Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are updated versions of the 2002 Game Boy Advance games Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, which also include features from Pokémon Emerald. These games are part of the sixth generation of the Pokémon video game series. They were created by Game Freak and released by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The games were announced in May 2014 and released in Japan, North America, and Australia on November 21, 2014, exactly twelve years after the original Ruby and Sapphire games were first released. The European version was released the following week.
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received mostly good reviews from critics. As of September 30, 2024, a total of 14.63 million copies have been sold worldwide, making them the fourth most popular Nintendo 3DS games ever.
Gameplay
Although Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are revised versions of third-generation games, they include changes from later generations. These changes include the type split from the fourth generation, unlimited TM usage, and triple battles from the fifth generation. The games also include gameplay features introduced in Pokémon X and Y, such as Mega Evolution, Pokémon Amie, Super Training, and the Player Search System. A unique mechanic called "Primal Reversion" was added for Kyogre and Groudon, similar to the Mega Evolution feature. Players can ride Latios or Latias to "soar" above Hoenn to travel, and some areas in the game are only accessible through this feature.
Setting and story
The story and setting of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are similar to the original Ruby and Sapphire games. The game begins with the player character traveling in a truck with their mother, moving from the Johto Region to the Hoenn Region because their father, Norman, has been hired as the Petalburg City Gym Leader. 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 journey as a Pokémon Trainer by helping Professor Birch, the leading expert in Hoenn, escape from a wild Poochyena. The player chooses one of three Pokémon—Treecko, Torchic, or Mudkip—to protect 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 meets Team Magma in Omega Ruby or Team Aqua in Alpha Sapphire. These groups want to use the power of the Legendary Pokémon Primal Groudon or Primal Kyogre to change the world. Team Magma plans to use Groudon to dry up the oceans and create more land, while Team Aqua plans to use Kyogre to flood the land and return the world to a past state where Pokémon can live freely. In each game, Archie or Maxie uses the correct orb, which causes 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 stop a global drought or heavy rainfall. This action helps the teams reform. The player then advances to challenge the Elite Four and the Hoenn League Champion, Steven, to become the new 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 added 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 works with a new character named Zinnia, along with Steven and Professor Cozmo, to stop a meteor from crashing into the planet. This mission also requires capturing the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza to prevent the meteor from bringing the Mythical Pokémon Deoxys to Earth.
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 next week. These games are the third set of remade versions in the 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 games only had translations for certain languages based on where they were first sold.
Reception
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received mostly positive reviews from critics. According to the review site OpenCritic, 89% of critics recommended the games, giving them strong approval. GameSpot’s Peter Brown praised the games’ 3D visuals and the super training feature, but he thought the games did not fully fix problems in the game’s design. IGN’s Kallie Plagge praised the 3D version of the Hoenn region and the online features. However, she criticized the large number of HMs required to play the game, the imbalance favoring Water-type Pokémon, and the focus on water-based areas. She noted that the Dive feature was new when the game first released but had become repetitive over time.
At the 2014 Game Awards, the games were nominated for Best Remaster but did not win, as Grand Theft Auto V received the award.
The games sold 3,040,000 copies in the first three days of release. Of these, 1,534,593 copies were sold in Japan, while the rest were sold in North America and Australia. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire had the highest sales launch in the series history in the United Kingdom, surpassing the previous record held 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.