Pokémon Run & Bun (2023)

Developer: dekzeh
Platforms: Game Boy Advance
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Main story: about 53 hours
Completionist: about 42 hours

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A grueling difficulty-hack RPG with custom, synergistic trainer battles designed to test mastery rather than grind.

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About

Pokémon Run & Bun is at it's core a difficulty hack of Emerald, slightly inspired by games such as Emerald Kaizo and Radical Red, but offering a lot of new takes on ways to make battles interesting. Plenty of quality of life features will make sure you spend your time on the fun side of it instead of worrying about gruesome, tedious tasks. The game features almost 500 battles, and all of them were designed with custom movesets and synergistic parties, making each trainer feel unique in it's own way within the world. You will not be stomping your way through battles here, you will simply be another trainer in the world, making your journey feel like an actual journey and not a slog. Gym Leaders and Teams Aqua and Magma have been given extra attention and boss fights were added to complement the game. Each victory should feel rewarding.

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.