Pokémon Box

Overview

Pokémon Box, or Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire, is a spin-off of the Pokémon franchise. It was released as part of the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald generation. Pokémon Box was released for the Nintendo GameCube on May 30, 2003 in Japan and on July 11, 2004 in North America (although it had a limited release through only the New York Pokémon Center). Later, the game was released in Europe as Pokémon Memory Magic, but was only available through the European Club Nintendo (it was also available in the Pokémon Colosseum Mega Pak). Pokémon Box shipped with a Nintendo GameCube to Game Boy Advance Link Cable and a Memory Card with 59 blocks.

The reception of the game was relatively low. Nintendo heralded the game as, "...the most exclusive Pokémon software ever offered to North American Pokémon fans." Despite this, critics and fans called it unnecessary, with the Game Rankings average at 50%. Some critics praised the game for the emulation of Pokémon Game Boy Advance games and the inclusion of a Memory Card and Link Cable, but still said the game was only for a die-hard Pokémon fan.

Gameplay

Pokémon Box is basically the same Pokémon Center storage system as other Pokémon games. Pokémon that have been caught in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Leaf Green, or Fire Red could be stored. Players could also have their Pokémon interact (for example, players could have their Pokémon mate). Another feature of Pokémon Box was similar to the Game Boy Player, in which players could use Pokémon Box to play the Game Boy Advance Pokémon games on a television. Many other features were implemented in the game, such as screenshot taking and a Showcase feature where players can create game piece.