Best Pokemon Rom Hacks

Due to the manga covering the games, a ROM that adapts the former might seem redundant on paper; however, Pokemon Adventures has a unique identity that sets it apart from its inspiration. Consequently, Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter is a different beast than the original games, and it is one of the more ambitious fan games on the market. It is considerably darker than the standard entry in the franchise, reflecting the manga’s mature tone. To be fair, the game does have its share of juvenile humor, but a lot of it is pulled from the source material.

Pokemon Adventures Red Chapter tells a pretty long story that includes two regions, along with introducing fake Pokemon during the post-game. While largely sticking to the manga, the game also includes some original content, mostly in the form of side quests. The latter elements are quite divisive, though. The combat is not that far removed from the base FireRed, but it is mostly serviceable.

Pokemon Light Platinum

A Typical Pokemon Adventure (& That Is A Good Thing)

• Game: Pokemon Ruby
• Created By Wesley FG

Although the name suggests the game is set in Sinnoh, Pokemon Light Platinum takes place in an entirely new region, Zhery. Boasting vibrant graphics, every Pokemon from Generation 1 to 4, and new Gym Leaders and rivals to fight, the creation is a traditional take on a Pokemon game. It provides an evil team, a League to conquer, and a Pokedex to complete — all while being a standalone experience.

Related

Pokemon Games That Deserve Remakes

As Pokemon fans desperately wait for Gen 4 remakes, these titles could also be in consideration.

The game is a re-skin of Pokemon Ruby but takes elements from later Generations, such as the Distortion World and the Pokemon World Championship. It’s an easy-to-play, visually stimulating experience that fans unfamiliar with ROM hacks or fan games should begin with.

Pokemon Ruby

Systems

Released

March 19, 2003

ESRB

E For Everyone

Pokemon One Piece

Catch All The Pirates & Marines

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Nosta11

Similar to Dragon Ball Z: Team Training, Pokemon One Piece‘s appeal lies in the unexpected mash-up of two major anime/manga franchises. The changes in this game do not go too far beyond the addition of One Piece characters, although the story does throw out a few curveballs along the way.

So, if anyone ever wishes to travel through Kanto with the Straw Hats, Pokemon One Piece will scratch that itch. It is also a pretty challenging game, so players will have to earn the right to call themselves a Pokemon Master (or Pirate King). Similar to the DBZ hack, this offering is just for fans of Eiichiro Oda’s manga, with the main change being primarily the character swaps. The hack is entertaining, as long as somebody can tell their Zoros from their Sanjis. And, there are way fewer great One Piece games than there are DBZ titles, so this ROM has arguably more value.

Pokemon Emerald Rogue

A Pokemon Roguelite

• Game: Pokemon Emerald
• Created By Pokkabie

Once in a while, a ROM hack comes around that raises an important question: why does this not exist already and officially? Pokemon Emerald Rogue takes the franchise’s standard formula and runs it through a roguelite filter, creating a game that just works and is impossible to put down once you accept its rhythm. The premise is simple: Go on repeat adventures in order to obtain all the badges. Ultimately, you are still striving to do the same thing as any other Pokemon game, but Emerald Rogue shakes things up through randomizations, restarts, and a constantly growing hub area that adds a fun element of progression.

The ROM provides quite a bit of customization options to help cater the experience to someone’s liking, while still being primarily built on randomness (which greatly helps replayability). After picking a Pokemon and leaving the hub area, you will drop into an overworld filled with random routes, allowing you to fight trainers, catch Pokemon, and eventually face a Gym Leader. If you lose, you return to the Hub without your caught Pokemon and your original partner is reduced to their base level. Once you obtain a badge, you can either continue or finish the adventure to complete quests and receive rewards.

The repetition might sound dull, but Emerald Rogue wisely speeds up the leveling-up process.

Pokemon Recordkeepers

Well, Why Not Try Another Pokemon Roguelite?

• Game: Pokemon Emerald
• Created By Turtleye & Hedara

Nintendo and the Pokemon Company should listen; clearly, there is a craving for a well-done Pokemon roguelike, as both of these highlighted roms are addictive, novel, and just plain old fun. I’d say compared to Pokemon Emerald Rogue, Recordkeepers is a bit messier, and its implementation of random elements can be a touch more frustrating, at least until you start to understand how everything works. As Tiana, you are a recordkeeper who goes into “stories” to effectively complete challenges and defeat Pokemon. You have a main boss you are ultimately aiming for, but you mostly go around fighting enemies so that you can be rewarded with new moves, which you can then equip to your three Pokemon.

A really cool concept is that Recordkeepers has an asymmetrical turn-based combat system, meaning you can switch between three Pokemon on the fly. The Pokemon are assigned to you depending on some choices you make before entering a map, so you don’t get to pick (but you have some choice).

Pokemon Celebrations

Nostalgia But Better

• Game: Pokemon Red or Blue
• Created By CreamElDudJafar

The Pokemon ROMs that tend to get the most attention are massive projects that create new stories or significantly revamp the combat system. However, there is something to be said about releases that mostly strive to elevate the vanilla games, and Pokemon Celebrations is a pretty great example of this type of ROM. Rather than using Red & Blue as a launchpad, the hack focuses on adding quality-of-life improvements to help make these bona fide Game Boy classics easier to revisit nearly three decades later.

If you are not a huge fan of Red & Blue, Celebrations is probably not worth a download since its value is at least partially determined by your nostalgia. Conversely, if you grew up with the originals and are craving a replay, this ROM is a great alternative to try, as it delivers a familiar experience that still holds its share of surprises.

Pokemon Ash Gray

Ash’s Original Adventure

• Game: Pokemon FireRed
• Created By Metapod23

Game Freak’s Pokemon RPG series is not the only part of the franchise that holds a special place in the hearts of millions of people; the anime is also huge. In the late ’90s, Ash’s adventures helped introduce many children to Japanese animation, and the original series is still highly regarded today.

While the games and anime share plenty of things in common, Ash is not one of them, at least when it comes to official releases. Ash Gray rectifies this by turning FireRed into an adaptation of the anime’s first season. The Pokemon ROM hack gives players the freedom to decide how faithful their adventure is to the anime, although Ash Gray does reward those who willingly walk in Ketchum’s shoes.