Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions
Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア Pocket Monsters Ruby and Sapphire) were the first Generation III games to be released — 21 November, 2002 in Japan, 17 March, 2003 in the US and 25 July, 2003 in Europe. It is based in the new Hoenn region and as usual contains new Pokémon and items. New features included Pokémon Contests as well as a Battle Tower. A sister game, Pokémon Emerald was released later, on 16 September, 2004, in Japan, featuring some gameplay advances and a plot alteration, and a whole new area called the Battle Frontier.
| Pokémon Ruby Version | |
|---|---|
| [[File:File:Pokemon Ruby boxart EN-US.jpg File:Pokemon Sapphire boxart EN-US.jpg|250px]] Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions' boxarts, featuring Groudon and Kyogre, repsectively. | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | {{{platform}}} |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | up to 4 players |
| Connectivity: | None |
| Developer: | Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK Inc. |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | {{{gen_series}}} |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | N/A |
| ESRB: | Everyone |
| ACB: | N/A |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | N/A |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | Nov 21, 2002 |
| North America: | Mar 17, 2003 |
| Australia: | Apr 03, 2003 |
| Europe: | Jul 25, 2003 |
| South Korea: | N/A |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア |
| English: | Games: Pokémon Ruby Games: Pokémon Sapphire |
New Features
- Another 135 Pokémon are now available.
- New type combinations including Water/Grass & Ghost/Dark.
- Pokémon Contests that allow your Pokémon to complete in five different areas.
- A completely new region - Hoenn.
- A seperate "icon" for each Pokémon.
- Double Battles which had two Pokémon go against two others.
- Many new techniques.
- New TMs, though some were kept from RBY/GSC.
- Weather effects in certain regions such as rain, and in one case sun.
- A new weather - Hail.
- Pokémon now have abilities, which give them certain bonuses.
Glitches
Most Pokémon games had some glitches, as did these. There is the infamous berry glitch, which made most time based events, such as berry growing, impossible after the game had been owned for a year, or played for over a 100 hours. This glitch is fixable by using a Pokémon Emerald, Firered, or Leafgreen game. In this game, it is also possible to catch several glitch Pokémon, such as ??????? or Bad egg. For more information, see the article: glitch
Storyline
The trainer first starts when, as always, being asked by one of the professors (in this case Professor Birch) what gender he or she is, and what her/his name is. After that, the trainer will be in a moving van. This moving van comes from Johto, where the family first lived, but they moved after the trainers father, Norman became leader of the Petalburg Gym. After the van is left, he or she will enter a house (the house of the trainer, to be exact) and there will be Machoke movers carrying boxes. After some dialogue with the mother of the trainer, the trainer will have to meet professor Birch, but he appears to be out in the field, so he must be found.
Upon encountering him, he will be chased by a Poochyena, and he will ask the trainer to take a Pokéball out of his backpack, lying on the ground. Here, the trainer has to choose if he/she wants a Treecko, a Torchic, or a Mudkip. While they are balanced, most players prefer either Treecko, for his ability to learn the move absorb early, or Torchic, because it beats the early Pokémon relatively well. Furthermore, the usual story of the Pokémon game is followed, and the trainer gets some Poké Balls, and sets out to become a Pokémon Master (and of course, he or she's Gotta catch 'em all).
Before the trainer leaves, however, he or she obtains the Running shoes from the mother of the trainer. The trainer then continues through Hoenn, defeating Team Magma or Team Aqua in places, depending on the version. Using Rock Smash, the trainer finishes the Rusturf Tunnel, he or she rescues the Wailmer in Lilycove City, and saves the world from either Groudon (in Ruby) or Kyogre (in Sapphire), and does many more things, too countless to name.
Finally, the Elite Four is defeated, and just when Steven Stone crowns the trainer to champion, the rival interrupts, saying: '*name of trainer*! Wait! Before you challenge the champion I have some advice to give you!' After that, she finds out the battle is already over, and professor Birch comes in. He congratulates the trainer, and takes a look at the trainer's Pokédex. Then, the trainer is registered in the Hall of Fame, and the credits begin.
Players who have already seen the credits a lot of times usually choose to turn the GBA off and then back on, as the game was automaticly saved before being registered, simply skipping the credits. The credits feature the trainer biking home, similar to the small movie when the game is turned on. The credits also feature pictures of the Pokémon the trainer has captured. If the trainer has'nt captured enough Pokémon to fill the entire credits, the Pokémon are repeated. After the credits, the trainer is waiting in his room upstairs, ready to catch more Pokémon, including the now unlocked Rayquaza and Latios/Latias depending on the version.
|-
! colspan="1" style="padding: 5px 5px 1px 5px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;" |
|- style="font-size: 90%;"
| style="vertical-align:middle; padding: 0px 5px 1px 5px;" colspan="1" |