CHARLES PRITCHARD
Staff Writer
“Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon Prof!”
Among true Pokémon fans, these words are burned into their memories and they can likely recite them by heart.
“Pokémon” is one of the most well known video game series and therefore has a large fanbase that is eagerly awaiting Nov. 21 with bated breath — a day that marks the release of “Pokémon: Omega Ruby” and “Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire” for the Nintendo 3DS.
While not exactly a new land for players to explore, “Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire” take the player back to the land of Hoenn, first debuted 10 years ago on the Gameboy Advance in “Pokémon: Ruby” and “Pokémon: Sapphire.”
With an overhaul comes new additions. Of course, there’s a graphical update, taking the new style debuted in “Pokémon: X” and “Pokémon: Y,” along with the ‘Mega-Evolution’ system that debuted in said games.
But that’s not what’s really attracting the majority of gamers to come back to the land of Hoenn. It’s the nostalgia.
The average age of those that play “Pokémon” is up for debate, but a number of forums such as Serebii.net and Gamefaqs.com report the average age to be around 18-20 years old.
This means that those who played “Ruby” and “Sapphire” were around eight to ten years old at the time.
A trip down memory lane — to see everything that’s changed and everything you remember — is a really good reason for gamers to want to buy “Omega Ruby” or “Alpha Sapphire.” Similarly, this was the reason for many to buy “Pokémon: Heart Gold” or “Pokémon: Soul Silver,” the remake of “Gold” and “Silver” that was released back in 2009.
Even though a majority of players are buying “Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire” for the nostalgia factor, a good chunk of people will also be visiting Hoenn for the first time to share something with those revisiting it.
Meanwhile, there’s still time until the release of Nintendo’s next Pokémon game, so all that fans can do now is twiddle their thumbs, talk about it on forums and count the days.
As an alternate option, they can check out what other Pokemon fans have been doing.
Rom-Hacking is a popular pastime among basement programmers and game makers who want to make something fun.
One creator by the name of “thesuzerain” has decided to sit down and make an entire Pokémon game with two versions: “Pokémon: Omicron” and “Pokémon: Zeta.”
As standard formula for Pokémon stories, the plot centers around the fight between Team Asgard and Team Olympus, who both look to manipulate Pokemon to turn themselves into gods.
The player has to stand up to them and a plague creeping across the region that twists Pokémon into shadowed versions of themselves.
With a new story, a number of side-quests for the player to do and a whole host of lands to explore and Pokémon to find, “Pokémon: Omicron” and “Pokémon: Zeta” stand out as a jewel, handcrafted by someone who wants to share an experience like no other.
The game itself is for the computer, but there is quite a lot of talk amongst fans that it’ll see a release for mobile platforms, as well.
Fans looking to scratch that Pokémon itch before getting their hands on “Omega Ruby” and “Alpha Sapphire,” along with those looking to find something to do with their time in between preparing for finals, should give “Pokémon Zeta” or “Omicron” a try.
It can be downloaded on Reddit at www.reddit.com/r/pokemonzetaomicron.