Pokémon Renegade Platinum is one of those ROM hacks that actually makes you sweat—in a good way. It takes the original Diamond/Pearl/Platinum and cranks up the difficulty while tossing in way more Pokémon variety. You’ll run into stuff like early-game Ralts or even a wild Eevee before the first gym, which changes team-building completely.

Battles are brutal if you’re not prepared—gym leaders have smarter AI, better movesets, and full teams. I remember my first fight against Roark; his Cranidos actually knew Rock Polish and steamrolled me. Had to rethink my whole strategy. The pacing’s faster too, with reusable TMs and no HMs clogging up your moveslots.

If you’ve played vanilla Platinum to death and want something that actually makes you think, this is it. Just don’t expect to breeze through with your overleveled starter.