Pokémon Emerald Rogue ROM Hack

Random Game Reviews

The Game

Pokémon Emerald Rogue (developed by Pokabbie) is a ROM Hack that turns your favourite franchise into a roguelike. Similar to other familiar games in the genre you navigate routes making careful choices. On the procedurally generated routes you can encounter wild Pokémon with which to build your team, trainers and items. There are also several other types of location that you may encounter – strong trainers, who will give you one of their Pokémon if you beat them, Legendary or strong Pokémon encounters and market/shop locations (there are 3 types of shop – market, battle items and a full rest stop which even has a heal).

At the end of each route and level you will encounter a mighty trainer – before you beat the game once these will be specific to Hoenn, but after you beat the champion once you will unlock gym leaders and Elite 4 from more regions. Additionally after beating the champion you also unlock the national dex giving you access to Pokémon up to Gen 8! If you a Pokémon faints on a run it is gone forever and if you lose all your Pokémon the run ends. When the run ends you are returned to your HUB, which where you can purchase permanent bag items (TMs, potions, balls, berries, etc) – as you complete more quests and runs the HUB will upgrade and offer you more options, for example the safari zone where you can catch a new starter to take on your next adventure.

There are several kind of adventure – the standard roguelike experience described, the gauntlet where you build a team then take on all trainers in one go at level 100, rainbow mode where gym leaders can have any type of Pokémon. Each of these can be played as both single or double battles, giving you a great deal of replay value. Every time you complete a run you earn cash to spend in your HUB which will allow you to do better in your next run, there are also numerous quests that will permanently improve the HUB or give you access to new items, berries or rare candies.

Worth it?

As with all ROM Hacks this game is 100% free. The amazing community and passionate fans of Pokémon deserve so much more than they expect. Personally I play this on my phone using a GBA emulator (My Boy!), the premium version of which will cost you around £5, but will let you play any ROM you want, so definitely worth the investment (there is also a free lite version). If you are playing on PC then there are even more free options for you to explore.

The game itself is brilliantly challenging and while you can cheat a bit with save states on the emulator it is worth experiencing it for it’s true brutal self. For those who enjoy nuzlocks and even those who don’t it is a very rewarding experience. Having Pokémon and moves all the way up to Gen 8 gives this game a huge amount of depth. A great offline mobile or PC game that will tickle your Pokémon nostalgia while also satisfying your itch for roguelikes, deep strategy and a good challenge.

Tips

  • There are 3 types of route – CALM, AVERAGE and TOUGH – the tougher the route the more trainers and items there will be.
  • The second word describing routes refers to the type of Pokémon you can find on it.
  • One of the houses in the HUB will allow you to customise the config for your runs – allowing you to enable different Pokedexes or gym leaders/elite four.
  • Make sure you fight the challenger before each gym leader – they will quickly bring you to the level cap.
  • Try to avoid fights on routes as they could potentially kill one of your Pokémon.
  • You can use rare candies to over level before gym leaders.
  • By pressing “A” on the page with a Pokémon’s Stats will show you it’s IVs and EVs.
  • Anything you buy in the HUB you can carry into your next run, which is very useful with items like Leftovers

Useful Links

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