They discover new moves, become stronger, and some even evolve into new forms. As Pokémon battle, they earn experience and eventually level up. The rock-paper-scissors style of different types being weak and strong against one another (water, fire, poison, rock, etc.) makes for some fun battles and there are plenty of different strategies to employ depending on your chosen team of six and the moves they learn. The turn-based battle system of Pokémon pitted against Pokémon remains the same, but it’s still highly enjoyable. Admittedly, anyone who has played Pokémon before probably knows you don’t play it for the plot. The plot isn’t too bad when compared to previous titles, but it falls flat when set side-by-side with the more recent Black and White, and even the remakes of Gold and Silver. There are some additional scenes, characters, battles, dialogue, and the inclusion of the new legendary to incorporate this, but it’s not different enough to be appealing unless you’re a Pokémaniac. Emerald brings them both in for an ultimate showdown so both can be stopped once and for all. In Ruby, the main antagonists were Team Magma while in Sapphire, Team Aqua took the spotlight.
#Play pokemon emerald at playr series#
As with every other main series Pokémon game your character starts off as a young trainer who, after being given a Pokémon by a local professor, sets out on a journey to defeat all eight gym leaders and ultimately become the new Pokémon champion. The story in Emerald stays true to the roots of Ruby and Sapphire, but it does mix things up a little. That didn’t stop me from humming along to the music as I played, mind you. The battle music is great, there’s no doubt about that it’s just Emerald falls into the same trap as Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Crystal: lack of new content. Some Pokémon sound effects are a little sharper or slightly different, but still bland and likely to go unnoticed. It’s catchy music and it suits the Pokémon universe well, but there’s few differences from Ruby and Sapphire. Like the graphics, there’s little change to the music. The spinner tiles have been completely removed and replaced with warp panels, making the gym similar to Saffron City from Red and Blue.
The Mossdeep gym, for example, has undergone a complete overhaul. In Ruby and Sapphire it was an unrealistically bright colour, but Emerald has dimmed down the lights and made the area match its name. Many of the caves and routes have received small makeovers with brighter colours or more interesting environments. Outside of the animations there are some other welcome changes to the graphics. The graphics still hold up fairly well today, which is a nice bonus. For the first time the back sprites are animated too. The animation adds some life to each battle, and Emerald made this the standard for later games in the series. When they first pop onto the screen in battle they perform some sort of action: Poochyena growls for example, and Wingull flaps its wings. What’s more significant is that all the Pokémon sprites are now animated. It’s a nice bonus, but it doesn’t set Emerald apart from its counterparts enough. In Emerald, a few Pokémon previously exclusive to Ruby and Sapphire are now available in the one version and there’s substantially more focus on the legendary Rayquaza. The trilogy of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald add on approximately one-hundred new Pokémon to catch along with the already existing two-hundred-and-fifty or so.
Pokémon Emerald is probably proof that we’re never going to “catch ’em all”. Is it worth getting if you already have one of them? That’s a much tougher argument to make.
Is it better than Ruby and Sapphire? Yes. Reviewing it six years after its release doesn’t change the fact that it’s recycled content. In essence, it’s effectively the same game as Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, but makes small modifications and adds a bit of content to make it the “definitive” version. Like those that have come before it, Pokémon Emerald stands on somewhat awkward ground.
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