Pokemon may be one of the most talked about and heard about gaming franchises in the world, what with services like Pokemon GO helping broaden its audience beyond the mainline games it is mostly known for. GameFreak's popular RPG has always known success, but it wasn't always at the massive scale it is now, with fans typically enjoying the (at the time) handheld games like Pokemon Emerald and occasional spin-off additions such as Pokemon Colosseum.
These days, there's plenty of content happening year-round to make all fans, from casual to competitive, happy and invested between bigger releases like the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Still, that's not to say any other time of being a Pokemon fan was any less exciting; the time leading up to and during Pokemon Emerald was quite a unique time in itself. It was at the height of Generation 3, which had already changed the game considerably as it was the series' first jump to a handheld other than the Game Boy.
The marketing for Emerald was hard to ignore, and it made it easy to get excited for one of the series' - at the time - coveted third versions. While the practice of having a third game released shortly after the usual dual releases of Pokemon has died out in recent generations, Emerald does a great job as to highlighting why each of these later editions were worth spending extra money on.
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Pokemon Emerald Refined the Third Generation to End Up Defining It
Pokemon Emerald may not have broken the mold of the third versions entirely, as what might seem groundbreaking in Emerald was also done in Pokemon Crystal to a degree. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire were rather special on their own already thanks to great marketing and a bold new look with the Game Boy Advance's graphics. However, Pokemon Emerald was memorable compared to Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire due to how it elevated many of the things Crystal brought in, as well as how it made the journey in Generation 3 much more of a spectacle. Of course, basic quality of life improvements also helped it get there, as with every other third version of Pokemon games.
Kyogre and Groudon may be known for fighting over the land and sea, but it's rarely mentioned without the way Rayquaza came in to stop their fighting before the world was flooded or lost to a drought. The same can be said about Team Magma and Team Aqua's feud, but the way they were both proven wrong by having a natural disaster show the effects of both of their wishes has stuck with players more than the endings of Ruby and Sapphire themselves. Pokemon Emerald was also the game to make animated sprites a series staple, a fan favorite feature that was a welcome addition when Pokemon Diamond and Pearl released two years later, according to Emerald's Japan release date.
How Pokemon Emerald Left High Expectations for Pokemon Platinum and Beyond
While Pokemon Crystal featured a similar plot with Suicune, the addition of Rayquaza made the original story of Ruby and Sapphire feel all the more complete. The Battle Frontier became a fan favorite feature after its inclusion, leading to many people demanding to see it in future titles further down the line.
Emerald managed to truly show how a third game in the Pokemon mainline series can expand upon what came before in surprising ways, which led to full area expansions such as the Distortion World in Pokemon Platinum. Pokemon Emerald was such a hit with fans that it ended up being the third best-selling title for the Game Boy Advance, and it even saw fans hoping the trend of Pokemon remakes only having two games of their own would be changed so Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire could be completed with a 'Delta Emerald.' Now that DLC has become a norm for Pokemon and third versions seem to be living on through the idea of Pokemon Legends: Z-A being the 'Z' to X and Y, Pokemon Emerald still serves as a shining example of what these additional games could do back when they were the series' standard.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 48%
- Released
- November 18, 2022
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
The school that you’ve enrolled in as you play Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet hosts a special independent study project. The theme of this assignment is "A Treasure Hunt." Explore the world and seek out your very own treasure!
Three stories will be woven into your adventure while traversing the sprawling Paldea region. Along Victory Road, you will go to Gyms in different locations in order to to achieve Champion Rank. On the Path of Legends, you can join Arven in search of rare ingredients. And in ★ Starfall Street ★, you’ll challenge Team Star, a group of delinquents causing trouble for the school.
These stories are set in an open world, so where you go is all up to you. A world teeming with Pokémon and people to meet is waiting for you—traverse the Paldea region wherever you heart desires.
