Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald

Game Title(s): Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Sapphire, Pokemon Emerald
Date Launched: 03/18/2003 (Ruby and Sapphire USA), 04/30/2005 (Emerald USA). Who knowns when it will reach Europe. LOL
No. of Player: 1
Console: Game Boy Advance
Difficulty: Easy
Extras: Fire Red/Leaf Green and a few Nintendo Events you have to go to, to get everything
Genre: RPG
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Rating: MA…I’m just joking with ya…it’s general. Although wouldn’t it be hilarious if it was rated MA. My God! Would that mean we would actually get to see how two Jiggypuffs make out and have a Iggypuff. LMAO I’m so messed up.

Game Play
85/100
Known as the third generation of the Pokemon franchise, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald take Pokemon to a new level. Although as most fans have realized each new installement is an improvement on it’s own, R/S/E take not one but three steps forward–three was the first number to pop into by head by the way. Players now get to use their pokemon outside of the battle arina and show them off in a variety of ways. The actual game play hasn’t changed much although the introduction of 2-on-2 battles is a dream come true for most trainsers (this feature is even enchanced even more in Emerald). Trainers now get to enter their pokemon into a variety of contest such as beauty, smarts, and overall cuteness. Trainers who are egar to do it all might now find themselves with too much to do. With contests, gym battles, trofies, and serveral mysteries to unlock this could take you while. R/S/E have basically cut themselves off from the priovious generations and set out to create a new legion of pokemon (this might have work out so well since the creation of Fire Red and Leaf Green was rushed most likely to quite angry Americans boys and girls who couldn’t stand the fact that they couldn’t catch a charazard in the game).

Graphics
80/100
Very Pokemon game is judge on this: how are the graphics in this better than the one before. R/S/E is certainly a step in the right direction, the pixels are much smaller meaning better quality of the pokemon sprites. However, it isn’t the pokemon new sprites that got fans talking it’s the new region: Honen, with actually wheather (rain, sand storm, extra sunlight) Honen is more realistic–well some what more they removed day and night, due to complaints that you couldn’t see well in night and that it be of much purpose in this installment–than any pokemon game before it. With wheater changes as you move from town to town, you get a better feel of playing in a real world–which might interfer with your social (if you had one). The battles themsleves took an upgrade also, pokemon moves look a bit more reasonable this time, although they still have that annoy “tackle” move that never actuals hit the pokemon. Overall the graphics are well done and truly worth an appluase for the person that did.

Story
75/100
Pokemon has never been known for it’s story value, but R/S/E is ok (the +5). They got rid of Rocket and replaced it with Team Magna or Team Aqua or Both (who, if you have been watching the anime, is just an outer branch of Team Rocket created by Geovanni to conduct his mission in Honen–just a little FYI); depending on the game you have. As usually they are the ones that drive the story in this, but this time they aren’t as centralized as Rocket. You’ll be fighting Team Magna/Aqua all over Honen and even till the very end until you capture whatever pokemon is on the cover of the box. After that you are basically on your own. You can solves mysteries, take you pokemon into contest, capture the 151 pokemon (or 378 with Fire Red and Leaf Green) you can create your own story. Yay!

Sounds & Music
70/100
Typical Pokemon maybe a little more engetic this time, especially in important battles. If you’ve never played pokemon before (Home-schooled) the music isn’t great but it ain’t all bad.

Replayability
85/100
This is where Pokemon games shines! When you defeat the Elite Four and see the end titles it really isn’t the ending but merely the beginning you still have a lot to do. There are berries to collect, contests to win, rare pokemon to catch, the battle tower (which has improved) to complete, and of course all 378 pokemon to catch–you’ve got you hands full.

Overall
80/100
A good game definetly one of the RPG staples in all of the gaming world, probably up there with Fire Emblem and Legend of Zelda. It’s reall easy to beat the gyms are pretty easy to beat since most of the time you’ll be able to capture a pokemon who has a great advantage to that gym leader’s pokemon before you battle them. There is a lot to do to keep you busy, although it isn’t exactly mandatory to do, you might actually just get bored and forget about doing unless you are really into it. It’s good game to pick up if you’ve got to time to do it all.

By Cherubim

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Pokemon Diamond & Pearl (Prima Official Game Guide)