Pokémon: Ruby Version [GBA]

There is even support for Nintendo's e-Reader peripheral that will enable gamers with the proper equipment to fight additional trainers by swiping specially encoded cards...one of which is included with each copy of Pokemon: Ruby Version and Pokemon: Sapphire Version Since these cards feature trainers with 50-level Pokemon, this feature won't open up to users until deep into the adventure. It's obvious that this feature is for the truly diehard Pokemon fan, but it's a great addition to the Pokemon design that puts the e-Reader to very clever use.

And even the little things in the game add up to make up a seriously impressive Pokemon experience. The game not only allows players to collect and name more than 400 creatures, it also remembers which Pokeball was used to catch that creature; players will throw their Pokemon out in battle, and keen eyes will notice that the graphic used to represent the Pokeball is the proper style of ball that the player used to capture it. The Ruby and Sapphire game design also features a really clean interface, making it easy to look up individual Pokemon, as well as find out about all of the towns and roads that players have discovered along the way.

But where the developers focused on game features and designs, the graphics didn't receive quite the same royal treatment. After playing such vibrantly colorful and detailed games on the GBA system, it's a little on the disappointing side to experience the basic art style that's in Pokemon: Ruby Version and Pokemon: Sapphire Version. The overworld and battle graphics only received minor upgrades from the Game Boy Color version released two years ago. But to be fair, the game doesn't look that bad, with a better-than-average graphic style. The developers do throw in a few "special effects" to make sure that at least some of the GBA capabilities are put to use; water puddles have a simple-but-effective reflection, and sandy areas leave a temporary trail of footprints (or bike tire prints if you're riding one of the two vehicles in the adventure). Pokemon battles themselves are still of the same basic slideshow fair of the previous games, but at least the GBA's hardware can do more to make the Pokemon seem more "alive"; certain attacks will cause the Pokemon sprites to grow or rotate, even adding a few background effects to spice up the action. The sound quality is a bit of a mixed bag; the music and tune composition is definitely of high quality that touches upon SNES quality of audio. But the sound effects, most notably the samples of each of the 350+ Pokemon in the game, are just about what was offered on the past Pokemon games. Don't expect the cartoon voices of all the Pokemon; there's only so much a GBA cart can hold, and this game's already jam-packed with tons of features.

Also, the GBA game removes one of the coolest features that Nintendo introduced in the Gold/Silver/Crystal series: time-based events. Ruby and Sapphire include a real-time clock that can be set at the beginning of the adventure, but it doesn't seem to have any immediate effects on the adventure; apparently it's simply tied to the growth of the berries in the wilderness, but that's it. In the past clock-based Pokemon, events would happen on specific days of the week and at certain times, adding a unique element to the RPG experience. This feature is sorely missing in Ruby and Sapphire.

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