Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are 2014 remakes of the 2002 Game Boy Advance role-playing games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. These games also include features from Pokémon Emerald. They are part of the sixth generation of the Pokémon video game series, developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Announced in May 2014, the games were released in Japan, North America, and Australia on November 21, 2014, twelve years after the original release of Ruby and Sapphire. The European release followed the next week.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received generally positive reviews from critics. As of September 30, 2024, a total of 14.63 million copies have been sold worldwide. This makes them the fourth most popular Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.

Gameplay

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are remakes of games from the third generation. They include changes from later generations, such as the type split introduced in the fourth generation and features like unlimited TM usage and triple battles from the fifth generation. These games also include gameplay features from Pokémon X and Y, such as Mega Evolution, Pokémon Amie, Super Training, and the Player Search System. A unique feature in these games is "Primal Reversion," which allows Kyogre and Groudon to change their forms, similar to Mega Evolution. Players can also ride Latios or Latias to "soar" above the Hoenn region to travel, with some areas in the game only accessible through this method.

Setting and story

The setting and story of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are similar to the original Ruby and Sapphire games. The story begins with the player character traveling in the back of a moving truck, moving from the Johto Region to the Hoenn Region with their mother. Their father, Norman, has been hired as the Gym Leader of Petalburg City. The player arrives with their parents at their new home in Littleroot Town, a village on the southern edge of the main island in Hoenn. The player starts their Pokémon Trainer journey by helping Professor Birch, the leading professor in Hoenn, escape a wild Poochyena. The player then chooses one of three Pokémon—Treecko, Torchic, or Mudkip—to defend Professor Birch. After defeating the wild Pokémon, the player receives the chosen Pokémon as their Starter Pokémon. The player then travels across Hoenn to complete the Pokédex and battle the region’s eight Gym Leaders.

During the journey, the player encounters Team Magma in Omega Ruby or Team Aqua in Alpha Sapphire. These groups aim to use the power of the Legendary Pokémon Primal Groudon (in Omega Ruby) or Primal Kyogre (in Alpha Sapphire) to reshape the world. Team Magma wants to use Groudon to dry up the oceans and expand land, while Team Aqua wants to use Kyogre to flood the land and return the world to a prehistoric state. Unlike the original games, Archie and Maxie use the correct orb in their respective versions, causing their Pokémon to undergo Primal Reversions. With the help of Hoenn League Champion Steven Stone and Gym Leader Wallace, the player defeats the opposing team and either captures or defeats the Legendary Pokémon to prevent extreme drought or heavy rainfall. This action helps the teams reform. The player then advances to the Hoenn League, challenging the Elite Four and Steven Stone to become the new Hoenn League Champion. The player can also participate in Pokémon Contests across Hoenn, where they use their Pokémon to perform for judges and audiences.

New features include 20 additional Mega Evolutions since Pokémon X and Y, as well as Primal Reversions for Groudon and Kyogre, which work in a similar way. A new side quest called the "Delta Episode" is included in both games. In this quest, the player teams up with Zinnia, Steven, and Professor Cozmo to stop a meteor from crashing into the planet. This mission requires capturing the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza to prevent the meteor from releasing the Mythical Pokémon Deoxys.

Release

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were released in Japan, North America, and Australia on November 21, 2014, twelve years after the original Ruby and Sapphire games were first released. The European version came out the following week. These games are the third pair of remakes in the Pokémon franchise, after Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS in 2009. Like Pokémon X and Y, these games include translations in all official languages, unlike earlier generations where translations were limited to certain languages based on the region or country of release.

Reception

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received mostly positive reviews from critics. A website called OpenCritic reported that 89% of critics recommended the games. GameSpot’s Peter Brown liked the games’ 3D visuals and a special training feature, but he thought the games did not fully fix problems with the overall game design. IGN’s Kallie Plagge praised the games’ new 3D version of the Hoenn region and their online features. However, she pointed out that the games required too many HMs (Hidden Machines) to play and that Water-type Pokémon had an unfair advantage in battles. She also noted that the game’s water-based areas were overused, and while the Dive feature was new at first, it became boring over time.

At the 2014 Game Awards, the games were nominated for Best Remaster but lost to Grand Theft Auto V.

The games sold 3,040,000 copies in their first three days of release. Of these, 1,534,593 copies were sold in Japan, and the rest were sold in North America and Australia. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire had the highest launch sales in the series history in the United Kingdom, surpassing the previous record set by Pokémon Black and White. By the end of 2014, the games had sold 2.4 million copies in Japan. As of March 31, 2023, a total of 14.57 million copies had been sold worldwide, making them the fourth-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.