Original vs Hacked

[someguy.fromnevada]

With each new year and even within a few weeks, a new "hack" for various Pokemon games comes to live and sheds some light on us from another perspective. Some hacks have shown that there is more to Pokemon than the slogan "Gotta Catch 'Em All" or even the age old slogan "I want to be the very best", while some on the other hand, they tend to push us in the direction of pursuing the slogan to the fullest, giving us every opportunity to to become a "Pokemon Master".

But time and time again, many hacks have one again reminded us that Pokemon started out as something small and something rather simple, they continue to remind us that with a little effort, the world of Pokemon is far more vast and complex than we thought it would ever be. Many hacks have introduced us to new "champions" and "heroes", have introduced us to new regions and Pokemon, and some even introduced us to a whole new world itself.

As the number of Pokemon hacks increased, the number of people playing the originals seems to dwindle (from what I've seen), and in many ways, I don't blame people for switching over to something new. After all, there is only so many times you can watch the same movie, only so many times you can listen to the same song, only so many times you can repeat the same story.

But then again, it has a very nostalgic feeling for some of us. We return back to our roots and are reminded that this story started small... started simple... started with a boy (or girl) who had the chance to be more than just another NPC. It is this nostalgia that brings tears to my eyes and makes me wonder... will Pokemon finally come to a halt, where we no longer need hacks in order to actually "catch them all", in order to become a true "Pokemon Master", in order to explore every inch of the world of Pokemon itself.

And the answer to that is simply this... no. Without hacks, Pokemon will never be complete. There will always be a flaw or two in the series that a hack or two can fix, there will always be a new region to explore, a new story to tell, a new hero to look up to, a new champion to admire, and more importantly... a new Pokemon to add to the team.

The reason why I am posting this is because I am genuinely curious about three things:

1) Do the original Pokemon games (not referring to 3DS or newer, but more towards the original Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance) still hold a special place in your heart?

2) Do you feel that hacks are a necessity or improvement towards the Pokemon franchise?

3) Do you wish to see the day when Pokemon no longer needs hacks and every possible "legitimate" concept can be implemented all into one Pokemon game, a single game that does it all?


Keep in mind, any answers you give are neither right nor wrong, but simply are an opinion and I am pleased to read any you provide me. Thank you all very much for your time and a big thanks to all the hard workers of many beautiful and truly remarkable ROM hacks I have had the opportunity to play. May the world of Pokemon be your oyster and provide you some kind of bliss.

 

[Lunar]

I've played a few hacks and never completed any of them, what we have to remember is Game Freak are a company and can't just shed out games containing everything the fans want because it would be too much. The idea that Pokemon isn't "complete" without hacks is flawed imo because that can be applied to literally anything, everything has flaws and hacks certainly do as well. That being said hacks do bring some interesting and fun gameplay to the series but saying there's always a new region to explore, a new champions to admire etc isn't really fair cause that's answered every year when a new Pokemon game comes out.

 

[Socratic]

I feel that Hacks can help bring a new outlook to things, while still retaining the original charms and basic principles. However, some hacks are good and others can be bad. While I have not played any hacks myself, I have seen a few people documenting their playthroughs. Sometimes it's beautiful, other times, ugly.
However, I feel that Hacks as a whole are more beneficial than harmful to Pokemon as a game, or Pokemon as a Community.