Best Pokémon ROM Hacks With Unique Visual Design

I’ve been playing Pokémon ROM hacks for longer than I can recall. And while I still love the classic Pokémon look, I have to say, after playing through the games hundreds of times, the art style does tend to get a little boring after a while.

Of course, this is where Rom Hacks come in. Fans come in to create brand-new stories, new challenges, and even new Pokémon. And yet despite this, it still all looks very… Pokémon, if you know what I mean. It’s clear fans are reluctant to experiment too much with the looks of the games and the way they play, when, honestly, that’s exactly what we need.

So if you’re looking for something with a fresh coat of paint, or even something that barely resembles the classic formula anymore, then you’ve come to the right place.

8 Pokémon Emerald Seaglass

A Rose-Tinted Masterpiece

How could I talk about unique visual design without bringing up Emerald Seaglass? While this game might not experiment too much with the actual Hoenn experience, the expanded 2nd generation visuals make this totally worth a new playthrough… or five!

If you are nostalgic for that old-school Gold/Silver art style, then Seaglass is perfect for you. The whole Emerald experience is reimagined in these visuals, with fresh battle backgrounds, trainer sprites, and even Pokémon from basically every generation. Here, you get a wonderful blend of old and new, and once you’ve tried it, it can be hard to go back to the original!

7 Pokémon Ghost Grey

Is That A White Hand On Your Shoulder?

How many of you are old enough to remember playing Pokémon on the original Game Boy? Probably quite a few, I’d imagine. Remember how they barely had colour? Well, imagine no longer.

Pokémon Ghost Grey is a fascinating experience, reminiscent of those old Creepypastas that used to scare the stuffing out of us back when we were teens.

Not only is the whole world painted black and white, but in fact, the world itself has fallen into complete disrepair. The art style here really helps sell the experience as this hopeless, decaying hellscape, and I'm totally here for it! Not only are we treated to totally new map work, new sprites, but also new Pokémon. It’s bizarre, and yet I can’t help but feel it pulling me in. Spooky!

6 Pokémon Emerald Rogue

Every Attempt, A Little Bit Closer

Roguelikes aren’t for everyone, I appreciate that, but if you fancy an original take on the Pokémon formula, then Emerald Rogue does a brilliant job.

Instead of the standard Pokémon map, you are placed into a field where you’ll have to make a series of choices, catching new Pokémon, hoarding items and crushing bosses. And of course, if you lose, well, it’s back to the beginning for you!

While this game unfortunately does use the original Emerald tileset, it expands on it with new areas and thoughtful design choices. Procedural generation will ensure that every time you start up this game, you’re going to have a unique experience, and honestly, that's a massive win.

5 PokéScape

92 is Half of 99

Pokémon + Runescape; Honestly, it’s a match made in heaven. Is this because I’m hopelessly addicted to both of these franchises? Maybe. But let’s not dwell on that.

PokeScape takes the world of Gielinor and beautifully transposes it into the 2D plane. But don’t worry, it doesn’t just use the base Pokémon art style, but a visual style that’s unique to itself. The new Pokémon/monster models look incredible, and the sprite work is very clean. And of course, if you enjoyed the quests in Runescape, then you’ll have a blast here too.

It’s very strange exploring all these places I know so well, but in the world of Pokémon, and yet the transition is seamless. Even if you’ve never played Runescape before, I highly recommend giving this one a shot.

4 Pokémon Crown

A Regal Experience

While I do love the traditional Pokémon battling formula, even I admit it gets a bit boring after a while. That’s why I’m always impressed when developers try and do something different, while keeping the spirit of Pokémon alive. I mean, one of my favourite Pokémon games is Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, which certainly isn’t traditional.

However, who knew that the popular Auto-chess style of gameplay could work so well with Pokémon? I was a bit skeptical myself, but when I saw the trailer, well, consider me a changed man.

And not only that, but the game looks gorgeous. If you’ve ever played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and adored the art style as much as I do, then you’re in for a treat. The tilesets here are charming and brilliantly designed, while the Pokémon models all look sleek and dynamic. I reckon this is going to be an instant classic!

3 Pokémon Recordkeepers

This Will Go Down In History

When I first glanced upon Recordkeepers, I knew that it was going to be a truly unique experience. It isn’t very often that you look upon the art in a romhack and just say…"Wow."

Recordkeepers is one of those. But just how to describe it? The whole game has a kind of painted vibe about it. If you’ve played something like Okami, then you’ll know. But it gives the game an immediate historical feel to it, like you’re playing through some ancient tapestry or forbidden storybook.

And all that’s before the game itself. This is another Roguelike, but with a few twists, of course. Once you delve into the stories of the game, you’ll be able to switch Pokémon on the fly without wasting turns and have Pokémon with multiple abilities.

All this makes for some pretty intense and hectic battles. It may not be the longest hack in the world, but the content here is pretty spectacular. It's not one to miss!

2 Super Mariomon

It's Turtle-Stomping Time!

Pokémon in the Mario World? Or is this Mario in the Pokémon World? It doesn’t matter, because it's absolutely awesome either way.

This was another one that I was definitely a bit skeptical about. I mean, I love Mario games, but that doesn’t automatically mean it would work in the Pokémon style. How wrong I was.

Turns out, it’s actually excellent and blends so seamlessly, you almost forget about the genre-bending weirdness of it all. Imagine as though all the Mario creatures instead had types and functioned like Pokémon. Well, you’ve got Mariomon!

But this game arguably has so much more charm than the standard Pokémon titles, and the stages reflect the world of the Mario games, too! The colours are bright, the humour is top-notch, and all of this is simply built on top of the standard Pokémon Emerald Rom. It’s going to be hard to beat this one, folks!

1 Pokémon Lazarus

The Ultimate Evolution of Rom-Hacking

And yet, of course, here we have number one! Remember how we talked a bit about Emerald Seaglass earlier on? While that game was absolutely stellar, it didn’t really change enough to be heralded as one of the best. It was more of a simple enhancement.

The creator obviously understood this and decided to take everything awesome about Seaglass and create a whole new experience, with those wonderful graphics on top!

Welcome to the Ilios Region! Choose from a set of diverse starters, clash against a new Evil team, and explore the tropical climate in search of Pokémon from every region! Here you have original mini-games to play, bases to build, and creatures to befriend. And they even follow behind you! I’m a sucker for following Pokémon, what can I say?

The environments here are just jaw-dropping, with a day and night cycle that totally changes how you approach the game. And it's all built in that iconic Gen 2 style, which has been built on to look even more stunning. Now I have to call it the Nemo style instead of Gen 2, because this creator has really made it their own.

So what are you waiting for? The region of Ilios is waiting!