Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Pokémon Omega Ruby (Japanese: ポケットモンスター オメガルビー Pocket Monsters Omega Ruby) and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire (Japanese: ポケットモンスター アルファサファイア Pocket Monsters Alpha Sapphire) are paired Generation VI games that are enhanced remakes of the third-generation titles Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The new games were revealed in a worldwide announcement on the official Pokémon websites on May 7, 2014 and were released in most regions of the world on November 21, 2014; with the exception of Europe, where the games were released on November 28, 2014.
| Pokémon Omega Ruby ポケットモンスター オメガルビー | |
|---|---|
 Pokémon Omega Ruby's boxart, featuring Primal Groudon | |
| Pokémon Alpha Sapphire ポケットモンスター アルファサファイア | |
 Pokémon Alpha Sapphire's boxart, featuring Primal Kyogre | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | Nintendo 3DS |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | Currently unknown |
| Connectivity: | None |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
| Publisher: | Nintendo/The Pokémon Company |
| Part of: | Generation VI |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | A |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | PG |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | 7 |
| GRAC: | |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | November 21, 2014 |
| North America: | November 21, 2014 |
| Australia: | November 21, 2014 |
| Europe: | November 28, 2014 |
| South Korea: | November 21, 2014 |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | Official Japanese site |
| English: | Official English site |
|
Japanese boxart
 Pokémon Omega Ruby Japanese boxart  Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Japanese boxart | |
Pre-release information
According to the press release that announced the games, the new titles will take players through a dramatic story within a spectacular new world.[1] The first footage from the game, a cutscene showing Groudon and Kyogre manipulating the weather via their respective Abilities, was revealed three days after the games' first announcement.[2] One month after the games' announcement, it was revealed that Groudon and Kyogre can undergo Primal Reversion becoming Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, respectively.[3]
A number of features introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire that had since been discontinued will return in these games. Pokémon Contests and customizable Secret Bases (now "Super Secret Bases") will return for the first time since Pokémon Platinum,[4] while the Mach Bike, the Acro Bike, and third-generation player characters Brendan and May will return for the first time since Pokémon Emerald.[5] Feebas will resume a Contest-specific evolution method.[6] In addition, a number of features introduced in Pokémon X and Y will also return, with Horde Encounters and Mega Evolutions already confirmed to be part of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, with the Horde Encounter feature expanding into Trainer Horde Battles. At least ten new Mega Evolutions will debut in this game, including Mega Sceptile, Mega Swampert, Mega Diancie, Mega Sableye, Mega Metagross, Mega Altaria, Mega Lopunny, Mega Salamence, Mega Slowbro, Mega Audino, Mega Camerupt and Mega Sharpedo. The PokéNav will be redesigned as the PokéNav Plus, a device appearing on the touch screen outside of battle. The PokéNav Plus has four main functions — DexNav, which displays information about wild Pokémon available in the player's current location; AreaNav, a map used for navigation of location, Pokémon, Secret Bases and Berry Trees; BuzzNav, which reports on news from around the Hoenn region and from StreetPass; and PlayNav, which is used to connect to online play, local wireless play, Pokémon-Amie and Super Training.
The August edition of CoroCoro magazine introduced Cosplay Pikachu. This special Pikachu is given to the player to use in Pokémon Contests. This Pikachu gets a unique costume to wear during Contests; each costume comes with a specific, special move: Pikachu Rock Star gets Meteor Mash (Cool Contest); Pikachu, Ph.D gets Electric Terrain (Clever Contest); Pikachu Pop Star gets Draining Kiss (Cute Contest); Pikachu Belle gets Icicle Crash (Beautiful Contest); Pikachu Libre gets Flying Press (Tough Contest).
Blurb
Ancient Powers Reawaken!
Start your Pokémon adventure now!
Behold the true GroudonOR/KyogreAS!
Pikachu likes to cosplay?!
Build a Secret Base all your own!
Changes from Ruby and Sapphire
Mechanics inherited from Generation IV and later
The following elements from X and Y are also included in the remakes.
- Mega Evolutions and Mega Stones
- A number of new Mega Evolutions and Mega Stones that did not exist in X and Y were also introduced.
- Steven Stone has a Mega Metagross, and his plot has been expanded to encompass a search for the secrets of the Mega Stones.
- Pokémon-Amie and Super Training
- Horde Encounters
- Occasionally, five-versus-one Horde Battles can also occur with Trainers.
- Sky Battles
- Battle Resort and Battle Maison replace the Battle Tower.
- VS. Artwork or models are now used instead of sprites for Trainers and Gym Leaders.
The mechanic of Evolution-inducing locations originating in Generation IV, for Pokémon that evolve when trained in a certain area, is also incorporated in the games.
- Moss Rock appears in Petalburg Woods for Leafeon.
- Ice Rock appears on the final floor of Shoal Cave during low tide for Glaceon.
- New Mauville serves as the location with a magnetic field where Nosepass and Magneton can be evolved.
Other consequences of updates from later generations include:
- Nine new Pokémon have been added to the Hoenn Pokédex. These are all Generation IV Pokémon which evolve from or into previous Hoenn Pokémon.
- As Flash is no longer an HM, Brawly's Knuckle Badge is no longer required to use it.
- Granite Cave, which is difficult to navigate without Flash, has been redesigned, requiring that the player defeat Brawly before being able to reach Steven. Also, the original dark areas of Granite Cave now require the Mach Bike from Mauville City for the player to access.
All new elements
- Completely new characters, such as Aarune, Lisia, and Zinnia, appear in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
- Cosplay Pikachu can be obtained. This is a special female Pikachu that is able to swap one of the moves it knows by changing its costume in Contest Halls.
- Groudon and Kyogre are given Primal Reversion forms which are accessed by holding their respective colored orbs. As a consequence, the scene where the player and the evil team leaders return the Orbs to Mt. Pyre (with the team leaders apologizing for their actions) has been omitted from the remakes.
Changes to Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald elements
Updated
- Mechanics
- Secret Bases have been completely upgraded, becoming Super Secret Bases. Features include sharing bases with other players, inviting other players as secret pals, capturing flags, and customizing the player's own Gym.
- Mirage spots are added as an apparent evolution of the Mirage Island mechanic.
- Pokémon Contests are now called Pokémon Contest Spectaculars
- The Beauty category has been renamed to Beautiful and Smart has been renamed to Clever.
- Pokéblocks and Pokéblock making have been heavily simplified, with Pokéblock making no longer requiring more than one player to perform successfully.
- The Sheen stat has been removed, meaning there is no longer a limit to how many Pokéblocks a player can give to their Pokémon, enabling Pokémon to have all of their Contests stats maxed out.
- The Safari Zone no longer requires that the player play the Safari Game. Instead, the Pokémon can be caught through normal encounters.
- Bikes are now capable of traveling through tall grass.
- Character designs
- Brendan and May have completely different attires, with Brendan's brown hair and white hat more obvious, and May has a bow instead of the bandana worn in the Generation III games.
- Team Magma and Team Aqua have been given new designs. Team Magma Admin Tabitha appears to be huskier and Courtney has purple hair instead of brown hair. The Team Aqua Admins have dark skin tones. Team Aqua Admin Shelly has black hair with accents of blue instead of red hair and Matt is more muscular.
- The Hoenn Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and other Trainers were redesigned with updated appearances.
- Story
- After defeating the Elite Four, the games feature the Delta Episode. Similar to Pokémon Emerald, Rayquaza plays a major role here.
- The Meteorite plays a larger role in the game, particularly for the Delta Episode as a means for Rayquaza to Mega Evolve in the official storyline. Because of this it can no longer be given to Professor Cozmo in return for TM27 (Return). TM27 can still be found in Pacifidlog Town, though.
- The New Mauville side quest, which originally started after defeating Norman and obtaining Surf, starts much later now, after the Groudon/Kyogre event.
- The encounter with Steven Stone on Route 118 is now interrupted by a quick side mission where LatiasOR or LatiosAS takes Steven and the player to Southern Island. At the end of this mission, Steven gives the player the Mega Bracelet.
- Pokémon team and battle changes
- When the player faces May or Brendan as their rival in Lilycove City, their Pokémon teams are fully evolved.
- Expert Shelby has been moved from Mt. Chimney to Jagged Pass.
- Brendan or May will also challenge the player after the credits have ended. In this battle, their starter may also Mega Evolve.
- The Elite Four and Champion's teams now have tougher teams when challenged in the post-game, with higher levels, different movesets, and non-regional Pokémon on their teams, and including some Mega Evolutions.
- Wally's Ralts eventually evolves into Gallade instead of Gardevoir, and is able to Mega Evolve as Gallade.
- Other
- The Legendary Pokémon Lugia, Ho-Oh, Regigigas, Heatran, Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Palkia, Dialga, Giratina, Virizion, Terrakion, Cobalion, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus, and Cresselia are now obtainable in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Some are exclusive to one version and some may require special circumstances to unlock them.
- Deoxys is now catchable during the climax of the Delta Episode. It can also change its forme freely via a meteorite in Professor Cozmo's house in Fallabor Town, as opposed to Generation III where its forme was dependent on the game it was in.
- LatiosOR/LatiasAS now joins the player's party during their trip to Southern Island, instead of being a roaming Pokémon in the post-game. An Eon Ticket is still required to return to Southern Island and obtain the alternate Eon Pokémon.
- The number of puzzles in the Trick House is reduced from eight to six. Badges are also no longer required to start each puzzle, though some HM abilities from certain Badges are needed to navigate through certain puzzles.
- Whereas in Emerald, Professor Birch would reward the player with their choice of a Johto starter upon completing the Hoenn Pokédex, now, he will give it to the player when he is found on Route 101 after the Delta Episode is completed.
- After obtaining the Johto starter, if the Elite Four are challenged again, the Professor will give the player a Sinnoh starter, and after that, an Unova starter if the Elite Four are challenged once more.
- The physical Hoenn Pokédex has been redesigned, now appearing similar to the original Game Boy Advance system.
New Locations
- The presence of numerous Mirage Islands around the coast, as well as various forest and mountain locations in association with the soaring mechanic. These include:
- Mauville City has been completely redesigned into an indoor shopping complex and is dubbed the largest city in Hoenn, playing a similar role to Lumiose City from X and Y.
- The Abandoned Ship has been redesigned and renamed Sea Mauville. Its backstory has also been greatly expanded.
- The Sootopolis Gym puzzle has been updated with some new features. Since the 3DS system includes the Circle Pad, it is now possible to use it to travel diagonally across the ice. Once the player climbs the stairs after passing a given puzzle, the ice in the previous puzzle will no longer crack, making it possible to traverse that puzzle freely without having to redo it. The lower part of the Gym is now freely traversable, lacking any ice so that all Trainers there may be faced without having to fall strategically from above.
Removed
- The Mauville Game Corner has been closed down, as game corners are no longer included in Pokémon games since Generation V.
- In a few areas, the encounterable Pokémon have changed. Certain Water-type Pokémon are not found in all of the same areas they were in the original games, such as in Mossdeep City, where all wild Pokémon encounters were removed. A few evolved Pokémon such as Swellow or Wailord also can no longer be found in the wild.
- The Trainers found on Mt. Chimney that were encountered after defeating Team Aqua/Team Magma have been removed.
- A few Trainers that were rechallengable in the original games through Trainer's Eye have been removed.
Version-exclusive Pokémon
This list of version-exclusive Pokémon applies to the main games
Images
Pokémon Omega Ruby English logo
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire logo
Pokémon Omega Ruby Japanese logo
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Japanese logo
Pokémon Omega Ruby Korean boxart
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Korean boxart
Trivia
- In all territories except Europe, these games were released on the twelfth anniversary of the Japanese release of Ruby and Sapphire.
- Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are the only pair of remakes where:
- The games' names are not written in CamelCase.
- There are no Eyecatches.
- All methods of evolutions that were originally introduced after the generation of the original games, unlike the previous remakes where a few were not included.
- The remakes are indirectly compatible with the original games, as Pokémon from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire can be transferred to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire through various forms of inter-generational communication.
- An accessory is not bundled with the games.
- Not to include HM abilities that were introduced after the generation of the original games as no new HM moves were introduced after Generation IV.
- Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire currently offers the greatest number of in-game starter Pokémon, with four (1 from Hoenn, 1 from Johto, 1 from Sinnoh and 1 from Unova), exceeding the three offered in numerous games before, usually the starter from that region and 2 others from other regions, except for Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon X and Y which did it differently with the three offered.
- Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire currently offers the greatest number of in-game legendary Pokémon with a total of 32 between both games.
In other languages
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See also
References
- ↑ Youtube: "Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire -- November 2014!"
- ↑ Youtube: "Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire—Sneak Peek Footage"
- ↑ Bulbanews: "Details on Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire announced"
- ↑ Bulbanews: "Super-Secret Bases confirmed for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire"
- ↑ Bulbanews: "CoroCoro leaks for July 2014 issue revealed"
- ↑ Bulbanews: Official US Pokémon website updates with new ORAS trailer, details about new Mega Evolutions
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This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |