Pokémon Super Rising Thunder is one of those fan-made GBA hacks that actually feels polished—like someone took FireRed and cranked up the chaos. You start with wild choices like a Ghost-type starter (finally, right?), and the trainers don’t mess around. First gym? Expect level 25s with actual strategy instead of just spamming Tackle.

The overworld’s got this cool dusk palette, and the new Pokémon sprites blend in so well you’d swear they were official. Ran into a Dark/Electric-type early that carried my team for half the game. Just don’t get too attached to your favorites—some evolutions got weird redesigns, and not all of them land.

It’s still in alpha, so a few moves glitch or freeze battles, but for a romhack, it’s shockingly playable. You’ll want to save before major fights, though.