Pokémon Ruby Version

aka: Pocket Monsters Ruby, Pokémon AGB, Pokémon Edición Rubí, Pokémon Version Rubis, Pokémon Versione Rubino, Pokémon: Rubin-Edition
Moby ID: 8459
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Description official descriptions

Pokémon is back for another round catching and training! You're the new guy (or girl) in Littleroot Town, and the newest generation of Pokémon trainers. Professor Birch sends you on your way in your journey, with one of your choice of 3 starter Pokémon. There's Treecko (A grass-type chameleon-like little guy) Torchic (a Fire-type bird) and Mudkip (a Water-type amphibious creature).

Now, you've got a whole new world to explore in Hoenn, with eight new gyms and two-on-two battles, opening up a whole new myriad of tactics! New items, new Pokémon (over 350!!), and a new Pokédex to boot too! And of course we have our new villains, the nefarious Team Magma, who plan on submerging the world in water in order to call out the Legendary Groudon!

Only one person can stop them and become the ultimate Pokémon Master... You!

Spellings

  • ポケットモンスター ルビー - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Game Boy Advance version)

97 People (75 developers, 22 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 26 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 52 ratings with 2 reviews)

Could be the best Pokemon game ever released

The Good
The graphics are impressive in comparison to other Game Boy Advance games. The music is good enough but the sound font are a little bit annoying. The main legendary is cool. This the first Pokémon game that was available in full color.

The Bad
No day and night cycle just like the previous game and Pokémon from previous game cannot be transferred to the game so Trainer need to get Pokémon Fire Red Ver. or Leaf Green Ver. to catch them all.

The Bottom Line
"Pokémon Island With Thousand Trumpets"

Game Boy Advance · by Raihan Lazuardi (3) · 2016

Gotta catch 'em all.... Hoenn's got 'em all!

The Good
Part of the third generation of Pokémon games, Pokemon Ruby takes aspring trainers through the beautiful region of Hoenn. As with any Pokemon game, your task is to defeat the region's 8 gym leaders, and then qualify to face the Elite Four and finally battle against the Pokémon champion... and of course, to catch all of the Pokémon found in Hoenn, easier said than done!

Now being on the GBA, the graphics have gotten a great upgrade. The music (some of it is remixed from the previous games) is very catchy and sounds great on the system.

The Bad
Something of a problem with all Pokémon games, the gameplay is mostly the same; aside from a few new features such as double battles and diving, Ruby is more or less a remake of the previous two games. The graphics, albeit improved from the older games, still have the same basic look, just with a little more detail.

The Bottom Line
Pokémon fans will undoubtedly enjoy this third edition in the franchise, though non-fans may not like it too much. Some people may become bored of it due to its recycled nature. Nonetheless, Pokémon Ruby's a solid title.

Game Boy Advance · by BlueWind SSK (28) · 2015

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Pokémon Ruby appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Anime

The girl character in Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire became the basis for Haruka, one of the new characters to appear in the sixth anime series of Pocket Monsters: Pokémon Advance Generation. It was scheduled to debut in the U.S. in the fall of 2003, and Haruka's name was changed to May. Team Magma and Team Aqua were the subjects of several episodes in this series, and the boy character received a number of cameos.

Debug

German Debugging Version 0509A was leaked to the public after an anonymous Nintendo employee sold a copy to a collector of game prototypes, who then uploaded the ROM to the internet. A number of debug options are named for programmers who worked on the game, and functions include automatically winning battles, setting flags, and jumping directly to minigames. The text in this version is a mixture of German, English, and corrupted Japanese.

Real-Time Clock Issues

Early production runs of Ruby and Sapphire contained a glitch in which the in-game clock would stop functioning properly after 366 days, causing daily events to freeze until another year had passed. Once the glitch was discovered, Nintendo released a patch that could be downloaded through communication with other Pokémon games or special demo stations. However, once the cartridge's internal battery runs dry, the in-game clock will stop working entirely until the battery is replaced, which will eventually cause the glitch to resurface in cartridges that experienced the original issue.

ROM Hacking

Pokémon Ruby Version and its counterparts, Sapphire and Emerald, have become popular games among ROM hackers, and are the focus of large and dedicated hacking communities. Several completed hacks have become well-known across the internet, and many specialized programs and scripts have been developed to assist ROM hackers for these titles.

Sales

In 2003 Pokémon Ruby Version won the Gold-Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 100,000 (but less then 200,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

In addition, in the first quarter of 2004, the game also won the VUD Platinum-Award for selling more then 200,000 units.

Note: The Platinum-Award does not replace the Gold-Award, but is in addition. Therefore it equals more then 300,000 sold units in total.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2003 – #7 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year (together with Pokémon Sapphire Version)

Information also contributed by Xoleras

Analytics

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Related Games

Pokémon Emerald Version
Released 2004 on Game Boy Advance
Pokémon Pearl Version
Released 2006 on Nintendo DS
Pokémon Diamond Version
Released 2006 on Nintendo DS
Pokémon Platinum Version
Released 2008 on Nintendo DS
Pokémon White Version
Released 2010 on Nintendo DS
Pokémon Black Version
Released 2010 on Nintendo DS
Pokémon Silver Version
Released 1999 on Game Boy Color, 2017 on Nintendo 3DS
Pokémon Sapphire Version
Released 2002 on Game Boy Advance
Pokémon Crystal Version
Released 2000 on Game Boy Color, 2018 on Nintendo 3DS

Related Sites +

  • Pokèmon Elite 2000
    A Pokèmon fan site good at covering the latest news about coming and existing Pokèmon games.
  • Psypokes
    A comprehensive Pokémon site that pretty much covers everything there is to know about the games.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 8459
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Famine3h.

Additional contributors: Satoshi Kunsai, Jeanne, Xoleras, DarkDante, Spag, LordRM, Patrick Bregger, Michael Cassidy, FatherJack, Harmony♡, MacGyverX0.

Game added February 20, 2003. Last modified March 10, 2024.