The Pokemon journey is one that fans look forward to whenever a new game is announced, even if recent titles have not always garnered widespread acclaim. While the games have strayed in recent years with new titles and mechanics, Pokemon games are ultimately comfort food that many people look forward to consuming every few years. That said, the main projects do not always succeed in impressing everyone who has been along for the ride since the late 1990s; consequently, some fans have come forward to create their own games.
Although Nintendo has, on several occasions, unplugged and halted the production of several projects, many out there contain new and exciting features and mechanics that completely change the Pokemon game experience. As such, fans looking to re-live their favorite games or discover new favorites should consider the following Pokemon ROM hacks.
The Nintendo Switch's Let's Go Eevee & Pikachu might not be considered the best Pokemon games of all time, but they are pleasant throwbacks to the classic Kanto-era games. Fittingly enough, a ROM hack is available that returns these titles back to their roots; well, to be exact, Pokemon FireRed.
The biggest changes come in the form of modern Pokemon, improved gameplay, and some quality of life changes. Pokemon Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu GBA Version is not ultimately anything too original and, for the most part, will probably only be loved by those who are already infatuated with the Switch games.
Now for something slightly different, Dragon Ball Z: Team Training takes Pokemon Fire Red and gives it a Saiyan-themed makeover. Combining two of the most popular Japanese anime properties of all time, Team Training drops players into a world filled with wild Nappas and Krillins; in fact, the game has over 150 Fighters that are just waiting to be caught. While the game largely plays out like a standard Pokemon title, it is exciting to head into a Gym and find Bulma armed with a Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.
Unlike many of the best Pokemon ROM hacks that are meant specifically for die-hard fans of Game Freak's franchise, Team Training is one of those rare cases of a project that can mainly be recommended to people who love a completely different IP. Considering great Dragon Ball RPGs are not plentiful, this hack might be one of the better options out there.
Pokemon Adventure Red Chapter draws heavy inspiration from the Pokemon Adventures manga, pulling its storyline and characters. The player takes control of Red, who embarks on a long journey alongside his rivals Blue and Green, among other new rivals. Divided into chapters, the player joins Red as he learns about the deeper schemes occurring around him as he attempts to conquer various Pokemon Leagues.
With nine regions to explore, the game provides endless entertainment and keeps players hooked with a compelling storyline. Additional features include a raised level cap (100 to 255), an overhaul of Pokemon (including new forms, fusions, shadow Pokemon, and beta Pokemon), character customization, and more.
The game is a re-skin of Pokemon Ruby but takes elements from later Generations such as the Distortion World and the Pokemon World Championship. It's an easy-to-play, visually stimulating experience that fans unfamiliar with ROM hacks or fan games should begin with.
Similar to Dragon Ball Z: Team Training, Pokemon One Piece's appeal lies in the unexpected mash-up of two major anime/manga franchises. The changes in this game do not go too far beyond the addition of One Piece characters, although the story does throw out a few curveballs along the way.
So, if anyone ever wishes to travel through Kanto with the Straw Hats, Pokemon One Piece will scratch that itch. It is also a pretty challenging game, so players will have to earn the right to call themselves a Pokemon Master (or Pirate King). Similar to the DBZ hack, this offering is just for fans of Eiichiro Oda's manga, with the main change being primarily the character swaps. The hack is a lot of fun, as long as somebody can tell their Zoros from their Sanjis. And, there are way fewer great One Piece games than there are DBZ titles.
Game Freak's Pokemon RPG series is not the only part of the franchise that holds a special place in the hearts of millions of people; the anime is also huge. In the late '90s, Ash's adventures helped introduce many children to Japanese animation, and the original series is still highly regarded today.
While the games and anime share plenty of things in common, Ash is not one of them, at least when it comes to official releases. Pokemon AshGray rectifies this by turning Pokemon FireRed into an adaptation of the anime's first season. The Pokemon ROM hack gives players the freedom to decide how faithful their adventure is to the anime, although AshGray does reward those who willingly walk in Ketchum's shoes.
The second entry in Crizzle's Pokemon trilogy, CAWPS continues down the road starter by Outlaw. This Pokemon ROM hack is solely for adults, as its unique story contains plenty of mature content and humor that will likely be divisive with most people.
In CAWPS, players take on the role of a police officer in Hoenn. Starting from the Police Academy and eventually making it onto the streets, this hack does away with standard Pokemon conventions such as Gym Badges, opting to deliver an experience that is quite unlike any other in the fan game scene.
Pokemon and Digimon will be forever linked, regardless of whether their games or shows are actually all that similar. Plenty of fans have taken it upon themselves to fuse these licenses together, producing quite a few solid games in the process. One of the best Pokemon ROM hacks to feature Agumon and company is Digimon Nova Red.
A hack of FireRed, Nova introduces 250 Digimon to the roster, including some monsters with five Digivolution stages. Along with swapping out Pokemon for Digimon, this ROM hack tweaks the difficulty so that the campaign provides a consistent challenge.
Pokemon Giratina Strikes Back lures players into a false sense of security since the opening few hours do not contain much in the way of surprises. Sure, the protagonist's backstory is different from the norm, but it ultimately boils down to a kid venturing out on a great adventure to become a Pokemon Master.
However, Giratina Strikes Back gets stranger as it goes along, and that is a compliment. There are also Fakemon mixed in with the real ones, but the former do not reveal themselves until quite a while into the campaign. Giratina Strikes Back is a blast and one of the best Pokemon ROM hacks.
In a world where Giratina attempts to rule, players explore a completely redone Hoenn Region, with new cities/towns, routes, and trainers. Featuring a different line-up of Gym Leaders (who fans may recognize from other games), Pokemon Flora Sky ties the player into a tale that sees Teams Aqua and Magma pursuing parallel schemes, while also dealing with chaos between Generation 4's Creation Trio (particularly Dialga and Giratina).
Focusing on something slightly different this time, Pokemon Stadium Kaizo gives some much-appreciated quality of life improvements to the Nintendo 64 game. Naturally, Pokemon Stadium doesn't receive anywhere near the number of hacks as the GBA titles do, so Kaizo fulfills a somewhat ignored niche.
This ROM's main goal is to make Pokemon Stadium a harder and, by extension, more rewarding experience. It also greatly improves the rental Pokemon's stats and movesets, the latter of which are quite lackluster in the base game.
As suggested by its name, Pokemon Crystal Clear is a fan game based on the Generation 2 classic. The ROM's big change is that it converts Pokemon Crystal into an open-world title, meaning players are free to challenge Kanto and Johto's Gyms at their leisure. Battles against trainers scale to match the player's level.
After picking a starting town, Trainers are let loose upon the world, permitting them to travel however they see fit. Pokemon Crystal Clear is all about removing restrictions, so this translates into a massive roster of starters and a ton of replayability.
The charm of this ROM hack is in the creative choices made for each Pokemon variant. For instance, Rattata and Raticate are both Electric types (inspired by a computer and mouse), Abra's evolutionary line is turned Dark and hieroglyphic-themed, and Snorlax, known for lazing around, is now trimmed and a fit Fighting type.
Pokemon Glazed begins on the player's 12th birthday, signaling the start of their Pokemon journey. Choosing between the Generation 4 starters, Shinx, and Riolu, the player sets out to explore the Tunod Region, later journeying through Johto and Rankor (another new region). Along the way, they'll face off against a mysterious, devious team, and find the world they live in at odds with unseeable forces.
The story of Pokemon Glazed takes place years after HeartGold and SoulSilver, and the player will find themselves fighting through two different Leagues while uncovering the game's main plot. Unlike in other games, Mega Evolutions persist between battles, acting as a permanent change.
Debuting nearly a decade ago, Pokemon Liquid Crystal shows its age in places, but the ROM hack's ambition still shines through to this day. On the surface, this project's main selling point is that it provides a graphical overhaul to Pokemon Crystal, putting the Generation 2 game through a FireRed filter.
Initially, Liquid Crystal might seem to be the same adventure with prettier visuals, but the campaign slowly implements twists that help set it apart from the official release. The story goes to some interesting places (and features a new villain team that complements Team Rocket), and the campaign is a bit more open. It is not like a drastic departure, but this ROM hack should be perfect for big fans of Crystal (more so than FireRed).
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