Pokemon Sapphire Version

"The better of the two gem games.....so far."

The year was 2003, and the Gameboy Advance was kickin' some major ass at this time. Since the system was releasing a smash hit every year from its release, Nintendo decided to bring in their own awesome game of the year. Too bad the title of this went to Megaman Zero (well...I'd like to think that). Getting over the rush that was Pokemon Crystal that started in 2001, Nintendo decided to take us up to the next level and released Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Offering the same old 'catch version only Pokemon, and trade with the other' formula, Nintendo decided to give us something slightly new. Not only are the unique Pokemon for the game still there, but now there's Version Only Rare Pokemon that only appear once per game (much like Mewtwo in R/B/Y, only it's a version exclusive in this game), and Version Only Bad Guys. Wow, talk about upgrades.

Story
You'd think with the whole upgrade thingy that Nintendo would change the story too. Hell no! You start off the game by choosing your name and what gender you are with a twist. This time, you're a Gym Leader's kid who starts off by moving to some town in the middle of nowhere so that your dad can escape home without havin' people bug him all week. You decide to go meet the neighbors, only to discover that your rival (be it a kid named Brendan if you chose to be a girl, or a chick named May if you decide to be a boy) is a sissy compared to the Rival's of the past. Deciding to leave town for no reason, you discover some professor being attacked by a wild Pokemon. You steal one of his Pokemon and the game begins. Out of the three Pokemon you can steal, you are offered the awesome grass type Treeko, the decent water type Mudkip, or the close-to-only-fire-type-in-this-game Torchic. After you choose whichever one you want, you'll get into a battle with a wild Pokemon and save the professor. He decides that you're bad ass enough to challenge his kid and sends you up North for a battle. Kick your rival's ass and you'll now be placed in a journey to become the world's best Pokemon Trainer like your dad wanted, and also stop some kind of disaster from taking place.

Not too much has changed, although the new Team Aqua storyline for Sapphire was a nice change of pace. Instead of taking down Team Rocket like you did in the last two games, you are pitted against Team Aqua, a group of water lovin' pirates that want to flood the Earth if it wasn't for a certain meddling kid, AKA you. Good extra storyline and enough of a fresh breath of life into the series to keep it going.

Gameplay
If you STILL haven't played a Pokemon game, where were you in 1998? The gameplay is still simple, yet addictive in this series as you go from having only one Pokemon to having a vast army. You are only allowed a maximum of six Pokemon on your team, but with the option of 200+ Pokemon in this game, your team combination will usually ALWAYS be different than someone else's. You simply go out into the tall grass, walk around for a bit, and then be challenged by a Pokemon. Whittle its health away, and then throw a Pokeball to be able to catch it and BAM! You now have a new team member to raise up for your final goal of beating the game or laying the smack down upon your homeboys.

Of course, what good would an RPG be without fighting? Throughout the game, you'll be fighting literally hundreds of other Pokemon trainers for the hell of it. After listening to whatever they have to say, you'll be put into a battle which can make or break your battling skills as you send out the first Pokemon on your roster. After you win, you'll gain much needed experience and money to buy stuff with, which is always a nice bonus.

New to the Ruby/Sapphire universe are two on two battles. If you come across two trainers that are sitting next to each other, you can usually be put into a two on two battle, which involves them sending out their only two Pokemon against a team of two of your Pokemon, both being the top two on your roster. These battles are WAY underused in this game, and you won't see too many of them, but they are fun to get into, especially since you can figure out team combos to use against them.

Another new thing about Pokemon Sapphire is the new Pokemon Nature's and Abilities. These natures actually effect the way that your Pokemon's stats grow during combat. For example, if your Pokemon has a Hasty nature, that Pokemon's speed stat will grow at a much higher rate than a Pokemon with an Adamant nature. But with all good things, there must be a way to balance it out, so that Pokemon with a Hasty nature will develop another stat which I forget at the moment at a much slower speed. This can be good or bad, depending on the natural stats of the Pokemon in question. These new Stat effecters can really add to the way you play your game. As for Pokemon Abilities, every Pokemon now has a preset ability that will effect them throughout the game. For example, Treeko has an ability that will increase its grass type moves when it is about to faint. Doesn't sound like much, but when your Absorb is doing way more damage than what it has been doing previously, it can make or break the battle. Every Pokemon has an ability that is permanent to that Pokemon's family, so catch them all to find out what they do!

Getting close to the last new aspect to the game (or ones that matters anyways) is the introduction of Pokemon Contests. By entering your Pokemon into a contest, you are able to test out his/her abilities in competition against three other computer dudes while trying to make your Pokemon stand out in the crowd. Using the moves you have, you try to keep up with the competition by using moves based on the category your in (example: smart moves in a Smart Competition). Winning the contest is just for fun, and is purely optional in your quest to be the best.

Bringing back the Doll system from Crystal, you can now buy dolls to decorate your room at home. As an added bonus, a special TM in this game will allow you to create a secret base, which is more like a place to put up your dolls on the road. With this addition, you can now decorate a cave/patch of grass/whatever up the way you want it and then come back later to add decorations. Cool stuff, although not completely necessary. As an added bonus, this is actually affected by the Game Link Cable too! Read on to find out more!

What the? Two to four player links?
You read this right. With the introduction to the Gameboy Advance Game Link Cable, you can now connect up to three of your homeboys and yourself up to the game (provided you all have your own copies of Ruby/Sapphire/FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald of course) and do some hardcore fightin'! With the new coliseum modes, you can now challenge your boys to a match, be it one on one, one on two, or two on two, in modes previously seen in the Pokemon Stadium games. You and your partner choose up to three of your Pokemon and send them out for a one on one match with your opponents' team and fight to the last Pokemon. With the introduction of Two on Two battles, you and your partner can now select three of your Pokemon (provided this is a 4 player match) and go against each other at the same time! You and your partner sends out one Pokemon and the opponents do the same, and the two of you fight beside each other and take down your opponents before they do the same to you!

The trading center still works one on one, but with the ability to see the Pokemon's picture WITHOUT looking at the status screen eliminates trades with nicknames protecting the Pokemons true identity (Magikarps named Mew anyone?). This will allow for fair trading and less people getting ticked off to the extreme.

Finally, available only on Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald versions, is the Record Mixing. By mixing your records with your homeboys, you can now access their secret bases IN YOUR GAME! Not only will you be able to see your buddy's base and all the crap they've collected, but you can ACTUALY battle his/her current team when you mixed! And they can do the same on their games, so make sure to bring high levels to really tick them off. Unlike Gold/Silver/Crystal's trainer room late in the game though, you won't gain any experience or money after winning, but at the same time, you won't lose any cash if you lose.

Graphics
Being on the Gameboy Advance, what would you expect? The graphics are WAY BETTER than what were previously seen on Pokemon Crystal, with little touches that make the Hoenn region hella awesome. Little touches like footprints on the sands of the beach, the reflection of your character on the water, your character holding up a pokeball to summon forth an Oddish to use Cut; just these little things added make the game an excellent visual experience. Now as for the in battle animations, its more of the same. Hell, half the Pokemon on the battling half (aka your side the screen) are all from Gold/Silver, only remade to look more colorful. The new Hoenn Pokemon all look decent, although I was saying “what the hell is that thing?” when newer Pokemon that looked like one of those Easter Island statues was attacking me. The Graphics get the job done, that's for sure.

Music and Sound
The sound effects for this game are a step up from what was previously used in Crystal. Same old Flamethrower sounds, same old Strength sounds, even the same old Pokemon sounds. Who could ask for anything more?

The music however, took a huge step up. Listen to the music for Lilycove City if you don't believe me. That music track is bad ass to the max as far as Pokemon is concerned. The music really suits whatever town you're in, be it the upbeat sea tunes in Slateport City, or the suiting music when you're invading Team Aqua's base. The music gets the job done in ways that Crystal could only achieve if it were on this system as well.

This game is totally worth buying then huh?
Hell yeah it is! Only 30-40 bucks (depending on where you're buying it) brand new gets you into an experience that's way different than anything you've experienced before. With improved graphics, bad ass music, new ways to battle, contests, new moves, and more ways to interact with your homeboys, you definitely won't be disappointed with this game….at least until Emerald comes out at the end of April. If you can't wait until then though, definitely pick this game up as soon as you can score some cash.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/05