A look back at: Pokemon Emerald Seaglass

Yes, that's right. It's another one of those ROM hacks that doesn't change the setting from either Hoenn or Kanto. In this case Hoenn, but you get the idea. This hack despite not providing a new setting ended up with a niche following on Reddit, basically giving players a chance to experience Emerald as if it were done Gen-2 style. Not in a Gen-2 engine, the engine is still Gen-3, but with Gen-2 sprites. That is its main selling point by far.

But sprites aren't gonna impress me as much as gameplay. So we gotta focus on what was changed in that regard and see what really shone. This game's got a Shiny Charm out of the box? Okay! Though I didn't get shinies, the thought is nice. What about that Gamecube being used as a cheating device or to change up playthroughs? This offers a ton of replayability. Is that a DexNav? One that totally works superbly? Yes! Now we're talking. Catching mons is a pain in most games, but this always makes it easier. There's even following Pokemon and you can set whichever to follow you. Plus your notebook has level caps if you want more challenge. Of course, I would NOT be satisfied if battling your opponents resulted in some sameiness, and it delivered. Mons from Gen-1 to Gen-3 are always available, along with newer evolutions and the Applin and Tinkatink lines for good measure. Maps remain the same, with minor changes here and there regarding some of the newer content, you got a wishing well for example for getting random mons. And the Pokedex is extremely helpful for picking and choosing some of my team members due to showing all the abilities, moves, locations, and evolution methods. There's even Alolan and Galarian forms available.

And the best part is how you can play it any style you want. Nuzlocke, type expert, casual, anything will work. It's what Emerald probably should have been all along. They even keep things that were joyous to begin with, like contests and the Battle Frontier. I have once again made a walkthrough, but this isn't as detailed. Emerald Seaglass has TONS of documentation and I don't need to go over what has already been covered.