Hi guys. Imma new face here. First of all, I had to thank Ame, glitchxcity and everybody else involved in... crafting such a fine game. Hats off to timber dragon too for that well-made description (i believe it should be a staple in a reborn's main advertising pamphlet ) I've came a long way with Pokemon; started with red and yellow back in 2000 (studied my ass off, aced the exam before ma bought me one lol) all the way up to BW2 (worked part-time for the DS). Honestly, I feel like what most people do with official Pokemon games; bland, and getting more bland with each new release. The only icing on the cake new versions offer are new mons, new graphics and some minor mini games/overhaul; story plot and battle-wise, it's pretty much the same thing, over, and over, and over. Sure, PvP is a great addition ever since it became mainstream in DP but then again, not everyone is of the competitive sort (i don't) and while it can be fun and all, in the end, that's that; you fight one person and stalk the waiting room (sometimes for hours) for another battle- the core game itself contributes very little to the fun. BW2 only managed to crank the fun up by a mere notch with the introduction of PWT. I do understand that nintendo aimed pokemon games mainly for kids but for them to set aside the grown-up fanbase so they can continue milking on the niche with the same, albeit slightly repurposed tool repeatedly, is almost evil- and enough's enough. When I heard XY are going to be released for 3DS, I'm like "screw this, it's not worth it anymore for me to fork my cash and get a 3DS". By the time of ORAS, I almost got myself de-pokemon-ized; suggesting myself that pokemon games are things of the past and i have to move on from them since, well, i'm already thinking differently as an adult and the cliched 'story of friendship, bond between pet and master, fighting evil team striving to conquer the world, be the best like no one ever was in the pokemon world' formula barely appeals to me anymore. ....Then some time around Dec 2015, i saw pokemon reborn brought up in a certain game download site i frequent to. I held myself from checking it out till few weeks ago and as much as i had enough with pokemon, i managed to drag myself to the comments sections (mainly out of intrigue since it's for PC). Once i see words like 'very hard', 'adult-oriented story', 'limited roster so you have to use your head when making teams' and 'the best pokemon game there is out there', my curiosity got the best of me and the next sec, there I go, waiting few minutes for the 500mb's to pass. I had to say the music remixes and the world design (especially reborn city and the wastelands) is done real good. Admittedly, it made me chuckle a little at first seeing the word 'shit' uttered by a pokemon game NPC but as the story goes, thing got more serious and immersive. Reborn city's various society castes, the sheer terror of team meteor, memorable and likeable characters (everytime i saw Cain i'm like "hey there, Cain mah nigga!") and literally happening deaths really impressed me on how such things can blend in so well with pokemon. Battle-wise, I purposely challenged myself to play with low-grind, majorly poison-type team (blastoise, muk, arbok, weezing, skuntank, magnezone); something I've never done in any other games before and boy, add that to how kickass the battles are, it's been a real blast! While I managed to clear most gyms with some ingenuity, some F12s and luck (and toxic :v), Luna got me whooped real good. I used so much F12 till i finally buckled up from the hopelessness of every strategy i came up with and had to backtrack to unlock the powerplant's hidden room just so I can evolve my magneton and have an extra edge over her. Really, battles are a thrill in this game; heck, underestimate roadside trainers at your own cost :v Currently just arrived at Spinel City. Back to the story, while that one police dude's death is a tragedy, nothing prepares me for Corey's fate; i thought something cliched will jump in at the last minute to save him and that no way a major character will die in a pokemon game- i'm glad my expectations are betrayed albeit in a gruesome way (he really went splat. poor shelly had to see that). By that time, I fully acknowledged it- this, is the pokemon game that I have been waiting for. A pokemon game that I can enjoy, not just for the pokemon and the intense battle difficulty but also for the gripping story and a surreal-yet-realistic theme that caters to adults.
