Games worth discovering

Pokemon Emerald is why I’m deeply in love with role-playing games

10K View2023-11-29

I grew up on Pokémon, but my family couldn’t actually afford the consoles I needed to play the games. We were working class, and that meant extra money always fell into bills and groceries. Of course, that didn’t stop me from trying to find ways to play Pokémon and other games.

One of the most tried-and-true methods—that I don’t condone or suggest anyone should attempt—was downloading ROMs from sketchy sites and playing them on a bootleg Gameboy Advance emulator for PC. That might sound a little weird, but it was the 2000s and I was just a kid with the desire to play games I couldn’t afford to buy. Pokémon Emerald was one of the few titles I downloaded back then, and I instantly fell in love with it.

Every morning before I went to school and every afternoon when I got back home, I’d hunch myself over my older brother’s tiny laptop to play Pokémon Emerald. I was absolutely obsessed. I loved exploring different areas and using my favorite Pokémon to fight Gym Leaders. I couldn't get enough of the story quests, legendary battles, and side activities, like growing berries and entering Pokémon contests. It felt like I could explore this magical world endlessly and still discover new things along the way.

Pokémon Emerald wasn’t just the first Pokémon game I got to properly play; it was also one of the first role-playing games I ever touched. It was a huge influence on who I am now, and it’s the sole reason why I’ve loved role-playing games throughout my life.

Even after checking out older games like Pokémon Crystal or playing through newer ones like Pokémon Black, Pokémon Diamond, and the recent Pokémon Scarlet, nothing has managed to come close to Pokémon Emerald. My nostalgia might make me a little biased, but Pokémon Emerald is the only title in the franchise that’s completely blown me away.

Every generation of Pokémon has brought something new to the series. Silver and Gold added features like Pokémon breeding and shiny Pokémon. X and Y were the first mainline Pokémon games with full 3D graphics. Scarlet and Violet were the first open-world games in the series.

Emerald was part of Pokemon’s third generation, which brought double battles, the Battle Frontier, and other incredible innovations to the series. On top of that, it took every aspect of its first and second generation predecessors and refined these to absolute perfection. It included content from Ruby and Sapphire and FireRed and LeafGreen and even had enhanced animations for Pokémon sprite.

These implementations might not be as modern as the features in newer games, but in my book, Pokémon Emerald set the standard for the entire franchise and is still the best Pokémon title in existence. It showed me that games didn’t need a lot of visual pizzazz or unnecessary content to be spectacular. Playing Pokémon Emerald was an experience so mind-blowingly good, it made me fall head over heels for role-playing games, and it’s why I’m still crazy about RPGs to this day.

💬 Do you think Pokémon Emerald is the best Pokémon game in existence? Or do you have another game you think deserves that title? Let me know what you think in the comments!