Similar to the core games, but much has been added.
Positive: - core Pokemon gameplay is as solid as ever - gyms have new puzzles and leaders have some different Pokemon - story is a combination of Ruby and Sapphire, only better - little bits here and there that make it a whole different experience than Ruby/Sapphire -
Negative: - day/night feature is (still) absent - still struggles to live up to Gold and Silver -
Pokemon has got to be one of the biggest franchises of all time. That franchise also tends to follow a pattern: 1) release two versions of the same game, 2) make a bunch of spin-offs with the new Pokemon, and 3) make a third version of the same game. This is the pattern all Pokemon generations have followed, but is the step three different this time? Is Emerald good enough to be its own game?
The story in Emerald is great, and is an excellent combination of Ruby and Sapphire while also throwing in some new stuff. You start off as some random kid (like usual) in the smallest town in the land when you happen to come across a professor in distress and are forced to use one of the three Pokemon he has to save him. This leads you to leave on your Pokemon journey to collect all 8 badges from the toughest trainers in the land (gym leaders) and bring the Pokedex to completion.
However, there are always bad guys that you can't help but get caught up with. You first meet Team Aqua, who wants to awaken the ancient Pokemon Kyogre to put the entire earth under water (not a good idea!). You constantly encounter these guys as you go, but there is also their rival team you have to worry about: Team Magma. Their goals are similar to Aqua's, only they want to awaken Groudon to make the entire world into land. Long story short, you chase them around throughout your journey and they finally awaken the ancient Pokemon, who create bizarre weather and begin an epic fight. You must then find Rayquaza, who will stop the fight and restore order. The story is much improved from Ruby and Sapphire, and feels a bit deeper and better because of the superb combination of the two. You even have the chance to catch all three of the aforementioned legendary Pokemon, which is really cool.
The core gameplay of Pokemon is, of course, still found here. You walk around with a top-down view until you get into a battle. This is the real gameplay of Pokemon. Here you find yourself fighting one or two Pokemon at a time, and you select your attacks until you win. One great addition to Emerald is just how many double battles you can fight in. In Ruby and Sapphire, the new battle style was introduced, but there were only a few double battles in the game. Now, there are several opportunities to make two trainers see you at once and do a double battle with them, which worked quite nicely with the game and was a great addition.
The gyms in Emerald are actually changed dramatically from before. At least half of them are very different and some have all-new puzzles. The leaders also have different Pokemon from before and each gym has at least one double battle opportunity before you fight the leader.
Once you beat the game, you can go to a huge area new to Emerald called the Battle Frontier. This is easily the biggest addition to the game. It's an entirely new area with several different kinds of battles to do that earn you battle points to purchase prizes. This area is so huge that it is probably the core of what makes Emerald different from Ruby and Sapphire and adds something entirely new to the games.
From the technical viewpoint, nothing has really changed between Ruby/Sapphire and Emerald, but the graphics are still nice and are the expected standard of GBA graphics. The sound is also the same as before, but again that's not necessarily a bad thing: the sound is just fine. The music is also pretty good, but I usually play Pokemon while listening to other music, it's one of those games where that's something you can just do.
Overall, Emerald is a true step up from its two core games. Rather, it's a few steps up from the other two. Enough to earn it another half points' worth of merit, to say the least. Emerald has just added so much to the two base games that it's actually worth playing. Emerald is definitely worth a buy for Pokemon fans who enjoyed Ruby or Sapphire but are looking for something a bit better, but it still doesn't beat Gold and Silver!
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Value: 9
(this does not necessarily affect the overall score)
Negative: - day/night feature is (still) absent - still struggles to live up to Gold and Silver -
Pokemon has got to be one of the biggest franchises of all time. That franchise also tends to follow a pattern: 1) release two versions of the same game, 2) make a bunch of spin-offs with the new Pokemon, and 3) make a third version of the same game. This is the pattern all Pokemon generations have followed, but is the step three different this time? Is Emerald good enough to be its own game?
The story in Emerald is great, and is an excellent combination of Ruby and Sapphire while also throwing in some new stuff. You start off as some random kid (like usual) in the smallest town in the land when you happen to come across a professor in distress and are forced to use one of the three Pokemon he has to save him. This leads you to leave on your Pokemon journey to collect all 8 badges from the toughest trainers in the land (gym leaders) and bring the Pokedex to completion.
However, there are always bad guys that you can't help but get caught up with. You first meet Team Aqua, who wants to awaken the ancient Pokemon Kyogre to put the entire earth under water (not a good idea!). You constantly encounter these guys as you go, but there is also their rival team you have to worry about: Team Magma. Their goals are similar to Aqua's, only they want to awaken Groudon to make the entire world into land. Long story short, you chase them around throughout your journey and they finally awaken the ancient Pokemon, who create bizarre weather and begin an epic fight. You must then find Rayquaza, who will stop the fight and restore order. The story is much improved from Ruby and Sapphire, and feels a bit deeper and better because of the superb combination of the two. You even have the chance to catch all three of the aforementioned legendary Pokemon, which is really cool.
The core gameplay of Pokemon is, of course, still found here. You walk around with a top-down view until you get into a battle. This is the real gameplay of Pokemon. Here you find yourself fighting one or two Pokemon at a time, and you select your attacks until you win. One great addition to Emerald is just how many double battles you can fight in. In Ruby and Sapphire, the new battle style was introduced, but there were only a few double battles in the game. Now, there are several opportunities to make two trainers see you at once and do a double battle with them, which worked quite nicely with the game and was a great addition.
The gyms in Emerald are actually changed dramatically from before. At least half of them are very different and some have all-new puzzles. The leaders also have different Pokemon from before and each gym has at least one double battle opportunity before you fight the leader.
Once you beat the game, you can go to a huge area new to Emerald called the Battle Frontier. This is easily the biggest addition to the game. It's an entirely new area with several different kinds of battles to do that earn you battle points to purchase prizes. This area is so huge that it is probably the core of what makes Emerald different from Ruby and Sapphire and adds something entirely new to the games.
From the technical viewpoint, nothing has really changed between Ruby/Sapphire and Emerald, but the graphics are still nice and are the expected standard of GBA graphics. The sound is also the same as before, but again that's not necessarily a bad thing: the sound is just fine. The music is also pretty good, but I usually play Pokemon while listening to other music, it's one of those games where that's something you can just do.
Overall, Emerald is a true step up from its two core games. Rather, it's a few steps up from the other two. Enough to earn it another half points' worth of merit, to say the least. Emerald has just added so much to the two base games that it's actually worth playing. Emerald is definitely worth a buy for Pokemon fans who enjoyed Ruby or Sapphire but are looking for something a bit better, but it still doesn't beat Gold and Silver!
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Value: 9
(this does not necessarily affect the overall score)
