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- Seen Jan 9, 2024
Pokémon Platinum Boost is a ROM hack designed to be what I would call vanilla++. Not just vanilla+, as I have done too many modifications for it to be what I would call that. It sticks to the default Pokédex of 210, as it is not a 493 hack.
Plenty of mons have been buffed, and there are some type edits. However, I tried to not stray too far from the original experience, short of making all of the lackluster mons feel slightly better to use. Type changes were only done to reduce the quantity of overused type combinations (such as Bug/Flying) or to give a few mons a unique flavor. In addition, you are limited to the default Sinnoh pokedex, but some pokemon are available much earlier to compensate for this. Stat spreads still tend to resemble what the mon originally had, and ability changes tend to emphasize that. Plenty of moves have been buffed, and some gen 5+ moves were added in, as long as their effects were able to be put together using effects of other moves. Trade evolutions are all level-up evolutions now, and their items have been changed to compensate. Legendaries have also been nerfed to encourage you to use them on your team! They have stats more reasonable compared to the rest of the game, still good but not nearly as good.
Bosses are only slightly more difficult, often getting only one extra team member. Leveling has been rebalanced to make spawning in rare candies less of a requirement, especially in a casual playthrough, and if you do decide to grind, it won't take you very long. For difficulty, if a 1 is Let's Go, a 4 is vanilla Platinum, a 5 is B2W2 challenge mode (if the stats worked properly), an 8 is Renegade Platinum, and a 10 is a kaizo hack, this is aiming to be a 6-7. The level curve is designed so that every mon will have its full level-up moveset by Volkner if you always go to the cap. Regular trainers might have an extra mon, and evolved mons in many cases where the level is past the evolution level, but not always. Wild pokemon have had their levels increased to reduce the time it takes to get new team members up to speed. Held items are introduced gradually, and only in the last third of the game will bosses have more than one. Barry also has a unique team for each starter, so he will be very different depending on who you choose!
Options for team building are greatly expanded as some of the harder to get ones are in easier locations, such as honey tree pokemon. Plenty of heart scales litter the landscape to allow for easier move relearning. Only buyable items such as potions were replaced, so all of the regular vanilla items are in their original locations unless otherwise documented. You can utilize type-reducing berries and other held items that are much more annoying/impossible to get in a regular playthrough. The only thing I haven't really touched yet is shards, which I might add a store for in the late game, but I'm not sure yet. Due to the lower overall difficulty compared to other ROM hacks, the limited TM usage is not really a big issue.
This is my first complete and released ROM hack, so I kept the scope to things that were not very difficult to learn. That being said, it's still a new experience that differentiates itself from the base game enough. Of course, I will be responsive to any further feedback, and while I have done two full casual playthroughs myself at the time of writing this, there is always room for more rebalancing.
Full Documentation and Patch are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CCnoOc0oIYXUCmEYeM6d-5MhVEHx1uvO?usp=drive_link
There are still a few minor visual bugs, but nothing that actively stops you from playing the game. I don't think you'd really miss the darkness in Fantina's gym after probably dealing with it at least 5 other times. The glitchy ground at starter selection exists for a grand total of maybe 5 seconds. You can definitely get from start to finish (I did two entire casual playthroughs myself, no EV training). Feel free to leave feedback!
Plenty of mons have been buffed, and there are some type edits. However, I tried to not stray too far from the original experience, short of making all of the lackluster mons feel slightly better to use. Type changes were only done to reduce the quantity of overused type combinations (such as Bug/Flying) or to give a few mons a unique flavor. In addition, you are limited to the default Sinnoh pokedex, but some pokemon are available much earlier to compensate for this. Stat spreads still tend to resemble what the mon originally had, and ability changes tend to emphasize that. Plenty of moves have been buffed, and some gen 5+ moves were added in, as long as their effects were able to be put together using effects of other moves. Trade evolutions are all level-up evolutions now, and their items have been changed to compensate. Legendaries have also been nerfed to encourage you to use them on your team! They have stats more reasonable compared to the rest of the game, still good but not nearly as good.
Bosses are only slightly more difficult, often getting only one extra team member. Leveling has been rebalanced to make spawning in rare candies less of a requirement, especially in a casual playthrough, and if you do decide to grind, it won't take you very long. For difficulty, if a 1 is Let's Go, a 4 is vanilla Platinum, a 5 is B2W2 challenge mode (if the stats worked properly), an 8 is Renegade Platinum, and a 10 is a kaizo hack, this is aiming to be a 6-7. The level curve is designed so that every mon will have its full level-up moveset by Volkner if you always go to the cap. Regular trainers might have an extra mon, and evolved mons in many cases where the level is past the evolution level, but not always. Wild pokemon have had their levels increased to reduce the time it takes to get new team members up to speed. Held items are introduced gradually, and only in the last third of the game will bosses have more than one. Barry also has a unique team for each starter, so he will be very different depending on who you choose!
Options for team building are greatly expanded as some of the harder to get ones are in easier locations, such as honey tree pokemon. Plenty of heart scales litter the landscape to allow for easier move relearning. Only buyable items such as potions were replaced, so all of the regular vanilla items are in their original locations unless otherwise documented. You can utilize type-reducing berries and other held items that are much more annoying/impossible to get in a regular playthrough. The only thing I haven't really touched yet is shards, which I might add a store for in the late game, but I'm not sure yet. Due to the lower overall difficulty compared to other ROM hacks, the limited TM usage is not really a big issue.
This is my first complete and released ROM hack, so I kept the scope to things that were not very difficult to learn. That being said, it's still a new experience that differentiates itself from the base game enough. Of course, I will be responsive to any further feedback, and while I have done two full casual playthroughs myself at the time of writing this, there is always room for more rebalancing.
Full Documentation and Patch are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CCnoOc0oIYXUCmEYeM6d-5MhVEHx1uvO?usp=drive_link
There are still a few minor visual bugs, but nothing that actively stops you from playing the game. I don't think you'd really miss the darkness in Fantina's gym after probably dealing with it at least 5 other times. The glitchy ground at starter selection exists for a grand total of maybe 5 seconds. You can definitely get from start to finish (I did two entire casual playthroughs myself, no EV training). Feel free to leave feedback!
