Pokemon Sapphire Version

"I choose this game!"

PROS: Excellent story; great graphics; usual use-your-head gameplay; huge land expanse to explore; decent AI; plenty of extras

CONS: Can get boring at times; some parts are way too easy

I choose you, Pokemon Sapphire!

I mean it. This is likely the best Pokemon game out there.

Let me start off by saying this: Sapphire is slightly better than Ruby. I've played them both, and the only differences between them are the story is slightly altered and certain Pokemon only appear in certain games. The Pokemon that appear exclusively in Sapphire are better than those of Ruby. Trust me on this. Lotad > Seedot, Sableye > Mawhile, and Seviper = Zangoose, just to name a few.

This game would win awards in almost every department. The story is very good. You encounter a psychopath megalomaniac who's bent on flooding the planet and have to use your Pokemon to stop him. The story overall is good, but the volcano scene makes little sense. Of course, the usual Pokemon stuff applies: you trek from town to town, taking on weaker trainers that get on your way. When you get to a different town, there's often a gym there. You can challenge the gym leader to a battle after clearing out all of their underlings in the gym. Each gym contains a specific type of Pokemon. What Pokemon you use against them will determine who prevails. Never use a Wingull against a Magneton because Wingull can't do anything against an Electric/Steel type because it's doubly weak to Electric and its Flying and Water attacks do little harm to a Steel-type. This means that you need to be able to use your Pokemonology knowledge to your best here, which makes this game far from easy. However, some of the parts are way too easy to blow through because your foe trainers aren't very skilled. They know what Pokemon to send out to take on yours, but the game gives you the option of switching out Pokemon. Use this to your advantage. If it says “HIKER PAUL is about to use Graveler. Switch Pokemon?” and you have your Pikachu out that just KO'd his Machoke, take the opportunity to call your Pikachu back and send out your Azumarill to take out the Graveler in one hit with a Bubblebeam. Luckily, there is an option to rid of this free-switch ability, so you're welcome to change it if you're having no problem doing damage.

The land of Hoenn plays host to this adventure. This place is huge- the area isn't as big as that of Pokemon Silver, but mighty close. The main difference is that this place is much cooler to explore. There's mist in the cave, there's rain in certain areas of the map (and when you enter a battle the rain takes effect, which is really cool), sandstorms in the desert, and the buildings look like actual buildings instead of boxes. GameFreak clearly put a lot of effort into developing the graphics here, which are some of the best on the GBA.

Of course, you can play as either a boy (Brendan) or a girl (May from the anime). Whoever you don't choose will be one of your rivals along the way. And instead of just having one principal rival like Gary or that orange-haired thug from Silver, you have several. You'll meet a lot of people here, as usual. Few of them play much importance- a lot of them say the same thing over and over. Some of them will give you a useful item. The only people whose personalities were well-developed are the gym leaders, rivals, the bad guys, and a few people you'll meet a lot.

As I said before, the AI is pretty good. A trainer is smarter than a wild Pokemon and will use- and have- better moves than a wild Pokemon. The wild Pokemon will just defend themselves and sometimes make bonehead moves. Some of these battles last a long time, especially with the legendaries (there are five of those plus one that flees). The trainers are not pushovers unless they only train one type of Pokemon. The best battles are with trainers that have multiple types of Pokemon. But since you can switch Pokemon when an opponent's one faints, this makes it easy. They'll rarely switch out in the middle of battle. But they'll send out a Hariyama to take out your Vigoroth, but you can switch to your Pelipper to kill the Hariyama quickly. Training six Pokemon of varying types will let you take on almost anything. But since your Pokemon will need healing, the battles farther on the trek to the next Pokemon center will become more difficult. Make sure you stock up on revives and potions because you'll be needing them.

On the downside, the game can get a bit boring if you keep losing to a gym leader and have to go train your Pokemon some more. You'll have a hard time finding trainers once you've beaten them and have to take on some wild Pokemon, which aren't that tough and don't supply your Pokemon with as much EXP points. Some of them will record you as a friend on your PokeNav, which works just like the PokeGear on Pokemon Silver, only it's better. You can record an infinite amount of other trainers here, and it'll put a mark by their name when they want to try to take you down again. Which doesn't happen because their Pokemon won't be as high-level as yours are. The PokeNav does work well, though.

There are plenty of side quests here to keep anyone happy. Alternate routes, completing your Pokedex, extra caves and the like are aplenty here. Also, a new feature is the contests here. These are OK. They're not like those on the show, however, because there's no battle determining whose Pokemon pulls off cooler moves. You can choose between five different contests- Cool, Cute, Beauty, Smart, and Tough- for your Pokemon to participate in. Since your Pokemon here have their own nature (“personality" although it doesn't show), you can breed a Pokemon with a specific nature for a specific contest. The nature will affect which kinds of PokeBlock, which are a drug designed to enhance certain contest stats, your Pokemon will get the biggest boost from. Contest rules will only let you use a specific amount of PokeBlock on each Pokemon, so make them wisely using the button-mashing Berry Blender mini-game. Make sure your Pokemon knows three moves for the type of contest you're entering, and pulling off combos can result in more points. Overall, these contests aren't that bad, and add a new dimension to the Pokemon universe. They're worth playing just to have the experience.

Other side quests will help you consume even more time. This game will easily occupy over 20 hours of play, likely more. This game is great for anyone, even someone who isn't very fond of the Pokemon universe. The learning curve for those people isn't the easiest, but the game makes it simple by providing you with enough information on how to start.

This is clearly a great game. Everything here is well-done, but the game can get a bit dull if you have to train your Pokemon some more. Also, the game makes it easier than it should be at times. The gym leaders, contests, completing your Pokedex, and keeping a good Pokemon party will be a considerable challenge, however, and this game is definitely worth picking up if you haven't already. It'll keep you occupied for a while. A 9 out of 10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06