Pokémon Crystal Shards is one of those GBA ROM hacks that actually feels like a proper sequel—like someone took the original Crystal and cranked up the weirdness just enough. You still start in Johto, but the wild Pokémon mixes are wild (I ran into a Houndour before the first gym, which… shouldn’t happen). The shard system replaces badges, and some of the gym leaders have totally different teams. Oh, and the rival? Way more aggressive. Like, "shoves you into battles every 20 steps" aggressive.

It’s got that classic pixel art but with some subtle upgrades—the water animations are smoother, and night/day actually affects spawns now. Just don’t expect it to hold your hand. I got lost in the Ice Path for an embarrassing amount of time before realizing they rearranged half the puzzles.

If you’ve played Crystal to death but still want that itch scratched, this’ll do it.