What do you look for in a ROM hack?

I like to look for good game play, overall design, and creativity. If a ROM hack does have an interesting plot or setting, I probably wont be influenced enough to play at first. When it comes to actually playing the game, if its note creative or looks poorly designed, I wont be playing it long. If a ROM hack has unique and nicely designed characters, towns, and Pokémon, there is a greater incentive to play the game and enjoy what it has to offer!

 

Originality, creativity and grammar. Each of these elements is important, and while I can sometimes ignore one, if two or three aren't present, it becomes much more difficult to play

 

In a rom hack, I definitely need it to be creative. I'm kind of okay with the game having original sprites and whatnot, but the storyline has to be new and creative.

 

It needs to have things that the regular games don't have, like a little new mechanic or fakemon. It also needs to have a good plot... That's about it xD I'm easily satisfied.

 

Honestly, how challenging it is. I love something difficult to go through. Something that ups the challenge of a Pokémon game. That's why I love ROM hacks like StormSilver. Although it's the same storyline, it makes battling much more difficult.

 

This. I get tired of the same cliche stories. I look for something deeper or possibly darker to peak my interests.

I also look for challenges such as Nuzlocke or Randolocke. The more challenges, the better, in my honest opinion!

 

At the very least, I want a ROM hack to be decently created. Things like grammar errors, weird glitches and scene changing without any kind of transistion just completely ruin a game for me. I'm not asking for the quality of a real Pokémon game, but I don't want to be constantly annoyed by these things. Besides of that, change is really important. I don't want to play the originals with some small aspects adjusted, I want to play a new game, something different and original. This doesn't mean that you'd have to create an entire new region, original characters could do the same thing, for example.