Goodbye academia, it was a pleasure getting to know you. There's been a lack of food for thought pieces lately, and I felt like it'd be fun to just have a post like this because it's been everywhere the past couple of days. It's definitely not a secret that I enjoy playing games from Nintendo - they're good, shameless fun. Who would have guessed a Pokémon drawing game could be so entertaining? *wink* It's also not a secret that I'm a fan of Pokémon, and it's definitely known that I loved Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire as a child. That was the big thing for me growing up - ten years old, starting a journey. It felt real because I actually was understanding what was going on, instead of defaulting on Hyper Beam because it looked cool. So cue my surprise back in May, when it's announced that Ruby and Sapphire were being remade into Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. We'll go a bit deeper, but I must warn you, if you're afraid for spoilers, this might be an article you might want to pass up on.
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The game looked better with every single screenshot that came out. I love those month long waits for the Japanese Coro Coro! magazine to see what new things were being developed. And lately, the craziness has gone through the roof. Is it just me here?!
Besides the major graphical overhaul that Ruby and Sapphire got from screenshots, the music becoming orchestrated, all the little things we expected from a remake, elements have been introduced that really have me curious now. The game itself is starting to actually feel modern, and by modern, I mean more alive. The world looks so much more active that it makes the Kalos region of Pokemon X and Y look stagnant and dry. Some examples of this are the videos of the overworld - Pokémon are flying around in the air, the grass sways in the breeze of the wind. For me, it's those incredibly small subtleties that make this adventure something that I really am looking forward to. I can shrug off the many Mega Evolutions that have been revealed to date, albeit I do have some bones to pick with the choices because some of them just feel pointless to have added in. I'm not a huge fan of Mega Beedrill. But the game is starting to look and feel more realistic, and I love it. How so?
Two days ago, the demo for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire got released to players in most of the territories, except for the United States - due for release on October 21st in a Pokémon Trainer Club newsletter. Oh well. But a slew of details started coming out, and it's looking absolutely marvelous with each revelation. Free flight. Yes. For the first time, Pokémon is taking exploration into the sky. It reminded me of a more free version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's flight portion. Except this time, the Hoenn region is below us, and we're flying on Latios and Latias. I've always wanted a feature like this for the longest time. I feel like there is definitely so much that can be utilized in the air - Nintendo also revealed that legendary Pokémon from previous generations could be captured in the sky. Not to mention, flying to individual routes from the sky. It never made sense that the game only allowed us to fly to cities!
With this barrier having been overcome, it also looks like Nintendo has finally woken up somewhat and is creating a much more vibrant world - the bottom screen, dominated by the new MultiNav interface, has a news feed that gives out new information. I think this is great - a subtle change, but a welcoming one, considering that our lives are so surrounded by technology that it's finally great to see Nintendo getting the gist of it and adding it into the game. I was always curious how the television feature of Ruby and Sapphire would be integrated; I guess I found my answer.
There's so much I'm looking forward to with these titles, and I'm hoping you guys will share that journey with me when the game comes out! Are you ready to ditch your academic life for a while, or have you already dropped it once Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 3DS came out? What do you guys think of the titles as they've been presented? Any hard feelings about it? I mean, I get that lack of customization might be a bummer, but for those of us playing men it's okay, I looked like a dork in clothes I would never wear in real life! Let me know what your feelings are here!
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