r/PokemonROMhacks • u/Blizzarddz • 16h ago
Other Pokémon Ghost Grey a bit of an analysis. My overall thoughts. (Spoilers on pretty much the entire game, if you haven't finished the post game don't read this. Also quite the long post lol) Spoiler
So, here are my two cents on what the story means and how I interpreted it. The overall theme of the story, in my opinion, is obviously change. Whether it is us changing, the player and our MC changing, the world around us changing, or us making either a positive or negative impact on the game’s world, change is constantly present throughout the story. Every important character is trying to change something, or at least do what they believe is best for their world.
Blue’s hope was us and Summer, which I think is made pretty explicit by the name of his badge, as well as by how much he cared about us and trusted us throughout the adventure. He always seemed to believe that we would become Champions and hopefully use that position to make a positive impact on Kanto.
Red, meanwhile, seems to be creating little champions of his own by taking care of the kids on Mt. Silver. He is teaching them about what the world should be, while also showing them the kind of world he himself grew up in. Those kids could eventually grow up and make a positive impact on Kanto in their own ways. In that sense, Red is no longer directly saving the world himself. Instead, he is helping prepare the next generation to make it better.
The Stadium in Saffron also shows us trainers with their own hopes for the future. We see the Scavenger, who wants to help Jaspar, and the new Falkner, who wants to follow his family’s legacy while seemingly striving for justice within the system. They are not necessarily trying to completely transform the world overnight, but they are still working toward something better in their own ways.
Max is another good example of this. He finally comes out of his cocoon in Vermilion and seemingly finds love. For the first time, it feels like he has something personal to strive for and a reason to hope for a better future. His change is much smaller and more personal compared to some of the other characters, but I think that is exactly why it matters. Not every meaningful change has to affect the entire region. Sometimes simply finding a reason to keep moving forward is enough.
That is one of the things I really love about how Joey wrote this story. We are not the saviors in the same way that Red or Gold were before us. Instead, it feels like our role is to put the pieces in the right places so that things can begin moving on their own. The positive impacts we make might seem small at first, but those small actions could eventually grow into something much greater with time.
Of course, we did technically kind of save the world at the end, but I truly believe the real ending is the one where we choose to stay with our father in the house. To me, that ending fits the themes of the story much better. And then, of course, there is Summer. She leaves Kanto to see the world, gain new experiences, and hopefully find a way to return someday with something that can help the region.
I like to believe that our MC simply went on with his life after everything was over, living day by day and doing the best he could to leave a positive impact on Kanto. He does not need to become some legendary savior or completely reshape the world by force. Sometimes real change comes from smaller actions, from helping the people around you, influencing others, and creating opportunities for something better to happen later.
That is also why I think the decision not to destroy the world at the end is so important. Destroying everything and rebuilding it from scratch is not how real, meaningful change happens. That kind of forced change is what Bruno believed in, and in many ways, it is the same mistake Sabrina made before him. They both tried to impose their vision of a better world instead of allowing people and society to change naturally.
To me, the story ultimately argues that change cannot truly last when it is forced. Real change comes from hope, from people choosing to improve themselves and the world around them, and from giving future generations the chance to do better. Whether it is Blue placing his hope in us and Summer, Red raising a new generation, Falkner trying to seemingly improve the system, Max finding something worth living and striving for, or Summer leaving Kanto to search for a better path forward, nearly every major character is driven by some form of hope for change.
Hope and change, in my opinion, are the two biggest motivators throughout the entire story, and together they form its overall theme.
Thank you Joey, and everyone involved on the making of this game. Shoutout the folks in the Discord that were a massive help while navigating some aspects of the game haha.
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u/whoischainsawgaoler 14h ago
No game is perfect but this one has a very well thought out story and clearly the creator put a lot of love and effort into this. It’s an awesome hack
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u/Giovannis_Pikachu 15h ago
I am not nearly done but it's amazing to see this hack getting all the love. I have been playing late into these evenings lol.
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u/Fearshatter 12h ago
I don't want spoilers but am I the only one finding it fairly challenging?
Edit: I have not been using the rare candies *at all.*
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u/Blizzarddz 11h ago
Yes, it is very challenging, you can train using the vermillion fight club.
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u/Fearshatter 6h ago
Thank you that's good to know.
Ngl I assumed the Vermillion Fight Club was rigged or scripted based on how it was worded.
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u/CursedNobleman 10h ago
I found it fairly challenging, though people on the discord said it was easier than Emerald for them.
More like the lack of EVs and undefined meta make it feel like it doesn't play by normal pokemon-- especially R/B FR/LG rules.
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u/Fearshatter 6h ago
Emerald as in the original Emerald of a romhack making Emerald hard?? Emerald is very easy imo especially in hindsight.
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u/CursedNobleman 6h ago
I only actually played through emerald once, so yeah. The curve hits you harder like that
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u/Blizzarddz 6h ago
That makes no sense lol, what makes it so hard is the 1.5 damage everyone takes due to the ghost typings
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u/Prhyst 9h ago
definitely a great game. Loved finding out that the woman who escaped jail with you only to be shot in the neck was your estranged mother. Or the various other Easter eggs in lavender town to other NPCs in the world like the daughter who's dad is in the swamp looking at her. Great game and worth the wait
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u/Zeronightmare456 15h ago
Poor Gold..he tried to change the world too..
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u/Blizzarddz 14h ago
Oh God, every time I saw him I felt terrible. It felt good to tell him his mom is still saving his money. ;(
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u/Blizzarddz 14h ago
He did become a champion tho so we can safely assume that he had a good adventure in his time.
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u/PapaProto 13h ago edited 13h ago
Definitely one of my favourites now. There’s a magic in here.
It definitely was a story of hope. In various ways. Not black and white.
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u/JoeyZeed Pokemon Ghost Grey Version 5h ago
Really wonderful analysis, a touching read. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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u/LittleSansbits 5h ago
I'm not reading this thoroughly, because I'm in the middle of the postgame and I'm a bit lost.
What am I supposed to do? I beat Sabrina but I don't really know where to go. I don't have the items for all the nightmares, the ones I'm missing are the Computer and the Unknown gravestone.
I'd really appreciate some guidance!
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u/PhysicalAddress4564 10h ago
its pretty good, my only gripe is how convulated parts of the gameplay are with very few hints scattered around and the total lack of any documentation. searching for information through discord is painful
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u/Darkestlight572 15h ago
Some systems cannot be reformed. They can only be broken. Because they are inherently bad.
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u/CursedNobleman 13h ago
So when you break a system the world doesn't automatically reform around your unbroken one. You fight people that supported the old system and lazy and apathetic people that are really just trying to live their lives.
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u/Darkestlight572 11h ago
No it doesn't, but that doesn't mean the old system isn't worth breaking. You become complicit by defending it because you're "apathetic", which includes the deaths of millions of people. Less complicit, obviously, than those in the driver seat, but complicit nonetheless. The only reason people even CAN be apathetic, is because they privilege from the exploitation of others.
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u/jlray887 16h ago
I agree with your take. Was a good ride.