Fan Thread What's your Favorite rom hacks?

[Azelf]

I haven't played a lot of rom hacks (only a few), but out of the few ones I've played, Crystal Clear is by far my favourite one. Not only is it surprisingly compatible with Gen 7 and Pokebank (if you hack your 3DS like I did), but it takes the gameplay of Gen 2 and turns it into an open-world game where I can take on any Gyms at any order I'd want. As a fan of open-world games (I'm unashamed to say that Skyrim is my favourite game. ), this feels like the Pokemon game I never thought I would've wanted. Also the fact that you can catch all 251 Pokemon in Gen 2, including the event-exclusive ones, have a legal check for Mew to be transferred to Gen 7, a trade-back guy who would let you evolve Pokemon like Haunter and Porygon,Pokemon being able towalk with you in the overworld...It felt like this rom hack was nothing more but a fantasy until I've played it.

 

[genderqueer gorehound]

I maintain Scorched Earth as probably the most solid FireRed hack out there on the web right now. Only issue is that it was hosted on the old Nuzforums and I have no clue if the files are still available.

 

[Alba Corbina]

The only fangame I've tried is Omicron, which is a New Region game. The writing isn't always great, but the level curve is actually reasonable so there isn't an obnoxious amount of grinding.

 

[antingaround]

even if i wasn't doing an insurgence run right now.... i'd say it's between any drayano hack (we pretend fire red omega doesn't exist! it's a crime) and... well, insurgence. dray's difficulty hacks and pokemon buffs make the game fun and fresh, and insurgence is well... insurgence. lots of content.

 

[Electro]

I'm trying out a hack called pokemal, the premise of which is basically removing all the Pokemon and enlacing them with real, honest-to-god animals. It's currently in beta, and I'm only past the fourth gym, but I'm really liking it so far.

 

[Arie Kazami]

Pokemon Supernova Sun and Penumbra Moon from Dio vento still my favorite Pokemon hack until this day. Aside offering assortments of many Pokemon that couldn't be normally found in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon series, the challenge is INCREDIBLY REAL. Even if you are not doing a Nuzlocke challenge on it. Also if you loves to hunting Shiny mons through Masuda method, this hack makes the eggs hatch much faster, so I recommend ya to try it at least once.

Also...I like Pokemon Insurgence and Pokemon Clover too, as well.

 

[War Anvil]

Renegade Platinum is nuckin' futs - and I say that as a compliment.

You get hard but not entirely punishing boss fights that require you to strategize instead of just rolling over enemies with the right type, and every Pokémon in Gen 4 is readily available, making for a diverse experience for any Nuzlocker!

 

[REDalchemist]

Dittoing any mentions of Pokemon Gaia. Every time I play it I just get astounded by the tremendous work put into it. Confident to call it the best Gen 3 based rom hack IMO. It's superb.

 

[Cha0tik]

Pokemon Unbound pog?

 

[Waweezer]

drayano games, especially the unova ones. the extra mons, buffs, and harder difficulty makes these rom hacks amazing to nuzlocke and play in general. would definitely recommend!

 

[Kit_The_Feef]

Oh yeah, I've played every Drayano hack apart from *shudders* FireRed Omega. I'm excited for the BBVW2 and SGSS remakes!

 

[Waweezer]

Oh yeah, I've played every Drayano hack apart from *shudders* FireRed Omega. I'm excited for the BBVW2 and SGSS remakes!

I've played fire red omega, it's not that bad, but definitely not best, and yeah, I am pretty excited for redux, I literally just learned about it today after beating iris in bb2 today!

 

[Neosonic97]

On the topic of fangames, I have to give an obligatory mention here to a non-Pokemon rom hack, but a Pokemon-styled fangame nonetheless, one styled in one. It's one I've done a run of on this very forum, and yep- it's absolutely the game you think it is if you've read my completed runs: Touhou Puppet Dance Performance: Shard of Dreams. Namely because the game itself, while it does have some frustrating elements to it (most notably that the AI will always read your moves perfectly), is an absolutely great take on what a modern Touhou Puppet Play would be like.

 

[yoteboat]

Fools Gold!! I enjoy type swapping Pokémon a lot as a concept, the designs range from clever to absolutely silly (looking at you pidgey line) and the big update it got gives it a lot of extra content.

Also very nice sprite work for the overworld and mons, a big PLUS.

 

[Trollkitten]

Dittoing any mentions of Pokemon Gaia. Every time I play it I just get astounded by the tremendous work put into it. Confident to call it the best Gen 3 based rom hack IMO. It's superb.

From what I've seen of it. it seems like the rare Pokemon fangame that's both well put together and doesn't try to be ultra grimdark and edgy for whatever reason. It really feels like something you could buy in a video game store and actually give to your kids to play.

 

[MixnMatch]

From more modern ones I'll say that Gaia and Unbound are above everything else, really.
From more oldschool, simpler hacks I'll say that I really appreciate YAFRH for general balance and good ideas despite being limited by then underdeveloped hacking tools.
Also I don't really understand bashing on FRO? It's quite okay for what it is, and I'll put it above more modern Drayano hacks because it sticks to its generation's mechanics instead of trying to shoehorn all modern stuff and random QoL things.

 

[leonathemoth]

Unbound, Radical Red, anything by Drayno....

 

[Neb]

Despite the Johto-like wild Pokémon levels I really like Pokémon Uranium. The story can be dark at times, but it still feels like something from a Pokémon game. The soundtrack also brings much joy to me as a Gen 5 fan. It's very well done. As for the Fakemon, they're hit or miss. Some of them look like something I would've drawn as a kid, while others are delightfully creative. If it weren't for the very low wild Pokémon levels I would've beaten it by now.

I enjoy Blazed Glazed as well. The pixel art feels right at home with official Gen 3 games and the region is fun to explore. The story is absurd, but entertaining regardless. I prefer the Blazed version since it adds more moves and balances the difficulty a bit better.

Pokémon Pure Blue is a new favorite of mine. It stands out from other Gen 1 hacks by buffing weaker Pokémon, adding running shoes, letting you choose between some sprites, and improving Pokémon distribution. If you expect something super different from the vanilla game you'll be pretty disappointed, but if you want an authentic feeling Gen 1 experience that gives more options you're in for a good time.

 

[DIO]

Pokemon Clover is unironically one of the best, most advanced hacks I've ever played. Bravo, /vp/!