, with each of them working with the others. Don’t want to grind? You can remove levels entirely. Don’t want to faff around EV training? They can be removed too. Inverse mode, forcing every battle to be a double battle, shuffling the gyms around, randomising encounters, types, abilities; this game has replayability the likes of which I don’t think I’ve ever seen, and the worst thing I can say about it is that I was paralysed by the amount of choice I had playing for the first time.
For a bit of a change of pace after so many runs of Elite Redux, I figured I'd saunter through ROWE with a basic easy mode playthrough to just dip my toe into the new content. And boy is there some new content. We're just going to gloss over the three hours I spent hunting for a shiny Absol, and how I trained a Level 18 Ralts to a Level 100 Gardevoir by slaughtering the poor thing's family, friends, enemies, and acquaintances (who were themselves no stronger than Level 14). We'll skip that part. I got a shiny Absol, and that's what counts. Wandering through Hoenn felt entirely refreshed thanks to the map redesigns on show; some were subtle, retaining their layout with a new tileset, while others featured more work with new buildings and areas added therein. The biggest changes are to be found on the Sevii Islands though, no doubt about that.
I didn't feel good about this...
To fit a further eight gyms into the game, ROWE makes use of the otherwise pretty barren islands by throwing a gym onto each of them, with the Johto leaders stepping up to fight. You also get a short bit of story to take you around the islands, with Colress of Team Plasma investigating the resurgence of regional Pokemon popping up in the area. It's great to see these maps again, with Eight Island being "discovered" exclusively for this hack to allow for an eighth gym to neatly fit into the picture. I do hope in time we get to see a bit more story and content happening around the islands, but what we have here already makes them worth a look around.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable ROM hack that really goes out of its way to have something for every type of Pokemon player. It’s not one to be missed. Just prior to the release of version 2.0, Rioluwott was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions I had about the project and the work that’s gone into it.
How did you get started with ROM hacking?
ROM hacking has always been something I was curious about. As a child, I remember experimenting with tools like Advance Map, YAPE (I think that was its name), and even Lunar Magic for Super Mario World. Back then, my main goal was to access things like trade evolutions or event-only Pokémon. There weren’t any tools like PKHeX or PokéGen available, and I didn’t know how to trade between emulators, even if it was possible at the time.
From the project description, I see ROWE was your first published project. Does that mean you had some interesting unpublished works before then?
I actually released two small projects as a kid, but they weren’t serious and were quickly abandoned. ROWE is the first project where I dedicated enough time and effort to create something this significant.
I started working on it around June 2020, during the pandemic when online classes left me with a lot of free time. I was studying programming, but there weren’t any classes related to this type of work. One of my friends was experimenting with decompilations, which inspired me to start this personal project as a way to learn. That’s how it all began for ROWE.
What pushed you towards the open-world style game that ROWE is most known for? Do you think you did the concept justice, or are there things you're still working towards?
I was curious about decompilations and experimenting with game functions when I came across a thread on PokéCommunity about adding scaled evolutions to the game. The idea was that if a Pokémon on an enemy team reached a certain level, it would appear in its evolved form. I implemented that feature into my project, and although I didn’t have a clear concept in mind at the time, it sparked an idea.
I thought, “If I can scale evolutions, maybe I can scale levels too.” So, I started developing a level-scaling system tied to badges. As I worked on that, I began removing roadblocks from the game. Before long, I found myself creating an open-world version of Pokémon Emerald.
As for whether I’ve done the concept justice, I’m proud of what I’ve achieved so far. I think the game is pretty fun to play every once in a while. It’s not designed to be a game you sink countless hours into, but rather one where you can complete a run in a day or a week. Each playthrough feels unique because of the many options the game provides and the open-world structure. You can finish it in a different order every time, which makes every run a fresh experience.
What was your favorite change to Emerald to actually develop?
It’s hard to pick a favorite feature, but one I’m really proud of is adding an RGB system that allows players to edit their trainer outfit colors directly in the game. This was a unique approach because it didn’t require adding extra graphics — everything is handled through code. To my knowledge, no other Emerald hack (at least no released one) has done this. I later expanded this feature in another project to let players modify not just the clothes but also the skin and hair color of their character.
Another feature I really enjoy and use every time I play is the Gym Shuffle mode. This mode randomly swaps gyms between cities — for example, you might find Norman in Sootopolis or Roxanne in Lavaridge. It adds a lot of variety to each playthrough. With 16 different gyms now, the experience is even better, and I plan to expand this feature further in the future.
On the opposite end of the scale what was your least favorite change to implement, and do you think the pain of implementing it was worth it in the end with how it turned out?
As for my least favorite feature, it would have to be the follower system. It caused me countless problems and headaches. I imported it from another project, but shortly after, someone created a much better implementation. I’ve tried to switch to the improved version, but every attempt ended up breaking the system entirely. In the end, I had to stick with the original implementation and focus on making it as stable as possible. While it works, it’s definitely not perfect, and the process of dealing with it was far from enjoyable.
What is your favorite feature from the 2.0 release?I’m really proud of adding another 8 gyms to the game. This feature was actually a late addition. I remember having one of my friends test the game, and they completely skipped the Sevii Islands. That made me think about what I could add to make the islands worth exploring.
In the end, I decided to place 8 additional gyms there, even adding another Sevii Island in the process. It turned out to be a great way to expand the game and give players more reasons to explore every corner of the game.
Do you have any image in mind for what a "complete" version of ROWE would look like, or is the game still very much a developing work?
I’ll probably consider the game complete once I finish adding Kanto, along with another 8 gyms. Technically, Kanto is already present in the game code — the cities and routes are there, but they’re empty and have buggy graphics. There’s still a lot of work to be done: implementing NPCs, events, animations, and scripts to make it fully functional and accessible to players. Once that’s complete, I’ll feel like the game has reached its final, "complete" version. Until then, it’s still a work in progress.
Do you have any advice for people wanting to get into Pokémon ROM hacking for themselves?
I’d recommend starting with the decompilation projects. While there’s some debate between those who use decompilations and those who stick to binary hacking like in the old days, I believe decomps are the better long-term approach.
With decompilations, you gain access to the full source code of the game, version control, and a large, supportive community, such as Pret or RH Hideout. These communities include dedicated developers who actively update the battle engine to include features from the latest Pokémon games, like Terastalization, Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, and more. You can use these updates as a base for your project, saving time and effort. Their Discord servers are also very active, filled with helpful members who enjoy assisting newcomers with questions and sharing resources. They’re truly fantastic people to work with.
Working with decomps also gives you the opportunity to learn programming—a valuable skill that can open doors in many areas if you’re interested in computers or video games. It’s not just about creating hacks; it’s about building skills that can benefit you in the long run. Overall, it’s a great way to start and grow as a developer.
One quick playthrough down, but I'll be back...
A huge thanks to Rioluwott for taking the time to answer my questions, and a further thanks and congratulations to the entire team behind Pokemon ROWE for what is a fantastic release. If you're interested in trying it for yourself, you can find the download linked below. As usual, you'll need to bring your own Pokemon Emerald ROM to patch.
Patch Download Pokemon ROWE Discord PokeCommunity Thread
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