Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア (Poketto Monsutā Rubī / Safaia)Game Boy Advance2002

  1. JP2002
  2. NA2003
  3. EU2003
  4. RU—

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are two versions of one game, released in Japan as Poketto Monsutā Rubī and Safaia (ポケットモンスター ルビー / サファイア). In North America, Australia and Europe they kept the names Ruby and Sapphire and arrived in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance.

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were developed by Game Freak and released in Japan on 21 November 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. They opened the third generation of the series and were the first mainline games published in Japan by The Pokémon Company; Nintendo handled the release elsewhere, starting in North America on 19 March 2003 and reaching Europe on 25 July 2003. Junichi Masuda directed.

The games added double battles, abilities, natures, Pokémon Contests, secret bases and 135 new Pokémon. The new Hoenn region is based on Kyushu, turned 90 degrees for better gameplay balance. A real-time clock drives tides and berry growth, though there is no day and night. Link play supports four players instead of two.

The two versions differ mainly in their villains and legendary Pokémon: Team Magma and Groudon in Ruby, Team Aqua and Kyogre in Sapphire.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire Game Boy Advance Mar 19, 2003 Nintendo 1
JP ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイアPoketto Monsutā Rubī / SafaiaTwo versions, Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy Advance Nov 21, 2002 The Pokémon Company 1
AU Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire Game Boy Advance Apr 3, 2003 Nintendo 1
EU Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire Game Boy Advance Jul 25, 2003 Nintendo 1

Also known as: ポケットモンスター ルビー JP1ポケットモンスター サファイア JP1Poketto Monsutā Rubī JP1Poketto Monsutā Safaia JP1

Box art by region

  • ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア box art, Japan release
    JP ポケットモンスター ルビー・サファイア

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.

Version differences

  • ContentRubySapphire

    The villain team depends on the version: in Ruby, Team Magma wants Groudon to dry up Hoenn's oceans; in Sapphire, Team Aqua wants Kyogre to flood the land.1

  • GameplayRubySapphire

    Ruby and Sapphire cannot link or trade with the earlier Game Boy and Game Boy Color games because the link cable specifications differ. Completing all 386 Pokémon requires trading with FireRed and LeafGreen or with the GameCube games Colosseum and XD.1

Translations

  • English Official

    Nintendo2003Game Boy Advance · Japanese versionReleased · complete

    The English versions came out in North America (March 2003), Australia (April 2003) and Europe (July 2003).1

Reception

Metacritic lists 82% from 33 reviews. With over 16.22 million units sold as of 2023, Ruby and Sapphire are the best-selling Game Boy Advance games, although they sold less than Red and Blue or Gold and Silver. In Japan 1.25 million copies sold in the first four days.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.