My thoughts on this game really are just about what you would expect from a well made fan game: the changes from the actual mainline Pokemon games are superb, while not feeling entirely unique in the process. This is still more than enough for a really good experience.
First things first, I want to talk about something that this game does that I've wanted out of a Pokemon game for a very long time: it changes up wild Pokemon on pretty much every route. What this results in is an early game that is much more interesting and less slow than most standard Pokemon games. I've grown beyond tired of seeing the same Pokemon showing up on half the routes in the game, and as a result of this, I feel like in a replay I would get to choose a much different team than I was expecting going into things.
This is achieved by having a regional dex of about 500 Pokemon. It's utterly baffling to me that they don't do this in more games, but it kept things feeling quite fresh.
While this solves a lot of problems that most Pokemon regions encounter, it doesn't fix everything. Because the game has the relatively linear nature that most Pokemon games have, there are a lot of Pokemon that you won't be able to capture until mid to late game. Because there are so many Pokemon, it's impossible to really introduce all of them at a time when teambuilding still feels reasonable in the story. By the time some new Pokemon were encountered, my team was beyond set in the stone. Each route having new Pokemon is a perk that loses its effect over time.
Some of the damage here is negated by the level adjustments. Difficulty usually feels about right because important trainers in the game have teams that are based on the level of your highest Pokemon. This is good for keeping difficulty fair, but also for forcing players to go with a full team of 6 approach.
I've theorized that maybe the best way to build a Pokemon game would be to split it into two main non linear sections. The first section could act as a team building phase where all wild Pokemon in the game are accessible, but would require hefty exploration. The second part could be focused on your Pokemon League challenge, which might make more sense when your team is getting stronger anyway. Gym Leaders having level 12 Pokemon never made sense anyway. The adaptive level adjustments in this game could maybe fit this approach pretty well and give a ton of flexibility in team building.
If you fight all the trainers in the game, your Pokemon League challenge will result in using and facing off against Pokemon level 90 and above. That was awesome, and all movesets are truly available as a result.
In terms of features / choices, there was a lot of good here. HMs exist but are incredibly efficient / quick and based on if you have Pokemon that could learn the move, rather than forcing them to waste a move slot. 1 time use items are used once a battle, and don't disappear permanently after the battle is over.
Mega evolution is also in the game, the best and only good gimmick GameFreak came up with after Generation 5. The inclusion of Chanseys on routes, like the doctors in Gen 5 are also a nice way to make longer routes with more difficulty. I would've liked to see even more of them. Pokemon is more fun when the challenge is based on strategy for battles, not just going through a gauntlet with little access to healing. Spending resources never feels good in any game, even when you can afford it.
Gym battles were unique in that each gym had its own gimmick that changed things up quite a bit. To be honest it seemed annoying because all your expected advantages were usually wiped out, but I didn't downright hate it because it was unique. The last gym especially had an unexpected one.
The mix of gen 3 / 4 graphics was nostalgic even if what you would expect for a mod. I can't really give the game credit for reusing some assets because it didn't innovate that much in that regard, but it looked nice. I can compliment the map itself though.
The map is utilized in a thoughtful way. There is a large focus on underground travel once you have been somewhere the first time, and that allows for pretty quick travel even without flying, without disrupting a first time playthrough. Getting around is not a hassle whatsoever and often I found that they use the underground in clever ways to get you to certain points at certain times without you noticing that you took a shortcut.
I wasn't a big fan of the AI because it straight up knows your moveset and as such, does not act like a normal, rational player. I had my suspicions, but there was a moment where they swapped out Pokemon when logically speaking, it would've had no reason to know it was at a disadvantage. I like rational AI, not all knowing AI.
Finally, story. It was okay - I think at times it took itself a little too seriously, but I can't give it a knock for trying to come up with something interesting. There was a little too much text for a Pokemon game in some cutscenes. I appreciate a good story, and I think Hoopa was the right Pokemon to choose to focus on. Admittedly I think my own bias here is that this is a mod, and something I played when I had a couple of minutes to spare, rather than being something I was invested in like a traditional RPG. This story may be great for some others, but typically I play Pokemon fan games for just some quick, addictive, gameplay.
The characters aren't particularly interesting and I found that some were big characters because of how often they showed up rather than based on first impression. But they were certainly better than some actual Pokemon characters. The character definitely has some plot armor, I'll just leave it at that.
All things considered, there's a lot more good than bad here, and this was incredibly well polished for a mod. While I wasn't looking for a grand story here per say, there were lots of other benefits that were convenient that I also covered earlier. It makes this an easy recommend to someone looking for a fun Pokemon mod they can take on the go.
First things first, I want to talk about something that this game does that I've wanted out of a Pokemon game for a very long time: it changes up wild Pokemon on pretty much every route. What this results in is an early game that is much more interesting and less slow than most standard Pokemon games. I've grown beyond tired of seeing the same Pokemon showing up on half the routes in the game, and as a result of this, I feel like in a replay I would get to choose a much different team than I was expecting going into things.
This is achieved by having a regional dex of about 500 Pokemon. It's utterly baffling to me that they don't do this in more games, but it kept things feeling quite fresh.
While this solves a lot of problems that most Pokemon regions encounter, it doesn't fix everything. Because the game has the relatively linear nature that most Pokemon games have, there are a lot of Pokemon that you won't be able to capture until mid to late game. Because there are so many Pokemon, it's impossible to really introduce all of them at a time when teambuilding still feels reasonable in the story. By the time some new Pokemon were encountered, my team was beyond set in the stone. Each route having new Pokemon is a perk that loses its effect over time.
Some of the damage here is negated by the level adjustments. Difficulty usually feels about right because important trainers in the game have teams that are based on the level of your highest Pokemon. This is good for keeping difficulty fair, but also for forcing players to go with a full team of 6 approach.
I've theorized that maybe the best way to build a Pokemon game would be to split it into two main non linear sections. The first section could act as a team building phase where all wild Pokemon in the game are accessible, but would require hefty exploration. The second part could be focused on your Pokemon League challenge, which might make more sense when your team is getting stronger anyway. Gym Leaders having level 12 Pokemon never made sense anyway. The adaptive level adjustments in this game could maybe fit this approach pretty well and give a ton of flexibility in team building.
If you fight all the trainers in the game, your Pokemon League challenge will result in using and facing off against Pokemon level 90 and above. That was awesome, and all movesets are truly available as a result.
In terms of features / choices, there was a lot of good here. HMs exist but are incredibly efficient / quick and based on if you have Pokemon that could learn the move, rather than forcing them to waste a move slot. 1 time use items are used once a battle, and don't disappear permanently after the battle is over.
Mega evolution is also in the game, the best and only good gimmick GameFreak came up with after Generation 5. The inclusion of Chanseys on routes, like the doctors in Gen 5 are also a nice way to make longer routes with more difficulty. I would've liked to see even more of them. Pokemon is more fun when the challenge is based on strategy for battles, not just going through a gauntlet with little access to healing. Spending resources never feels good in any game, even when you can afford it.
Gym battles were unique in that each gym had its own gimmick that changed things up quite a bit. To be honest it seemed annoying because all your expected advantages were usually wiped out, but I didn't downright hate it because it was unique. The last gym especially had an unexpected one.
The mix of gen 3 / 4 graphics was nostalgic even if what you would expect for a mod. I can't really give the game credit for reusing some assets because it didn't innovate that much in that regard, but it looked nice. I can compliment the map itself though.
The map is utilized in a thoughtful way. There is a large focus on underground travel once you have been somewhere the first time, and that allows for pretty quick travel even without flying, without disrupting a first time playthrough. Getting around is not a hassle whatsoever and often I found that they use the underground in clever ways to get you to certain points at certain times without you noticing that you took a shortcut.
I wasn't a big fan of the AI because it straight up knows your moveset and as such, does not act like a normal, rational player. I had my suspicions, but there was a moment where they swapped out Pokemon when logically speaking, it would've had no reason to know it was at a disadvantage. I like rational AI, not all knowing AI.
Finally, story. It was okay - I think at times it took itself a little too seriously, but I can't give it a knock for trying to come up with something interesting. There was a little too much text for a Pokemon game in some cutscenes. I appreciate a good story, and I think Hoopa was the right Pokemon to choose to focus on. Admittedly I think my own bias here is that this is a mod, and something I played when I had a couple of minutes to spare, rather than being something I was invested in like a traditional RPG. This story may be great for some others, but typically I play Pokemon fan games for just some quick, addictive, gameplay.
The characters aren't particularly interesting and I found that some were big characters because of how often they showed up rather than based on first impression. But they were certainly better than some actual Pokemon characters. The character definitely has some plot armor, I'll just leave it at that.
All things considered, there's a lot more good than bad here, and this was incredibly well polished for a mod. While I wasn't looking for a grand story here per say, there were lots of other benefits that were convenient that I also covered earlier. It makes this an easy recommend to someone looking for a fun Pokemon mod they can take on the go.