

Oh, except your rival, Gary, is a bloodthirsty psychopath who rules the world, and the only way to stop him is to best his eight equally evil subordinates. Pokémon: Advanced Adventure, a modified version of the GBA title Pokémon: LeafGreen, follows that structure for the most part.

Pokémon games have followed a fairly rigid formula since the series' inception: You get a starter, collect and level Pokémon, face off against your rival, beat the region's eight gym leaders, then conquer the Elite Four. This list is far from comprehensive, of course make sure to sound off below on any notable fan-made games not mentioned. Over the past month, I've gone down the ROM hack rabbit hole, playing over a dozen fan-made titles in order to curate a list of some of the most fascinating Pokémon games I've ever played - official or otherwise. Some don't even attempt authenticity, favoring puerile humor, violence or frequent nudity instead. Some are exceptional recreations of a true, full Pokémon experience. Some are loaded onto actual Game Boy Advance cartridges, and bootlegged to unwitting consumers. Dozens, if not hundreds, of these games can be found online for free.
POKEMON GBA HACKS THAT CAN BE RANDOMIZED SOFTWARE
Since the early 2000s, fans with the knowhow, software and artistic ability to do so have been creating unofficial Pokémon games in the form of ROM hacks. To even attempt high-level competitive play requires hundreds of hours of breeding, battling and pure, dumb luck.ĭespite the truly gargantuan amount of time demanded by the core series, there are fans who demand more - and fans who create more. To fully complete a PokeDex in Pokémon X and Y, you have to collect over 700 discrete monsters, either through catching, trading, evolving, transferring from previous installments or obtaining from timed Wi-Fi or real-world events. That tenacity is built into the franchise's very nature. The Pokémon-playing community has proven to be one of the most industrious groups of fans this industry has ever seen. And the post-game has been beefed up considerably too.Not only have you not caught them all - you haven't even played them all. On the flip side, all Pokémon from gen III can be caught in this version of the game.

Puzzles throughout the Hoenn region are harder now, and you’ll need to change bikes much more often. Not only has trainer AI been tweaked to put up a tougher fight, but their placement among the game’s many routes is also more treacherous. Pokémon Kaizo Emerald, like other ROM hacks in the genre, focuses on bringing players a more challenging version of the base game. If it exists, there’s an ultra-hard Kaizo hack for it. If you’re up to the challenge, here are the absolute best hacks for Pokémon’s GBA era of games. Playing through these custom games is a great way to re-live past adventures from a new perspective, or carve your way through entirely new landscapes. Some even call it the peak of the franchise.įor this very reason, it’s probably the generation with the most ROM hacks. But the third slew of games remain some of the most beloved by the Pokémon community.

It’s been almost 20 years since we first got a chance to explore the Hoenn region and catch ‘em all in Pokémon Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald.
