Pokemon fans across the world can rejoice today, as Nintendo announced Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, remakes of the GBA adventures released in 2003, for the 3DS.
Despite Nintendo’s strategically timed announcement, likely made to once again distract us from poor Wii U sales, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are beloved Pokemon titles that introduced several new elements to the Pokemon formula.
Double battles first emerged here, allowing you to pair up your cutesy Bulbasaur with any other ‘mon in your arsenal. The new region of Hoenn – located some distance from the Kanto and Johto regions featured in previous games – gave players a fresh new world to explore, and a plethora of new Pokemon to catch and raise. It’s also interesting to note that Hoenn is based on the Japanese island and region of Kyushu, and these games were the only ones to feature the protagonist’s father, who happened to be the Gym Leader of a nearby town.
Some questions still linger in the air, like will Mega Evolutions play a role in these remakes? Are these remakes going to be just that, or is this going to be a new adventure, as teased by the new trailer below from pokemon’s YouTube channel?
We don’t know much about these games just yet, but the excitement surrounding them is likely to grow, and there’s a good chance we’ll learn more at Nintendo’s E3 broadcast.
