>>39263070alright fuck it here's some omega autism
>routes are vast and more varied, a lot of branching paths and hidden, rewarding areas to explore>lots of optional areas open up in the post-game to explore throughout the entire region>region is similar to hoenn and sinnoh with how you traverse it, there's back-tracking but not so much for it to get grating>100 - 120 new pokemon, handful of regional variants and a couple of cross-gen evolutions>some of the beta pokemon return (pangshi, kurstraw, farfetch'd evolution, the tigers and the yetis namely)>megas return but Z-moves are gone, only a few new megas but they're given to pokemon that actually deserve them>following pokemon returns>HMs are replaced with skills your pokemon unlock as you beat the gyms, similar to how LGPE handled it>easy, normal, and hard mode options>PWT, battle frontier, pokeathlon and DPP-styled contests return and are expanded on>PSS returns>player customisation is heavily expanded on, especially for the male options>underground returns and is expanded on with more varying areas, secret bases are a mix of platinum's and emerald's>rival similar to barry but with an attitude a little more like blue/green, he's your friend but he actually has a drive and wants to kick your ass, has a decent presence throughout the story without getting annoying or boring>dynamic music returns>cooking minigame similar to poffin-making>actual side-quests>amie is expanded on>plot isn't too intrusive but not too boring either>villain team's goals are something more grounded instead of "world domination", you aren't some special "chosen one" either>villains are similar to ORAS magma/aqua and team skull in terms of characterisation and charm>legendary plot is more of its own thing and more mystical, fight is actually challenging>lore expansions you can find out throughout the region if you choose to, similar to how platinum handled it but with less "just read all this exposition at once bro" 