#2. Pokemon OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire (3DS)
Hoenn was always a great region, it was just let down by flawed games. Ruby and Sapphire had a host of issues, and Emerald fixed them the best it could, but there was always this nagging feeling that Hoenn, with its lush, tropical setting, and its lore and myths, had never quite been done justice the way it deserved.
And then, Pokemon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire released.
OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire might represent the pinnacle of the Pokemon series- the great single player campaign of the Generation 3 games has been lovingly remade, with additions and changes to accommodate new mechanics, and retell a somewhat flawed story in a better manner; graphically, this is the best Pokemon has ever been, with a gorgeous artstyle that really brings the game world to life; mechanically, all the perfection of X and Y has been married to the strong single player design of Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald; from a soundtrack perspective, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire present the best soundtrack the series has had till date, full stop, no questions; from a storytelling and lore perspective, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire (especially with their post game) demonstrate for the first time what happens when Pokemon steps out of its comfort zone (hint: it’s pretty awesome, when it tries to tell a story beyond the usual ‘win eight badges, defeat evil team’); from a features perspective, OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire are jam packed, featuring every single feature from X and Y (sans trainer customization), bringing back multiple features from Ruby and Sapphire (Secret Bases and Pokemon Contests), and improving on them in the process, and adding several new of their own, such as the DexNav, and soaring.
The only complaints that might be leveled against the games is that they lack the Battle Frontier from Pokemon Emerald, and their post game is therefore a step down in that regard, but with OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire opening up an all new storyline for you to complete after the game is completed, as well as the chance to catch every single Pokemon from pre-X and Y days, including all the legendaries and starters, that complaint hardly seems to hold any water.
They are absolutely amazing games, and are recommended to all fans of the Pokemon series. They would, in fact, have been the best outing this series has had, were it not for…
