Pokémon Emerald

THE BAD:
- Having to trade to obtain all Pokemon
- Too similar to Ruby/Sapphire
- Battle Frontier too challenging

SUMMARY:
I think this game is worth buying. I have had no doubts about it what-so-ever. If you've played Pokemon from the very beginning, then this must end up in your collection. Even if you're a big fan of the TV show, this is a good place to start.

It's obviously, very similar to Ruby and Sapphire but with many extras. You can visit the Battle Frontier for a real challenge. You can also re-battle gym leaders if you think you can handle another round, which is a very nice extra. Rebattling gym leaders is perfect for training your Pokemon, as well as defeating the Pokemon League multiple times with EXP Share.

The graphics for this game are stunning. The colours are bright and vibrant. Even the motion of game play is smooth and makes the game easy to play, for hours on end.

The Battle Frontier is probably one of the best additions to this game. It's a real challenge, after defeating the gym leaders and the Pokemon League. It really tests your ability, in every way of Pokemon training.

There's also a secret island called Mirage Island that is extremely difficult to obtain. If you get lucky and obtain it, you can get a berry you cannot get anywhere else and catch wild Wynauts.

There are also lots of Pokemon to catch and train. However, there are some you cannot get without the help from Pokemon Colosseum or Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness.

After completing the Hoenn Pokedex (excluding Jirachi and Deoxys), you are rewarded with a starter Pokemon from the Johto region, to expand your National Pokedex even more.

There are so many Legendaries you can catch also. If you're familiar with Ruby/Sapphire, you can only catch Groudon on one and Kyogre on the other. However on Emerald, you're able to catch both, along with Rayquaza. You can choose which Lati you'd like to catch too.

By far, this game is a perfect way to end the Pokemon series on the GBA. It has everything I look for in a Pokemon game and easily beats the standards of FireRed and LeafGreen which I loved so much. Overall, I have no problems with this game. I own neither Ruby or Sapphire and I bought Emerald to start off my Pokemon GBA collection and I was not disappointed. It was a big step from Crystal, too.

THE BAD:
You must trade to obtain every Pokemon.

SUMMARY:
Through the 10 or so proper Pokémon games that Nintendo has released for the Game Boy, then the Game Boy Color, and now the Game Boy Advance, the crux of the series has remained unshakable. A preteen hero goes out into the world, complete with parental blessings, to become the world's number one trainer of a bizarre, varied, and mysterious race of creatures called Pokémon. Along the way, our hero has some funky adventures. Essentially a singular director's cut version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald will feel especially familiar, and as such, it will likely hold greater appeal to the uninitiated or those who have been on Pokémon hiatus.


Collecting and fighting: These are the things a Pokémon game is made of.

After starting off as either a young girl or boy recently transplanted to a new town, you quickly ditch your homemaker mother to follow in the footsteps of your dad, who is already a celebrated Pokémon master. After being gifted your first Pokémon by local man-of-science Professor Birch, you'll head into the world to fight and capture wild Pokémon, as well as test your might against other up-and-coming trainers. Furthermore, you'll rank up your own standing as a trainer by traveling to different towns and besting the head trainer at the local Pokémon gym. You'll eventually get mixed up in some unsavory business with Team Aqua and Team Magma, two nefarious groups of Pokémon trainers, in addition to going on various adventures and side quests that you'll have to take on as you train and collect your Pokémon. The writing isn't quite as clever as Nintendo's own Advance Wars series, but it still pops and generally avoids the kind of condescending tone that makes most kids games unplayable by people outside the designated age bracket.

Pokémon are a pretty weird, inexplicable bunch of creatures. Their origins, even within the game's reality, are purposefully vague, and despite their wildly varied appearances and abilities, all Pokémon have a few basic characteristics in common. Most importantly, all Pokémon love to fight other Pokémon, whether it's in a head-to-head spar or a two-on-two match. As they fight, they gain experience and learn new moves. And occasionally, a Pokémon will evolve into a sleeker, more aggressive version of itself, taking on a new name in the process. The Pokémon series has always been expertly keyed in to the obsessive-compulsive traits of gamers, so most of the game revolves around fighting with and capturing different Pokémon.

To be clear, your character never actually fights; instead, you'll send out your own Pokémon to broker victory for you. You can carry up to six different Pokémon with you, and each can have up to four different moves, which can be offensive or defensive and can range from straightforward melee attacks to projectile attacks to even crazy psychic blasts. Despite the limited number of moves, the different alignment of each Pokémon helps inject some extra strategy into the combat. Every Pokémon is categorized by type, such as fire, electric, poison, psychic, and so on. For every type of Pokémon, there's another type whose attack is extremely effective against it, creating a nice rock-paper-scissors dynamic. This is a good reason to "catch 'em all."

Though you'll end up spending most of your time either fighting or looking for a fight, there are plenty of other activities. You can breed your Pokémon, enter them into what amount to Pokémon beauty pageants, pick and plant berries that can be turned into candies (and fed to your Pokémon for little stat bumps), and gamble in casinos, just for a few examples. There's a ton of optional stuff like this that helps flesh out the whole world.

Pokémon Emerald's biggest strength is its accessibility. The role-playing-game structure has been streamlined to make it easier to pick up and play for casual players, but without losing the depth that will keep the more committed playing for days on end. Unfortunately, Emerald's biggest weakness is that most hardcore Pokémon players already played through this adventure when it was released as Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. However, it does add some new areas, and it tweaks a lot of minor stuff, like Pokémon abilities and certain character appearances. You can also now use the wireless GBA adapter to link up with other players to trade and battle Pokémon, and using a GameCube link cable, you can put your Pokémon into play in Pokémon Colosseum.


The déjà vu may be too much to bear for those who have already mastered Ruby or Sapphire.

Ruby and Sapphire were great-looking GBA games when they first came out, though Emerald puts in little effort to improve the quality of the graphics, giving the game a slightly aged look. It's still very bright and colorful, recalling some of the better SNES RPGs, and the world feels appropriately large. However, the combat sequences can't help but feel a bit too staticky. The music has weathered the passing of time much more capably, and the various town themes and fight music are still incredibly catchy and upbeat.

Players who have already soaked up everything Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire have to offer will probably appreciate the largely subtle changes Emerald makes, thanks to the "gotta catch 'em all" mentality bred by the series, though it's unlikely to do a satisfactory job of scratching the itch for an all-new Pokémon adventure. Still, despite being made mostly of recycled parts, Emerald proves that the Pokémon formula still works. As a result, it remains an enjoyably light RPG experience.

THE BAD:
- It isn't always directly clear where to go
- Sometimes you must walk miles, miles and even more miles before reaching the next city, and crossing all those pokemon can get annoying
- Pretty similar to Ruby/Sappshire in gameplay and storyline.

SUMMARY:
Overall, it is a game worthy of buying.
The game is challenging, yet easy to master, because the purpose of the game is to get to the next city, level up your pokemon, and become a Pokemon champion.

Both kids and adults love these kinds of things, because it holds typical RPG elements such as levelling up your pokemon. It's done in a nice way, because they evolve as they get a higher level, learn new moves and some are effective against another type, whilst others aren't.

So in order to play the game optimal, you must conduct a variated team, build not only upon strength, but also upon strategy. What pokemon will your opponent use, with what moves and of what level?
Calculate all those factors, and if you're done with that...
Don’t think that you’re done yet.
If you finish the Pokemon League you can always go try and catch the 3 legendary pokemon:
Kyogre, Groundon and Rayquaza.
Level up your team, try to get all 386 Pokemon (should keep you busy for the next couple of months), re-battle all gym leaders or enter the ever-challenging Battle Frontier!
Also, if you still need new things to do, just go fight your friends via multi-player in the coliseum or enter your Pokemon in a contest of strength, beauty, coolness or cuteness.

THE BAD:
-Too similar to Ruby/Sapphire

SUMMARY:
This is the best portable Pokemon game yet. It's a little different than Ruby/Sapphire, but the storyline takes a turn after about halfway through the game. The game-play is still addicting, and one of the best things brought back from the grave is that the Pokemon animations before battle, like from Crystal, are in Emerald. Plus the newest addition to the game, the Battle Frontier, vastly improves the already towering Replay Value of the game. You'll be able to battle through 7 different challenges, but they're not the same as any regular Pokemon battles, these battles will be a test of skill, as all the Pokemon you face will have similar levels to yours, meaning that only your skill with Pokemon will matter. The game-play in the game is still as fantastic as always, the graphics are crisp, and the sounds and music are suited for the game, just like it's predecessors. If you like RPG's which never get boring...then buy it immediately and you'll have a good reliable game which will give you hours of fun...I guarantee it.

THE BAD:
Boring and same-ish gameplay as Ruby and Sapphire. You can basically tell everything thats going to happen.. almost.

SUMMARY:
This is yet, another fantastic pokemon game, although there are always the traditional errors with the third game out of the "pokemon colors". Although really similar to the last two pokemon games, it still is different. You have the ability to go back into gyms and fight the gym leader again if you want to, although that doesnt really prove to be much more fun or anything.

Apart from that, its different from the original game because of the fact that you can even battle trainers, getting battle points, and then trade them for stat-uppers. Thats something no one ever thought that would be in a pokemon game, and its taken most players by surprise, even though its a great addition to the game. Other than that, its also compatible with the wireless cable, meaning that you can trade your pokemon with friends alike without having to worry about buying a link cable or anything.

All in all, Emerald really is a great game, although it might be more of the same ol' type gameplay. I still recommend it for any pokemon lover out there, because its a solid game.

THE BAD:
- Still mostly the same as R/S
- Less interaction with Box
- Only uses 1 DS screen
- Both Teams
? Why does that loser that follows you everywhere looks so stupid?

SUMMARY:
The third entry in the Hoenn saga, Emerald, does add many new features to the series, but is seen by some as a time-killer until Diamond and Pearl are released for the DS. No matter which way you look at it, this game is worth your time. One important change from Pokémon games past is that, when you entered the LOS of two Trainers at once, one would battle you, and then the other one would. But that's all changed. Now, when two Trainers see you at once, one comes up and gives his pre-battle intro, and then the next one comes up and adds his two cents, and then you battle BOTH Trainers at once in a Double Battle, with each able to have up to three individual Pokémon. Reap the rewards!

Most of the other changes to this version are cosmetic, but you also have the Battle Frontier to visit after the game. Among the things it offers? Each Trainer battle is worth a certain number of Battle Points (BP)... and you can get stat-boosting items for 1 BP. Thus, you have an almost endless stream of cash coming in. With that said, pick up Emerald NOW... it's worth it.