Pokémon Ruby Review: Game Grades from a Pokémon Master
Console: Game Boy Advance (Emulator)
Time Played: 25 hours
Pokémon Ruby is a third-generation game originally released along with Pokémon Sapphire in 2002. Part of the mainline series of games, Ruby and Sapphire introduced 135 new Pokémon, as well as other gameplay elements like double battles and Pokémon Contests.
Largely though, this is the same game as both Red and Green and Gold and Silver, just updated slightly and taking place in a new region. And that’s the big critique for all Pokémon games really, isn’t it? All Pokémon games are basically the same game (besides Legends: Arceus for the Nintendo Switch). As with just about every other Pokémon title, in Ruby you pick a starter Pokémon then get started filling in your Pokédex and beating gym leaders on a quest to become a Pokémon master.
Many gamers view the simplicity and repetition of Pokémon games as a huge weakness, and I think that in some ways it can be. At the same time, there’s something sort of refreshing and relaxing about the simplicity of most Pokémon titles. It’s sort of like if I’m going to play Tetris. Sure, there might be different versions of Tetris, but I pretty much know what game I’m going to get when I start to play.
I enjoy Ruby in the same way I enjoy other mainline Pokémon games – it’s not too difficult, but still engaging enough to keep me interested. I prefer not having random encounters in games the way this one does, but it’s easy enough to avoid tall grass or to use a Repel if you’re looking to quickly progress through an area. As I do with other titles, I enjoy leveling up my team and don’t mind a bit of grinding to the Pokémon I want to use stronger.
Another common critique of Pokémon games like Ruby is that they’re too easy. Really though, any Pokémon game can be as hard or easy as the player wants. During this particular playthrough, I chose not to use any Fire or Grass Pokémon. As a result, the game became considerably more challenging. If you limit yourself, the game can be tougher.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was a commercial success and went on to become the best-selling game on the Game Boy Advance, and it’s easy to see why. There’s a reason so many Pokémon titles are so similar, and that’s that the formula is largely effective for creating a fun game with wide appeal. I’d rate Ruby the same way I would the majority of Pokémon games. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s solid.
Grade: 8/10