![]() ![]() ![]() We’re going to assume that if you have any sort of interest in Coromon, you’re already familiar with the basics of Pokémon‘s gameplay, so we’re not going to repeat those here. If anything, Coromon resembles a fan-made romhack more than something that was built from scratch, although it also introduces new concepts and builds on the foundation laid by its more famous predecessor rather than offering up a carbon copy. There have been other Poké-clones in the past, like Nexomon or Temtem but none of these have felt as close to Game Freak’s massively successful franchise as this game. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Coromon shares the majority of its gameplay DNA with the Pokémon series. Take note, Game Freak! There is no voice acting for the human characters though, which is understandable but also a bit disappointing. We also enjoyed how the game has the Coromon say their names rather than relying on Game Boy-esque sounds for their cries. One of the more memorable tracks is the music that plays when you encounter a wild monster -which is a good thing as you’ll be hearing plenty of it- but the remainder of Coromon’s OST features plenty of tracks that capture the right atmosphere. The music carries the same vibe as that of early Pokémon titles, albeit with a higher fidelity. As for the Coromon themselves, these aren’t as inspired or memorable as actual Pokémon, although there are several designs in there that are definitely great looking. This does come at the cost of the game not implementing larger character sprites in battle scenes. There’s also a character creation tool for your overworld sprite and you’ll find that your character occasionally obtains new outfits and accessories, some of which are relevant to the plot, so it’s a nice touch to see tiny details change on your sprite. The vibrant, pixelated graphics seen in Coromon resemble the art style of Pokémon Black & White to a certain degree, and although we’ve grown tired of pixel art, we have to admit that it just works for the kind of game that Coromon wants to be. The writing is a cut above what we expected, and it’s filled with pop culture references ranging from memes to the lyrics of Weird Al Yankovic’s Amish Paradise. Coromon is a far more story-driven experience than your typical Pokémon title and it’s best experienced for yourself. The story that unfolds also takes a wildly different direction, which sees you track down the six elemental Titans to gather their essence in order to prevent a mysterious alien race from pulling what seems to be an evil scheme -we’re not going to delve too deep into the plot as we feel like we’ve already said too much by mentioning these aliens. That’s right, instead of playing as a kid, this time you get to be an adult with an actual job, as a battle researcher. Instead, your self-inserted character is the latest recruit for Lux Solis, an organization tasked with researching Coromon. There are no ten-year-old kids that set out to defeat gym leaders and take on the Coromon league here. The narrative is the first instance where Coromon deviates itself from the classic Pokémon formula. But as the old adage goes: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Yes, we’re looking at perhaps the most blatant Pokémon clone we’ve ever laid our eyes on, so it’s pretty much impossible not to compare Coromon to the games that it heavily “borrows” from. If, in an alternate timeline, Game Freak had decided to stick closer to the DS-era Pokémon games, then the series could have evolved into something pretty close to Coromon, the subject of today’s review. ![]()
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