Abe Sargent
07-08-2003, 11:00 AM
I have recently found a game that may very well make my Top 10 Computer and Console Games of All Time.
I recently purchased a Game Boy Advance as an impulse purchase. I pciked up Zelda III and finished it in two days. So I checked a few reviews, and headed back to Meijer's and bought Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow and WarioWare Inc.
WarioWare lasted all of two days and I was on the third day of Aria of Sorrow. I was alomost finished, but I had to keep playing the same level over and over again, which is often one of the disadvantages of Castlevania games.
And I have to admit that I was disappointed with the GBA. These games took no time at all to play. I happened to be in Meijer's shopping for food and I decided to swing by the console section. There was a lady working there who played GameBoy. Since she knew the system, I explained my problem. She asked what games I had played, and then recommened to me Pokemon, either the Ruby or Sapphire version.
I was very sceptical. Pokemon is for kids. Still, nothing else had worked out. So, I picked up Pokemon Sapphire and headed out. Later that night, I loeaded it up figuring that I could learn the system.
The rest is history.
All day on July 4 I played Pokemon. I didn't eat anything other than 2 Granola bars and two pudding cups. I didn't even bathe.
On Saturday I bathed, played an hour of EU2, ordered Beef Quesadillas, and played Pokemon all day.
Sunday ditto.
Last night I raced him so I could load up the game and play more Pokemon.
The game tracks how many hours I've played - 43:06 is where I am at currently.
Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby is simply a masterful game. It is better than Final Fantasy, and very comparbale to it in terms of gameplay. It's really a FF style RPG with a twist. You fight with Pokemon instead of characters, and any monster you fight against you can also capture and use.
Like any good RPG, it is very deep. You can go get Gym Badges, put your Pokemon in contests, or complete side quests. It uses new abilites to open up new ares of the map, just like Final Fantasy and such.
The sheer volume of detail and depth is amazing. For example, various creatures and attacks are various elements. But it's not a simple rock-paper-scissors type elemental scale. Here are the elements that an attack or Pokemon can have:
Flying
Grass
Water
Ground
Rock
Steel
Electric
Fight
Psychic
Normal
Ghost
Dark
Poison
And I've heard rumors that there is a Dragon type too, but I won't read any spoliers or FAQs until I am done. You absolutely have to have a variety of types of Pokemon in your party, so you have to choose what to have and what to get rid of. All while finding Pokemon with good stats, good moves, and so forth.
For those Pokemon literate, I currently have the 7th Badge and am using:
A Sceptile, which started the game as a Treecko, one of the original Pkoemon you choose from
Magneton, which started as a Magnemite
Seviper, a posion Pokemon serpent creature that is unique to Sapphire
Pelipper, a water/flying Pokemn that began life as Wingull
An Aron that finally evolved last night, a Steel/Rock Pokemon.
And a Torkoal fire Pokemon that I am really displeased with and am about to replace.
Anyways, like the best RPGs ever, Pokemon has a lot of extra stuff to do that is not realted to winning the game, for example:
1). Side quests - you have several side quests which you don't get until later in the game.
2). Casino - There is a casino with slots and Pokemon Routlette. The slots are nothing but Pokemon Roulette is a neat and fun spin on classic Routlette which eventually can put the odds in your favor once you figure it out. Of course, there are items that can only be found in the Casino.
3). Grow berries - You can grow berries in loamy soil found throughout the world. Some berries are veyr rare, and you can grow them and cultivate them. Berries are better than items that do much the same thing for a variety of game reasons, so there are legitmate reasosn to do this.
4). Build Pokeblocks - This candy can only be made by blending berries, which is a little subgame, where the more accurate you arespinning a blender, the better your Pokeblocks.
5). Go to contests - This is hte deepest part of the game that you don't have to play. Your Pokemon are judged on one of five different characteristics, depending on which conttest you enter. Each move that your Pokemon has also has a contest rating. So you can go to a contest and compete with other Pokemon. Often, the best combat moves are boring in contests. There are various ranks of contests that you can enter Pokemon into.
6). Safari - There is a place later in the game where you can go on Safari and find unique Pokemon that cannot be found anywhere else. Some of the Pokemon there are familar faces from previous installations like Psyduck and Pikachu. Others are unique to the Sapphire/Ruby release.
In summation, this game is much deeper than "Some Kid's Game." It's really, really good. I think that if this game had been released as is for Super Nintendo (which the GMA is about on par with), then we would remember it as one of the greatest console games of all time. But because it is relagated to a system that some thinkiking of as a Child's Toy (GBA) with a game that kids play, with a cartoon, and that card game. Well, because of that I think the game gets a bad rap. This is an amazingly good game. I would die to see a PS2 version with 1000+ Pokemon, a huge world, and all of the accompanying bells and whistles.
-Anxiety
I recently purchased a Game Boy Advance as an impulse purchase. I pciked up Zelda III and finished it in two days. So I checked a few reviews, and headed back to Meijer's and bought Castlevania - Aria of Sorrow and WarioWare Inc.
WarioWare lasted all of two days and I was on the third day of Aria of Sorrow. I was alomost finished, but I had to keep playing the same level over and over again, which is often one of the disadvantages of Castlevania games.
And I have to admit that I was disappointed with the GBA. These games took no time at all to play. I happened to be in Meijer's shopping for food and I decided to swing by the console section. There was a lady working there who played GameBoy. Since she knew the system, I explained my problem. She asked what games I had played, and then recommened to me Pokemon, either the Ruby or Sapphire version.
I was very sceptical. Pokemon is for kids. Still, nothing else had worked out. So, I picked up Pokemon Sapphire and headed out. Later that night, I loeaded it up figuring that I could learn the system.
The rest is history.
All day on July 4 I played Pokemon. I didn't eat anything other than 2 Granola bars and two pudding cups. I didn't even bathe.
On Saturday I bathed, played an hour of EU2, ordered Beef Quesadillas, and played Pokemon all day.
Sunday ditto.
Last night I raced him so I could load up the game and play more Pokemon.
The game tracks how many hours I've played - 43:06 is where I am at currently.
Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby is simply a masterful game. It is better than Final Fantasy, and very comparbale to it in terms of gameplay. It's really a FF style RPG with a twist. You fight with Pokemon instead of characters, and any monster you fight against you can also capture and use.
Like any good RPG, it is very deep. You can go get Gym Badges, put your Pokemon in contests, or complete side quests. It uses new abilites to open up new ares of the map, just like Final Fantasy and such.
The sheer volume of detail and depth is amazing. For example, various creatures and attacks are various elements. But it's not a simple rock-paper-scissors type elemental scale. Here are the elements that an attack or Pokemon can have:
Flying
Grass
Water
Ground
Rock
Steel
Electric
Fight
Psychic
Normal
Ghost
Dark
Poison
And I've heard rumors that there is a Dragon type too, but I won't read any spoliers or FAQs until I am done. You absolutely have to have a variety of types of Pokemon in your party, so you have to choose what to have and what to get rid of. All while finding Pokemon with good stats, good moves, and so forth.
For those Pokemon literate, I currently have the 7th Badge and am using:
A Sceptile, which started the game as a Treecko, one of the original Pkoemon you choose from
Magneton, which started as a Magnemite
Seviper, a posion Pokemon serpent creature that is unique to Sapphire
Pelipper, a water/flying Pokemn that began life as Wingull
An Aron that finally evolved last night, a Steel/Rock Pokemon.
And a Torkoal fire Pokemon that I am really displeased with and am about to replace.
Anyways, like the best RPGs ever, Pokemon has a lot of extra stuff to do that is not realted to winning the game, for example:
1). Side quests - you have several side quests which you don't get until later in the game.
2). Casino - There is a casino with slots and Pokemon Routlette. The slots are nothing but Pokemon Roulette is a neat and fun spin on classic Routlette which eventually can put the odds in your favor once you figure it out. Of course, there are items that can only be found in the Casino.
3). Grow berries - You can grow berries in loamy soil found throughout the world. Some berries are veyr rare, and you can grow them and cultivate them. Berries are better than items that do much the same thing for a variety of game reasons, so there are legitmate reasosn to do this.
4). Build Pokeblocks - This candy can only be made by blending berries, which is a little subgame, where the more accurate you arespinning a blender, the better your Pokeblocks.
5). Go to contests - This is hte deepest part of the game that you don't have to play. Your Pokemon are judged on one of five different characteristics, depending on which conttest you enter. Each move that your Pokemon has also has a contest rating. So you can go to a contest and compete with other Pokemon. Often, the best combat moves are boring in contests. There are various ranks of contests that you can enter Pokemon into.
6). Safari - There is a place later in the game where you can go on Safari and find unique Pokemon that cannot be found anywhere else. Some of the Pokemon there are familar faces from previous installations like Psyduck and Pikachu. Others are unique to the Sapphire/Ruby release.
In summation, this game is much deeper than "Some Kid's Game." It's really, really good. I think that if this game had been released as is for Super Nintendo (which the GMA is about on par with), then we would remember it as one of the greatest console games of all time. But because it is relagated to a system that some thinkiking of as a Child's Toy (GBA) with a game that kids play, with a cartoon, and that card game. Well, because of that I think the game gets a bad rap. This is an amazingly good game. I would die to see a PS2 version with 1000+ Pokemon, a huge world, and all of the accompanying bells and whistles.
-Anxiety