The Pokémon Company (TPC) just made a huge reference to the famous “too much water” review of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and now it’s facing backlash from the community.
To celebrate the end of Water-type Month, The Pokémon Company shared the article, “Water vs. Land: A Debate for the Ages,” written from the perspectives of Team Magma and Team Aqua. As the criminal organizations from Ruby, Sapphire, and their remakes, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the beefing teams (unsurprisingly) had a lot of pretty nonsensical hot takes in the debate. It was admittedly an amusing read.
But, while the article itself was silly in nature and not intended to be taken seriously, it stemmed from an incident that happened almost a decade ago. While on the topic of the franchise’s Water Pokémon, TPC saw this as an opportunity to mention IGN’s original “too much water” review of Pokémon‘s Gen III remakes in 2014.
At first glance, it all seemed harmless, with TPC poking some fun at the criticism the games have faced in the past. However, it can also be seen as the company holding a grudge over that one review after nearly ten years, as expressed by members of the community. The writer of the review, Kallie Plagge, also responded in a quote repost with, “bro.”
Many people came to Plagge’s defense, praising the ORAS review for being accurate and iconic. After all, you have to admit there is a decent amount of water you have to travel through in the Hoenn region. Lore-wise, you can argue it also gave Team Magma more of a reason to be mad and motivated—even if their whole vision is ridiculous.
Others called out TPC, saying, “This is in really poor taste,” and, “They will never let it go.” In fact, this isn’t the first time the company has referenced that specific review. Fans discovered an Easter egg in Sun and Moon with the text: “7.8/10 Too much water.” So it’s become a recurring joke within the Pokémon community, whether it’s making fans laugh or roll their eyes. It wouldn’t be surprising if it’s referenced again in future games.
Perhaps this is a sign for TPC to move on to other fresher Pokémon memes, like the ones poking fun at Wolfe Glick’s love-hate relationship with Incineroar.
