What's your "must-have" feature when choosing a hack to play?

[SomethingTyler]

I agree with the majority here.
I really like the variety of Pokemon and different stories in my ROM hacks/fangames, I certainly appreciate being able to choose a gender/style for the MC, and mandatory HMs are annoying.

The only major request I have is that...
Please don't make a story exceptionally edgy (like... Deaths and bad things happening left, right, and centre just because the creator wanted a 'more mature story').
I came here to have fun with a Pokemon in tow, not to realize how miserable life can get.

I'm sorry, but after playing edgy fangames back to back to back to back, it's just draining.

I agree 100%. I feel like a lot of edgy hacks are trying to be edgy for the sake of being edgy, not for the sake of better storytelling or gameplay. Mandatory HMs are annoying (so glad they removed them from the mainstream games).

One thing I would love for more hacks to do is to have more unique starter choices instead of the stereotypical starter trio. A lot of hacks are doing it, but there's still majority limiting it to an Eevee or Riolu, which are cool, just a bit overused.

 

[testtheteam4]

Well, my "must have" features are the following:
-Unli-use TMs (ffs why not)
-Deletable HMs
-Exp Share all (makes grinding less tedious)
-Decap (a MUST have imo)
-Improved graphics (unless the hack is strictly just a difficulty hack like Radical Red)
-Updated sprites
-A fair level curve
-Challenging difficulty
-Up to date mechanics (ESPECIALLY the Physical/Special/Status split)
-Some/Most/All of the new generation mons
-If no Gen 4+ mons, then at least fakemon (hey wait a minute I am working on a fakemon rom hack)

I also prefer hacks made with the CFRU and DPE for Fire Red or DizzyEgg's works for Emerald. Also, the level caps implemented in Clover, Radical Red and Unbound are quite nice too.

 

[Safr]

Lot's of area to visit, mega evolution not really important because we can't enjoy the graphics of mega evolution in GBA, so yeah a big map with lot's of city and place, and lot's of intriguing character

 

[BigBoiOnCampus]

P/S split. Period. Any hack that doesn't include it isn't worth playing, plain and simple. So corny when creators come up with some lame excuse for not having it like "I'm trying to maintain compatibility with the real games!" as if they didn't hack the hell out of it in every other way.

 

[d4rk]

here are some features that would instantly get my attention:

- alternatives to the regular starters, which I am now seeing as plain, safe and overpowered
- re-battling systems that allows to disengage from training team recruits in the wild
- non-linear stories, serious stories, something a bit different
- significant changes to the battling system, whatever they are (most likely to happen in fangames than in romhacks)

as for features I need:

- infinite-use TMs
- clear vision of items and progression
- available items later in game (i.e Moon Stones and the like, I hate having to collect a limited amount of them in the wild,without knowing what this amount is).
- a table type that's familiar or easy enough to get along with (didn't like the Pokémon cake romhack because of that, although the concepts were nice).

 

[Mark Yliherr]

CFRU FEATURES !!

 

[cheetour]

I'm super easygoing about gameplay features, but I can't enjoy games with bad grammar. It's really difficult to take the dialogue seriously when I keep noticing mistakes. People really will program and sprite at a professional level but don't double-check where commas are supposed to go.

 

[DJCherryTempo]

For me, there's three features I need to see in ROM hacks. Well, it could be two if you count the first two as one thing bundled-
1- Has to have an easy way to max out EVs (252 for two stats and 6 for a third)
2- Has to have an easily accessible way to max IVs
3- Has to have an easy way to change Pokemon natures.

These reasons are why I can only really play Pokemon Radical Red.

Other features that can come after that- P/S Split, Infinite use TMs, Link Cable for trade evolutions, and homebrew Abilities/Attacks.

 

[SuperSpyroDragon64]

You'd be surprised how many people say "No Fakemon" when they mean "I've never played a game with good Fakemon". If you want Fakemon, put them in. But listen to balance feedback (nobody likes when the Fakemon are too strong. especially when the final boss is given something excessively OP the player can't catch until the postgame) and let players build teams with canon pokemon if they want.

 

[Astralneko]

I agree with SuperSpyro. While Clover and Solar Light/Lunar Dark are two of my favorite fangames, the former ironically and the latter unironically, they both share a problem of having just fakemon. Clover gets by with the fact that it's intended to be a massive meme game so I'm fine with the entire cast of collectables being exactly what I signed up for (it just wasn't what I specifically signed up for). However, Solar Light/Lunar Dark could probably get away with using some canon Pokémon. Yes, it already has 360 fake pokemon, which is a lot, but since these are not poorly designed meme creatures like Clover, it's more daunting. Instead of laughing at the memes, I'm just overwhelmed with the fact that I don't know any of these things.

However, having fakemon (or at least, new pokemon designs) is nearly a MUST for me. Regional variants, fakemon, fusions, I don't care as long as it's something new. It's pretty much the main reason I pick up actual Pokémon games to begin with, to see the new creatures in context.

Another thing I hate, almost more so than inundating me with fakemon (as I have experienced it more) is extreme difficulty. This is a roleplaying game first and foremost. In the oldest and most popular RPG possibly ever, Dungeons and Dragons, worrying about stats and abilities is typically discouraged, as it is considered "metagaming" and takes away from the RP part of the RPG. Hence if I come to a point where I have to think like a competitive player, I will probably turn the game off and either restart the game or never play it again, as I play RPGs for the RP aspect. While some difficulty is a good thing, I came to play Pokémon, not Dark Souls. I don't want to use my full brain. I don't want to grind my stats up until I can stand a chance. If you want that, fine, but I don't. I honestly don't care if the fangame is too easy, afterall, this is Pokémon. But there is no faster way to make me turn off a game than to throw bullshit at me out the gate. Looking at you, Insurgence.

 

[SuperSpyroDragon64]

"poorly designed meme creatures like Clover"?

Check out how thought-through some of these stat spreads, abilities, and movesets were. I recall a Pastebin full of "If this Pokemon was real, it would be incredible in OU" but I didn't bookmark it so I can't find it.

Also, what exactly do you mean by "Difficulty"? A game demanding grinding from you, because it lacks QOL features to alleviate grinding and didn't think about the level curve? Or pitting you against full teams of EV+IV trained Pokemon when you're still struggling to put a team together with the garbage wild Pokemon available?

 

[Corveone]

Another thing I hate, almost more so than inundating me with fakemon (as I have experienced it more) is extreme difficulty. This is a roleplaying game first and foremost. In the oldest and most popular RPG possibly ever, Dungeons and Dragons, worrying about stats and abilities is typically discouraged, as it is considered "metagaming" and takes away from the RP part of the RPG. Hence if I come to a point where I have to think like a competitive player, I will probably turn the game off and either restart the game or never play it again, as I play RPGs for the RP aspect. While some difficulty is a good thing, I came to play Pokémon, not Dark Souls. I don't want to use my full brain. I don't want to grind my stats up until I can stand a chance. If you want that, fine, but I don't. I honestly don't care if the fangame is too easy, afterall, this is Pokémon. But there is no faster way to make me turn off a game than to throw bullshit at me out the gate. Looking at you, Insurgence.

Being RPG doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will be able to do whatever they want and just spam attacks without thinking and allways win though. In RPGs you usually do have to think about which weapons, skills, equipment, etc. are better for your characters. That's no different in Pokémon, considering your move sets, abilities, team composition and battle strategies is no metagaming, it's basic gameplay stuff.

That's why some players do like difficulty in Pokémon games when it's difficulty that comes from requiring better knowledge, planning, strategy and team work to succeed, but not when it's difficulty that comes as a result of an unbalanced level curve, unfairly overpowered opposing teams compared to what the player has access to, forcing players to grind levels, waste a lot of time breeding and grinding for competitive IVs/EVs, etc. Some rom hacks / fan games resort to a combination of both.

 

[Yave Yu]

So many feature that CFRU has, but few of them are optional.
I'd love a hack that has new music, new graphic, making me don't travel in Kanto/Hoenn anymore.

Nowaday I play some old hack (like Dark Violet) I will modify some feature by myself, like Pokemon data decryption, no save warning, EV limit up to 1512, faster battle intro, etc.