Pokémon Emerald Version is a 2004 role-playing video game created by Game Freak and released by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was first available in Japan in 2004 and later released in other countries in 2005. It is the fifth version in the series, following Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, as well as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. It is the last game in the third generation of the Pokémon video game series.
The gameplay and controls are similar to earlier games in the series. Players control a Pokémon trainer from a top-down view. Like Ruby and Sapphire, the main goal is to explore the Hoenn Region and defeat eight Pokémon Gyms to challenge the Elite Four and the Hoenn League Champion. A secondary story involves stopping two groups of criminals who want to use a powerful legendary Pokémon for their own purposes. The game includes Pokémon that first appeared in Ruby and Sapphire, as well as Pokémon from Pokémon Gold and Silver that were not in Ruby and Sapphire.
When Pokémon Emerald Version was released, it received mostly positive reviews. Players praised the addition of the Battle Frontier and improvements to the story from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Emerald is similar to Ruby and Sapphire. Much of the game uses a top-down view, allowing players to move their characters in four directions and interact with others on the overworld map. Players can encounter wild Pokémon by walking through grass, surfing on their Pokémon, exploring caves, and other methods. They can also battle other trainers' Pokémon. During battles, the game switches to a battle screen where the player and their Pokémon appear on the front-left side, while opponents are shown on the back-right side. Information about each participant's Pokémon and trainers, such as levels, number of Pokémon (up to six), health, and status effects like poison or paralysis, is displayed on the sides of the screen. Trainers send out their first Pokémon, and turns are determined by the speed of the battling Pokémon. Players can choose from four options: Fight, Bag, Switch, or Run. Each Pokémon can learn up to four moves with different effects, types, and uses. When a Pokémon loses all of its hit points (HP), it faints, and the trainer must switch to another Pokémon. If a trainer runs out of Pokémon, the battle ends. Winning a battle gives experience to the player's Pokémon, which can increase their level, improve stats like attack and defense, and sometimes teach new moves or cause evolution.
Some battles allow two-on-two matchups, where moves can support teammates or attack multiple opponents. Unlike Ruby and Sapphire, which required battling two specific trainers, Emerald lets players fight two trainers in a 2-on-2 battle, often facing them separately. Every Pokémon has an ability that helps in battle, such as becoming stronger when close to fainting. Wild Pokémon can be caught using Poké Balls, which are more likely to succeed when the Pokémon is weak. Players can trade and battle with others using third-generation games like Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, and LeafGreen by connecting Game Boy Advance systems with a link cable or wireless adapter. Emerald is also compatible with Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, allowing access to Pokémon not normally found in the game.
In addition to battles, players can enter Pokémon Contests to win in five categories: Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart, and Tough. Early in the game, players receive a device called the PokéNav, which helps view maps, check contest stats, and call trainers for chats or battles. This replaces a feature called "Trainer's Eyes," which allowed tracking trainers' battle moods. Players can also re-battle Gym Leaders, a feature new to Emerald. The game includes new features like battle animations and the Battle Frontier, an expanded version of the Battle Tower from earlier games. After defeating the Pokémon League Champion, players can access the Battle Frontier, which includes the Battle Tower and six new areas. Completing these areas earns "Battle Points" for prizes. The Japanese version of Emerald supports the Nintendo e-Reader, but this was removed in the English release. The Trainer Hill area in the Japanese version also works with the e-Reader. Rare Pokémon like Mew, Lugia, and Ho-Oh can be obtained through in-game events.
Setting and story
The setting and story are very similar to the games Ruby and Sapphire. Players can choose to play as a boy or girl, both of whom wear new outfits with a green color design. Before leaving their hometown, players select one of three Pokémon to begin their journey through the game's world.
Players must fill their Pokédex by catching different types of Pokémon and helping them grow stronger. They must also complete eight gym challenges, defeat the Elite Four, and beat the Pokémon League Champion by battling with their Pokémon. During their journey, players meet two rivals: May or Brendan, the child of Professor Birch, and Wally, a shy child from Petalburg who needs help catching his first Pokémon, a Ralts. Players also meet Wallace, the Hoenn League Champion.
Throughout the game, players face Team Magma and Team Aqua, which were originally only in Ruby and Sapphire, respectively. Team Magma wants to increase land by summoning the Legendary Pokémon Groudon, while Team Aqua wants to increase the sea by summoning the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre. Both teams try many times to change the environment. Team Magma attempts to make a volcano erupt, and Team Aqua tries to steal a Pokémon that can control the weather.
After visiting the seventh and eighth gyms, both teams use mystical orbs stolen from Mt. Pyre to summon their chosen Legendary Pokémon. However, the Pokémon do not listen to either group and start fighting, causing the world to experience constant droughts and heavy rainfalls. The player climbs a tower to summon the Legendary Pokémon Rayquaza, who calms the other two Pokémon.
After defeating the Elite Four and Wallace to become the new Hoenn League Champion, players can see two Pokémon flying over Hoenn, Latias and Latios. They also gain access to the Battle Frontier, which adds new challenges. Players can battle Steven Stone, the former Hoenn League Champion, in Meteor Falls using a stronger version of his team from Ruby and Sapphire. Players can now catch Kyogre and Groudon by talking to the scientist at the Weather Institute.
Development and promotion
Pokémon Emerald was created by Game Freak and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was first shared in Coro Coro Magazine. The game works with the Nintendo e-Reader and includes 83 cards that were released on October 7, 2004. It is the third version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and follows a pattern of third versions, such as Pokémon Yellow for Pokémon Red and Blue. Japanese copies of the game came with a wireless adapter, but English versions did not include this feature.
Nintendo organized several events related to Pokémon Emerald. One event was a competition where players could compete to become the "Pokémon Emerald Ultimate Frontier Battle Brain." The competition happened in seven regions across the United States and Canada. From each region, two finalists were chosen to compete in Seattle, Washington, at the Space Needle. The winners received a trip for two to Pokémon Park in Nagoya, Japan. People could also enter to win a trip to watch the competition. The competition focused on questions about Pokémon characters and their abilities.
Nintendo also offered a pre-order program for the game. Players who pre-ordered Emerald received exclusive access to a Pokémon website, a collector's tin holder, and a guide to the Battle Frontier. A special limited edition Game Boy Advance SP was released in Japan. This version had a picture of the Pokémon Rayquaza on it. It was only sold through Nintendo's website, "Pokémon Trainer Online," and was not available outside of Japan. This console was listed in the Official Nintendo Magazine as a rare Pokémon console.
At the 2005 Comic-Con International, players who brought their Game Boy Advance with a copy of Pokémon Emerald and a wireless adapter to Booth 2029 received an in-game item called the Mystic Ticket. This item gave players a chance to catch the Pokémon Lugia and Ho-oh in the game.
Reception
Pokémon Emerald was generally well-received by critics and players. It has average scores of 76/100 on Metacritic and 76.65% on GameRankings. The game won an award for excellence at the ninth annual CESA Game Awards. IGN’s Craig Harris said he was not excited about Emerald but called it a solid game and the best choice for people who had not played Ruby or Sapphire before. 1UP.com’s Christian Nutt described it as the best version of Pokémon at the time but noted it felt similar to earlier versions. GameSpy’s Phil Theobald said it was a good game but felt like a repeat of Ruby and Sapphire. GameSpot’s Ryan Davis said it was a quality experience despite its similarities to Ruby and Sapphire and that serious fans might enjoy its changes. Eurogamer’s Corey Brotherson called it a good game but said it lacked new features, though he believed it was better for players new to the series. Nintendo Life’s Laurie Blake reviewed Emerald later and said the game has aged well but still feels like it did in 1996. She noted that its similarities to Ruby and Sapphire made it less essential for collectors, even though it was still good. Allgame’s Julia Reges said the game had value for younger players but might not interest older players. She compared Nintendo’s remakes of Pokémon to remakes of Star Wars.
IGN’s Audrey Drake praised Emerald for including both villain groups and called it a "marked departure" from Ruby and Sapphire. She said the ability to re-battle Gym Leaders created an exciting challenge. She also listed Emerald, along with Ruby and Sapphire, as Game Boy Advance games she wanted to see on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. 1UP.com’s Lucas M. Thomas said he disliked having to play through the entire game before accessing the Battle Frontier. Jeremy Parish listed Emerald as one of the best games to bring on a plane. 1UP.com’s Kat Bailey included it in her list of remakes that improved on the originals. She praised the Battle Frontier and its fixes for issues in Ruby and Sapphire.
Pokémon Emerald sold 791,000 copies in Japan during its first week and 372,000 copies on its first day. It was the fourth best-selling game in Japan in 2004, selling 1.4 million copies that year. It ranked behind Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (combined), and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. In 2010, Emerald appeared on Japan’s top 1000 best-selling video games list at position 779, with total sales of 1,916,505 copies. It was the only Game Boy Advance game on the list. Over 146,000 people pre-ordered Emerald in the United States. It launched as the top-selling game in the U.S. in May, then dropped to second place in June, selling 265,000 copies that month. By June 2005, it had sold 1.72 million copies worldwide and was the second best-selling game for the first half of that year. An IGN poll ranked Emerald as the most popular Game Boy Advance game for the 2005 holiday season, and it ranked second overall for the year behind Madden NFL 06. By the end of 2005, it had sold 1.2 million copies in Europe and nearly 5 million worldwide. As of 2007, it had sold 6.32 million copies. In November 2005, Nintendo Power mistakenly reported that "Total sales [from Emerald] would exceed the value of an actual emerald the size of Neptune." By 2021, Pokémon Emerald had sold 6.80 million copies worldwide. It remains one of the three best-selling Game Boy Advance games.