Pokemon is arguably one of the best portable games Nintendo has ever produced. From the sprawling lands of Gold and Silver to the beautiful sprite work in Black and White to the reinventing of the series in X and Y, there is almost always a good reason to pick up a Pokemon game. Even with a ton of official releases, there still remains an itch to catch and battle in between main games. With Sun and Moon on the horizon and Pokemon Go in a strange state, there’s only one thing to do to sate the appetite of a Pokemon Master, find a Rom hack.
Finally getting a full release after almost ten years of development, Pokemon Uranium takes players to the tropics with a slew of new monsters, features, and even a new Nuclear typing.
The game uses the graphical style of the GBA Pokemon games, but with flashier menus and the sprite work of Black and White. Players will be able to play on the PC with two different modes, Normal and Nuzlocke. Adding the Nuzlocke feature into the full game enables the fan-favorite extreme difficulty to be enjoyed without adhering to self-upheld rules. Couple this with the game’s online features like trading and battling, plus new items, moves, and Mega-Evolutions, makes Uranium feel like a logical progression in the Pokemon Universe.
Even just a week after full release, Uranium Version has re-surged in popularity, keeping the download servers bogged down and many online features spotty. The game was made primarily by two developers, using the versatile RPG Maker engine, instead of the usual Rom hacking methods. It is unfortunate that the game doesn’t run as a true GBA Rom, which would’ve made it accessible with things like Android emulation programs and flash carts. I would love to see this in a future update, but for now it makes for one of the best PC Pokemon experiences available in the hacking community.
Jump over to the Pokemon Uranium website for more information and the download links.
A full review is in the works as I go through the game, so look forward to that launching right here on Marooners’ Rock.
