LogFAQs > #906023312

8/10: Pokemon Emerald

The first two generations of Pokemon are iconic - I like a good deal of designs from the first set of games, and I really love where the second generation went. The third generation of Pokemon doesn't have that pop to it - the soundtrack stands out, but there's a lot of design rehashes. Instead, what I like about Pokemon Emerald is that it improves on the gameplay significantly, and gives the series a pretty solid coat of paint in places where it needed it.

I like Pokemon Emerald over Crystal and Yellow for a few reasons. First of all, Running Shoes - these made going back to the older games borderline impossible for me as a teenager. Second, the graphics are really, truly fantastic - I'm not big on how the Pokemon sprites scale when they move, Crystal's animations were much better IMO, but each Pokemon sprite looks sharp and the overworld sprites are a major step up from the GB/C titles. Lastly, this game runs smoother than any Pokemon game beforehand - it's like it's at a solid 60FPS compared to Yellow or Crystal's sub-30.

Emerald also stands out in the series for significantly changing the story compared to its preceding games. In Pokemon Ruby, you fight Team Magma. In Sapphire, you fight Team Aqua. Emerald? Both of the storylines are packed into one. There's no other way that they could have pulled this gimmick off short of not releasing a third Hoenn game - and they did a pretty solid job of it.

To me, Pokemon Emerald sits at a point between pure functionality and decadence in the Pokemon franchise. The first two generations were bleeding edge for the time, and because of that they could break fairly easily. They were stylish, but by 2001 the games were beginning to show their age - the Gameboy was like a less powerful NES, and the GBC felt like it was about on par if not a bit weaker. So it makes sense that the GBA games would be something of a SNES rebuild of the series, with more vibrant colours and more intricate pixel work.

The third generation has its flaws and bugs, but nothing quite as hardcore as Glitch City, a Missingno. that would fuck with your save, a clone glitch that could bring your Gameboy to its knees with lag etc. You had your standard cloning glitch and an internal clock error that fucked over berry production, and that seems to be about it this time - and on top of that, the game is really polished this time around. Third installments in a Pokemon generation tend to be pretty solid, but this generation as a whole stepped the game up a notch - and Emerald was the pinnacle of that.

After Emerald, there was Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. And IMO, the games are all fairly sluggish and overly long. Platinum less so, but the speed is still a step down from how the third gen games felt. There's a difference in movement speed, and also in how long the main storyline takes to go through - on one hand, more story content isn't a bad thing, but on the other, compared to the fairly compact and succinct plot of Emerald, Platinum just felt so bloated to me. The game looks flashy, with limited 3D - but that gameplay was crusty AF if you ask me.

Emerald stands at a crucial crossroads to me - it's fun, functional and fast, and it has a story that's a smidge more involved than prior games. It looks good, it sounds good, and while the Pokemon aren't the best batch ever, there were some real keepers in there like the Trapinch family, Spheal and Metagross. It's the best of the past, and it has a decent amount of flavour that would spill into later titles without a lot of the extra content cutting into the core experience. The story is short, popcorn-tier fun, not heavy with themes of alienation and universal genocide. Let me beat up the mob, or a bunch of eco-terrorists who could pass for a Power Rangers villain group. Miss me with that dark shit.
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