Pokemon Emerald Version

"Pokemon, like a glass of fine wine...."

Pokemon Emerald

Pokemon Emerald was the newest incarnation of Pokemon for the gba, but sometimes I wonder why I bought this game new. Don't get me wrong, I was a giant Pokemon fan...I have two robotic Pikachu toys in my room, and a couple of Pokemon trading cards as my witnesses. Now I remember why! The amazing looking holographic box art with a dragon-type Pokemon on it...

Story - 4/10

Pokemon, like most name-your-own character RPG's doesn't have a strong story. This in particular follows the exact same story of Ruby version. That is, you play as a boy or a girl who is the offspring of a Gym Leader who makes his or her way up into the Elites. After moving to your new home, the story starts...

Pokemon Emerald uses the Ruby storyline as a base, and then adds onto it. You get to battle both eco-cults, Team Magma and Team Aqua...and you get to battle for the Pokemon Championship. Also noted...the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza appears in the storyline as well.

And as usual, you have a friendly rival, this time found in Brendan or May depending on which gender you picked. You run into him or her once in a while, and then your rival battles you to test your strength.

Gameplay - 8/10

Standard Pokemon gameplay...with a twist of olive. There are more true "two-on-two" battles in which a trainer joins you and puts Pokemon into play. This makes it more fun and definately more exciting...until you realise that you have to help your AI controlled partner a lot.

Remember that training Pokemon with wild Pokemon is difficult? Well, no more. With a special item, you can now rebattle trainers in the field. Only thing is that you have to charge it with steps before activating it.

Basically, three things have changed; The Battle Frontier, Battle Tents, and Contests.

Contests are now only held in Lilycove, so you take half the game getting there, and that makes you a little more prepared with berries and decent movesets. But a little note to the wary, this can really put a crimp in your playing style if you like to interrupt battle training with contests to keep it fresh.

The Battle Tents have replaced contests in every city but Lilycove. Battle Tents are specialty battle "leaques" with conditions. For example, one Battle Tent allows for battling without the trainer choosing moves. The Pokemon's nature chooses moves for you, and depending on your Pokemon's nature and moveset, you may win. (A strong Pokemon may have a weak moveset and vice versa.) This is a great tutorial for the upcoming Battle Frontier.

The Battle Frontier is the ultimate test in Pokemon. You have many rules and regulations which affect your battles. It is very similar to many Battle Tents battles. It is unlocked after meeting a specific in game condition, and you can spend your entire apres Elite Four time playing in that area.

Graphics - 7/10

No difference, except Nintendo animated the Pokemon's pre-battle sprites. It looks like Nintendo just redid the main character's clothing and facial features to update the look a little.

Sound - 7/10

No new sounds are added, not even new music. The Battle Frontier has a remix of some music in the game, and even the bike music is catchier than usual. Remixes of music are very common in this game...but the most annoying sound would be the battle theme. It sounds frenzied and panicky, and not at all like battle music at all.

Everything seems very repetitive in this game, from training Pokemon to listening to the bike sounds as you are racing down Cycling Road.

Control - 10/10

Standard RPG style button schemes live on in this game. The should er buttons do nothing, while the A and B buttons bear the brunt of the abuse.

Replayability - 4/10

Pokemon replayability is traditionally very low unless you have a friend or friends with a copy of this game. You have different battles to fight, and the ever-lasting mound of new Pokemon to train.

Final Thoughts - 7/10

Ah Pokemon. Like a pair of well-worn sneakers, they are comfortable to slip into and play. Unfortunately, most veterans of Pokemon are tired of playing rehashes of Pokemon games. If you need your Pokemon fix, I suggest you and a bunch of friends get this.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/17/06