Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are 2014 remakes 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 developed by Game Freak and published 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, twelve years after the original release of Ruby and Sapphire. The European release followed the next week.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received mostly positive reviews from critics. As of September 30, 2024, a total of 14.63 million copies have been sold worldwide, making them the fourth-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.

Gameplay

Although Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are remakes of third-generation games, they include changes from later generations. These changes include the type split from the fourth generation and features like unlimited TM usage and triple battles from the fifth generation. The games also include features from Pokémon X and Y, such as Mega Evolution, Pokémon Amie, Super Training, and the Player Search System. A special feature called "Primal Reversion" was added for Kyogre and Groudon, similar to Mega Evolution. Players can ride Latios or Latias to fly over Hoenn, 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 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 aim to use the power of Legendary Pokémon—Primal Groudon in Omega Ruby or Primal Kyogre in Alpha Sapphire—to change the world. Team Magma wants to use Groudon to dry up the oceans and expand land, allowing humans to grow more. Team Aqua wants to use Kyogre to flood the land and return the world to a prehistoric state, giving Pokémon more freedom. Unlike the original games, Archie and Maxie in each version use the correct orb, causing their Pokémon to undergo Primal Reversions. With help from 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 extreme drought or heavy rainfall. This prevents the teams from continuing their plans. The player then advances to the Hoenn League, challenges the Elite Four, and faces Steven to become the new Hoenn League Champion. The player can also join Pokémon Contests in Hoenn, where they use their Pokémon to perform for judges and audiences. Since Pokémon X and Y, 20 new Mega Evolutions were added, along with 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. The player must work with a new character, Zinnia, as well as 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 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 first release of Ruby and Sapphire. The European version was released 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 all official translations, unlike earlier versions, which only had translations for certain languages based on the region where they were first sold.

Reception

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire received mostly good reviews from critics. According to OpenCritic, 89% of critics recommended the games. GameSpot’s Peter Brown praised the 3D graphics and the super training feature, but thought the game did not fix some problems in its design. IGN’s Kallie Plagge praised the 3D version of the Hoenn region and the online features. However, she criticized the need for too many HMs (Hidden Machines) to play the game, the unfair advantage given to Water-type Pokémon, and the reliance on water-based areas. She noted that the Dive feature, which was new at first, 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 sale. Of these, 1,534,593 copies were sold in Japan, with the rest sold in North America and Australia. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire had the largest 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 combined total of 14.57 million copies have been sold worldwide, making them the fourth-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.