ORAS Are the Best Pokemon Remakes — No Contest

With development for Legends: Z-A underway and no word yet on Black & White remakes, it looks like Pokemon fans won’t be revisiting any past regions in 2024. In the wake of this news (and lack thereof), players have flocked to social media to discuss previously released remakes, debating which pair did it best. Responses are largely mixed — and heated — but two remade duos stand tall among their competitors: Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire and HeartGold & SoulSilver.

ORAS dropped the year I graduated high school, so it’d be some time until I had a chance to take a trip back to Hoenn. Back then, I was convinced that Game Freak couldn’t top HGSS, anyway, which famously revitalized both the Johto and Kanto regions with newly partnered travel mechanics and myriad quality-of-life improvements grandfathered in from Diamond & Pearl. A decade later and hundreds of hours logged in my Alpha Sapphire save, it’s time to admit I was wrong.

Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Best HGSS and Other Pokemon Remakes

There’s no doubt HGSS were hugely impactful games with a lot to offer in their heyday. Their place among the most beloved Pokemon releases has certainly been earned, but the Gen II remakes are held back today by the limitations of the original DS hardware and outdated gameplay mechanics — which makes great fuel for nostalgia, though not so much for modern replayability. ORAS are now on the same path following the 3DS online server shutdown in April, but for the time being, the 2014 remakes remain the best we’ve seen from Pokemon yet.

While the general appeal of HGSS and other done-over titles lies in their renewal of an entire generation’s childhood, the very same themes of childlike wonder and adventures of youth were intrinsic to the inception of ORAS and their originals. Longtime Pokemon director Junichi Masuda spent many summer vacations on the lush Japanese island of Kyūshū, on which Hoenn is based. In fact, the fictional region’s Japanese name roughly translates to “abundant relations,” referring to Masuda’s fondness for his time spent with his family and the island’s residents as a child.

Game Freak did a bang-up job at running with these themes in ORAS, introducing new ways to connect with friends and other players across the globe, explore Hoenn’s every corner, and experience the story of the Gen III entries as Masuda intended. And, of course, it’s all set to an unforgettable, newly remastered soundtrack. I can hear the Route 104 trumpets from here.

ORAS Accomplished All the Originals Set Out to Do and More

The Hoenn region of ORAS and their 2002 originals is best known for its lively semi-rural landscape, home to Secret Bases galore. In the early 2000s, this fan-favorite feature was a big hit for Pokemon. Though simple, the bare-bones operation of bases likely appealed to its young players in that it was totally realistic. I mean, didn’t we all build Home Alone-style hideaways rigged with booby traps, posters, and our favorite toys?

Fast-forward to 2014, and there were even more ways to customize your space and new locations to set up camp. Carved out from the side of Mt. Chimney, nestled within trees begging to become forts, or a short swim through a verdant oasis, bases could be built just about anywhere in ORAS — and that was only half the fun.

With the Player Search System (PSS) of Gen VI, an internet connection could open the door to hundreds of other player bases across the map. By visiting these camps daily, you could collect flags to move up the ranks of the Secret Base Guild — earning coveted prizes in the process — and battle the real-world trainers inside.

This gave us a worthwhile incentive to explore Hoenn through new eyes, but ORAS delivered more than we bargained for in the post-game, encouraging players to experience the region in a way that simply wasn’t possible in any generation prior.

Hoenn Revolutionized Pokemon for the Second Time in ORAS

Entries like Sword & Shield and Scarlet & Violet are typically accredited as the first to incorporate open-world mechanics, reimagining the course of our Pokemon journeys. However, the experiment actually began with ORAS, in which you could take to Hoenn’s skies atop Mega Latios or Latias and soar freely to any city or route on the map. Heck, you could even track down box legendaries and other non-native Pokemon at Mirage Spots, strange phenomena exclusive to this one-off feature.

As much as I hate to say it, the games were among the last to offer up a rich post-game without extra cost to the player, too. Soaring aside, the Delta Episode of ORAS took us to the skies again, this time on the back of Rayquaza. This admittedly ill-advised trip to outer space culminated in a thrilling battle against Deoxys, a mythical that’s eluded capture in the vast majority of Pokemon titles — including Ruby & Sapphire. If this chapter dropped today, it’d almost certainly be DLC.

In much the same way that Ruby & Sapphire broke the mold of Gens I and II, their 2014 remakes managed to set the bar again. Gen VI gimmicks like Mega Evolution and Pokemon Amie played a Helping Hand in marketing and overall gameplay, sure. But since the release of ORAS, mainline Pokemon entries have continued to build upon their foundation, paving the way for future titles and remakes to come.