Pokemon Emerald Version

"Hoenn has arrived in style."

Pokemon. The sheer mention of the name brings back memories of when the craze was in the United States in 1999. Not surprsing afterwards, people have gotten either over it or completely sick of these furry yet cute creatures. Enter Hoenn. The new region of where exciting challenges and adventures await as you take the role as a Pokemon trainer in training. Now why does that sound interesting....

Gameplay (9/10): Pokemon Emerald is basically Ruby and Sapphire combined with a few new added features. One of the new features is double battling. Double Battling allows you to use two Pokemon's attacks until one side wins the entire battles. It is not common to walk into a trainer on both side and have a double battle encountered during the game. Gym leaders of the Hoen Region will use double battling also which is a nice warm welcome. The controls of moving your character around and managing your Pokemon have remained unchanged since Red and Blue. Scrolling through each Pokemon's data or statistics are easy to use with a single push of the button. Unlike previous battles, characters can rechallenge you at pure random. Remember using the Match Caller in Fire Red and Leaf Green, the item that allowed you to push a simple button and allowed trainers to battle you whenever you wanted? Sadly, it's not in this game. Instead, we get the traditional Phone system from the days of Gold and Silver. The concept is that once you battle a trainer, you enter his or her name into the phone and they call you back for a rematch after a certain amount of time has passed. This makes leveling early on somewhat difficult compared to previous games. In terms of other features, basically everything has gotten a new upgrade or tweaked for the better from Ruby and Sapphire. There is a new battle tent that allows you to battle other trainers using registered Pokemon or you can hold Pokemon contests and be judged on various aspects like performance, beauty, and attack styles. Night and Day are also unimplemented though not like the standards of Gold and Silver or Diamond and Pearl, where you actually see that it's morning, day, afternoon, or night. The only indication is the setting of the clock that you set during the beginning of the game. Finally, berries are also added in which allow you to feed Pokemon to improve certain traits.

Storyline (9/10): Surprised that this got a high score? I'm honestly be surprised if you were. Since the beginning of Red and Blue, the storyline has always been the same. Your a Pokemon trainer journeying from his or her hometown while trying to become the best Pokemon trainer you can be. Along the way, you battle countless rivals, new enemies, and rise through the ranks towards the Elite Four of Hoenn. Sounds a bit familiar huh? So why the high score if the game is as the same thing as previous counterparts, you might ask? Because it works and the creators knows this. Playing through Emerald in terms of storyline is as addicting as ever. Traveling through town to town, talking to people, and battling is what makes the storyline work and easy to understand. Earning gym battles allows you to go to the Elite Four to battle the strongest trainers in the land and claim your spot as champion. Unlike Ruby and Sapphire, there are two rival enemy organization's bent on awakening a legendary Pokemon to change the world forever for their own evil purposes. Guess who comes in and tries to stop them? Yes, you would be battling against Team Magma and Team Aqua unlike in the previous version of which one would fight with you against the other. This adds a sense of challenging aspect in Emerald that I personally enjoyed. I liked how they incorporated both these organizations and their plans to rule the world into this storyline. It's far better than having to battle Team Rocket again and that my friend, is rubbing more salt into an old wound.

Graphics (9/10): Again, nothing really major that has caused me to give this an instant 10/10. While playing Emerald, each Pokemon (new or old), look amazing and believable. All of your favorite old Pokemon from Gold, Silver, FireRed, and Leaf Green are included with updated appearances . The one thing I would like to point out is the overall environmental graphics in this game. In certain towns or areas of the game, weather plays somewhat of an important role during exploring and battling. In terms of exploring, it can reduce viability of where certain items or trainers are. An example was that I was literally walking in a sandstorm and couldn't see anything clearly as I move my character around. Worst, whenever I did encounter a trainer, the weather would either damage mine or both parties Pokemon reducing health in the process. Another instant was walking in rain allowed Water Pokemon to power up in terms of attacks due to the weather. It really is an interesting and neat feature though can be a bit repetitive after awhile. Most of the areas in Hoenn look absolutely gorgeous and are neatly animated. I was able to see my own character's reflection in water as I moved him near it. The only downside of graphics is that it can look a bit generic at certain parts of the game.

Sound (8/10): If you read my previous reviews of Diamond and FireRed, you would notice that sound hardly plays an interest in me for a Pokemon game. The flow of music changes nicely from walking into the Pokemon Center for the first time or entering a battle with a fellow trainer. Other than that, Pokemon chatter and chirp like how they would in reality. Characters don't actually talk to each other as it's still a text reading type of game. I feel that they should allow you to talk to other characters and hear their voices during gameplay. Other than that, the only drawback of sound is that it can get a bit repetitive at times to listen to.

Replay Value (8/10): After beating the Elite Four, trainers can be treated to a number of new features. One being the Battle Frontier. Trainers can buy new supplies, movies, or special items with Battle Frontier Points that are gained in completing any of the seven arenas around the BF. It adds a new sense of strategy and gameplay. You can also rebattle gym leaders but not your rivals from the beginning of the game which I found extremely odd. Gold and Silver Pokemon can be caught in a new section of the Safari Zone. Also, you can finally train from FireRed, Leaf Green, Ruby and Sapphire in order to compete your Pokedex. If you get all of the Hoenn Pokemon in, Professor Birch allows you to choose one of the three Johto starters. Finally, you can also catch all of the three legendary Pokemon in this game, a rarity of which was not in Ruby or Sapphire. Though after you completed maxing out your Pokemon, battled the BF countless times, and completed capturing every single Pokemon prior to Fourth Generation, your left of the thought of, "I can't believe I spent so much time on this", which is not a bad thing to some. It allows a sense of satisfaction to those that want 100 percent completion in a game. I, on the other hand, don't feel like that way and can only put in so many hours into a handheld game before getting officially bored with it.

Final Comments: Pokemon Emerald is an excellent game if you can't get Ruby and Sapphire or that you completed both of them and are looking for that extra slice of new features and replay value.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/19/07

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