Pokemon Sapphire Version

"Pokemon is back and in good form..."

I was a Pokemon fan when the franchise was born back in 1998. I obsessively collected all 150 Pokemon, and went to those special Nintendo events to get my hands on a Mew. The Red/Blue version days were awesome. But I became disillusioned with the franchise after the release of the Gold/Silver/Crystal Series. I shook my head in disgust at the blatant cash milking of the franchise. So I put away my once-beloved Red/Blue versions away and never touched them again. But then the new Pokemon commercials started showing up, commercials that promised a whole new Pokemon experience. Going against my sentiments, I bought the Sapphire/Ruby Versions, not expecting much. However, these new versions have come with major improvements over their predecessors.

The story has never been the Pokemon series' strong point, but it has gone through some changes this time around. Pokemon are essentially animals that roam freely around the world. There are hundreds of species of Pokemon to be found. When a child turns ten, they are allowed the choice of going on a Pokemon journey and becoming a Pokemon trainer. The trainer's goal is to find as many Pokemon as they can, then train the Pokemon through battling other trainer's Pokemon. By battling the best, the Pokemon trainer can achieve the title of the best trainer in the region. While becoming the best Pokemon trainer is the basic goal of the storyline, your other goal is to collect as many of the Pokemon species as possible in order to complete your collection.

The gameplay hasn't been changed too much. You're presented with a Pokemon at the beginning of the game. You can choose what type of Pokemon you want. Pokemon come in several different types with certain strengths and weaknesses. For example, a Grass Type Pokemon will be strong against a Water Type Pokemon, but weak against a Fire Type. You must strengthen your Pokemon by battling with other wild Pokemon or other trainer's Pokemon. You roam in the tall grass of the various rods in between towns in order to find Pokemon. Also, you can't just stick with one Pokemon; you must capture wild Pokemon by weakening them and capturing them in Pokeballs.

After some training, you go into the next town and face the local Pokemon Gym Leader. If defeated, the Gym Leader will give you a badge that signifies your victory. You must travel all over the region, collecting badges and Pokemon. Eventually, you'll face the region champions in Pokemon battles of epic proportions. If your team of battle-hardened Pokemon is ready for the challenge, you will become the region champion.

While the overall gameplay concepts haven't changed, a few aspects of the game have been tweaked to appeal to the new generation of Pokemon gamers. This game is much faster than its predecessors in almost every aspect. The battles are quick and intense; button response and attack time have been quickened considerably. Even walking around doesn't take as long as it used to; the designers opted to include running shoes for the character. Running shoes might not sound like much, but they are a big improvement over the old bicycle of the original Red/Blue versions.

Also, the occurrence of wild Pokemon battles has increased. You can face up to three all-new Pokemon in the first patch of tall grass at the start. There are several new species of Pokemon to be found in the Ruby/Sapphire versions. It's almost as if Nintendo decided to start its franchise all over again. With new Pokemon come new attacks, abilities, animation, and more advanced battle tactics. There's only one big drawback to the new Pokemon roster. The designers threw out the old roster. That means that older fans can't get the satisfaction of hunting down some of the original Pokemon, like Articuno or Mewtwo. Luckily, the game designers threw in a few of the older Pokemon into the mix in order to appease its older audience.

Also, this game is far more technical than the older versions. You must pay close attention to the stats of your Pokemon as they grow in order to keep them in top battling condition. Also, Pokemon now have dual-type abilities. That means that Pokemon are no longer simply Fire or Water type, but have different types combined. You could have a Bug/Dragon type, or a Steel/Psychic to contend with. You must find ways to counter such defensive power or weakness. Creating a well-balanced team is essential to your success in this game. The other trainers in this newer version pose much more of a challenge if you're not prepared. Sure, this isn't the hardest game you'll ever play, but it will make you think strategically at times.

Unlike its predecessors, the Ruby/Sapphire versions allow you to choose the gender of your character. Perhaps the game designers thought this would appeal to more consumers. In any case, you have a rival of an opposite gender who you will face occasionally throughout the game. You must defeat your rival in order to progress through the storyline. However, the characters in these versions seem to lack a little substance. In previous versions, your rivals actually had rude and snobbish attitudes. In this game, your rival tends to help you more than hinder you. As try as I might, I just couldn't hate my rival as I did in the older games. The game designers decided to go with a ''friendly foe'' this time around, but this rival is a pushover. Fortunately, the varying abilities of other trainers will cast your pathetic rival into the shadows. While the other trainers may lack personality, at least they can put up a decent fight.

This game makes great use of the GBA's graphics abilities. Everything in this game is colorful and easy on the eyes. You can actually tell how much energy a Pokemon has left by looking at the colored HP meter. You'll always know how much experience points your Pokemon earned by the bright blue meter that appears after battle. The attack animation looks realistic; the flames and water animations are well done. The individual Pokemon animations are well drawn, as opposed to the mere pixels of the previous versions. Even your tiny character has enough color and detail to appreciate it. While you character may have an over-sized head and little dots for eyes, you can still make out their outfits. The male trainer even has bleached hair. Even the towns have had some improvements. You can actually see the shadow cast by some of the buildings.

The sound has been improved greatly with its transition onto the GBA. Each Pokemon has their own distinct battle cries. The battle cries used to be nothing more than digital squawking that was unpleasant on the ears. Now the battle cries are somewhat more realistic...Well, as realistic as you can get with imaginary animals. The music is still annoying though, but there are new songs tracks and a few remixes of some of the older themes. Also, the sound effects of the attacks have been changed for the better. The Flamethrower attack actually sounds like there are flames burning up. The water attacks sound like water dripping. Excellent job overall.

The Ruby/Sapphire series won't appeal to everyone. It depends on what you as a gamer want. If you have no patience for repetition, steer clear of this game. If you're into collecting things and leveling characters, this game is definitely for you. This game can provided hundreds of hours of entertainment with its collecting and strategical aspects. I'd recommend giving this new Pokemon game a go, then deciding to keep it depending on your preferences.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/04