Pokémon Alpha Sapphire - Nintendo 3DS

Im a seasoned Pokemon player, having played every game from Yellow up to Black 2 and White 2. After a few years away from the Pokemon community, I was excited to hear that Nintendo was re-making Ruby and Sapphire, easily my favorite generation of Pokemon games. Having missed playing Pokemon X and Y, Alpha Sapphire was my introduction to the stunning new 3D battle and world graphics akin to the old Stadium games. I had a fantastic time playing through the main storyline and the additional Delta Mission. At the moment, Ive made it my goal to go back through the game and complete all of the side quests. Definitely a must-have for beginners and old-timers!

Works like a charm and it’s a brilliant game, would definitely recommend

This review is useful for both Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as both are practically the same game, with only slight version differences. The version differences are explained in this article: [...] This is a must have game for any Pokemon fan. I have played every generation of Pokemon game (only main series titles) and I have to say this is the best experience so far. All of the best things that you remember are present, with updates added for smoother play. This modern take on the original Ruby and Sapphire is refreshingly nostalgic, with the addition of new game elements, making the entire experience feel new. This is not meant to be a full review ( here is a link for a full review: http://kotaku.com/pokemon-omega-ruby-and-alpha-sapphire-the-kotaku-revie-1659957634 ), but I will touch on some things. - The game is much more cinematic due to 3d Before in Ruby in Sapphire (though then they were a major improvement to graphics), much was left to the imagination. In ORAS, you see things from angles you havent seen before and animations are much better. This leads you to feel much more immersed in the story. - A much better map, utilizing spotpass Before it was a chore to check on your berries. With this new map you can see when your berries are ready to be collected anywhere in the world. It will even tell you what berries you were growing. The same thing is true for trainers. This time around trainers eye is much more user friendly, letting you know exactly when and where a trainer is ready. The best thing, you can fly directly to them. No more flying to just pokemon centers. Now you can fly directly to berry and trainer locations. Bases too! You can tell if the base features that can only be used once per day are ready and can fly directly to bases. However, if you are just wandering around, the map will still pop up a berry/base/trainer notification letting you know something is ready. Super useful tool while playing. With spotpass, if you pass a friend, their base information will automatically update in your game, allowing you to find their base in your world. In addition, if you are connected to the internet, you have many options to interact with players around the world. -Super training and affection You can now super train your pokemon. In addition to giving pokemon calcium and protein (and other stat boosting items) you can actually select what base stats you wish to improve on any given pokemon. You can also grow closer with your pokemon by playing games, feeding them, and petting them. Super training can lead to seriously strong pokemon, and affectionate pokemon will dodge attacks and even negate status affecting moves. -Experience sharing Remember when you move your experience share item around your party to boost to the level of your pokemon, always preventing them from holding that one good item. NO MORE. Experience share is now a key item that you can turn on and off, allowing all pokemon in your party to experience (no pun intended) the benefits without giving up an item slot. -Seamless inclusion of mega evolution Not much more needs to be said, now you can mega evolve many 3rd generation pokemon. The already strong starters become seriously mean. -SO MUCH TO DO This is not an understatement. After one of the best story lines imo, and the pokemon league, there is still so much to do. After you finish the pokemon league, an after story called the delta episode appears. But, even before that, you unlock one of the coolest features in the game. Using either Mega Latios or Latias you can soar around all of Hoenn. This is a beautiful game, but this part has to be the most beautiful feature to date in all of Pokemon. This is the realization of the childhood imagination of what it actually would like like soaring the sky on the back of a Pokemon. With this ability you can catch (between the two versions) every single legendary that has ever been in a Pokemon game. The amount of exploration you can do is immense, making this easily one of the largest games (as far as content) yet. -You will not be bored if you played Ruby and Sapphire and Emerald before I was personally worried that this would effectively be replaying a game generation I have already put hundreds of hours into. Not the case. Though the main story is the same, you remember the similarities with a smile instead of a bored gaze. The modern improvements are really that, improvements. When you play you will recall many oh i wish...., because many of those wishes have frustration-solving improvements in ORAS. This was a remake made for players to recall the things they felt playing those games (personally my favorite, with johto and kento a close second and third of course), not simply to regurgitate material. Final thoughts: This is good. Very good. Hard to imagine good. This is so much more than any pokemon game before, which such a pleasant air of familiarity. If you ever played the original games, or played RSE, or are just completely new to the world of Pokemon, ORAS is for you. All the pleasant nostalgia with modern amenities that make it smoother, more enjoyable, and better than ever before. Definite buy. Should I buy both versions? While you need both versions to get all of the pokemon (there are time where you need two specific legendaries, one available in OR and one in AS just to unlock another legendary on your map), the ability of internet play gives you access to players around the world. The best case would be for you to get one version, and a friend to get another. There is so much content in one version alone (and the two are so similar), the other version would only a slave for getting all the pokemon. I doubt you would invest another proper play through. Since you can connect with many players for trading, I would recommend you only purchase one of the two versions.

It wasnt that long ago that my itch to play a Pokemon game came back, and I thought that Pokemon Y had satiated that itch. But thats the thing with Pokemon, once you got it its real hard to get rid of. Seeing as how I had never played the original Pokemon Ruby or Sapphire this whole game was new to me, and I was looking forward to an experience similar to that in Pokemon Y. This did not happen, and I found this game to be rather lacking. The story was kind of silly, the selection in pokemon was boring, and they didnt include most of the features from Y that I enjoyed. As the game began I was pretty happy with the more unique introduction, the player is in a moving van playing on their DS-like handheld as they are introduced to the wonderful world of pokemon. You pick your gender, your name, and find yourself now at your new home. You introduce yourself to the next-door neighbor, who in my case was May, and of course you pick your starter pokemon; I went with Torchic. Now if you know my play style from Y then you know I only ever capture female or genderless pokemon, I even reloaded the start of the game thirty or so times until I got a female Torchic. I also have a habit of grinding past the gym leaders level, and just steam rolling their entire team. Im not a competitive type so I dont bother with special training or breeding, I catch a team I had picked before I began the game and run with it as my main. I do catch other pokemon I ran across, but only if they are female or genderless. This time round I had a Gardevoir I named Ananchel, a Blaziken I named Garuda, a Roserade I named Antheia, a Sharpedo I named Iso-onna, a Skarmory I named Nyotengu, and a Gigalith I named Krystal. (Big thanks to Darkfire for helping me evolve Krystal to her final form.) Once I had this team, I basically was unstoppable. Mowing down grunts left and right, toppling gym leaders, and one shoting the entire Elite Four. The only trouble I had was in the pokemon contests, but even that was solved by grinding berries to make an immense collection of rainbow pokeblocks to raise all the base contest stats. Unlike my friends, I dont play games for a challenge, I play them to relax, have fun, and enjoy the story. Sadly the story was kind of weak, as I chased down a muscle head who had no clue about the terrible power he was attempting to mess with. I did like that Team Magma were kind of like my allies in this entire endeavor, attempting to stop Team Aqua from carrying out their insane plans. The only interest I had in Team Aqua were the female grunts who I liked the design of, and Shelly who I thought was hot; however when I later realized that Shelly didnt have a thing for Brendan I lost interest in her. (Especially after I found a Pokemon Web Comic dedicated to Brendan x Team Magma Female Grunt.) In the end the plot just couldnt compare to Pokemon Y, which just felt so much more mature. Heck, even random trainers I ran across in Pokemon Y felt more mature, talking about past lovers and death. As an antagonist Archie failed big time, he felt more like a bro then anything. He was nothing compared to Lysandre, who was a total badass antagonist who met a conclusive end in his mad quest to rid the planet of humans. There were no sky battles, no character customization, no third person or first person perspective areas, no battle chateau, and only a few trainers had special 3D battle models. But it wasnt all bad, they added in a new DexNav feature that made finding certain pokemon much easier. The pokemon contests were fun, and felt like their own side story. The delta episode was interesting, and while I hated her personality I really liked Zinnias character design. Though the delta episode was a lot less interesting then the Looker missions, and Zinnia didnt capture my heart like Emma did. I will say that the relationship that Brendan and May share is the closest to that of boyfriend and girlfriend Ive seen yet in a pokemon game, even more so then the one between Shauna and Calem. I mean, they go on a date and watch a meteor shower together! I was expecting May to confess her love to Brendan at the end of the game, but then she challenges him to one last pokemon battle; sad. If Game Freak and Nintendo keep putting out HD 3D remakes of the previous games, I want to see then not just slap on a fresh coat of paint and move on. Put some time into the game and spice it up, sure it will be brand new to me, but give those who already played that story something new to much on while they play. Not just some candy at the end of the story, Im talking about at least some beef jerky and chips during the main game. You can put that treat at the end game like before, but dont think just that is going to do it. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire gets a 6.8 out of 10

Great game, but Im sort of bummed that they did away with a lot of the qualities that made X/Y such a strong and revolutionary generation for Pokemon. I havent found myself nearly as sucked into the story in this one as I expected that I would be, which is weird because Emerald was my favorite Pokemon game prior to this. Anyway. Still a good game. Kinda wish I wouldve gone with Omega Ruby now that Im sufficiently sick of Archies face, but thats not really a complaint.

I have been playing pokemon for god knows how long now, and the games never get old. In fact, sapphire was my favorite game out of the entire collection so far, other than the original blue version, which will always be my first and favorite. Ill admit, I was a little nervous when they made mega evolutions for pokemon, seeing as this is kind of another way to keep the game interesting, but my doubts were unfounded, as the game is as great as ever. Of course, I own Omega Ruby also, but either game is worth the price and is definitely one of the best they have remade. Another cool feature that they added was being able to catch the legendaries from other games, although you cant catch the ones from X or Y. Other than that, i would recommend this game to any pokemon fan out there.

I had the original Sapphire and Emerald when they first came out--Emerald was my favorite game in the Pokemon series until X and Y, so I was a bit nervous to hear they were re-releasing that it was going to be like Leaf Green--new Pokemon but not much new content. NO. WAY. Theres SO much to do, the storyline is a bit different, and I still havent finished even weeks later. SOOOO GOOD. Am probably going to go back and buy ORuby because Im greedy for more. <3

it arrived a little early and in perfect condition. My son says its a little harder to get started w the game, but hes a newer gamer and young. So take that w a grain of salt. He also got a new playing system (the 3ds vs the 2ds) at the same time.

Seller didn’t bother to delete the saved data which caused a lot of consternation and upset on Christmas morning while I google searched how to fix it. Otherwise is fine.

game is a 5 star the 3 star review is because the version I purchased was the US/Canada one but they sent me the U.A.E./Saudi Arabia/Malaysia/Singapore version this will work in the US/Canada but is not the same or worth the same amount.