Pokémon ROM hacks ranked by difficulty, from relaxed to Kaizo

The five tiers

Find the tier you want, then pick a hack from that row. If a hack has difficulty modes, it’s placed by its default and the other modes are listed too.

I’ve finished SoulGold and Unbound, so those two placements come from my own runs. I haven’t finished the rest. Sorting the others felt like ranking roller coasters I’ve only watched from the line.

Tier	How hard it plays	Hacks
Vanilla	Easier than or equal to the official games	Heart & Soul, Crystal Clear, Light Platinum, Quetzal (Normal), Infinite Fusion
Vanilla+	Modest bump: fuller teams, modern mechanics, sometimes caps	SoulGold (Normal), Gaia, Polished Crystal, Liquid Crystal, Rocket Edition, Glazed, Sors, Adventure Red Chapter, Emerald Seaglass, Lazarus, Prism, Emerald Rogue, Odyssey
Hard	Designed as a difficulty hack, still fair	Unbound (Difficult), SoulGold (Hard), Inclement Emerald (Normal), Sacred Gold / Storm Silver, Renegade Platinum, Blaze Black 2 Redux (Normal), Clover, Elite Redux (Easy), Fire Red Omega
Very hard	Competitive teams, tight caps, item limits	Radical Red (Normal), Unbound (Expert), Elite Redux (Ace), Inclement Emerald (Hard, Challenge), Blaze Black 2 Redux (Challenge)
Kaizo	Author-declared unfair or “super hard”	Emerald Kaizo, Run & Bun, Unbound (Insane), Radical Red (Hardcore), Elite Redux (Elite)

Vanilla: relaxed

Play these if you just want to enjoy the game. Nothing here asks more of you than Crystal or Emerald did.

No level caps, Shift style by default, items allowed in battle, and AI that doesn’t predict your switches. If you lose a fight, you were underleveled. Ten minutes in the grass fixes it. Sometimes this is exactly the tier I want after a long week.

• Heart & Soul: the developers say outright it isn’t a difficulty hack. The Challenges menu lets you add your own rules, but the trainers are tuned for a normal HGSS pace.
• Crystal Clear: open world, with gyms that scale to your badges, so it never gets hard.
• Light Platinum: a 2008 Ruby hack with no difficulty features at all.
• Quetzal: five settings from Very Easy to Very Hard, Normal by default. The only change I can confirm between them is rival levels.
• Infinite Fusion: a PC fan game, not a ROM hack. Fusions average their stats, so it plays casual. There’s an easy setting and a hard mode if you want them.

Vanilla+: a modest bump

Most “enhancement” hacks land here. Expect a handful of resets across the whole run, usually at a gym where you brought the wrong type.

You get modern mechanics (physical/special split, Fairy type, abilities), gym leaders with fuller teams, and sometimes caps. The game still isn’t built to make you lose. This is the tier where I have the most fun on a lazy Sunday.

SoulGold on Normal belongs here. Caps run 12, 19, 26, 34, 42, 45, 48, 55, 58, 62 and 70, and you can set them to None, Soft or Hard. With caps on, the gyms are fair fights. With caps off, Johto’s level curve is as soft as it was in 2009. My breakdown is in SoulGold level caps and Hard mode.

Gaia has no modes and no caps. From what I’ve played, it’s a little harder than FireRed, mostly because trainers run real movesets.

Polished Crystal defaults to Set style and removes badge boosts, with tougher AI and teams. It’s a real push, but a gentle one. Liquid Crystal raises levels and redoes rival and gym movesets.

Lazarus has caps on by default (v2.0 lets you turn them off) and buffs weak Pokémon. The caps are what make it feel tighter than Vanilla. I’d call it upper Vanilla+. The caps have caught me overconfident more than once already.

Emerald Seaglass has a soft cap on and Hard Mode off by default. Turn Hard Mode on and it moves up a tier. Odyssey has multiple difficulty levels, soft caps, no healing items in battle and doubles only, so it sits at the top of this tier.

Rocket Edition, Sors, Adventure Red Chapter, Glazed and Prism are story hacks. Glazed’s hotfix even made the first four gyms easier. Emerald Rogue gets harder as each run goes on, but it isn’t a difficulty hack.

Hard: a real difficulty hack that stays fair

Play these if you want to lose fights and learn from them, without losing your tools. Expect to reset at most gyms at least once and at the Elite Four several times.

Gym leaders bring six Pokémon with movesets that make sense. Caps are enforced or strongly suggested, and the AI uses its moves well. You can usually still use items. This tier is where I fell in love with ROM hacks.

Unbound on Difficult is my benchmark, because I finished it there. Bosses get held items, natures, EVs and better moves, and they scale to your highest-level Pokémon. Regular trainers sit five to seven levels below it. Items default to “4 Items Only”, and caps (20 to 75 by badge) apply if you turn on Capped Exp. Share. Start here if Unbound is your first hack. My team on Difficult is still the one I’m proudest of. More in Unbound review and difficulty.

SoulGold on Hard goes here too, from my own run. Gyms and the Elite Four get tougher teams and turn into Doubles. Regular trainers stay the same apart from smarter movesets. The Doubles switch is what bites, because one sweeper can’t carry you. With Hard caps on, I lost gym fights I’d have steamrolled on Normal, but I never needed a damage calc.

Inclement Emerald on Normal has enforced caps since v1.3 (one EXP point per knockout over the cap) and trainers that scale to your party. Normal has no trainer EVs, and that’s what keeps it out of the next tier.

Sacred Gold and Storm Silver give gym leaders and the Elite Four six Pokémon and a steeper curve, with no caps. Renegade Platinum does the same Drayano thing, with tougher bosses. Blaze Black 2 Redux on Normal suggests caps but doesn’t enforce them, so it’s on you not to overlevel.

Clover is built for series veterans, and the Radical Red author rates it one of the two best difficulty hacks. Elite Redux on Easy still runs full competitive AI teams with Set forced, so even its easiest mode is Hard. Fire Red Omega is the 2009 Drayano hack that inspired Emerald Kaizo. Nothing about it survives to check, so it’s placed on reputation.

Very hard: competitive teams, caps, item limits

Play these when Hard stops making you sweat. You’ll reset at every major boss, often several times, and build a counter-team for at least one of them.

Trainers have full EVs and competitive sets. Caps are tight, and healing items are limited or banned. You plan the fight before it starts. Unbound Expert is the first time I opened a notes app mid-battle.

Radical Red on Normal is the reference here. It’s a difficulty hack in the Drayano tradition, and its tools assume you play at the cap. There’s a soft cap tied to the next boss, and Minimal Grinding Mode gives perfect IVs, removes EVs and blocks trading, so there’s nothing left to grind. I haven’t finished it.

Unbound on Expert turns on Capped Exp. Share by default and hands you a Macho Brace at the start. Aces and late-game trainers get full EVs in their two best stats. Gym gimmicks get nastier. Crater Town bleeds 1/12 of your max HP per turn, and Polder Town runs heavy rain. Items are “4 Items Only”. If you start on Expert and lower it before you’re Champion, you can’t raise it back.

Elite Redux on Ace is the mode its author meant you to play. Set is forced, and every enemy has a full competitive set. Inclement Emerald on Hard adds trainer EVs, and Challenge removes the bag in trainer battles and forces Set. Blaze Black 2 Redux on Challenge is that hack’s top setting, with caps still left to you.

Kaizo: the author says it is unfair

Only play these if you want to spend weeks on a first clear. The creators tell you up front that a normal player isn’t supposed to win.

Items are banned in battle, bosses bring six Pokémon from the first gym, and the AI reads your options. Some rule sets even break normal Nuzlocke play. Expect to reset every boss many times and to plan everything in a damage calc. I’m not there yet, and I’m fine admitting it.

Emerald Kaizo is the super hard mode of Emerald, and one misclick ends you. Bag items are banned in battle, gym leaders have six Pokémon and there are no EVs. A Nuzlocke of the Elite Four is close to impossible unless you know their teams. There’s no hard cap, just a published level curve you’re expected to follow.

Run & Bun is a difficulty hack of Emerald inspired by Emerald Kaizo and Radical Red, with almost 500 custom battles. EVs are gone and the Endless Candy levels you to the cap, so your plan is the only thing that changes. The caps are hard: EXP stops at the cap, and only a few limited Rare Candies get you past it. Under Nuzlocke rules, it’s close to impossible.

Unbound on Insane is, in Skeli’s words, “a difficulty designed around unfair challenges.” He points you to the Battle Frontier Demo if you want fair fights. Insane changes these rules:

• Regular trainers scale to two levels below your best Pokémon
• Items are banned in trainer battles
• Minimize is banned
• Opposing trainers know about your hidden type-resist Berries
• Skeli, Golche and Cynthia use some Ubers

You can’t pick Insane on your first ever playthrough. I haven’t worked up the nerve for it on New Game+ either.

Radical Red Hardcore is borderline. It mixes in a bit of Kaizo and Unbound Insane, restricts weather and stat-boosting moves, adds mandatory minibosses and forces Minimal Grinding Mode. Elite Redux on Elite comes with a warning that the very first trainer has a good chance of beating you.

Hacks with in-game difficulty options

Hack	Options	What they change	Level caps
Unbound	Vanilla / Difficult / Expert / Insane	Boss team quality, trainer scaling, item limits, gym gimmicks; can only lower mid-game	Optional (Capped Exp. Share), 15–66 or 20–75
Radical Red	Normal / Hardcore, Minimal Grinding toggle	Hardcore adds harder bosses, move and ability bans, forces Minimal Grinding	Soft cap tied to next boss
Inclement Emerald	Normal / Hard / Challenge	Hard adds trainer EVs; Challenge bans the bag and Shift	Enforced since v1.3
Elite Redux	Easy / Ace / Elite	Enemy team strength; Set enforced on all; can lower, never raise	Yes, three settings
SoulGold	Normal / Hard, caps None / Soft / Hard	Hard gives gyms and the Elite Four tougher teams and makes them Doubles	Optional, 12–70
Blaze Black 2 Redux	Easy / Normal / Challenge	Trainer strength	Recommended only
Quetzal	Very Easy to Very Hard (5)	Rival levels; nothing else confirmed	Not stated
Odyssey	Multiple levels	Not detailed in the thread	Soft caps
Emerald Seaglass	Hard Mode toggle, Soft Level Cap toggle	Tougher trainers when on	Soft, on by default
Lazarus	None	Caps can be disabled since 2.0	On by default
Heart & Soul	Challenges menu	Optional self-imposed rules, not balanced for	Not stated

Where SoulGold Hard and Unbound Expert sit against Radical Red

This part is my call. I finished SoulGold and Unbound. I haven’t finished Radical Red. I argued this order with myself for a week.

SoulGold Hard is a tier below Radical Red Normal. Only the boss fights change, items are legal and caps are optional. Even with Hard caps, I beat every gym with a balanced in-game team and some switching. The Doubles make the gyms harder than Unbound Difficult, but it never asked for a competitive build. Call it upper Hard.

Unbound Expert sits next to Radical Red Normal. Capped Exp. Share by default, full EVs on Aces, “4 Items Only”, scaled bosses and nastier gym gimmicks meant I had to build for specific leaders. One team couldn’t carry me. Insane I won’t argue with: Skeli calls it unfair, and its rules match the Kaizo tier.

If you want to climb, go in this order:

1. SoulGold Normal with Hard caps
2. Unbound Difficult
3. SoulGold Hard
4. Unbound Expert or Radical Red Normal
5. Emerald Kaizo or Run & Bun, once you’re ready to lose a lot

If you’d rather pick by quality than pain, go to the best Pokémon ROM hacks.