Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Review

9.0

Pokémon GBA. The real reason humans have hands

Finally, it's arrived. Ever since the launch of the Game Boy Advance, Pokémaniacs have been jealously eyeing up all the other great gaming dynasties that have made their way onto the 32-bit console.

Link has made an appearance on the tiny coloured screen, as have Mario, Wario, and that useless blob Kirby. We enjoyed them all, even Kirby, but still we longed to see Pikachu, Jigglypuff and maybe some new friends in vibrant colour.

We couldn't wait to find out how the addictive delights of Pokémon-catching and nurturing would transfer from the GBC. Now that Ruby & Sapphire are finally here it's like welcoming back a much-loved old friend with a cool new haircut and expensive clothes. Pokémon looks and feels better and bigger than ever.

Hoenn on the range
Ruby & Sapphire kick off with your character meeting Prof. Birch, legendary Pokémon expert. He says you'll be moving to his hometown of Littleroot in the land of Hoenn. You then get the option of choosing your main character's gender, just like in Pokémon Crystal.

If you decide to play as a boy, you'll strike up a friendly rivalry with Prof. Birch's daughter May, while if you choose to be a girl, you'll battle his son Brendan. In typically silly Pokémon style, you arrive in Littleroot, bumping along in the back of a removal van, with burly Machops helping to carry the furniture into your Mum's house. Hurgh!

After a quick stroll around town, you stumble on Prof. Birch being attacked by a wild Poochyena Pokémon, one of 100 brand new critters. You have to choose from one of three Pokémon in his bag to help rescue him, and this is how you get your hands on your first Pokémon.

From this point onwards the basic style of gameplay will be very familiar to anyone who's ever played a Pokémon game, or indeed to anyone who has played old-fashioned top-down RPG's such as Golden Sun or Zelda action-adventure A Link To The Past. You walk, run and cycle from village to village, chatting to the mad people you meet, battling trainers, solving puzzles and capturing wild Pokémon to add to your collection.

Sack of soot
Aside from the obvious visual improvements, Pokémon fans will notice extensive enhancements to the gameplay. There appear to be many more mini-games and side-quests, ranging from bicycle race challenges to a bizarre game where you collect soot in a sack and trade it with a glass-blower who makes flutes. Really.

The radio broadcasts from Gold and Silver have been replaced by a TV channel, viewed in the houses you visit throughout Hoenn. You even get the chance to be interviewed by TV crews and have your answers featured on the next broadcast using an ingenious cut-and-paste method.

The battle animations are better than anything seen in previous Pokémon games, with the added excitement of four-way tag-team battles in single-player. Just look for trainers standing in pairs.

The revamped PC Pokémon storage system is another impressive improvement. Designed by a messy young girl called Lanette who lives near Fallorbor Town, the system allows for much easier movement of Pokémon between your Party and Storage boxes. Simply click on the little wiggling icons to switch them about.

The old system of using mobile phones to keep in touch with other trainers has been replaced by Trainer's Eyes, a comprehensive database of fellow trainers, including some crazy character descriptions.

Battle Royal
As always, the battles with other trainers and wild Pokémon represent the heart and soul of the gameplay. You capture wild Pokémon, raise them and throw them into battle in order to build up their Stats and create the ultimate party of fighting creatures.

Your aim is to beat all eight Gym Leaders in Hoenn, and win all the Gym badges. You can then go on to face-off against the Elite Four and the Pokémon Champion at the Pokémon League in Ever Grande City. You'll need to have raised your party to at least level 50 to even think about facing the best of the best.

Hippy Trippy
In typical Pokémon tradition it's not all about combat. If you want your creatures to evolve into more powerful Pokémon, you should shower them with love, affection and treats. It's frightening how much pride you feel when you take your Pokémon to the Pokémon Fan Club meeting in Slateport City and they tell you that your Pokémon love you. Or is that just us? Don't answer that.

Pokémon games have always been big on the touchy-feely stuff and Ruby & Sapphire are no exception. In order to successfully progress in the game you also spend lots of time helping your fellow man via side quests. There's a very strong environmental awareness theme to the story line involving the two warring factions of Team Aqua and Team Magma and their attempts to influence the ecology of Hoenn. Like, wow, far out man.

It certainly seems that Nintendo has gone all out to make this the definitive Pokémon game. We could have done without quite so many boring bird-like critters (is Taillow the new Magikarp?), but there's not much else to quibble over. And while there are always going to be those who wouldn't touch anything Pokémon with a 10-foot Feraligator (more fool them), open-minded Pokénewbies are bound to be ensnared by the gorgeous graphics and incredibly compelling and addictive 100 hours-plus of blissful gameplay.

Ruby & Sapphire represents everything Pokémon fans could have hoped for, and much more.

Maura Sutton