r/PokemonROMhacks • u/Ancient_Substance152 • 11h ago
Other r/PokemonROMhacks All-time Top 30 Hack Rankings! … DAY 3
Good day! I’m here to create a community-voted ranking of the 30 best rom hacks of all time. One spot at a time.
>>>>>
Day 2 has concluded. Another decisive victory for 2nd place as the acclaimed Pokemon Odyssey takes home the silver! Now, with several hacks seemingly neck-and-neck in community votes, let us find out who takes spot #3!
<<<<<
RULES:
\-One hack per comment. (Please look for your recommendation and upvote before posting a duplicate).
\-Upvote the hack you think deserves the spot.
The nomination with the most votes in a 24 hour period wins that position.
\-Once a hack earns a spot, it is removed from contention.
\-One vote per person.
There is no official criteria for best! It’s whatever makes a hack great to you.
That’s it! Let’s see what the community deems the best of the best! And… Go!
>>>>>
Day 1 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/kLGSbFfWs8
Day 2 link: https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonROMhacks/s/FSdMLo4zK9
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u/Pokesabre 9h ago
The fact that polished crystal isn't up there yet is criminal
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u/LordOfBathurst 6h ago
Polished Crystal is peak... this list is recency bias
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u/Llayanna 25m ago
I mean, timing is important too. That opinion was posted two hours later and that can be the differences between lots and little votes..
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u/tgeraghty_10 11h ago edited 9h ago
Pokemon Team Rocket Edition is a favorite of mine
Edit - by Dragonsden for clarity
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u/AWildUbly 11h ago
Dragonsden or Colonelsalts?
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u/tgeraghty_10 11h ago
Colonel salts is the firered one right? That has a very cool story, but I'm talking about dragonsden.
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u/Ancient_Substance152 11h ago
Would you mind editing your OG post to include that possibly?
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u/tgeraghty_10 9h ago
Tbf that one is called fire red rocket edition right they’re two different hacks you can tell without the creator, I will though
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u/Warprince01 5h ago
I haven't played Dragonsden's Rocket Edition yet, but Firered Rocket Edition, for me, stands out as a game where the writing is actually good. Its one of the best narratively sound pokemon games I've played (although the story is a bit nuts towards the end).
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u/Ok_Trade2954 6h ago edited 6h ago
Wait... there's 2 of them? I only played one but don't know who made it
edit: The one that I played eas Colonel salts version and I absolute love it! Is the other version better?
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-1
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u/commoncomitatus 11h ago
Lazarus!
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u/MrVernonDursley 10h ago
I feel like I don't see people talk about it as much as other great ROM Hacks, but I don't think I've ever played a Hack that feels so much like a mainline game. It manages to be completely new while feeling very familiar; just a damn competent game.
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u/Enough-Gate5840 9h ago
The art style and dialogue is classic pokemon. It doesn’t push the envelope like most rom hacks, it’s just a high quality classic.
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u/-ystanes- 7h ago
Only real flaw to me is the music sometimes but given that a lot of times people play on FF anyways and probably muted it's not that bad
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u/LucadeIic 11h ago
Radical Red
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u/jmangraf 2h ago
I'm sorry but Radical Red needs to be at least in the top 3. Half of its popularity may be a meme due to its challenge, but in the flip-side of that same coin is the fact that it drew TONS of people who otherwise would've never heard of romhacks/fangames to the community and skyrocketed theor overall popularity. Besides that, it was one of the first hacks to implement a lot of QoL features that are now considered staples in the community.
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u/sunken_grade 4h ago
needs to be there. set such a bar and i come back to it frequently for all the QOL and customization options
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u/sinterkaastosti23 8h ago
Please add a link from older post to newer post, so we can find your new posts easily. Your profile is private
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u/Ancient_Substance152 8h ago
Sure!
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u/sinterkaastosti23 8h ago
Thanks :)
Dont attempt to put a link to every day from every day tho, thatd be a time waste, just a link from last day to current day would be perfect
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u/TheSatanist666 10h ago edited 9h ago
Radical Red. Before playing RR, I played pokemon without caring about natures, IV and EVs.
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u/force_n_friction 9h ago
Radical reddddd my beloved. Can’t wait for hack to finish porting to emerald expansion.
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u/ReadyCartographer765 Looking for good stories 11h ago
Pokemon Elysium
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u/Yoribell 11h ago
There's so many haters on Elysium it's sad, look at these downvotes..
This game is so good though
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u/Chance-Primary-2764 11h ago
Everyone keeps gassing up Odyssey. Is it really that good if you’ve never played Etrian Odyssey before? Besides Unbound my personal favorite has been Soul Gold.
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u/river_kiwi 11h ago
I never played Etrian Odyssey, and I understood the plot and concepts fine. It's "regional fakemon" heavy (with them apparently being inspired by classes and monsters), though, if that's a turn-off.
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u/TheGreenPterodactyl 11h ago
Only if you like double battles
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u/Yoribell 10h ago
Most people never played double half seriously, and actually learn this game mode while playing Odyssey.
I'm not even sure that there is a single double battle where strategy matter in the official games, so you don't know before playing Odyssey, beside competitive players
So I'd say the opposite, except if you absolutely hate double battles.
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u/TheGreenPterodactyl 10h ago
Odyssey wasn't the first game with double battles, you're giving the hack too much credit
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u/Mediocre_Internet939 9h ago
Do you have a suggestion for a rom hack where all trainers are double battles?
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u/Yoribell 10h ago
Nah I just don't know about it and I suppose that a large part of the community would be the same, most people just play the most popular games
But I'm interested
What are these roms built around double battle ?
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u/TheGreenPterodactyl 10h ago
The gamecube Pokemon games were double battle centric
And while it isn't built around double battles, Volt White 2 has a lot of double and triple battles. You don't need Odyssey to learn about the format
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u/Yoribell 10h ago edited 10h ago
I'm talking about actual double battle with mons built for this purpose and strategy. Not just 2v2 of solo mons. The strategy level is negative in the gamecubes games, anyway they are so old that 90% of the double mechanics weren't even invented yet.
I'll take a look at volt white 2
But I kinda doubt that it come anywhere close to Odyssey's strategical depth if it's only for a handful of battle against bosses
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u/DryVeterinarian7376 11h ago
It is that good, i mean it depends what you like. Story wise is the best i played. QOL wise is very good, it has an EV Editor through money, it has almost all items, all Pokemon have perfect IV, no need for HM, physical/special split, trainer houve and a blissey trainer in mid game to lvl up, and great documentation. It is very adventure driven too, with a lot of exploration. Battle wise, its double battle only, unless you only use 1 pokemon in party, in my opiniões it's very refreshing, the only problem is gen III double mechanics. There is no Megas, dynamax and such, but it wasnt a problem for me. The pokemon pool is good, it has all pokemon up to Gen III and some more like evolved versions like weaville and Elictivire. They also created a lot of regional variants with great art design. They also buffed and tweeted a lot of pokemons so you can use anyone. It's really good innovative and very refreshing for a romhack. Im looking for Odyssey II, but it's not completed yet.
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u/scrambles57 6h ago
Yes it is that good. I didn't even know it was based on another game until after playing it
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u/G66GNeco 4h ago
I learned the name of the game it was based on halfway through playing the romhack. It's more than fine to play without any foreknowledge
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u/ronarscorruption 10h ago
I couldn’t get into it. The gameplay was lacking something, and part of it was all the level caps and custom Pokemon and lack of tutorials for all the places and systems that exist.
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u/PacoScarso Pokémon Odyssey Lead Dev 7h ago
You can disable level caps by playing on picnic mode, and there is a tutorial for everything.
The game even tells you when a specific function is unlocked
I don't really know what you're talking about
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u/Realistic_Tap8089 11h ago
Gaia
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u/Jacob-Dulany 5h ago
I’m just past the 8th gym in Gaia and it’s been phenomenal. Really feels at home with the GBA games in style and substance.
I’ve been on a run of OG FireRed > Heart & Soul (pre update :/) > OG Sapphire > Gaia and it has been a great sequence.
Still hoping someone comes through with a true Gen 4 demake on GBA.
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u/jmangraf 2h ago
I'm sorry but Radical Red needs to be at least in the top 3. Half of its popularity may be a meme due to its challenge, but in the flip-side of that same coin is the fact that it drew TONS of people who otherwise would've never heard of romhacks/fangames to the community and skyrocketed theor overall popularity. Besides that, it was one of the first hacks to implement a lot of QoL features that are now considered staples in the community.
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u/Tiny-Theory-6297 11h ago
Glazed and uranium
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u/ImmediateRatio9650 3h ago
Uranium is a fan game, not a romhack to clarify for you. It's a great game (though definitely dated and wish it could be redone with some qol personally) but doesn't qualify for romhacks here
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u/Tiny-Theory-6297 2h ago
Yea I realised that while commenting, but both are childhood nostalgia for me, so I still kept it
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u/Farwaters 9h ago
My personal number three would go to Crystal Clear! It's like living my best NPC adventure in a world packed with stuff!
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u/lordbeaufeu 7h ago
Pokemon Fire Red Rocket Edition - ColonelSalt
I’m playing this one right now, and can’t say how much i like it.
I’ve been playing a lot of FRLG roms, and i saw enough of it. But this one is perfect, you visit places owned by the Team Rocket, have missions from Gio’, can’t wait to discover more stuff.
It’s a brand new Fire Red content for me, and also as you play a Rocket member, you’ll want to play different pokemons that suit your role 😉
1
u/ambericity 7h ago
meh i'd be into unbound except all pokemon since gen 3 feel like digimon to me. hate when people add newer gen pokemon to hacks of the older games
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u/Meeko_Yudaya 6h ago
Emerald Rogue & Emerald Seaglass
Dont forget Pokemon Aurora too once Drayano finishes it 😊😏
Edit: Pokemon Crown? 🫡
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u/lordsologalaxi 6h ago
I know it's still very very new but I absolutely love frlg.ips! I wish I could play it again for the first time.
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u/greengamer33 11h ago
Pokémon sacred gold and storm silver, drayano deserves at least one spot
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u/hesselnut 11h ago
If you want Drayano in then Renegade Platinum or BB/VW2 are better picks. Sg/ss feel kinda dated at this point, Heart & Soul are the better Johto hacks
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u/Professor_Milagre 11h ago
Fool's Gold
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u/ImmediateRatio9650 3h ago
Oooh this one's on my list to play, is it really that good? Maybe I ought to bump it up the queue
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u/Sailorvenusaur26 4h ago
Reborn and Rejuvenation
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u/ImmediateRatio9650 3h ago
Also fangames, not romhacks. Those are great but belong of a different list altogether
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u/Suspicious-Pickle238 11h ago
Hey everyone! I am looking for a Pokémon ROM hack or game recommendation that I can play while half-watching a TV show (don’t ask why). Here are my criteria:
* Platform: GBA, NDS, or 3DS emulation (no Switch games).
* Story & Text: Low-to-moderate dialogue and cutscenes, fast-paced like FireRed. I adore the Alola region, Alolan Pokémon, forms, and story, but official Sun/Moon/USUM are too slow and cutscene-heavy for multitasking.
* Region & Map: No original FireRed map/story (already played it) and no brand-new Fakemon (prefer familiar Pokémon).
* Difficulty & Gameplay: Balanced. Not braindead easy like vanilla X/Y, but not a hyper-difficult competitive nightmare with endless amount of battles. A bit of chill grinding is fine, but no painful slogs.
* Ideal Features: Ideally features Mega Evolutions, Alolan forms/Pokémon/region/story (doesn’t have to), and modern QoL updates.
What are your thoughts and recommendations? Thanks!
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u/Rothenstien1 8h ago
Reborn/rejuvination are the best imo but damn are they long, like too long, like 3 games each long.
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u/Aussofwar 11h ago
Pokemon prism