Hi everyone,
I finished the main story of Reborn after about 130 hours of game time, and my gosh I have a lot of feelings about it. My purpose in writing this topic is to process and immortalize them. Overall, I would say this game is a cross of Pokemon (obviously), Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TIme (puzzle difficulty and variety), and Final Fantasy VII (starting in the slums with a train crash, a humongous world, and having insanely powerful and intimidating villains). With a few exceptions, I like the changes made in the final version of the game. I'll start from the beginning. As a disclaimer, these are just my opinions, and it's okay to disagree with me.
I have mixed feelings about the black Reborn-themed floor of the Pokemon centers. On one hand, it is Reborn-themed, which is cool, but on the other hand, it feels less like a hospital for Pokemon and more like a Team Meteor base. I love the new quality-of-life features: you can input codes to play the game how you want, you can choose a starter at random or Eevee or Vulpix, and the pity trainers in the hall heal you after battling. I think I remember the interrogation scene with Ame, the Meteor guy, the officer, and the Torkoal was taken out. I like that it was because it made Ame seem kind of shady. We just see the interrogating officer when we meet Fern, which is nice. I like that we see Corey around in the beginning helping people. It shows that he actually does have a heart, and he isn't just some evil, controlling dad like Heather thinks he is. The character pixel art is definitely more refined in the final version.
I really like the new factory layout. It's not linear, and you have to do some exploring to find the codes to access the control room. I didn't like Ace that much; I think she talks too much (even from off-screen), has a lot of sass, and her place in the story feels artificial. She also makes Sirius look bad. In version 18.4.1, Sirius tells Aster and Eclipse to "deal with the small fries. I can handle the gym leaders." He was confident to fight two gym leaders at once, which I thought was super badass. But no, in the final version he fights them with Ace as a partner and can't win. He doesn't seem so tough now, unfortunately. I wish she stayed in the back, deleting the data on the computer before they had to evacuate. Also, in 18.4.1, I thought it was really adorable and hilarious when Julia said she was gonna blow Sirius's face off. Her bubbly, light, and humorous demeanor perfectly contrasted Sirius's super serious and menacing demeanor. But in the final version, I think I counted four times when she made a comment about blowing someone's face off. Saying that once or twice is fine, but after the third time, it just feels like a meme. One final thing to note about the factory---Julia uses the explosives I found with Fern to blow up the door that Florinia opens. It's wasted here (unlike in 18.4.1), but after the fight with Sirius she goes "Kaaaaaaaaaaa" and blows up the factory somehow. It feels like a plot hole to me.
The slums of Obsidia Ward have been expanded, and Victoria actually goes down there with you in the final version. A male NPC hits on her, and she rejects him pretty coldly and tells him to prove his usefulness (like wtf). I suppose the rejection is reminiscent of the Pokemon anime, but I think the manipulation is classless. Victoria is better about surprise battling in the final version; she actually gives you a choice to fight or back off, which is nice. I didn't like how Florinia (I think) told me about Amaria and the fact that she's a gym leader before I met her. It created this you-don't-know-me-but-I-know-you dynamic, which was awkward. Back in 18.4.1, we just met Amaria randomly, and her gym leader status was a pleasant surprise when Cain brought it up in conversation. It made her come across as powerful and humble at the same time, but the surprise is gone now in the final version.
The Obsidia park is expanded to have a puzzle before fighting the pulse-Tangrowth, which I thought was interesting. It actually makes sense that Amaria and Florinia would get isolated and overpowered now despite their being gym leaders. After the Tangrowth fight, we go to the Onyx Ward, and I remember a few dialogue changes, but mostly the fight with Fern and Florinia is the same as in 18.4.1. Malchous forest and Rhodochrine Jungle have been vastly expanded; I really liked the new Malchous forest because of the experience with Heather. On the other hand, I felt like Rhodochrine Jungle was too big; I remember wandering around for hours trying to find a way to the top right of the map where Meteor was stationed. It would've been nice at that point to have Anna's advice of "if you can't go over, around, or through it, you have to go under it!" This was one of the most frustrating parts of the game.
I really like the Lapis Ward in the new version. Walking into the gym and fighting Cal by surprise the first time made me laugh out loud for a good 10 seconds. When I first heard the Marnie Battle Theme remix years ago, I remember thinking this would be so awesome in Reborn. Lo and behold, it's one of the rival battle themes now. I love it. I also like that we get to see the character development involving Cal and Shelly. Cal is basically like Blake in the beginning, and only after training at Apophyll does he improve himself, The part where Dr. Connal comes to see Shelly and takes Heather into custody is also way more believable. Well done. I also really like that Dr. Connal traps me and Anna before we leave and has a battle with me. I hated having to wait until the Yureyu building in 18.4.1 to fight him. Also, the part where Sirius appears behind him was so chilling. Very nice. I remember in the gym battle against Shelly, I had two Pachirisu's, and they were just devastating with Nuzzle and Spark.
The one thing I really liked about Ace is she helps the plot to move forward naturally when she pretends to be on our side. She gives us a reason to go to the second factory in Peridot Ward and then to Apophyll, whereas in 18.4.1 it just felt like we were running from nonexistent cops with a vague plan to save the kids. Even though I think she talked too much, I liked that Ace showed up to fight me at the end of several Meteor bases; she was tough. I liked that there was a choice to fight Cal or Victoria at the Apophyll academy.
The midgame in the final version is mostly the same as in 18.4.1, but there are a few changes. I like the shortcut in Route 2 you can take after you finish the puzzle so you don't have to keep going through the maze to get to Amaria and Tania's house. There were a few dialogue changes that broke my immersion, unfortunately. When El is talking with Bennett outside, he refers to Radomus as "swine" in 18.4.1 but not in the final version. I was surprised by that because I thought it was characteristic of him. Another notable dialogue change I didn't like was when El was talking with Cain after I beat Radomus. El said, " You know who I am, don't you?" And Cain replied, "You're one of the Elite 4." Putting the 4 there is informal---it should be spelled out as "Four." Back in 18.4.1, I remember Cain said, "You're one of the Elite," and it gave me goosebumps because it reminded me of the lyrics of "2.B.A. Master": "Are you ready to meet and defeat the Elite?" It also made me think that in spite of all his sexual talk, Cain actually has a brain and a serious side.
I know that a lot of people like Luna and some go as far as saying she's the best girl, but I don't think so. I felt like she was similar to Heather---she had a powerful dad and had very little freedom at home---so she ran away. She went to Serra's mansion first, claiming she was Serra's daughter. I imagine she seduced Bennett while she was there, which is why he was crazy for her initially. Then she went to Radomus's castle, claiming she was his daughter. She just seems like a lying gold digger to me, trying to rebel against her father who goes on and on about the light and Arceus.
I don't remember anything different about Agate circus in the final version. The dynamic between Samson, Ciel, and Terra is amazing. Actually, I remember it was hinted there was a Meteor hacker with a name starting with "T," and Amaria distrusted Tania because of it. I liked that addition.
I liked the addition of the pulse-Hypno battle in that dark abyss after the Glass factory. It was scary because I didn't have a PC to switch Pokemon or anymore EXP candies. The battle was a great way to end that part. It kinda sucked that Luna still had to come in and rescue me afterwards; I feel like beating Hypno should've brought me back to the real world automatically.
I am so glad that the Agate city gym gave the solution, by the way, because I have zero musical sense. It's just not a muscle I've ever had to develop.
Going into Labradorra city was very interesting. I had to learn to trust Bennett, someone who was my enemy in the past. I actually expected him to side with Meteor again, but he didn't. He had impressive character development at the end of the Glass factory. On the other hand, I feel like I don't really know what happened to Dr. Connal or why. He just ended up a bleeding corpse in some dark dungeon with pulse-Mr. Mime. That was without a doubt the most bizarre Pokemon battle I've ever had. I should've expected only Fairy moves would be able to damage it, considering I found 6 Fairy Gems on the floor. It was the one time I had to teach Dazzling Gleam to Gallade and use X Sp. Atk, since I didn't have any Fairy moves to hit it with. The music for that fight was chosen very well. Terra's tournament with all the gym leaders seemed super random; I'm so glad it ended up with a gym battle against Saphira. I loved the minigame of protecting the treasure chest from threats. That was so much fun. Skarmory ended up being super helpful against her. I could use Whirlwind whenever her Pokemon tried to setup with Dragon Dance. After that, there was a fontless battle with Terra, and that was just hilarious. That was so good. There was one piece of dialogue that bothered me, though. Right before giving me access to Victory Road, Florinia told me "Good luck." This was just so unlike her because in the beginning of the game she went on and on about how luck can be neither good nor bad.
Victory Road was the part of this game that almost broke me. It was just puzzle after puzzle after puzzle, and it was incredibly frustrating. There was a puzzle about the size, hardness, and purity of stones, and it just kept repeating and getting more complicated (adding foliation, luster, and habit). I couldn't help but think back to my days playing Ocarina of TIme and getting lost in the temples. After I did find my way to the end of Victory Road, it was so satisfying to kick the crap out of Fern in battle. I set up Stealth Rocks and Spikes, and I just spammed Whirlwind with Skarmory, utterly destroying him. I loved his tantrum about how it wasn't fair that I got all the badges and he didn't. I honestly expected Fern to be the new Champion, the one who beat the Elite Four before me. But nope, he just ended up being another of Lin's casualties. I liked that he explained in the end why smiling was important to him. It just seemed like a random thing to say in the beginning in order to taunt me.
I love how a lot of the character arcs ended: Hardy finally rescued Aya, Heather finally grew up and learned to appreciate the people in her life, Bennett actually became super badass and let go of his obsession with Luna, Laura got back her position in the Elite Four, Sirius claimed responsibility for Charlotte's tragedy and got what he deserved, and Victoria came to terms with the fact that Kiki chose her to lead Apophyll Academy. As for Lin, she was an amazing villain---very reminiscent of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. She just oozed power, and it felt like she could crush anyone and was invincible herself. She also had a great sense of humor, for example, only letting Solaris ask two questions instead of three. The first time I battled her in the Elite Four, I felt like she was using Ame's Pokemon because of the Alolan Ninetailes. Then when the second battle came around in the New World (again, very much like the final battle scene of Final Fantasy VII), she was using her own team. That was the hardest battle in the game by far because of the field, all the Z-moves, and that crazy black thing she used at the end. This was the second fight where I had to use X-items to win. In hindsight, I should've come to the fight with Blissey (copycat, light screen, soft-boiled, hyper voice) and Tyranitar (stealth rock, payback, rock slide, stone edge) instead of Jolteon and Mudsdale. She was a very fitting final boss. I loved her design as well as those of Laura and Bennett.
After the second battle with Lin was over, There was that "Hee-hee-hee!! Come play with me some more!" voice. I felt like the game itself was talking to me and that it was fucking haunted. I got major Petscop vibes from that, and it was emphasized with that line in the credits, "You are done with the game, but the game is not done with you." Anyway, I like that after the battle you end up at the same spot you started the game---in front of the train station. It makes me feel like I've come full circle. I peeked in the nightclub for ace members, and it's very clear where to go for the post-game. I danced with Julia on the dancefloor, I played around with the battle system for a little bit, which was really cool. I am done now.
I'd like to thank Ame for not only creating this game but finishing it. This game made me laugh, cry, rage, and (most importantly) think so hard, I needed closure from this game for years, and I feel that it delivered fantastically. I'm very satisfied with how the story ended, and I think I can finally move on with my life from Reborn. I hope you can as well, Ame. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Really.
This was the team I used from the Glass factory to the end. It's not competitive by any means; these are just the Pokemon I like the most.
What's hilarious is I used so many PP Ups but not one of them on Chandelure's best move, Heat Wave. I'm so dumb.
In case you're wondering how I got so many PP Ups and Leftovers, I had a team of 6 Pokemon with Pickup above level 70.
My favorite puzzle from the game was the Magic Square Puzzle, believe it or not. I'll remember that one forever.
Needless to say, my Best Girl Award goes to Charlotte! I love her. Lin and Anna get honorable mention.
