Special demo Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

A gaming friend from Spain was kind enough to send me a download code for the special demo of the new upcoming Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, so I could give the new game a try yesterday. That’s a week before the normal demo will hit the eShop, so I felt really lucky to be able to give it a try! The demo introduces gamers to the upcoming releases and shows some exploration and a bit of battling. Most important though, you can collect a Mega evolved familiar Pokemon that you can transfer to the full game later.

My first experiences in playing Pokémon weren’t in my youth, so the Hoenn region in this remake is totally new to me. My first game was Platinum, and though I played every release since then, I never enjoyed a game as much since that first one. Maybe it’s because of the fact that it was all new and fresh to me, and I remember being surprised at how much innovating gameplay they put in that DS game. So much to do, so many side quests, not only battling and leveling up, but berry growing and digging for rocks too.

The Pokémon X and Y generation was another such innovation to me, another great leap, this time more in its visuals and in its online connections with friends and Streetpass hits ( though the last part was a bit of a disappointment). Basically though the gameplay was still the same: you battle yet another team Aqua, Plasma or whatever, try to level up to beat the next towns’ gym leader and ultimately the Elite 4. They introduced something new in battling, mega evolution. But to be honest, that is totally lost on me. I’m not into the battling for the battling itself, you know what I mean?

So, back to this demo. It was fun to play, a bit like being back with an old friend. I like the Pokémon types in this region, they remind me of Platinum. My first impression of the story did sound the same to me, another Team with false intentions in mind. Mega evolution is featured, and another, even more secret evolution is hinted at! But, as I’m not into the Pokémon primarily for the battle, this isn’t what will compel me to buy the game.

I checked out the new features in the game, and here are the ones that did made me pay attention:
– The move Soar, when used with one specific Pokemon, will allow you to fly anywhere in Hoenn. Anywhere. That’s what the move Fly should have been like!
– Finding wild Pokemon will now be easier than ever thanks to the Area Nav, a new addition that shows you all of the available Pokemon on any given route, as well as letting you visually track them.
– You can invite players to your secret bases, and customise the base’s layout specifically for those players. You can even make it like you own gym! You can share your Secret Bases through Streetpass and through Wifi, and even make a QR code out of them and share that through the Internet.

So many good games coming out the next few months to choose from! Anyway, the full game will be released in the US November 21, and in Europe at November 28.