Pokémon Omega Ruby is kind of a funny case, because on paper, I shouldn't really like this game that much. It's not poorly made or anything, but having gone back and played Pokémon Emerald some years afterwards, I feel fairly confident in saying that I prefer the original, it having a more satisfying difficulty curve and a more charming presentation. On top of that, Pokémon Omega Ruby marks the start of a trend in mainline Pokémon that I'm not a fan of, where unique and meaningful postgame events that allow you to catch special Pokémon are replaced with dumb minigames that make every set of cover Legendary Pokémon from previous games available, thereby making them feel a lot less special.

At the same time, I have a lot of fond memories with this game. There's a great depth of content to be found here, as the remakes bring back most of the optional content from the originals while sprinkling in some fun Gen 6 goodies of their own. Heck, even though I just ragged on the Mirage spots for being the start of a lazy trend, they themselves are definitely the least lazy iteration of that trend thus far; the fact that the game rolls for a different one each day really helps to increase the thrill of the hunt in a way that some later entries lack.

I can't see myself going back to this one as often as I do other Pokémon games, but for what it's worth, it is undeniably a remake with a lot of heart, which is more than I can say for the last two Pokémon remakes.

In other news, I miss contests.