Pokémon Emerald Seaglass Review

The other main change in Emerald Seaglass is an incredibly wide range of new features and quality-of-life improvements. To start with, the battle mechanics are completely updated, with newer moves, the physical/special split, and the Fairy type all being added. Additional features from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire are also added to Seaglass, such as the updated EXP Share and the DexNav, which can be used to find unique Pokémon, as well as for shiny hunting.

Perhaps my favorite part of the entire hack is the wider variety in available Pokémon, specifically more viable Pokémon. There are a lot more Pokemon on each route than in standard Emerald, with many more Pokémon from the first two generations being available during the main story. The hack also adds a few entirely new Pokemon, a majority of which are modern evolutions to pre-existing Pokémon, such as Gallade, Yanmega, Electivire, and even later additions like Kleavor and Annihilape. The documentation also provides cheat codes to change your starter Pokémon for challenges such as monotype runs. There are also changes to existing Pokémon to make them more usable, such as additional moves, abilities, and type changes. One change that affected my run was that of Yanmega now being a Bug/Dragon type, which is much stronger and overall more interesting than its previous Bug/Flying typing. Other interesting changes include Dodrio being Flying/Ground, Masquerain being Bug/Water to match its pre-evolution Surskit, and Octillery becoming a very unique Water/Fire type. This allows for a ton of replay value, and a nearly endless amount of team combinations, rather than simply using the same couple of good Pokémon every time. The aforementioned documentation is very helpful in showing any type changes to Pokémon, as well as where in the game they are available. 

The hack also changes the variety in trainers’ Pokémon, specifically the teams used by the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champion. These changes make the battles with them somewhat more challenging, especially in the early game. This combined with the increased Pokémon variety creates a need to plan your team around these important battles. My final team was very well-rounded, and able to match up well with a majority of opposing Pokémon. 

Some other little things to note that make the game more enjoyable are the addition of an auto-run toggle and a complete overhaul of the HM system. Once you get an HM, it can be used by any of your Pokémon that can learn the HM without having to take up a move slot. This makes it a lot easier to traverse the world and eliminates the need for the “HM slave” that players commonly have to use. There are also additional mini-games throughout the world, such as Pinball at the Game Corners and Scuba Safari in Pacifidlog Town. 

In conclusion, I absolutely loved playing through Pokémon Emerald Seaglass. I had a lot of fun planning my team, looking for all of the available Pokémon, and seeing all of the new sprites. I was honestly more invested than I’ve been with a Pokémon game in a long time. I played through the game in its entirety on the Miyoo Mini, an emulation handheld. It can be played on any emulator, but running it on a handheld added to the nostalgia and enjoyability factors for me. I could really do an entirely separate writing on the Miyoo Mini and how good of a handheld it is. As for Emerald Seaglass, I would recommend this hack to anyone looking to return to the third generation of Pokémon or re-experience classic Pokémon in general. The patch file for Emerald Seaglass is available directly from Nemo622 for free, at ko-fi.com/nemo622.