Pokemon Ruby Is Getting an Unofficial Sequel

Pokemon Ruby is getting an unofficial fan-made sequel very soon, over two decades after the original game first came out. As one of the most highly appraised Pokemon games of all time, Pokemon Ruby stands out even when compared to Game Freak and Nintendo’s more recent releases.

While the release of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire versions of the third generation games did revitalize the old classics, there’s a point to be made that they lack some of their retro charm. The Hoenn region’s 135 all-new pocket monsters were a groundbreaking offering back in 2002, and the game’s main narrative had a particular draw to it that one might argue hasn’t been matched yet. That’s where the unofficial Pokemon Ruby sequel comes into the picture.

Pokemon Ruby 2 Continues the Original Story in an Unexpected New Way

King Cradi’s Pokemon Ruby 2 ROM hack has been in production for just over a year at this point, with the developer finally being ready to announce that it’s coming out sometime soon. This fan sequel explores a “what-if” scenario in which Team Magma wins in their struggle against Team Aqua, with Groudon drying out large parts of the Hoenn sea and creating new, large chunks of landmass. As a result, Ruby 2 features a host of new locations as well as the old ones. For example, Lilycove City has been entirely abandoned in Pokemon Ruby 2, and a new Dark-type gym has been added to the roster, which means the old meta Pokemon Ruby teams will need a few tweaks in this campaign.

King Cradi has been incredibly ambitious with Pokemon Ruby 2. The game is going to feature a comprehensive 255-creature Pokedex, plenty of puzzles that go beyond what Nintendo and Game Freak have offered over the years, new towns and explorable areas, an overall more challenging difficulty curve, and lots more. He promised to make the game the “highest quality ROM hack [he] can make it be,” though he did ask for help with sprite and music creation from community members. The project is very far removed from what’s been seen in Pokemon Gen 10 leaks so far, of course, but its nostalgic vibe is sure to thrill players eager for a more old-school kind of experience.

For those who aren’t keen on where Pokemon Ruby 2 is taking the story, the good news is that King Cradi’s next project will be Pokemon Sapphire 2. The obvious implication is that with Sapphire 2, King Cradi will explore a story where Team Aqua won, leaving large parts of Hoenn flooded or outright destroyed. Depending on how big of a purist someone is, they may be sad that King Cradi’s creature roster won’t have wild redesigns like the unofficial flying Diglett Pokemon, but it is what it is.

It’s not just Pokemon fans specifically that are interested in pet battling. No Man’s Sky has Pokemon now too, kind of, as the latest Xeno Arena update specifically allows players to hoard various micro-monsters and pit them against one another in virtualized combat. The appetite for these kinds of games is clearly there, even for those who might not have access to Nintendo consoles for some proper first-party Pokemon action.

Systems

Released

March 19, 2003

ESRB

e

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Unreal Engine

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

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