Genre: RPG
Platform: Gameboy Advance
So this is it, the big Poke’mon game I first heard of in the summer of 2002. Now it’s nearly a year later, and the game has finally arrived. Was it worth the wait? Simply put: Yes. Yes it was.
Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire is the third installment of the Poke’mon series, the first two being Poke’mon Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal. The story is pretty much the same as it was in those first two installments of the Poke’mon series: You control a main character who’s a Poke’mon Trainer, and that main character is on a quest to earn badges, beat the best trainers in the game (known as the Elite Four), and earn the title of Poke’mon Champion. You have to catch Poke’mon, train them to become stronger (just like in Super Mario RPG), and then beat other Trainers with them. However, in Ruby/Sapphire, there’s no Team Rocket like in RBY and GSC. Instead, there’s either Team Magma in Ruby, or Team Aqua in Sapphire. Team Magma wants to capture the legendary Poke’mon Groudon, while Team Aqua wants Kyogre. Throughout the game you will have to deal with these teams from time to time. In the end their plan turns out to be a total disaster, as they end up waking the legendary Poke’mon and causing a major disturbance in climate.
My rating scale is from 1 to 10. 10 is the highest rating, 5 is average, 1 is the lowest rating. In the Difficulty category, the higher a game scores, the more difficult it is.
Graphics: 7/10
Sure, Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire isn’t the most graphically stunning game on the Gameboy Advance, but for a Poke’mon game I think it looks fantastic. You can see your reflection in water, footprints in the sand, and more. Also, the battle screen has certainly improved from the earlier versions of Poke’mon. The Poke’mon images and attack animations look better, and the spaces the Poke’mon stand on during the battle indicate where you are battling. For example, if you’re battling in grass, the spaces that you’re Poke’mon are on will have grass on them. You’ll see what I mean when you have your first battle.
Sound/Music: 5/10
Not the best music out there, but not the worst either. I liked the music that plays during a battle with Team Magma/Aqua, and also the Elite Four battle music the best. I took points off in the sound part of this category because of the annoying beeping you hear when your Poke’mon’s health is in the red zone. This beeping is present in all the Poke’mon games, but it seems to be more annoying in Ruby/Sapphire, and it makes me REALLY want to either switch out the Poke’mon, or use a Potion. If I can’t, it can get annoying, especially if the opponent Poke’mon just uses attacks that don’t do damage and doesn’t KO your Poke’mon for a few turns.
Difficulty: 4/10
I don’t really think Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire is as difficult as the previous Poke’mon games. Depending on how much you have to battle Wild Poke’mon to become strong enough to beat the next Gym Leader, though, it may take you awhile to beat the game (my game time was at about 50 hours when I became Champion). The farther you get into the game, the harder beating the Trainers becomes, but never to the point of frustration.
Gameplay: 8/10
Nintendo made a good effort with this game, but they kinda blew it with the Poke’dex. For some reason, the folks at Nintendo decided they had to create a whole new Poke’dex, and they ended up scrapping about 80 percent of the old Poke’mon from the game to “make room” for the new Poke’mon. Unfortunately, most of my old favorites were among the scrapped Poke’mon. And as for the other 20 percent still in the game, they now have new Poke’dex numbers. For example, Pikachu is now #156 (Pikachu will always be #25 in my heart). Oh well. I suppose the new Oscilloscope in the Cry section of the Poke’dex that lets you see the sound waves of a Poke’mon’s cry makes up for it.
One of my favorite parts of this game is the new Double Battles. They’re just like regular battles but you have two Poke’mon out on the field at one time instead of one. Oh, and in a Double Battle, you have to choose the target of your attacks, and if you’re not careful, you can accidentally select that Poke’mon’s partner! Then your Poke’mon will receive the attack instead of the opponent!
I also like the Battle Tower that becomes available after you defeat the Elite Four. You have to choose three Poke’mon up to Level 50 (or Level 100 if you choose the Level 100 Battle Room), and fight seven Trainers in a row. You are automatically healed in between battles, but if you lose a battle, you are sent back outside and you’ll have to start over. I myself have created various teams for the Battle Tower only.
Another really fun part of this game is the fact that you have the option to build your own Secret Base. To get a Secret Base, just use TM43 Secret Power on a square indent in mountains or on trees or clumps of grass. Once you have a Secret Base, you can buy decorations for it- dolls, mats, posters, and desks to name a few. I kinda wish you could have more than one Secret Base though…
Control: 10/10
Since most of the controls in this game are walking around and making menu selections (with a few exceptions, such as the Berry Blender game), once you get them down (if you don’t already have them down from playing the previous versions of Poke’mon), it will feel like you could fight a battle in your sleep. Everything just feels natural.
Replay Value: 6/10
After you beat the Elite Four, new side quests will open up, like the Sky Pillar and the Battle Tower. You can continue building up your Poke’mon to Level 100 or try to build teams for the Battle Tower. Like I said in the Gameplay category, I think the Battle Tower is one of the more fun parts of the game. Plus, there are 202 Poke’mon to catch. You don’t need them all to beat the game, but it’s crazy fun to try to catch ‘em all!
Fun Factor!: 9/10
The only reason this game doesn’t get 10/10 in this category is because chances are have to battle Wild Poke’mon to become stronger so you can beat the next Gym Leader or the Elite Four, and battling Wild Poke’mon can be boring after awhile. But other than that, Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire is a really fun game to play. When you play it, you’re reminded why you love Poke’mon in the first place.
Size: 8/10
Not only is Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire one of the best games available on the Gameboy Advance, it’s also one of the largest. With about 40 different areas (and one main island) to explore, it’s pretty easy to feel overwhelmed. I’d say that Paper Mario and Donkey Kong 64 are a little larger, but then again, they’re on the Nintendo 64, not the Gameboy Advance.
Recommendation: 10/10
I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of Poke’mon, unless they feel that the idea of 135 new Poke’mon is not a good idea. As a matter of fact, if you don’t enjoy Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire, your Gameboy Advance should be taken away.
Overall: 9/10
Despite the issues I mentioned in the individual categories above, Poke’mon Ruby/Sapphire is a terrifically fun game. As you play it, you’ll be reminded just how much fun Poke’mon can be. When you’re not playing it, you’ll be thinking about playing it. And when you’re writing a Review of it, like this one, you’ll want to quickly end the Review to play it some more. In fact, uh, I gotta go…
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