When you hear about Pokemon rom hacks, fans always talk about the craziness of Pokemon Unbound or the unique feeling of Pokemon FireRed Rocket Edition. There are also really cool fan-made anime and manga adaptation games in Pokemon AshGray and Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter. All these are unique and give recent Switch releases a run for their money.
So it might sound sad that I prefer the safer and “boring” Pokemon rom hacks that are on the internet. Similar to the aforementioned adaptations, these hacks are simple remakes of existing games, but with unique features. Whether it’s the enhanced GBA sprites or the availability of Pokemon not in the game, there’s still a reason to check these titles out.
One rom hack that has caught my attention is Pokemon Liquid Crystal. As the name implies, this is a fan-made GBA remake of Pokemon Crystal on the Game Boy Color. Even though there are official DS remakes fans can check out, it’s still cool seeing fans passionately create their own remake. Much like the Skyblivion remake, it’s cool that there are multiple versions of this game to check out.
Even though this is a “basic” rom hack, there’s still a lot of work put into Liquid Crystal. The sprites are good, there’s completely remixed music of these fan-favorite tunes, and there are even new story elements. Because fans made this game, there are more cheeky references in there, but the magic of those Game Boy Color Pokemon exclusives is still there.
Speaking of the Game Boy Color, Pokemon Emerald Seaglass might be the best-looking Pokemon rom hack of the bunch. Using the GBA spires with GBC-inspired colors makes this a gorgeous game that fans should want to play. This hack is pretty faithful to Emerald Version on the original GBA, but now there’s a ton of Pokemon from other regions to catch.
It’s always cool seeing what fans can do with GBA hardware, and Emerald Seaglass is proof of that. Having completely reimagined visuals like this keeps Emerald Seaglass unique, and makes us wish Game Freak and The Pokemon Company were this experimental with the visuals. Yes, Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks good, but it has some pretty bland visuals, even on Switch 2.
Finally, we have Pokemon Recharged Yellow. As the name suggests, this Pokemon rom hack is a remake of Pokemon Yellow on the Game Boy with some adjustments. Character designs are more faithful to the manga series than Ash’s adventures. These Pokemon also have some fun movements before battles begin. Players can also choose which monster walks with them, though we’d always stick with Pikachu.
There are definitely more exciting Pokemon rom hacks players can check out if they want a hard challenge or a unique story. However, I'm pretty content with these safe remakes that present something old as something new again. I know that’s currently a problem with major AAA gaming publishers, but it’s less bad when it's just fans making something out of love.