Pokemon Emerald Seaglass

Not every hack has to hurt. Pokemon Emerald Seaglass is Nemo622's cozy reimagining of Emerald, built to make Hoenn feel fresh rather than punishing. Its most obvious change is the art: tiles, battle backgrounds, sprites and item icons were redrawn in a soft palette inspired by Game Boy Color games, so the whole region looks like a handheld game that never existed.

Under the new paint is a modernised game. The battle engine uses the physical/special split and the Fairy type, HMs no longer take up move slots, running is toggled with R, and your lead Pokemon follows you around the overworld. Every Pokemon from Gen 1 to 3 is obtainable, together with later cross-generation evolutions such as Roserade and Mamoswine, and a handful of newer species like Tinkatink and Applin.

What really gives Seaglass its personality are the extras. There is a pinball minigame, a scuba-diving activity, a Wishing Well in Rustboro City that turns Wishing Stars into random level 1 Pokemon, and an obtainable Spiky-Eared Pichu. Several weaker Pokemon received new typings and movesets so they are worth using, and the upgraded Pokedex shows evolution methods and learnsets.

Version 3.0, released in 2024, is the current and complete build. Among other things it made Brendan and May the protagonists and let Light Ball work for the whole Pichu line, including the Spiky-Eared variant.

• Full Game Boy Color-inspired visual overhaul, with an option to disable new battle backgrounds
• All Gen 1-3 Pokemon plus cross-gen evolutions (Roserade, Mamoswine, Farigiraf)
• Physical/special split and the Fairy type
• Following Pokemon, with a follower option in the party menu
• Pinball and scuba-diving minigames
• Rustboro City Wishing Well: trade Wishing Stars for random Pokemon
• HMs no longer occupy move slots; auto-run toggled with R
• Settings book in your room with optional Hard Mode and a soft level cap
• Built-in cheat menu through the GameCube in your house
• All legendaries available, some before the Champion, plus a Shiny Charm

Seaglass is aimed at players who want to enjoy Hoenn again rather than survive it. The default difficulty is close to the original game, and most of the new systems exist to save you time: DexNav for finding Pokemon, a soft level cap if you want structure, and a stat editor unlocked at the Battle Frontier.

If you do want more resistance, the book on your desk switches on Hard Mode. It will not turn the game into a Kaizo hack, but it gives bosses enough bite to make team building matter. That flexibility makes Seaglass a good first ROM hack and a nice palate cleanser between harder games.

• Open the book on your desk at the start and set Hard Mode or the soft level cap before you leave home.
• Collect Wishing Stars and visit the Wishing Well in Rustboro — it is the quickest way to try unusual Pokemon.
• Look for the Scuba Safari near Pacifidlog Town once you can dive.
• Use the upgraded Pokedex to check evolution methods; several Pokemon evolve differently from vanilla Emerald.
• Visit the Battle Frontier to unlock the EV/IV editor.

Version 3.0 refines the game rather than reinventing it. Brendan and May are now the player characters, Light Ball works with Pichu, Raichu and Spiky-Eared Pichu, and various bugs and balance points were cleaned up.

Earlier, v2.0 added the Battle Tent and Battle Factory areas, tied the EV/IV editor to the Battle Frontier and removed the disobedience mechanic that annoyed some players in the first release.