Editor’s Note
This article marks the anniversary of the release of “Pokémon Ruby” and “Pokémon Sapphire” for the Game Boy Advance in 2002, which introduced players to the new Hoenn region and defined the series’ third generation.
November 21st marks the day ‘Pokémon Ruby’ and ‘Pokémon Sapphire’ were released.
‘Pokémon Ruby’ and ‘Pokémon Sapphire’ were released by The Pokémon Company on November 21, 2002, as software for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). As the third generation of completely new RPGs following ‘Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Pikachu’ and ‘Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal Version’, the games are set in the Hoenn region, a land separate from the previous Kanto and Johto regions. These titles were the first ‘Pokémon’ games for the GBA, and a major attraction was the significant enhancement in graphics and sound compared to previous entries.
While in ‘Red/Green’ and ‘Gold/Silver’, the two simultaneously released versions differed in aspects like Pokémon encounter rates, the core story itself was shared. However, in these games, parallel yet opposing stories unfold across the two versions: in ‘Ruby’, Team Magma plots to expand the world’s landmass by targeting the ancient Pokémon Groudon, while in ‘Sapphire’, Team Aqua seeks the ancient Pokémon Kyogre to expand the sea.
Regarding game systems, elements such as Pokémon’s innate ‘Abilities’ and ‘Double Battles’, where two trainers each send out two Pokémon for a total of four Pokémon battling, made their series debut in these titles. On the other hand, unique gameplay features like the ‘Pokémon Contests’, which compete on the charm of Pokémon outside of battles, and creating one’s own secret base (‘Secret Base’) could also be enjoyed.
‘Ruby and Sapphire’ also marked the first time a campaign was held in conjunction with a theatrical anime film to obtain rare Pokémon. For these games, purchasing a special advance ticket for the movie ‘Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker’, released in July 2003, allowed players to receive an exchange ticket for the mythical Pokémon Jirachi.
On September 16, 2004, ‘Pokémon Emerald’, an alternate version of ‘Ruby and Sapphire’, was released by The Pokémon Company for the GBA. While the opposing organizations differed between ‘Ruby’ and ‘Sapphire’, ‘Emerald’ incorporated new developments not seen in ‘Ruby/Sapphire’, such as the protagonist facing off against both Team Magma and Team Aqua.
Twelve years after the release of ‘Ruby and Sapphire’, in 2014, the remake versions ‘Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’ were released by The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo 3DS. The release date for ‘Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’ was, remarkably, the same November 21st as the original ‘Ruby and Sapphire’. This means November 21st is an anniversary commemorating the release of both the original and remake versions on the same day.
‘Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire’ inherited many elements from ‘Pokémon X and Y’, the series’ first Nintendo 3DS software released in 2013. Characters and Pokémon are rendered in 3D (also compatible with the 3DS’s stereoscopic 3D), and ‘Mega Evolution’, which allows Pokémon to unleash impossible power during battle, became possible. Meanwhile, gameplay unique to ‘Ruby and Sapphire’ like ‘Pokémon Contests’ and ‘Secret Bases’ were significantly powered up with new elements added, becoming ‘Pokémon Contest Spectaculars!’ and ‘Super-Secret Bases’.
Incidentally, exactly three years before the release of ‘Ruby and Sapphire’, on November 21, 1999, ‘Pokémon Gold and Silver’ were released.