Pokemon Emerald Version

After PKMN Ruby my faith in the franchise was revitalized due to the games heavy level of fun and replay and moreover, fixing the vast mistakes PKMN G/S/C made and went back to what made Pokemon so great. And well, despite the hype around FR/LG Hoenn still proved to be the most creative of the four regions.

While R/S had a lot after main game while Emerald... There's just so much for the single player to do!

I mean, 1. the story was a huge improvement over R/S by having both teams (Magma and Aqua) to combat, having two of the coolest box art legendaries duke it out as per their rivalry alluded in the previous games.

This leads to: 2. Giving Rayquaza an importance (another cool legendary) to the game outside being some post-game 'mon to catch.

3. Upgraded difficulty. May not say much for some, but if you started from scratch and chose to lack a certain team balance like I did, the Pokemon change-ups and slightly smarter AI would really throw you off and give you a bit more of a fight.

4. Most important reason of all: VERY HIGH REPLAY VALUE. And compared to previous gens, R/S already beat them out from the start. But Emerald throwing in Gym Leader rematches (how long have we been begging for that), giving Berries more purpose, upgrading Breeding, giving us the ability to explore extra areas so we DON'T HAVE TO trade to get both fossils and certain Pokes AND Battle Frontier (Battle Factory, I'll finish you yet!) alongside some other fun side things, Emerald has got to be the most rewarding (and battle centric) single player game within the Pokemon main games.

Love that game and I'm still playing it. If you're shaky by D/Ps lack of single player goods due to its heavy emphasis on Wifi/horrid online community or just wanna play alone (and it has to be a game from the Pokemon main series) then Emerald is your bet!

This game is a very fun game to play and you also be able to catch some pokemon the was not in the other pokemon games. You will never know when the story will change from the pokemon ruby story line. You will find different buildings in the contest tents places up to lilycove city. There is alot more things to find that is what makes this game fun to play. It is a little harder in some areas in the game but it is an easy game to figure out. So if you buy this game you will more than likely love it. I know I loved the game.

I've played most of the Pokemon games now, including the brand new Pearl / Diamond set, and I just really found that I had to come back and review this game. None of the others compare to this one, so I have to give it 5 stars.

REASONS FOR IT BEING THE BEST:
* Sapphire and Ruby were already extremely fun, and if it wasn't for this game, I'd probably vote THEM the funnest. However, this game is a combination of both and because of that it's even better.
* I really love team Magma and team Aqua, especially because in a sense they weren't really bad guys. They thought what they were doing was helpful, and in the end they learned their mistakes. I've always liked villains with some depth to them, and these have that. Also, having rivaling enemies in the same game was a cool experience.
* The overall storyline and characters were perfect. I really enjoyed the dialogue / boss fights / overall story from this game and honestly can't think of an improvement.
* The game just keeps on going. Nothing ever really seems to end. Even after you've defeated the elite 4 there's still SO much you can do (especially considering theres a vast ocean to explore). I beat this game almost a year ago and I STILL pick it up from time to time.
* The fact that I couldn't really think of any cons to put in here says a lot about it. I mean I guess maybe the graphics could be better (after playing pearl), and having to connect with other players via cords can be annoying, but honestly those really aren't that important. The game experience itself greatly makes up for those tiny flaws.
* The original set of pokemon always has a place in my heart, but I felt that the new ones they came up with for this one were a great addition and a lot better then the others.
* The mechanics of the game were pretty much just like all the other ones, and since most people have played the old versions of Pokemon, this should be very easy to figure out.
* The music was very catchy and never got monotonous.

All in all, if I were to suggest a Pokemon game to anyone, it would be this one. Pearl might have this one beat graphics wise, but Emerald beats it in almost every other way. So this game gets 5 stars from me.

My son is a big fan of Pokemon and he plays Pokemon on every Nintendo GBA, DSL, Cube, etc. On every platform, the game he likes most is Pokemon definitely. I bought this Emerald after he finished Ruby (or Sapphire I forgot) and got a guide book from Borders. He really like it. Parents may wonder what's the fun in it, but don't need to think about that. You kid really want it, they have differnt mind than grownups.

Pokemon Emerald another additon to the Pokemon franchise. This game is quite similar to Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Pokemon are the same but there are a few new add ins like the Battle Tower I belive. Personally I was unable to play this game through yet due to I barely made it through Ruby. If you have played neither Ruby nor Sapphire I recommend you buy this game because it contains bits of Ruby and Sapphire and more.