When the big companies won't make more of the games we want in the style we want, we turn to the ROM hacking community to provide the results. We're living in a brilliant time where we're getting new Zelda games released as ROM hacks and translations of Japanese games some of us never knew existed.
And of course, the Pokémon ROM hacking scene never sleeps, giving us the style of Pokémon game we love from our childhoods in brand new adventures that rival the mainline games. Pokémon Lazarus fits that same bill, a new game with a new Pokémon Region based on Ilios of Ancient Greece. It comes to us from creator Nemo622, the brains behind Pokémon Emerald Seaglass, and is releasing on November 14th!
According to Nemo622, the name comes is 'based on the idea of Lazarus Taxa, which are species only known from fossils (presumed extinct) but rediscovered living! The coelacanth (Relicanth’s real-life inspiration) is the most famous example. It’s one of my favorite biological phenomena and it gave me an excuse to add all of my beloved fossil Pokémon!'
There will be over 400 Pokémon to collect (including Nemo's favourite fossils), with some of the weaker Pokémon having stats changes to even the odds. Some Pokémon will only appear at certain times of day too, so you'll need to keep on your toes!
It follows the Pokémon Gold and Silver graphical style, making it perfect for Game Boy Color fans searching for that 8-bit nostalgia hit. There are tonnes of mini-games and over 60 sidequests to keep you busy too!
Pokémon Lazarus has songs from original Pokémon games, other retro games, and new tracks for you to pick out while playing as well. It's essentially a treasure trove for 8-bit gamers, and I can't wait to play the full thing once it releases.
For those of you on the fence, you can test out a demo on Nemo622's Ko-Fi page, and you can find our more on the official Reddit thread!
Don't forget to check out our list of the greatest Pokémon ROM hacks while you're here!
