Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
From Freepedia
| Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire | |
| Image:PokemonRubyEUBoxart.jpg Image:PokemonSapphireEUBoxart.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Game Freak |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo / Pokémon Company |
| Release date(s) | November 21, 2002 (JP) March 17, 2003 (US) July 25, 2003 (EU) |
| Genre | Computer role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire are the first Pokémon video games to be released on the Game Boy Advance, and mark the beginning of the third generation of Pokémon games. Both were released in North America the spring of 2003, and take place in a new region named Hoenn.
They are succeeded by Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, released in 2004, and an enhanced remake titled Pokémon Emerald, in 2005.
Contents |
Gameplay
Like Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Gold and Silver before them, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are computer role-playing games about the adventure of an aspiring Pokémon trainer, out to become the Pokémon League champion and collect all of the varieties of Pokémon.
As with previous Pokémon games, there are eight Pokémon Gyms (home to the Gym Leaders, which serve as the games' bosses) the protagonist has to overcome, a villainous criminal organization (Team Magma in Ruby, Team Aqua in Sapphire) to overcome, and dozens of species (200 in all in these two games) of Pokémon to capture and battle.
In contrast with computer role-playing games released at the time, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are fairly plotless; the story, such as it is, has little urgency. Instead, the focus is on exploration, as the player is encouraged to search for rare Pokémon and take the time to develop and refine his or her team of Pokémon.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire also continue the series' focus on head-to-head battles between players, a feature common to collectable monster RPGs, but rare on other kinds of RPGs. The Game Boy Advance link cable can be used to allow players to challenge each others' teams of Pokémon, or trade Pokémon between copies of the game. (Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen, and Emerald, as well as Pokémon Colosseum, Pokémon XD, and Pokémon Box, are all inter-compatible, for both battles and trading.)
New developments
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire incorporate a number of new gameplay aspects not present in previous games, while eschewing a handful of features found in previous games.
The most obvious and immediate of these changes is the graphical upgrade, as its predecessors were for the less-powerful Game Boy and Game Boy Color hardware. In addition to a larger color palette and higher-resolution sprites, a natural consequence of the shift to the Game Boy Advance hardware, animations are greatly improved, and items, characters, and locations have greatly improved detail.
Another consequence to the shift to the Game Boy Advance is a break in compatibility with the previous games. Technical considerations in this break in compatibility include the difference between the link cables for the Game Boy/Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance, and the change in the way that Pokémon advance in level.
Game Freak made the decision not to include all of the Pokémon introduced in previous games, choosing instead to include 133 new Pokémon created specifically for these games, and 67 Pokémon introduced in previous games. (The other 186 Pokémon would become available in later games, and can be traded into Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, however)
One of the most heavily advertised new features was two-on-two battles, where each combatant has two Pokémon in a battle at a time. Some attacks were adapted especially for two-on-two battles, either splitting damage between the two foes or striking all Pokémon on the field (friend or enemy)
Another advertised new feature was Pokémon Contests, which are dog show-like non-combat competitions, where Pokémon compete to show off how smart, cute, tough, cool, or beautiful they are. Pokémon attacks have a separate listing for their effect in a Pokémon Contest (like impressing the judges, exciting the crowd, or distracting opponents), and Pokémon can be made more beautiful, cute, cool, etc. by feeding them PokéBlocks, a new kind of item.
Another unusual new feature was the addition of secret bases, in the form of caves, large clumps of grass or treehouses, which a player can decorate with furniture, dolls, and such. These bases can be copied over to another players' game by "mixing records" with that player using the GBA link cable. Doing so trades secret bases between the players' copies of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and also incidentally adds special television shows about the other player(s) to the TVs in the homes in the games' cities.
In addition to adding new things to do, Game Freak also added a number of additional complications to differentiate Pokémon from each other and to increase the number of possible permutations for head-to-head battles between players.
One of these changes was the addition of "Pokémon Abilities", or always-on special abilities, similar to Pokémon Powers and PokéBodies in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. For example, Roselia, a rose Pokémon, has thorns that can poison enemies who attack it, and Mr. Mime, a mime Pokémon, is immune to sound-based attacks.
Another feature of interest primarily to head-to-head battle enthusiasts was the addition of Natures. Natures are personalities for Pokémon, and can raise one statistic and lower another. For example, a Timid Pikachu would be faster than most, but would not be able to strike as powerfully with physical attacks. (Natures also affect what sort of PokéBlocks a Pokémon will be willing to eat)
One somewhat obscure new feature is the new limits on "effort values," the hidden statistic boosts Pokémon gain by battling other Pokémon. (This is in addition to experience and levels, which are not hidden at all) Previously, a player could raise all six of a Pokémon's statistics to the maximum, but in Ruby and Sapphire and later games, a single Pokémon could only have a maximum of 510 "EV" points. This means that competitive players, to whom these relatively narrow margins matter, were now forced to decide between raising, for example, physical attack or special attack (for psychic or elemental attacks), or offensive attacks or defensive resistance.
A handful of features present in previous games were eliminated from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Unlike Pokémon Gold and Silver, players cannot visit the regions depicted in previous games (Kanto and Johto), and, while the game has an internal clock used for in-game events, the diurnal cycle from Pokémon Gold and Silver has been removed. The menu interface is also different, and as such the radio and cell phone of Pokémon Gold and Silver and Pokémon Crystal, respectively, have been replaced with other gadgets.
Berry glitch
One new feature in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire is the ability to plant berries (which had previously been introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver) in "patches of loamy soil," allowing the player to cultivate berry gardens of whatever berries that player wants. This feature came with a significant bug; after a saved game of Pokémon Ruby or Sapphire had been played for a year or longer, the berry plants wouldn't grow, and all time-based events stopped working.
Nintendo created a program that fixed this problem with the game's clock and began a program to make players aware of the glitch and the fix; in the United States, beginning in March of 2004, Nintendo included a berry fix program on the Gamecube demo discs distributed to Gamestop and EB Games stores, for use in their demonstration Gamecubes. (These game stores often have kiosks with current video game consoles for customers to try out games.) Connecting Game Boy Advance running a copy of Pokémon Ruby or Sapphire to a Gamecube running one of these demo discs will fix the berry glitch, as well as transfer over a Shiny Zigzagoon to the copy of Ruby or Sapphire.
This program was discontinued in North America by the end of 2004, but Nintendo included the berry fix program in other products, as well. The demo disc given to those who pre-ordered Pokémon Colosseum has a program similar to the one included on the EB Games and Gamestop discs, but, instead of transferring a shiny Zigzagoon, it transfers a Jirachi to the connected game.
Later Pokémon games, including Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Emerald, and Pokémon Box, also include a hidden mode that can fix the berry glitch, albeit without the additional gifts included with the other versions of the berry fix program. Instructions for this mode are included in the manuals of each game.
Critical and public response
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire initially met with mostly, if not universally, positive reviews from critics[1]. As with most of the Pokémon games, the games are best-sellers, selling more than five million copies in Japan,[2] and nearly four million copies in North America.[3] As of September 2005, when taken together Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are the best-selling Game Boy Advance games ever, and taken individually they both are among the top ten GBA best-sellers.
Initial fan reception, however, especially in the Pokémon fan community, was not entirely positive. Game Freak discarded a number of features that had been present in previous games. Compatibility with the previous two generations of Pokémon games was discarded due to changes in game mechanics and link cables compatibility. The day and night cycles and the ability to visit previous regions, features that were in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, were also removed.
Also criticized by fans were the new Pokémon designs. Ken Sugimori, the lead character designer for the first two generations of Pokémon, took a more hands-off, supervisory role for the creation of the third-generation Pokémon. The 135 third-generation Pokémon introduced in these games are less iconic and cartoony than the first two generations, favoring a naturalistic, more-detailed style. A good example of this change in style is the difference between Butterfree and Beautifly; both are based directly on butterflies, but Butterfree has a soft, simplified, anthropomorphic style, whereas Beautifly has greater detail, including the proboscis and lobed wings. This change in style was not entirely well-received.
GameFreak's decision to not include many of the previous first- and second-generation Pokémon also met with criticism; of the 251 Pokémon introduced in previous games, only 67 appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. (The remaining Pokémon would return in later games, including FireRed and LeafGreen, Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Colosseum, and Pokémon XD.)
The narrow, tall font used in dialogue boxes and menus is considered by many to be the Pokémon series' least legible, and was replaced for later games.
Story
The game begins in Littleroot Town, where the player is moving into his or her new house. The two characters are named Brendan (male) and May (female) by default, but the names can be changed by the player at the game's start. If the player plays as Brendan, May will become the friendly rival; likewise, picking May will have Brendan as the rival.
The first city the player goes to is Petalburg, where their "father," Norman, has recently become gym leader. This parallels the Anime, where May's father, Norman, is also the gym leader of Petalburg. The gym leaders are also represented in the game as well.
As in all games, the basic premise is to acquire all eight gym badges and to defeat the Elite Four and the Champion. Like in Ruby and Sapphire's predecessors, Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal, the champion is not the rival. The champion is a man named Steve, who the player meets several times along the way.
Like with all other games, there is an evil organization out to make trouble. Ruby and Sapphire slighlty deviate from this plotline; instead of Team Rocket, there are game-specific teams. However, the evil and aims are intact. In Pokémon Ruby, Team Magma is the enemy; in Pokémon Sapphire, Team Aqua is the enemy. Throughout the game, the player pursues and attempts to stop Magma/Aqua from executing their plans. In the final twist, both teams awaken a Legendary Pokémon; Team Magma will awaken Groudon, Aqua will awaken Kyogre. The player must capture or defeat the Pokémon to advance the plotline.
After defeating the Elite Four, players may search for a fleeing Legendary Pokémon (similar to the Legendary Dogs in G/S/C). These two Pokémon (depending on the game) are Latias and Latios.
Footnotes
- ^ - Gamerankings has aggregate scores of 84% and 84% for Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, respectively. [4] [5]
- ^ - 5,275,000 copies sold in Japan, as of August 2005, according to Famitsu Top[6]. These numbers reflect combined sales of both games.
- ^ - 2.03 million copies of Pokémon Ruby and 1.83 million copies of Pokémon Sapphire sold in North America as of approximately August 2005, according to the Magic Box[7]. (The Magic Box list doesn't have a date, but was referenced on the Gaming-Age Forums on August 2, 2005[8].)
| Pokémon Game Boy/DS games |
|---|
| First Generation: Pokémon Red and Blue | Pokémon Yellow Second Generation: Pokémon Gold and Silver | Pokémon Crystal Third Generation: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire | Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen | Pokémon Emerald Fourth Generation: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl |
| Console spinoff games |
| Hey You, Pikachu! | Pokémon Snap | Pokémon Stadium | Pokémon Puzzle League | Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire | Pokémon Channel | Pokémon Master Arena | Pokémon Colosseum | Pokémon XD |
| Handheld spinoff games |
| Pokémon Pinball | Pokémon Trading Card | Pokémon Card GB2 | Pokémon Play It! | Pokémon Puzzle Challenge | Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire | Pokémon Dash! | Pokémon Torouze | Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon | Pokémon Ranger | Pokémon Mini | Pokémon Pikachu |
