Pokemon Emerald Version

"This game takes great parts of Ruby and Sapphire, combines them, and adds a little spice on top"

To start off this review is a brief summary of the Pokemon franchise. As many people know, Pokemon (Pocket Monsters in Japan) is a show about a young trainer named Ash who wants to become the Pokemon master. But blocking his dream are a multitude of regions around the world, each with at least 8 gym leaders and, the masters of the region, the elite 4 and the champion.

The video game takes this basic outline and remakes it in different ways. In this game, you play as a boy or girl who's just moved to the Hoenn region. You meet Professor Birch being attacked by a wild Zigzagoon, and you bravely and valiantly drive it off with your starter Pokemon. In this particular game, you get to choose between a Torchic, a Treecko, and a Mudkip. Where you go and do from there is all up to you. You can overlevel, underlevel, etc. This review will cover the basics and a little more deeper for you.

Story~9.5/10
In previous Pokemon games, your goal was very clearly straightforward, this doesn't apply as much to this game, but it still has some influence, which cost the score a point. Just like in Ruby and Sapphire, you play the role of a girl or boy who just recent;y moved to the Hoenn region. Your dad just happens to be the leader of the Petalburg Gym. When you decide to go walk around for a while you find out that the famous researcher, Professor Birch, has been attacked by a wild Pokemon. You get the option of using 3 different kids of Pokemon to drive the scoundrel Pokemon away. The Pokemon you choose is your starter one.

In Ruby, you had to take team Magma down. The legendary Pokemon you got in that version was Groudon. In Sapphire, you had to take team Aqua down, and the legendary Pokemon you got was a Kyogre. Well, in this game, you have to take BOTH teams down, while also getting the opportunity to catch all 3 legendary's in Hoenn; Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquayza. This adds a 0.5 to the score of this department, while also adding a sense of thrill and a significantly larger difficulty to the game.

Graphics~10/10
As all major brand games have done, the hraphics in this game have been upgraded. Everything about the graphics in this game are so near perfect. The scenes are somewhat well-made. One of the high-water points for this department are the spectacular new graphics for the battles. The attacks have been updated since the last game.

In addition to the battle graphics, there are also the graphics for the weather a field. The grass is short and bushy like it always is, so no flaw there. But then, you have the tall grass. The tall grass is, like the title tells you, tall. The only part you'll be able to see is that part of your characters hair that's pointing up. It's also pretty cool the way they made it look when the grass is swaying. For the weather, it's just perfect. (Good way, not bad way) When it rains, you see thunder and raindrops. When the weather is hot and scorching, the screen starts flashing red. also, when it's raining, you get little squares of puddles. These puddles mimic whatever move your character makes. By that I mean they show an image of your character in the water. Then there's the mist in certain areas. The mist makes the background look a lot more paler, ading a seriously creept eerie feeling to that area.

The last part for graphics is the poison. When one of your Pokemon is poisoned, whether in battle or out, your screen will tell you that your Pokemon is losing Hit Points by going sorta brokenish. What I mean by that is that the screen flashes like the broken channels for a televsion and makes a "SCREECH" sound. All of these aspects force me to give this section a 10/10.

Sound~10/10
The sounds in this game are awesome, and that's being mean. This game bundles the sounds of Ruby and Sapphire, and adds a little more spice to the already fragrant flower. By which, I'm talking about the Battle Frontier. You have a whole new area to explore in, actually there's a secret area in this place. Anyways, you have to fight the Frontier Brains, each with their own unique style, and backed up with an awesome song that was probavly made to get your blood pumping and your adrenaline rushing.

In addition to that, the battle sounds are pretty good also. As usual, if an attack is not very effective, you hear a quiet thump sound. If it's normal, you'll just hear a hit sound. If it's super effective, you hear a loud clash. The Pokemon crys and calls are also very well made this time around. You get an interface here you can hear a certain Pokemon's cry without any outside disturbance.

The area music is very well arranged. Spooky really is spooky, or at the least a bit creepy. If you are on a normal route, you hear victorious music. This section deserves it's well-earned 10/10.

Gameplay~9/10
As usual, the controls for this game are fairly simple. You use the directional pad to move your character up, donw, left, and right. You use the B button to cancel. You use the A button to select and perform an action. Pressing Select automatically usses the item you set it to. Pressing start opens up the Start Menu.

In this game, they add a more advanced version of double-battle. Whenever 2 trainers see you at the same time, you can be caught in a double battle. Before, it used to be that only twins and couples will double you.

This game also adds the infamous Battle Frontier, the place to go after you've beaten the Elite 4 several times to train. There a 7 different facilities in this area where you have to battle a Frontier Brain. Beat one, and you get a Frontier Symbol. I don't know what happens after you get all of them, because it's so hard to get just one. For those who wanna prepare for this challenging stage there are the Battle Tents (which have taken place of the Pokemon Contests.) You can prepare yourself for using these facilites. Off course you can always do a Pokemon Contest in Lilycove, because that's where all of them are held now.

As I said before, both Team Magma and Team Aqua are in this game, which make for an explosive storyline. (HINT HINT) Their bases are tougher to maneuver now, and they're definitely gonna let you go easily. (Unless you've overleveled)

The last thing I'm gonna mention is the difficulty of the Battle Frontier, which you can only beat with either skill, luck, strategy, or all 3 of them. This area is sure gonna have you addicted to this game for hours and hours on end, so have fun with this rare good Pokemon game.

Youth/Adult Enjoyment~9.5/10
This section will wrap up my review, save for the overall part. Anyways, this game is a pretty good game for people of both audiences to enjoy. Children will enjoy this game most likely because it's part of the popular Pokemon series. They might also like leveling up their Pokemon too. Adults may like this because it's a good game to consume time on while they're on a lunch break. The only point deduction is for mild violence. I don't think burning your opponent with a flamethrower or smacking them several times with boulders is a good lesson to teach kids, but as long as the child doesn't imitate this or let's it seep into their minds, it's nothing but a minor flaw.

Overall~10/10
To be honest, this game might be a mix of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphre, but it combined the good parts and added some more, especially the Battle Frontier. Almost every part about this about this game is near perfect. I don't think any known GBA game can actually outdo this work of art. This game receives a perfect 10/10 from me. InfernoCrossing out!

Story--------------------------------------------------------9.5/10
Graphics--------------------------------------------------10/10
Sound------------------------------------------------------10/10
Gameplay--------------------------------------------------9/10
Youth/Adult Enjoyment--------------------------------9.5/10

Total--------------------------------------------------------47.5/50
Rounded---------------------------------------------------9.5/10
Rounded Final Score------------------------------------10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/05/07

Game Release: Pokemon Emerald Version (US, 04/30/05)