Nintendo recently released Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby for the 3DS. I purchased both games to share with my son. He decided to start playing Omega Ruby, so I have begun playing Alpha Sapphire. I remember playing Pokemon Sapphire years ago on my Gameboy SP. I really enjoyed the game, as I have been enjoying Pokemon games since I started playing them before my son was born, which has been over 10 years now.

I was looking forward to the new games and enjoyed the little bits of news I found out about them. Nintendo sent me a download code for the demo almost a month ago. While I spent only a little time playing the demo, my son played it quite a few times. The demo mentioned that you could transfer any Pokemon you find to the game when it was released, although I have not yet tried to do that.

The new games are not just ports and don't even look like the original games. They look like Pokemon X and Y. The games didn't just get a graphical upgrade, but they also contain new features including Mega Evolution, which was introduced in X and Y. The original music seems to still be in the game, which is great.

While I have only spent a few hours in the game and haven't even obtained my first gym badge, I wanted to share my initial impressions. I found myself very impressed with one of the new features of the game called the DexNav. While walking around in the game, you can select it or the map on the bottom screen. It shows the route you are on, but the image is from the original version of the games. It shows shadows of Pokemon that you have seen, but not yet caught. The shadows are revealed after you catch a Pokemon. It can also give you a bit of a radar, that lets you know a Pokemon is nearby. When you are close enough, you will see the top part of a Pokemon hiding in the grass on the top of the screen. It can also give you hints about the nearby Pokemon such as its type. By gently pushing the control stick (not the D-pad) in the direction you want to walk, you can "sneak" up on on a Pokemon. If you walk or run too fast, the app will tell you to walk slowly. Once you find all of the Pokemon that are in a certain area, the app will tell you. The app apparently can also be upgraded. I really enjoy this new feature as it makes finding all the Pokemon in an area much easier, therefore less blind grinding.

I remember on the main menu of Pokemon X and Y there was a "Mystery Gift" option. I used that to receive a Torchic that contained an item for it's Mega Evolution by using the download code that came with the game. I noticed this was also on the main menu of Alpha Sapphire and I decided to check it out. It connected to the Internet to check for a gift and I got a shiny Beldum that contained an item for it's Mega Evolution.

I'm looking forward to playing this game more and I know my son is already enjoying it. If I found out more about the game as I play, I will post in the comments of this post.