I always felt like this game nailed the feeling of adventure, I think because the world feels like it makes sense and is cohesive. E.g. in the midgame many of the towns are around mount chimney, and all the towns have some connection to it, the hot springs, the piles of ash, people talking about the air quality. In the new pokemon games it often has felt like you will suddenly be in e.g. a snow area and it doesn't really fit into the world. I really loved that they paid so much care to make that not be the case in these games. One of my favourite parts of the game is when you get surf and you start going towards Fortree city, the music is super triumphant, and the weather is crazy and new features like the long grass. That route is really long but I never felt like it was "too" long because it was exciting to feel like you are traversing the wild. I really liked the abandoned ship as well, I only wish they had more stuff like underwater on the water routes, although it was very fun finding all the treasure by using underwater passages.
Yeah, the water reflection mechanic was really neat. Seeing your own reflection and moving clouds and such. Being able to see Kecleon’s shadow in the water is a cute touch.
A well-thought-out touch too! Kecleon is supposed to change colors like a chameleon to match wherever it is, not become transparent and let light pass through it. So of course it would still cast a shadow.
There is something so speical about the way shinies look in 2D sprite form. I still remember when I randomly bumped into a shiny pink sharpedo while trying to catch a wailmer for the regi puzzle. Such a pretty purpely pink colour! 💜
The Pokémon cries in the background is really one of those super small things that’s just so cool at the same time. Little things that really don’t make a difference on gameplay but add charm all the same.
Also, if you have a Pokémon with Swarm for their ability (idr if it needs to be in the front of the party or if it doesn’t matter) you hear Pokémon cries in the overworld more frequently! One of my favorite details especially bc I love using Nincada
I'm not surprised they thought of this. But I'm a little surprised that they take mercy on you if you're broke, since it isn't a softlock. You can always go rebattle a random trainer using your Pokenav to raise the tiny amount that the museum charges. In Red and Blue the Safari Zone is similarly required to progress -- to get the gold teeth to trade for the strength HM and to get the surf HM -- and they don't let you in for free if you're broke. If you've already fought all accessible trainers, picked up all items on the ground and either used, tossed or sold them, you're softlocked apart from trading in something that already has Surf, or a Meowth to earn some money with. As early as Yellow they recognized this problem and if you don't have the money they let you into the Safari Zone for whatever amount you have, just with less Safari Balls. And if you have no money you can enter for free but you only get one ball. The same problem can happen with the Saffron guards, who you have to buy a drink for. FireRed and LeafGreen fixed this by changing what they accept from any vending machine drink to a special key item you get for free in Celadon.
My favorite details about Ruby/Sapphire 1. You can look out the window in the SS Tidal 2. Getting a portrait of your Pokémon in the museum 3.The footprints you leave in the sand
If you go to the house with 6 wingull, there is an NPC outside who will say that he thought that using Pokémon to fly required getting a bunch of flying types together and tying ropes to them all. Another fun little inclusion: There is an NPC in Fortree City with a wingull. If you interact with the wingull, or maybe the NPC I don't remember, the wingull will leave, and the NPC will say that he sent it off somewhere. Then, in a house in Mossdeep City, you'll find that same wingull; it delivered a letter to the NPC's girlfriend and will go back to Fortree City when you interact with it again. I just love this little interaction, as the wingull flies 2 towns away, over land and sea, to deliver a letter. I don't recall if you get an item or something out of it, but it's just a fun little easter egg that makes the world feel more alive.
I used to imagine/roleplay that my pokemon eggs liked the heat from the hot spring and the warm sand, so I'd go there and "heat them up", making them warm and happy xD
Very solid list! The Pokémon cries in the overworld and the reflections also resonated with me too. One awesome detail that I believe is exclusive to Gen 3 is the different colors for raising/lowering stats during battle. The attack ones were red, the defense ones were green, and speed was blue. A very neat touch that was unfortunately lost in future gens by making all stat changes one color. Another thing I appreciate is that there’s animations for some held items like the smoke ball, which has your Pokémon poof in a cloud of smoke. So many special things about Gen 3, which is also my first too!
The reason why you cant sweet scent in the doorways is because the doorway tiles don't have wild encounters! Also if you dont have 50g when team aqua is there, the girl just assumes you're part of team aqua bc ur broke just like them lol
That all makes sense, thank you for the additional info! I'd be a terrible game designer putting encounters in the doorway and making the museum stop progress lol
@@alyoalyoalyo it's ok! The games have a lot of weird quirks For example, there's an unreachable area in the Slateport harbor that looks like you should be able to get there, and it seems at one point they were gonna let you to bc that area has working doorways! There's just no way to get there bec they hid the "door" to that place out of the bounds of the map.
It was also only recently pointed out to me that the invisible Kecleon on the bridge by Steven has its shadow on the water underneath. Nice little detail.
5:50 no clue why, but I remember always going to this bathhouse as a kid when breeding pokemon because I figured the warmth from the hot tub would help the egg hatch faster or something.
There is an old lady that gives you an egg there who suggests something of the sort. Although, maybe it was supposed to be a hint to the effect of the Flame Body ability instead.
I remember having great memories of playing sapphire version when I was younger, and as my family consisted of pokémon fans; I had to get at least one copy of some game eventually. That was either sapphire or diamond, but I like sapphire more, so I tell others I started on that one. Unfortunately that copy would become lost for some time due to disinterest in the series after sun & moon had their course, and a lack of care for hardware preservation. One day it was found, and thus my interest in the series came back due to learning about some of the more technically interesting aspects of the game (RNG; ACE; comp; etc.). Nowadays I'm on a government program which gives me funds to live, and thus the first thing I purchased with those funds was a Japanese copy of pokémon emerald to mess around with since I never had that game, and saw a ton of praise for it online and offline. You best believe I messed around with that copy so hard that I accidentally disabled all surfing in the game. Both games are still in my possession to this day, but they don't get played often because I feel as though I've done everything I'm interested in. Maybe if I find some people IRL somehow to play then I'll have some use for this jacked up Deoxys, or the other competitive pokémon I have.
That all sounds awesome, I love hearing about people's experiences and the like with it. Games get lost so easily as kids! But that's great you were able to play around with it more, and you say to the point of disabling surfing?! That sounds so wild and funny, I had no clue you could do something like that but I'm glad I know now haha. Unique games!
I played through Ruby again during a ribbon master challenge and there's just so much to love about Hoenn in the original Gen 3 games. It really takes me back to when I was a kid playing them when they were the newest games.
I vividly remember seeing a commercial for Ruby and Sapphire either on TV or in a magazine, and I saw the image of the trainer running in the puddles in the rain and I looked over at my mom and I was like "mom, mom, you can walk in puddles!!" I was so excited XD So many camping trips and car rides playing Sapphire 💖
I think there’s a lot of youtube videos that are funny or engaging, but this was really fun. The genuine enthusiasm and joy you express going through these moments is fabulous. Thank you for sharing~
Gen 3 is my absolute favorite Gen, the balance of towns and sheer wilderness really made you feel like being on an adventure. I still remember when i fought my way through the 'jungle' area after fortree city, with the rain stopping and the trumpet OST kicking in, seeing the clouds mirrored in the puddles on the ground, i was completely blown away.
Tall grass was in a bunch of games, the first time I saw it was in pokemon Gold, in the national park. I immediately tried the cut trick and when you cut gen 2 super tall grass, it turns into classic tall grass. Which is funny because one block has 4 sprouts so it looks like you just made even more grass But yeah, it appeared north of Solaceon in gen 4, north of Mistralton in gen 5 and south of that castle in gen 6 where you find Honedge. I haven't played the other titles, but yeah super tall grass has been a staple since Johto!
I was playing through Platinum last year finding all kinds of little details I didn't appreciate as much until now. I'm surprised you didnt mention berries!! I got really into berry planting/harvesting in Platinum in ways i never could in older games where the battery was always dry. It was so cool to not have to buy potions or to be able to equip berries in battles without worrying about scarcity bc I grew tons of em. And the Vs Seeker!? Letting you rematch any trainer and they have new dialog!?? I never appreciated these things until I went back!
That's cool! Platinum probably does have a lot to experience again! And you're right, there's still a lot to explore with berries and other things, thanks for the reminder! :D
I looove this video! Reminds me of all the hours spent playing Emerald when I finally got my hands on it back when I was Idk 12? Pokemon on the GBA was the most glorious it ever got to me. Thank you for activating those memories. Thank you. Have my like and subscribe and I look forward for more content!
Awesome video mate ^^ I love playing gen 1-4 and still do every day. Some details that are also really cool can be unlocked with a trade cable thingy Your friends secret bases get added into your world, just as interviews, contest paintings and other things to gush over
Thanks! And true, I wish I had a cable still to experience it but maybe in the future, thanks for the addition about the extra stuff! That's really awesome
And this is why Hoenn is my favorite region, why Sapphire/Alpha Sapphire share the top spot of my favorite Pokemon game. Hoenn is so alive! It lives and breathes in a way no other region does. I never get tired of the atmosphere, the sense of adventure. What more could a nature-loving girl want?
Some of the little graphical things they put in to show off what they could do now on the GBA and its better graphics chip. The wobbly reflections in the water, splashes as you walk through puddles, your shadow on the water as you cross the bridge, footsteps in the sand, and Fortree and Pacifidlog walkways sagging under your feet. Also, the phrases you told reporters could be exchanged with other players if you used the Record Corner to mix records with friends. You'd see things on the TV about others in your friend group, what phrases they entered, some random Pokemon they caught and what they named it, or an item they bought. Secret bases are similarly swapped with friends too, so you can see how each other decorated them and battle each other's teams there. ...All of which very few people ever did because it's a nuisance to hook up the cable and go to the Record Corner, and it has no immediately visible or well-explained-in-game effect. It's one thing ORAS handles so much better, swapping your data wirelessly and automatically when you're near another player.
Oh cool! Thanks for the addition on swapping, I totally missed some of those since I didn't get a chance to experiment with it when I was younger, but that's a bunch of great things to experience
I think you’re confusing the dark grass in black and white for tall grass, in bw there were dark green patches of grass that would start double battle encounters but they also had tall grass that obscured the player avatar in certain areas. If you remember they had little tight rope type things that could allow you to walk over the grass as well. Loved those routes as a kid :)
I think the only bad thing about the water, is the fact that the wild pokémon that appears in there are mostly the same. For that reason, exploring the routes that require surf is boring.
You can actually find a decent quality replacement labels for old Pokemon games online, so if a blank cartridge is bugging you a bit, you can always get one of those for like 2 bucks.
I never owned any of the GBA Pokémon games, I was only able to play them through my dad's hacked Xbox. I used to play Sapphire on it all the time and it was great! It's probably my favourite Pokémon game of all time actually
I love both the Originals and the remakes, as I joined the series with Ruby as well, but it annoyed me that in the remakes, the tree ninja just stands there.
For some reason it has no label? No it’s because you were a kid and kids peel off stickers 😂 my first game was yellow when I was 4. I still have it and it has no sticker either. But that’s what makes it special 😊 the memories