Today at Nintendo’s E3 presentation the famed publisher released gameplay footage for Pokemon: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the next set in the acclaimed franchise. So check out my initial review and analysis of what’s been released so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXD4pOe-UnU

So to start things off let’s talk about the fantastic intro scene featuring the “Primal Forms” of Groudon and Kyorge. The titans of land and sea are introduced in a 3D style referencing traditional Japanese paintings. The color pallet is fairly monochrome and the environment style appears similar to the ink wash technique. From this intro scene alone you can already tell that Nintendo is bringing this franchise to a new level. It seems that this year Nintendo is really stepping up the opening graphics for the series. For further proof check out the next scene where it cuts to a trainer flying full speed on a Latios. Nintendo presents the entire Hoenn region in a marvelous 3D view. For the gameplay it appears that Nintendo has made subtle changes between this new game and Pokemon X & Y . This new game has added two new background battle scenes, a new desert or mountain scene, and a new beach scene. Next we get a montage of the character moving around in several environments along with a cut scene. From looking at the montage it appears we get a sneak peek at the remake of two gyms. First, the scene where it shows the trainer falling through a trap door. This might be Flannery’s gym, the hint here is the steam that appears off to the right and left. Secondly, the scene where the trainer is gliding through the floor could be the twins Tate and Liza’s gym. For those of you who remember, this is the only gym whose puzzle had you gliding through the floor (except for the 8th gym that floor was made of ice). Finally we get the Mega Evolutions and the Primal Form scenes. Once transformed Mega Marshstomp comes out violently flailing his new arms around and ready for battle while Mega Sceptile now uses his newly evolved tail as a sword. Nothing else gets shown past this scene except for a few demostrations of the new Mega Pokemon using elemental moves. Finally we get to Groudon and Kyorge who interestingly enough are not shown with their trainer activating their Primal Forms. It could be that it was just edited out for the montage but it could also mean that their new forms are activated as soon as they appear in battle. Also I don’t believe the reveal of the Primal Forms are actual game play but part of the ending to the montage. As you can see the 3D quality changes drastically giving you a high-res Primal Groudon and Primal Kyorge. The 58 second video gave us the much needed sneak peek at the new game, and it’s definitely giving this hype-train some more steam. Be sure to check back for any more news on Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and for any news around this year’s E3. In the meantime, in the comments tell me what you think of the gameplay trailer.