6th Gen How Does ORAS Measure Up With the Originals?

[BurningLanguages]

First of all, I have found small threads concerning bits and pieces of ORAS, but not a thread about the games as a whole. I want to have a discussion about the games as a whole and how they compare to the originals. I apologize if this thread is deemed close to useless.

I love these remakes! I have Omega Ruby and it is a complete joy to play, I love the remastered music and the 3D take on Hoenn. Battling Team Magma the whole way through was always fun, especially with the new cinematic intros for each battle with your respective antagonistic team.

Most of my thoughts have been taken into a video form which you can see here:



But the major points I touch on are the Gym Leader battles and the gyms themselves, the new overworld layout and its relationship with HMs, the Eon Flute, Exp. Share, and Wally.

I liked how Wally received more dialogue and that we can learn more about who he is, and what kind of person he become towards the end of the game. I wish that we had more battles with him throughout the story.

I loved how we didn't need to use HMs as much in ORAS as we had to in teh originals, out of all the generations, I think that Hoenn is the biggest offender of demanding an HM slave to be in your party. This change is very much welcome in my eyes, seeing that there are alternatives to HM obstacles being in the way.

I feel that Exp. Share wasn't as a big of a problem in ORAS as it was in X and Y, but personally I was still over leveled due to my circumstances (I used all traded Pokemon). For those of you who used Hoenn-caught pokemon with Exp. Share on, what was it like? Were you still crazy powerful?

I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts about the remakes, please don't be shy. :)

 

[Bill Cipher]

Some aspects are good, some are bad:

- Graphics:
The graphics are very well improved, and quite frankly put the Original's graphics to shame, something Heart Gold and Fire Red, didn't do.
The maps are bigger, to compensate bigger buildings, and what not, and it all just looks amazing.
- Soundtrack:
The sound track is amazing also, all the songs in-game from the original sound like what it /should/ have sounded in the originals, but couldn't quite sound it, due to limitations.

- Mega Evolution:
I feel they added Mega Evolution very well, and the "Primal Reversions" as well.
My only bug bare with it, is to how sudden you get it. Steven just takes you away, you do a battle with Team Aqua/Magma, and then your left with a Latios/Latias, and a mega bracelet, and sent on your way like: "Oh, okay...".
It's just too sudden, y'know. Before hand, iirc, there was no mention of Mega's.

- Maps:
While some maps are good, some maps are bad.
I'm talking about Mauville, I dislike it with a passion now.
It's literally just one great big shopping center, not even worthy on being called a "city". While I suppose it's to parallel Luminose City, and compensate for no Game Corner, it's all weird to me, I stay away from Mauville now, because I keep getting lost. Which sucks.

Game play:
The Gameplay was great, in terms on regular Pokémon Gameplay, the Battle system runs smoothly, they got rid of the awful rollerskates in the overworld, the bikes are cool again, etc etc.
But, the fact that they got rid of the Berry Blender Mini Game, and the Game Corner is a little disappointing, I know the reasons behind getting rid of the Game Corner, but at least replace it with some form of a mini-game, like in HGSS.
The Safari zone lost it's unique to it, by removing the fee, and the Safari Balls, and adding actual battles in the safari zone, now it's just another route.

- Few other things:
- I like all the legendaries you can find, It's given me stuff to do, while training.
- The return of the Secret Bases, and how much better it is, is pretty gosh-darn awesome.
- The "sneaking" gimmick is both cool, and hilarious at some points.
- The fact that they didn't change the Regi's get up at all, i loved. I didn't want my Regi's ruined.

That's all really.

Overall, I'd say it lands just a bit over the original, if all the bad notes I write were fixed, or just weren't there, it would by flying high in my ratings.

 

[Mark Kamill]

Haven't played yet, but from what I gather its a nice upgrade. Battle Frontier ******** is gonna drive me mad though, too much speculation.

 

[Outsethero]

It's just too sudden, y'know. Before hand, iirc, there was no mention of Mega's.

I don't know how it is in Alpha Sapphire since I'm playing Omega Ruby, but Maxie actually mentions Mega Evolution about once or twice before you get your Mega Bracelet. Once Steven gives you the Bracelet and explains, it's meant to be a bit of an "Ahhh, so that's what he was talking about?" moment for the player. Though I do agree that it still felt a little rushed. Just clarifying that they did atleast mention Mega Evolution prior to you getting it. c:

In any case, I reached Gym 8 before I re-started the game due to some personal reasons, so seeing as I have yet to actually finish it I won't be watching the video just yet. I will definitely come back here and comment about this once I do, though!

 

[Bill Cipher]

I don't know how it is in Alpha Sapphire since I'm playing Omega Ruby, but Maxie actually mentions Mega Evolution about once or twice before you get your Mega Bracelet. Once Steven gives you the Bracelet and explains, it's meant to be a bit of an "Ahhh, so that's what he was talking about?" moment for the player. Though I do agree that it still felt a little rushed. Just clarifying that they did atleast mention Mega Evolution prior to you getting it. c:

In any case, I reached Gym 8 before I re-started the game due to some personal reasons, so seeing as I have yet to actually finish it I won't be watching the video just yet. I will definitely come back here and comment about this once I do, though!

One mention is still a bit naff.
In X/Y people were mentioning Mega's quite alot.

Archie, did mention he /could/ of used his mega anchor. On top Mt. Chimney. Which he should of in my honest opinion

 

[Outsethero]

One mention is still a bit naff.
In X/Y people were mentioning Mega's quite alot.

Archie, did mention he /could/ of used his mega anchor. On top Mt. Chimney. Which he should of in my honest opinion

Oh, I agree. They could have at least had a good number of the NPCs mention Mega Evolution/Stones from time to time. Or, you know, had Maxie/Archie use his Mega Evolution prior to you getting it, leaving new players going "Woah, what's that?! I want it!". Or something.

All in all, though, the game's Pros do definitely outweigh the Cons, in my opinion!

 

[Bill Cipher]

Oh, I agree. They could have at least had a good number of the NPCs mention Mega Evolution/Stones from time to time. Or, you know, had Maxie/Archie use his Mega Evolution prior to you getting it, leaving new players going "Woah, what's that?! I want it!". Or something.

All in all, though, the game's Pros do definitely outweigh the Cons, in my opinion!

If Archie or MAxie used a Mega before you get a mega, it would of been harder, and actually more decent.
It seems ORAS is more easier them Sapphire and Ruby, which bugs me.
I've had the game less than 48 hours, and I'm already at Victory Road.

People said the difficulty was raised from X/Y, but to me, it seems like it was lowered.
... Or, maybe I'm training to much? But, I don't think so....

 

[Outsethero]

If Archie or MAxie used a Mega before you get a mega, it would of been harder, and actually more decent.
It seems ORAS is more easier them Sapphire and Ruby, which bugs me.
I've had the game less than 48 hours, and I'm already at Victory Road.

People said the difficulty was raised from X/Y, but to me, it seems like it was lowered.
... Or, maybe I'm training to much? But, I don't think so....

The difficulty has definitely been raised from X/Y, seeing as how that one seemed to have none whatsoever, but this one is probably lower than the original Ruby and Sapphire, but not by much. I've been watching a playthrough of the original Ruby side-by-side as I play [since I've re-started OR recently] to refresh my memory on it a bit more and there are veeeery slight differences when it comes to trainers' Pokémon. More than half of them are kept exactly the same, but I've definitely seen a couple who have been raised in OR/AS, and a few that have been lowered, as well. [Though usually it's about a level or two, nothing drastic like 5 levels.]

I just think the game's been rebalanced, making it easier for some, especially if they use EXP. Share.

 

[BurningLanguages]

The difficulty has definitely been raised from X/Y, seeing as how that one seemed to have none whatsoever, but this one is probably lower than the original Ruby and Sapphire. I've been watching a playthrough of the original Ruby side-by-side as I play [since I've re-started OR recently] to refresh my memory on it a bit more and there are veeeery slight differences when it comes to trainers' Pokémon. More than half of them are kept exactly the same, but I've definitely seen a couple whom have been raised in OR/AS, and a few that have been lowered, as well. [Though usually it's about a level or two, nothing drastic like 5 levels.]

I just think the game's been rebalanced, making it easier for some, especially if they use EXP. Share.

Yes I have noticed this as well. Most of the trainers have been kept the same which was awesome :). Of course, there were slight changes and even whole additions to this area as you've already mentioned.

I feel that ORAS is more balanced as far as levels go if you leave exp. share on. My whole beef with it is that by default, exp. share is turned on right when you get it. Wouldn't it make sense if the developers created ORAS around this fact? While leaving the player with the choice of turning it off for a far more challenging experience? It seems that even GameFreak isn't sure about what the difficulty of these games should be themselves, are maybe they don't hold it in high regards anymore?

Personally, giving Gym Leaders and the Elite Four less Pokemon while maintaining the same levels is a big pet peeve of mine in recent generations.

 

[MarinoKadame]

Brawly got lower level pokemons than the original.

 

[BurningLanguages]

Brawly got lower level pokemons than the original.

I thought it odd that Brawly's Pokemon were only a mere two levels above that strongest of Roxanne's. That kind of annoyed me, but he's the second Gym Leader so I let it slide haha.

The Routes are huge in this game, I feel that the levels for the Gym Leaders needed to be higher.

 

[Outsethero]

Yes I have noticed this as well. Most of the trainers have been kept the same which was awesome :). Of course, there were slight changes and even whole additions to this area as you've already mentioned.

I feel that ORAS is more balanced as far as levels go if you leave exp. share on. My whole beef with it is that by default, exp. share is turned on right when you get it. Wouldn't it make sense if the developers created ORAS around this fact? While leaving the player with the choice of turning it off for a far more challenging experience? It seems that even GameFreak isn't sure about what the difficulty of these games should be themselves, are maybe they don't hold it in high regards anymore?

Personally, giving Gym Leaders and the Elite Four less Pokemon while maintaining the same levels is a big pet peeve of mine in recent generations.

I'm guessing you meant to say "ORAS is more balanced as far as levels go if you leave EXP. Share off."? If not then I'm slightly confused. But in any case, yeah, I agree. It would definitely make more sense to do it that way, though in my opinion what I believe to be the case is that GameFreak markets these games so they are easily accessible for anyone of all ages, especially kids. I know we, as adults/older people would like some more challenge to our story, but they also know that those of us that want that probably find it in some other way Post-Game. Like Competitive Battling and the like. Granted, when we were kids the games were definitely not as "easy" as they are now, but this generation of children is also different from back then.

I believe they balance it around the thought of making the story enjoyable and accessible for anyone and everyone, while those that want more challenge can definitely find it through online battling, competitive battling, breeding, and just getting into the more technical and hefty side of the games.

Brawly got lower level pokemons than the original.

The reason they did that, I believe, is because most of the Granite Cave is blocked off to you now when you reach it for the first time [needing the Mach Bike to be able to go deeper] and because the Gym is now required to be able to go talk to Steven. In the original game you could go talk to Steven first [which most would, since we tend to investigate before going to the Gym/Proceeding with the story] and, in turn, you'd end up going through most of the Granite Cave, encountering more Pokémon and battling more before challenging the Gym.

 

[Altius]

The level curve in ORAS, in my opinion, is... odd. I can be about 8 levels higher than Wallace's Milotic but still a little under levelled when fighting Steven - and that is with the EXP share on. After the Delta Episode, you are very likely to be under levelled compared to even the first E4 member.

Some things I liked:
+ Expanded Hoenn. I guess it's due to the massive 3D environment. Every area certainly feels bigger compared to the originals.

+ Redesigned Mauville. Let's face it, all of us know that the Game Corner will be forced to go. If Mauville were to remain same old, it would be utterly boring.

+ Steven being the "introducer" of mega evolution. He may not be the first person to talk about it, but at least he's the one giving it to you... A person who is known to be a powerful trainer, the son of the boss of Devon as well as someone actively involved in the main storyline. This is in contrast with XY, where a gym leader you barely even know awards you the capability of mega evolution.

+ Villains with more personality. In the originals, I'm sure Team Magma and Aqua were not well received. In the remakes they are given justice, especially Team Aqua. It starts with something as simple as their outfits. You can even battle alongside the leader postgame in the Maison, which is nice considering they just disappear in the originals.

+ Robust online capability. Welcome to the world of wireless, Hoenn, without the need for external devices.

Dislikes:
- Framerate. The original games had a solid framerate of 60fps. The frame rate in the new games are laughable in 3D, and in some instances worse than XY. Few areas benefit from the 3D though, such as the Sky Pillar.

- Easier gym leaders overall. I had a lot of trouble with a few gym leaders in the original games, such as Brawly, Flannery and Winona. In ORAS, they are way easier. The only gym leader I had some trouble with was actually Norman.

- No gym rematches. This wasn't in RS, but even HGSS had it while GS didn't. Likewise for the Battle Frontier.

- Trick House. I don't remember the trick master having so little tricks in the originals.

Mixed feelings:
1. Music. I absolutely love the new battle themes (except E4), but some overworld themes sound not as good as the originals. The new music also tends to remove certain instruments found in the original games.

2. Abrupt way of getting mega bracelet. It just seems crazy that a Latias/Latios would just appear and send you both to Southern Island.

3. EXP share. A nice way to get everyone's levels up, but makes the games easier. Still, I don't find myself over levelled at the champion even with it on 85% of the time.

4. Delta Episode. Zinnia is a weird, weird character. The episode itself is rather short, albeit entertaining. Really upset that Rayquaza has a higher catch rate now (what I've heard, and I only used a dusk ball on it), but the real challenge is what lies ahead.

5. Contests. You have Lisia, the contest star and her uncle who will challenge you. Quite a decent add on to the contests, and also gives you some incentive to participate in it. I'm not really happy about the fact that you can participate in contests of any rank in any hall now, though I could be nitpicking. The removal of manual pokeblock making is also a little disappointing.

 

[Doctor Pokemon]

Personally I love almost everything about these games even though I still haven't finished playing. The only problems are that the first few gyms are to easy like the X and Y gyms were. Also I hate all the "warping around" it gave me less time to explore some of towns and routes like I would have normally. On a good note I love that you can catch Pokemon with special abilities and move in the wild now it is a really big step closer to the anime which I love!

 

[MarinoKadame]

What I hate is that the Constest Outfit is barely used, the time you see it the most is when Lisia show it to you for the first time, the rest is just about 5seconds before every contest. Game Freak could of at least let us wear it everywhere. And it's sad that we only have access to the Cute for may and Cool for Brendan, no Beauty, Clever, Tough outfits at all except for Cosplay Pikachu.

 

[Monophobia]

Alpha Sapphire was pretty amazing as a whole, but I still have many problems with it.

• I found that my team was pretty overpowered the entire game, even with the Experience Share turned off.
• Team Aqua were pretty lame in terms of battles. I found myself knocking each and every one of their Pokémon out in one hit.
• Mega Evolution was handled poorly, especially since these are REMAKES and, in my opinion, it should have had nothing to do with the main story and only been used post-game.
• There's still an unbearable lag when playing in 3D, just like X and Y had. It's only a tiny bit better, and I found myself disabling 3D altogether just to play normally (hopefully this will be fixed with the New 3DS before any 7th generation games come along).
• Wally was barely seen the entire game for someone who was supposed to be one of the main characters.
• Lack of fire-type Pokémon.

TL;DR: I'm hoping my Diamond and Pearl remakes will be crazy difficult and actually make use of the 3DS's key feature.

 

[Altius]

Alpha Sapphire was pretty amazing as a whole, but I still have many problems with it.

• There's still an unbearable lag when playing in 3D, just like X and Y had. It's only a tiny bit better, and I found myself disabling 3D altogether just to play normally (hopefully this will be fixed with the New 3DS before any 7th generation games come along).

TL;DR: I'm hoping my Diamond and Pearl remakes will be crazy difficult and actually make use of the 3DS's key feature.

I hate to rain on your parade but I'm playing Omega Ruby on a New 3DS. The framerate issues are still persistent.

 

[Monophobia]

I hate to rain on your parade but I'm playing Omega Ruby on a New 3DS. The framerate issues are still persistent.

That's pretty disappointing. Even with all that extra processing power...

 

[MarinoKadame]

Team Aqua and Magma literally got almost no fire type or water type pokemons, they feel like you are battling agaisnt team rocket with all these Zubat, Koffing, Grimer and Medhyena. They could of at least gave Fire, Ground and Rock types for Magma and Water and Ice type for Aqua. When you keep getting the same Dark and Poison type it's kind of boring, mostly when they are not that hard to begin with.

 

[blue]

They match up nicely, not to be bias or anything but I've found the new games flawless so far. I am only upto Mauville which has changed drastically, but so far I've found nothing to fault on. The music sounds great, the Cities look beautiful with a nostalgic feel etc.