8 Most Overrated Pokémon ROM Hacks, Ranked

The Pokémon ROM Hacking community is full of incredibly talented and dedicated developers, keen on making a splash in a pretty crowded scene. And what’s more, they do it all for free, out of the goodness of their hearts.

But as the years have passed, new, more advanced hacks have come out, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in a fan-made creation. While certain games are still updated to this day, others have fallen into obscurity, their names only repeated by those whose love is only fueled by nostalgia.

Upon replaying many of these so-called “gems”, I came to understand that many of these classics are unfortunately overrated, and newcomers to the scene should certainly beware.

8

Pokémon Glazed

A Relic Of A Simpler Time

I want to put Glazed at the bottom of this list, as, in all honesty, this game is still serviceable to this day. If you give it a shot, I’m sure you’ll have a decent time, unless you’ve played a good number of hacks.

However, in this day and age, Glazed does fall apart a little bit. Back in the day, hacks often struggled with balancing, which is on full display here. There’s a sweet spot with Pokémon games that’s pretty hard to hit, not being too easy but also not being outrageously punishing.

Here, you’ve got some pretty wonky difficulty scaling at the beginning of the game, before getting ridiculously easy later on due to overpowered Pokémon being available early on, alongside some rather cringey dialogue and minor, yet annoying graphical issues.

I can’t hate on this game too much, though. There is a massive amount of content available, with you even getting to explore multiple regions later on. While I wouldn’t recommend it these days, you can have a lot more fun with Blazed Glazed!

7

Pokémon Vega

Fakemon Unleashed!

People play ROM hacks for different reasons. Some love the wonder of exploring new regions, others want a bit of extra challenge, and others want entirely new Pokémon, straight from the heads of the fans.

Unfortunately, there is a reason GameFreak employs professional artists and game designers for their Pokémon. This isn’t to say the designs in Pokémon Vega are bad by any stretch; some of them are pretty fantastic, but the greats are few and far between.

But design aside, this game struggles with a few things. Whether it’s annoying puzzles in mesmerising dungeons, the frankly bizarre levelling curve, or needing a guide to actually progress through the story, there’s a reason this hack was remade multiple times. If you ever want to give this a go, try Vega Minus instead.

6

Pokémon Ruby Destiny Series

Flop After Flop

Those who have been on the scene for a good while might be familiar with these titles. I’m not going to talk about the individual titles, as I think many of them share similar flaws. One could argue this was due to the limited potential of hack development at the time, but some of these flaws are pretty inexcusable.

Just looking at Reign of Legends, for example, you get a weird mix of original tiles and newly created ground tiles, making the game look messy and unfinished. Add on top long-winding routes, boring, uninspired towns, overtuned battles, and unbearably predictable storytelling, and you get a rather painful experience.

Some still hold this game up to be a classic, but I reckon it deserves to be left in the dust.

5

Pokémon Snakewood

Dark Times Indeed…

What can I really say about Snakewood? Oddly enough, in terms of concepts, I actually really like the idea of Snakewood. You awake in Littleroot, and a kind of zombie apocalypse has hit the Pokémon World. Bizarre, but certainly intriguing.

However, the game struggles to keep up this dark tone. Is this supposed to be a horror or a comedy? Make up your mind, folks!

The shock factor gets old rather quickly as the game falls into many of the classic ROM hacking flaws: weird difficulty spikes, frustrating mazes, overly grindy sections with too many battles, and pretty mediocre fakemon that don’t really gel with the original roster. I respect the thought that went into Snakewood, but the execution was unfortunately lacking.

4

Pokémon Dark Rising

Some Dreams Are Best Forgotten

Be careful you don’t cut yourself here, because the edge is pretty brutal with this one. You might have thought something like Pokémon Reborn was edgy, but you really have no idea.

I honestly see this game cropping up over and over again, constantly being recommended it when people are asking for hacks to start them off. So I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Whatever you do, folks, don’t let this be your first hack! Dark Rising is supposed to be story-focused, but the amount of batting and grinding here is pretty painful. In reality, you get too much of both: Too many characters and too many long dialogue sections. I love a good story, but with this one, I found myself mashing A, desperate for the game to pick up the pace.

And don’t get me started on the issues. Progression-locking bugs, plot holes, or even just moments where the game freezes up. It’ll either have you saving the game constantly or just leaving in frustration.

3

Pokémon Light Platinum

One Of The OGs

It pains me to put Light Platinum on this list because it was actually the first ROM hack I ever played. I still have relatively fuzzy memories from playing it all those years ago, when life was so much simpler.

However, on replay, and with a significant amount of reflection, I can’t help but admit that I was essentially a child and was pretty easily impressed. “Wow, I can surf on lava? This is the best game ever made!” In reality, Light Platinum looks charming, but now it really shows its age.

The experience is full of characters who repeat dialogue, too many rivals who don’t really warrant their own inclusion, and a story/evil team who are ultimately forgettable.

What’s more, while some hacks struggle with being too difficult, this one falls on the other side, being far too easy. You’re given way too many powerful Pokémon early on, so to actually give yourself a challenge, you need to heavily handicap yourself. It pains me to say it, but I have to admit, Light Platinum is pretty overrated.

2

Pokémon Clover

The Cringe Is Strong With This One!

Ah, Pokémon Clover. If you’ve ever heard of this game, I think you know what’s coming.

Clover is a hack of Fire Red, but full of fakemon, featuring a new region and story. I have to preface this with the fact that Clover is a parody of the Pokémon titles, but that doesn’t mean it parodies the genre well.

Hey, I love a bit of dark humour. Done well, it can be hilarious and uncomfortable, but certainly humanising. This is not that. Perhaps if I were younger, and I mean, if I were 13, this might be hilarious. But now, I can’t help but roll my eyes.

There are a massive 386 Fakemon in this game, which is way too many, honestly, and so many of them rely on lazy jokes. It was as though they just accepted any squiggle on a piece of paper and said, “Sure, let’s go with that.” No filtering or quality control. Nada.

And the annoying thing is, there’s actually a good game under there, buried deep beneath the murk. With a good amount of polish, I reckon Clover could be pretty remarkable, but right now, if you value your time and sanity, it’s probably best to pass on it.

1

Pokémon Radical Red

Are You Having Fun Yet?

This one is going to ruffle a few feathers, I’m sure, but I can’t help it. If you’re into the ROM hacking community, you’ll no doubt be aware of Radical Red. It became massively popular in the hardcore Nuzlocking scene, becoming known for its harsh difficulty and competitive-level battles.

This is very much a marmite game; you either love it or hate it. For me, ROM hacks are all about creativity, dreaming up new characters and fascinating worlds, populating them with rich stories, and unforgettable moments. And while I do love a bit of extra difficulty compared to the admittedly simple base games, I reckon Radical Red goes a step too far.

The main problem is, new folks coming onto the scene may be scared away if they mistakenly try this as their first game. Hacks like the Kaizo series don’t have this issue, as the difficulty is at the forefront, right in the name.

But honestly, the difficulty isn’t my main gripe. Rather, I think I’ve just played through Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen too many times. I want something new in my hacks, something fresh. Combine this with routes that are overstuffed with Pokémon and having to basically change my team for every new boss fight, and it gets old fast.

Radical Red is a great game, no doubt, and if you’re into that side of Pokémon, you’ll likely have a blast. But in terms of overrated games, I can’t help but think this may be the King.

Systems

Released

March 22, 2009

ESRB

E For Everyone

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

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