Pokemon Ruby
by Nintendo

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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary

• You can control two Pokémon in battle
• Much needed graphic and sound facelift
• Nice multiplayer feature (requires link cable and extra game cartridge)

• Tips & Tricks Magazine

Video Game Reviews of Pokemon Ruby

Customer Review: Ruby/Sapphire, best games in the series
Summary: 5 Stars

Introduction
In 1995, Nintendo had released the first two Pokemon games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green.The series was extremely popular in Japan, and was released stateside in 1998, with the release ofPokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. The series started off slowly, and the popularity boomed in the beginning of 1999, starting with Pokémon trading cards, clothing, a Saturday morning television show, and more. With the large userbase of Pokémon, Nintendo released a special edition of the game, also known asPokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition which tried to emulate the television show, where Ash (the main character) would start off choosing a Pikachu, instead of a Charmander/Squirtle/Bulbasaur. It was extremely popular. It was the best selling game of 1999, selling over 1.1 million units in it's first week of release. Then, in 2000, Nintendo and Game Freaks released a brand new game called Pokémon Gold and Silver.This game boasted a whole new adventure, starring over 250 Pokémon, a time system, and a new character. The game was extremely popular among the younger children, and even amongst the older teenagers who played the Red/Blue/Yellow versions. Then, in the summer of 2001, Nintendo and Game Freaks released a special version of Pokémon Gold and SilvercalledPokémon Crystal version.The game wasn't as popular as the Gold and Silver versions. Yet, it still sold well. In 2002, Nintendo and Game Freaks released Pokémon Stadium 2, the sequel to Pokémon Stadium released in March 2001. Now, 5 years later from the release of Pokémon Red and Blue , Nintendo released brand new adventures, Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire. Now, I will review the Ruby version of the game, which is the version I own.

If you have played the original Pokémon games, the gameplay will be basically the same. You walk around with the D-Pad, do actions with the A button, cancel Actions with the B button, pause the game with Start, register an item to Select. L and R have no use, unless you want L to be A and R to be B. The battle system has been greatly improved. Now, you may do a 2-on-2 battle! This means when you fight two people, or 4-way battle with link cables, you use the first two Pokémon in your party are used in battle. It's very cool indeed. Don't forget, this game features 386 Pokémon, so you'll have plenty of time playing this game. There are 8 badges to collect, like all of the other games.

Graphics

If you have seen any screenshots of this games, you will have definetly have noticed the upgrade of graphics. There is now shadowing, footstep marks, water movements and reflections, etc. The battle graphics are very good, they have the usual movements of when the Pokémon attack, etc. The graphics are fair, but it's not the best seen on Gameboy Advance. It's not the best graphics seen on GBA, but near it.

Sound

There isn't many different sound effects from the original Pokémon games, but the music of the cities is great. Every Pokémon has it's own cry, which is over 386 different sound effects just for the Pokémon. This is about the same kind of sounds you would hear on the Super Nintendo.

Lasting Appeal

This game will last you at least 35 hours, and if you take the time to train a perfect Pokémon party, battle with all your friends, and collect all 386 monsters, you will easily clock hundreds of hours on this great game. Battling and trading definetly give this game a lot of lasting appeal.

Gameplay: 10.0
Graphics: 9.0
Sound: 9.0
Presentation: 9.5
Lasting Appeal: 10.0

Average: 9.5

Description of Pokemon Ruby

First, the game has a lot in common with Pokémon games Silver, Gold, and Crystal. For example, players can choose to be a boy or a girl trainer, an internal clock sets events at certain times, and you?re the game's handy-dandy Pokédex helps players keep track of the many stats. You're main goal is still to beat all the Gym Trainers and become the Pokémon Master. If you've played the old games, you will be right at home. But not all is the same.

The most obvious change is in the battles themselves. Now that two Pokémon can fight on your side at the same time, you can tag-team them against an enemy by taking advantage of the strengths of your Pokémons while covering their weaknesses. For example, you can now have a water Pokémon watch your fire Pokémon's back. You can also attack more than one Pokémon at a time.

A whole new element to the game focuses on how berries are used in battle. And if you collect enough berries, you can take them to a Berry Blender and make a PokéBlock, which is a little super-charged candy that raises your Pokémon's "Condition" attributes. You can then groom your Pokémon for regional contests and compete for ribbons like "Best of Show," which will unlock additional contests. There's even strategy in how to best use your berries: pick too many and the berry tree will disappear; plant berries, though, and a tree will grow. You can also build a Secret Base in special areas of the game, which you can decorate just like you can your room.

And let us not forget that Pokémon Ruby has a kickin' multiplayer system, too. You can trade Pokémon, and link up to four players for incredible battles. The only downside is that you can't link up with the old Game Boy Color games. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• You can control two Pokémon in battle
• Much needed graphic and sound facelift
• Nice multiplayer feature (requires link cable and extra game cartridge)

• Can't trade Pokémon with Game Boy Color

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