Pokemon Emerald Version (Nintendo Game Boy Advance, 2005)

I have played every Pokemon game (the games in which you are a trainer after the gym badges), from Yellow version on the GBC to this year' Soul Silver version, and I keep coming back to this game. The appeal of the original Pokemon games, the immersion into a new world filled with wonderous creatures and the thrill of capturing and battling with them, was captured in this game. The third generation of Pokemon introduced 134 new monsters, more than any other excepting the first. These Pokemon are some of the cooling-looking and most-powerful that were ever rolled out by Game Freak, and are some of the first reached for by competitive battlers still today, they rock. In this generation of games you are exposed to almost exclusively new Pokemon (a strategy used in the award-winning Pokemon Black and White released in Japan in September) and it works. The most compelling thing about Pokemon Emerald is that it took all the great things from Ruby and Sapphire and made them even better. Emerald improved on graphics, storyline, and content. Emerald is also the most difficult Pokemon game to date, so if you're looking for a challenging Pokemon game (which is more fun in my opinion) then look no further. Altogether Pokemon Emerald is one of the best pokemon games because of the amount of things to do (Battle Frontier (which is a multiplayer sanctuary), Pokemon Contests (which you can do with friends as well!), making PokeBlocks (multiplayer), catching Johto pokemon in th Safari zone, diving under water to find treasure and new pokemon, walking through blistering deserts, wandering abandoned ships, foiling the plots of team Magma and Aqua (the story is so much better with both of them in it!), turning off powerplants, filling out the pokedex, going through the main story, and just exploring!), all the legendary pokemon (from ruby and sapphire plus even more!), and the difficulty level (it makes a game that much more compelling).

This has always been a great game, in my library at least.

You have the standard copy-paste formula of the major Pokemon RPG's, adventurer from X town travels throughout Y region to beat Gym Leaders and become champion of the Pokemon League, all while fighting Team Z and your rival. Rather than diminishing from the experience, the familiarity and intuitiveness make it easy to use, whether you're a vet or picking up a Pokemon game for the first time. It has a few new features, but apart from the double battle, new features for berries, and the Battle Frontier, nothing worth writing about.

The graphics are good, and I would argue, better than the new DS games. I prefer clarity and sharpness over 3D. Similar to Ruby and Sapphire, a generation better than Gold and Silver, and a world apart from Red, Blue, and Yellow.

The music isn't too remarkable. It's good, and it's varied enough to prevent, in my opinion, it getting stagnant, but it doesn't stand out quite like the originals, but that could be my nostalgia kicking in.

The controls are easy to master, same as all other Pokemon games.

The new Pokemon are interesting, along with a good selection of legendaries for the collector(the cover Pokemon being my favorite of all time, except for Mew of course).

All in all, this game, while similar to all the other ones, stands out through it's storyline, (which I left out because A. There are tons of places to read about it, and B. I don't like giving spoilers.), its Pokemon, and its ability to stick to the tried and true formula without getting old.

As the last Pokemon game on the GBA, except for FireRed and LeafGreen, this was the game that set up the stage for the ones to follow, to cross the threshold to the future of the series.

Ever since Nintendo realized it had struck gold with Pokemon, the company has never backed down from milking the virtual cow. Even in the early days of the series the company kept the money rolling in by offering basic updates to the RPG game design, even when those games had already run their course. On the original Game Boy, the success of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue spawned Pokemon Yellow. When the Game Boy Color hit the scene, Pokemon Crystal kept the series alive after Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver had their time in the sun.

Pokemon Emerald is Nintendo's way of keeping the RPG train chugging along, having the series remain in the Game Boy spotlight for as long as the public can stand it. The game is, for the most part, an extension of the storyline, universe, and "quest" that has already been established in the release of 2003's Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire, with the additional creature animations and Wireless connectivity brought forth in last year's Game Boy remakes of Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen. So, for anyone waiting for the Next Big Thing in the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Emerald honestly isn't it. It's a been-there-done-that experience, but at least that experience is still successful, even if it's been recycled for a new shade of cartridge color.

In the Pokemon series, players assume the role of an up-and-coming Pokemon trainer. Pokemon are among a class of various creatures who live in harmony with humans, from bird to bug to fish to...puppet. Players work their way through the land, going from town to town, using their skills to capture Pokemon in the wild to do their bidding against other Pokemon trainers. Successful battles between Pokemon will strengthen those creatures, and the higher their level, the more powerful they can be. When a player's set of Pokemon is at a certain level, they can attempt to challenge the town's Pokemon Gym leader. The leader holds a specific badge for Pokemon trainers to collect, and by defeating this leader, players earn that badge and the abilities that the badge holds. By collecting all eight gym badges, players will earn that coveted Pokemon Master title.

Pokemon Emerald is going to feel somewhat like a TV Land rerun marathon to anyone who has already experienced Pokemon Ruby or Pokemon Sapphire. The foundation of this green cartridge has already been laid out in the 2003 release; from start to finish, the goal is essentially the same experience, so if you've already romped through Ruby and/or Sapphire, you'll really have to be among the absolute die-hard to put in another 30-plus hours to get through the quest again.

The pokemon franchise has grown tremendously over the years. Lately the games and whatnot have taken a different turn. I think for all those out there who enjoyed the oldies+gold, silver.. Then this is the game for you. It combines 2 games into one.
Gameplay: It is a genuine pokemon game. Feels good and plays well. Moves are balanced and the flow of the game is nice.
Graphics: Upgrade from the GBC era, but for a GBA game, it's average.
Sound: Again, your usual pokemon game. Sounds are nice, the music has nice little twists in it, and you don't get super tired of listening to the same stupid soundtrack for 60+ hours.
Story: This is Pokemon to the core. You start out in your hometown w/ your mother. This time you also are with your dad later. Nice twists here and there. You're playing to stop the forces of evil, team aqua, and magma. Leveling, training, all that throughout the game.
Replayability: This is where, IMO)in my opinion( the games shine, there is soo much customization that you really can't "beat" the game. I'll admit after you've gone through it and caught most of the pokemon you will want to move on. But a few years down the road you will dig it up, turn it on, and love it JUST as much as you did in the past.
Learning Curve: I'll admit, i'm a pokemon veteran. I played this when it first came out, from red, to gold, and now to emerald. In my opinion the learning curve of emerald is actually pretty steep. If you want to just coast along you can...but if you want to dive into berry mixing, growing, breeding, training, trading, etc. Then the manual doesn't even cover it all enough. I say easy for ages 10+

Overall:
Great game, great value. Definently find yours while they are out there. Get a new one if possible so it will for sure work. This is worth it if you have Any interest in the pokemon series.

This was my second copy of Pokemon Emerald, because I bought one on pre-order when it originally came out about 8 years ago. I loved the game and everything about the Hoenn region considering I basically started off with Sapphire and Ruby. What's best about Emerald are the added features - from thickening the plot and drama between Teams Aqua and Magma, to re-battling gym leaders after beating the League, to adding the Battle Frontier, to facing Steven later after beating the League (similar to facing Red in Gold/Silver), to getting Johto pokemon in the Safari Zone after beating the League, and receiving one of the Johto starters after getting all the Hoenn pokemon (finally there's more than a freakin paper certificate for doing that!). My only criticism on gameplay was weakening wild pokemon in Sky Pillar and not taking the opportunity to make the Elite Four much more difficult (in some ways making it easier) but the game is immensely fun, and that's the reason I got into playing all my Gen 3 games again about a year ago. Now I'm playing again to get the other 2 Johto starters, and it brings back some great childhood memories and is one of my favorite things to do now other than play sports. It's true that Pokemon games can be addictive, but I love being a so-called addict of one of the best game franchises for Nintendo. If anyone were going to get a Hoenn game, I'd say start off with this version because it's the most complete of the 3 games. If I had a DS I'd also being playing the newer games, but until I get one I'll enjoy myself playing through Emerald a few more times.