Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire/Emerald
The original Ruby and Sapphire felt like such a huge leap from Gold and Silver as we made the transition from the Game Boy Color to the Game Boy Advance—at the time, it felt as significant as the transition between those systems. To this day, the third, fourth, and fifth generations of Pokémon are probably still the most timeless in terms of Game Freak’s sprite work and art direction. The transition to 3D hasn’t been kind to Pokémon across the board, and looking back at games like Ruby and Sapphire, it’s hard not to wonder what more recent entries would’ve looked like had the series not made the shift to 3D. But Ruby and Sapphire also have a really strong generation of new Pokémon, introduce the double battles that would go on to be the basis of competitive play 20 years on, and start to hint at an ever-expanding universe that future games would go on to fill in.
