Replacing Pokémon with cute anime girls is simply the logical next step after learning about ROM hacking.
And Touhoumon World Link was one of the first complete products to achieve
Pokémon Emerald’s critters are replaced with girls from the Touhou franchise, known for its extensive cast of cute female characters and for having a dedicated fanbase – as you can tell from Touhoumon.it.
While not its main appeal, the game is tough. The level curve is wacky at times, and some of the game’s custom ‘mons are simply too OP.
Long-time ROM hack enthusiasts will remember Pokémon Snakewood from back in 2007.
It’s one of the most cited games when people look around for the hardest Pokémon ROM hack others have played.
This hack of Pokémon Ruby for the Game Boy Advance portrays a zombie a-poké-lypse engulfing the Hoenn region.
Your journey toward survival will also be rife with occult villains like demons and witches.
In this game, the enemy AI is aggressive and won’t cut you any slack if they can help it. They have unique Fakemon with absurd stats that’re tough to overcome.
The puzzles are also among the most obtuse I’ve ever tried to solve. And I’ve played some real odd games.
Pokémon Insurgence is one of the most enjoyable Pokémon fan-games around. And it’ll offer a tough challenge for trainers willing to try its Hard difficulty.
The game deals with the problem of over-leveling by placing a Pokémon level cap on all the main fights throughout your exploration of the Torren region.
You’ll be forced to strategize and make full use of the tools the game gives you, just to make your Pokémon stronger beyond leveling.
The game does away with HMs altogether, too. So your party can focus 100% on combat strategy.
Other than its steep difficulty, the game also shines for its customizable main character, new “Delta” form Pokémon, and new Mega Evolutions.
If you’re fond of the gen 1 classics, Pokémon Blue Kaizo will offer a more challenging take on this seminal title.
This hack goes beyond making some trainers stronger along your adventure.
All routes and dungeons now have some of the most brutal map layouts I’ve ever faced.
All Gym Leaders have full teams, and their AI is surprisingly good at predicting your moves.
Getting through the Victory Road in this game is just a titanic ordeal. Anyone who manages to Nuzlocke this hack deserves their spot in the Hall of Fame.
Pokémon FireRed Omega is the first in a long list of fantastic, hard-as-nails hacks by creator Drayano.
This hack was an inspiration for many fans to create their own ROM hacks, and it’s become a bit of a standard by which to measure Pokémon ROM hacks and fan-games.
This hack of FireRed retains the same story and visuals as the original. But it supercharges enemy trainers to pose a real challenge to even the best Pokémon trainers.
Every trainer has better Pokémon, competent movesets, and some unique critters here and there that’ll unexpectedly wipe the floor with you.
I only know a couple of people who can claim to have beat Pokémon Crystal Kaizo, let alone any funny business like doing a Nuzlocke run.
This game is brutal from start to finish.
Routes have been altered to be merciless, enemy bosses have incredible movesets and razor-sharp AI, and some even have shiny Pokémon – because demoralizing the opponent is half the battle.
But it’s not all bad.
The game lets you catch and evolve all Pokémon from the first two generations, allowing you to construct whatever competitive team you wish – if you’re willing to put in the effort.
Another challenging ROM hack taking place in Johto:
Pokémon Sacred Gold & Storm Silver by Drayano.
Like most Drayano hacks, SG/SS increases the difficulty by tweaking map layouts, making some puzzles harder, and generally elevating enemy trainers from casual-level to competitive pros.
Many Pokémon in SG/SS have been altered to make them more viable in combat as well. Rival trainers will take full advantage of this by employing unique strategies you won’t see coming. Better come up with some of your own.
If you liked Reborn but felt the challenge was still lacking, consider its spiritual successor – Pokémon Rejuvenation.
The game is modeled after Pokémon Emerald, but it’s a fan-game running on a different engine.
You can choose between three difficulty settings, including Intense – the one that earned it a place on the ranking.
You’ll fight fully-evolved Pokémon much more often, and they’ll make their appearance when you least expect it. On top of that, they’ll have much better coverage, which keeps trainers on their toes.
One of the classic “hard ROM hacks” is Pokémon Emerald Kaizo, which leaves the base game’s storyline and progression intact while considerably increasing the difficulty.
Not only will you have to battle more often, but it’ll be considerably more demanding.
Trainer teams were overhauled, and their locations were made more problematic.
You’ll also run into robust and thought-out pairings in doubles when you least expect it.
Battles are not the only thing that’s different in this hack. Ice-sliding puzzles are even harder, and the Seafloor Cavern can be demoralizing.
Keep trying, and you’ll earn some serious bragging rights.
One of the most recent releases to catch my eye when putting this ranking together is Pokémon Radical Red, a hack of Pokémon FireRed including Pokémon up to Gen VIII – and even some moves from the Isle of Armor DLC for Pokémon Sword & Shield.
It also includes some much-needed QoL improvements, new Raid Battles, and an expanded TM list.
That said, Pokémon Radical Red remains a difficulty hack at its core.
Enemy team compositions make great use of every Pokémon included in the hack, making them somewhat unpredictable and hard to counter reliably.
Of course, it doesn’t help that you can’t even use items while fighting Gym Leaders and other boss-level enemies. So yeah, this one’s tough.
A more recent hack by prolific creator Drayano is also one of the greatest – and it’s just as challenging as his other versions.
This is a ROM hack of Pokémon Platinum retaining the same story but revamping all trainers, making “boss” fights tougher, and making all 493 Pokémon obtainable in a single playthrough – most of them before you get to the Elite IV.
While Drayano usually tweaks map design to make routes more treacherous, here it’s also been changed so that only combat-viable HMs like Surf and Rock Smash are necessary to traverse the world.
It’s got a good mix of difficulty, but also genuinely fun/casual gameplay. But still, it’s definitely harder than the original Platinum.
The most fair-yet-challenging Pokémon ROM hack has to be Pokémon Vega – an ambitious hack of Pokémon FireRed made by a Japanese team, and translated to English by a group of fans.
This hack empowers enemy trainers by sharpening their AIs, letting their Pokémon use powerful hold items, and letting them use items to fully heal their Pokémon pretty often.
They also have superior team compositions, and Gym Leaders will have a couple of off-type wildcard Pokémon to take you by surprise.
If you value an excellent OST for a hack, and if exploring the region of Tohoak sounds entertaining, you can’t miss out on Pokémon Vega.
Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.
