Those who don't mind experiencing the Ruby/Sapphire RPG again will not be dissapointed what they see here.
Like Game Freak typically did with other Pokemon RPG's, they released a version that somewhat combines everything from the previous RPG, but also add a couple exclusive extras to keep things interesting again. They made Pokemon Yellow as a rehash of Red and Blue, but had an interesting twist, which had you start the game with Pikachu and the game had a couple aspects from the TV series. Pokemon Crystal was released shortly after Pokemon Silver and Gold also as a rehash, but the mystery of the Unown Ruins was greater and there were other minor additions as well. Pokemon Emerald, a basic rehash of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, manages to change the experience a little with some unique twists exclusive to this version.
Like all Pokemon RPG's, you start your adventure with a choice of 3 types of Pokemon, typically ether a grass type, a fire type, or a water type. After that, you start off by learning how to capture Pokemon and then how to attack. When battling other Pokemon, there will be weaknesses and such so you know how to defeat a Pokemon quickly. For example, a Mudkip is strong against fire types such as Torchic, but is weak against grass types such as Oddish. The battles will always vary depending on the Pokemon types and the levels of each.
Throughout your Pokemon adventure, you will battle several trainers on the fields, take down Gym Leaders for badges, stop Team Magma and Team Aqua from ruin the land, and solve puzzles in caves. All of this process is what Pokemon RPG's were always about. After a while, your Pokemon will get stronger and you will capture new ones as well. You'll also meet some mysterious people that you will encounter a few times throughout your journey. Once you defeat all 8 gym leaders and receive their badges, you're on to the Pokemon Hoen League. This tests trainers to see if they are worthy to all of Hoen. This is familiar to players of Ruby and Sapphire of course. And, as usual, after you beat the league, there's still some stuff to do.
Pokemon Emerald introduces a handful of extras not found in Ruby and Sapphire. The cell phone (or Match Call here in Emerald) returns from Gold/Silver/Crystal versions, which you can call trainers to ether chat or have a battle at a meeting place. Pokemon Emerald also has a collection of Pokemon that were exclusive to Ruby or Sapphire. After you beat the Pokemon League, you will find out that you can capture Pokemon not found in Hoen (you'll encounter them in battle, and you'll find them when trading with Pokemon from Firered and Leafgreen). Also, when playing through Emerald, the story is altered a bit to combine elements from both Ruby and Sapphire. One last change in Emerald is the new Battle Frontier, which has multiple buildings for battling different types of trainers. This area is only appealing if you like constant battling.
Some of these changes are welcome, but some aren't really for the better. Pokemon Emerald is recommended mostly to those who have not yet experienced the Hoen world yet, or those who wouldn't mind experiencing the Ruby/Sapphireish adventure again.
Graphics:
Game Freak thought it wasn't really necessary to upgrade the graphics from previous Pokemon RPG's, but it's not a huge problem. Everything that's showcased in Pokemon Emerald is pretty much the same look you see in Ruby and Sapphire. There are a couple tweaks, such as different color styles to make things look greener and a couple different special effects, but everything, as said before, is the same. The graphics looked pretty good back in 2003, but here in 2006 (the time of this review), everything only looks decent.
Sound:
The really liked the soundtrack in Ruby/Sapphire, and I did not mind at all that it returned in Emerald. The music is catchy and upbeat, which Pokemon games always have, and that's good. There are a couple new songs here and they fit rather nicely. The sound effects are the same and so are the cries that Pokemon make. A satisfying soundwork.
Conclusion:
While it's nice to see some new additions that are exclusive to this game, this isn't exactly enough to attract the other Pokemon fans towards this. As said before, Pokemon Emerald is only worth experiencing to those who never had a chance to play Ruby/Sapphire and to those who wouldn't mind playing the RPG a 2nd time to see the new minor extras. Otherwise, this RPG is not really worth purchasing to those who've grown tired of the 3rd RPG in the series.
RPG time: 20-25 Hours (through the main portion of the game)
Pros:
-Recycled, yet fun, RPG
-The music is always welcomed here in Pokemon games
-The story is altered a bit from Ruby/Sapphire
-There's still much to do after conquering the Pokemon League.
-Extras will be worthwhile to those that don't mind playing this again
Cons:
-Not worth experiencing to those who've grown tired of Ruby/Sapphire
-If only there were more extras...