Buying guide
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire — buying the GBA originals or the 3DS remakes
Ruby and Sapphire (Game Boy Advance, 2003) opened generation 3 in Hoenn. Eleven years later the region came back as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire on the 3DS. Two pairs, one story — and the most counterfeited cartridges in the whole series, which makes the buying questions worth a page of their own.
The short answer
Same story, so choose on the legendary — Groudon in Ruby, Kyogre in Sapphire. Want Hoenn at its fullest: the 3DS remakes, with Mega Evolution and the Delta Episode. Want the 2003 originals: the GBA cartridges — check the tri-wing screw and the weight before you pay, because generation 3 is faked more than anything else.
Ruby or Sapphire?
The two versions tell the same story and differ where Pokémon games always have: the cover legendary, the opponent — Team Magma chases you in Ruby, Team Aqua in Sapphire — and a set of version-exclusive Pokémon.
| Pokémon Ruby | Pokémon Sapphire |
|---|---|
| Groudon (legendary) | Kyogre (legendary) |
| Seedot → Nuzleaf → Shiftry | Lotad → Lombre → Ludicolo |
| Zangoose | Seviper |
| Solrock | Lunatone |
Trading between them takes a GBA link cable — Ruby and Sapphire have no wireless feature yet; that arrived with FireRed, LeafGreen and Emerald. A complete Hoenn Pokédex therefore needs a second player or a second console, or you simply pick the version with your favourites. Want both legendaries and the Battle Frontier in one cartridge: Emerald is the complete GBA version — Ruby and Sapphire are the cheaper way in.
The originals or the 3DS remakes?
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (3DS, 2014) are the same region and story in 3D, with everything the series gained in between: Mega Evolution, the Fairy type, the DexNav for targeted hunting and flying over Hoenn on Latios or Latias. New are the Primal forms of Groudon and Kyogre and the Delta Episode after the main story. One thing is missing: the Battle Frontier from Emerald — for many players exactly the reason to hunt down the GBA original anyway. The remakes save to flash with no battery at all; the 3DS is region-locked, so a European console takes a PAL copy.
The clock battery — what it does and does not do
Ruby and Sapphire keep your save on flash memory. The internal battery only drives the in-game clock — the berry and tide events. With a dead battery the game still saves and plays normally; only those time-based events stop. That is the difference with the Game Boy and Game Boy Color Pokémon games, where a dead battery costs the save itself. We state the clock-battery status in every listing.
Real or fake — the checks, in order of certainty
- The screw. A genuine GBA cartridge is held together by a tri-wing screw — a Y-shape with three points. A regular Phillips screw means someone opened it, or it was never Nintendo.
- The weight. Around 4.2 grams. A fake feels noticeably light.
- Label and shell. Sharp, matte print on an original; glossy and blurred on a fake, often with a colour that is just off.
- The board. A Nintendo board with an AGB code — AGB-AXVE-EUR for the European Ruby, and so on — on a dark green board. Light green or blue, or a single black blob: walk away.
Generation 3 is the most counterfeited cartridge category there is. Those checks come straight from our full fake-cartridge guide — written from the roughly 12% of cartridges we reject when buying stock.
Which consoles play them
The GBA cartridges play on the Game Boy Advance, GBA SP, Game Boy Micro and on the original DS and DS Lite through their GBA slot — not on the DSi, 3DS or 2DS. The remakes play on the whole 3DS and 2DS family. Both lists have their own page: all Pokémon GBA games and all Pokémon 3DS games.
Buy them already tested
Every Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire we sell has been through the screw, weight, label and board checks and a real save test on hardware, with the region and — on GBA — the clock-battery status stated. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries — no customs inside the EU.
Questions we get asked
What is the difference between Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire?
The story is the same. You choose on the cover legendary — Groudon in Ruby, Kyogre in Sapphire — on the opponent (Team Magma in Ruby, Team Aqua in Sapphire) and on a handful of version-exclusive Pokémon: Ruby has the Seedot line, Zangoose and Solrock, Sapphire the Lotad line, Seviper and Lunatone. A complete Hoenn Pokédex takes trading between the two — over a GBA link cable, because these games have no wireless.
Ruby and Sapphire, or Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire?
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (3DS, 2014) are the remakes: the same region and story in 3D, with everything the series gained since — Mega Evolution, the Fairy type, the DexNav for targeted hunting, flying over Hoenn on Latios or Latias, the Primal forms of Groudon and Kyogre and the Delta Episode after the main story. One thing they lack is the Battle Frontier from Emerald. Playing Hoenn for the first time, the remakes give you more; wanting the 2003 originals with the classic pixel look, the GBA cartridges are exactly that.
Is Emerald not the better choice?
If you only want one Generation 3 game on GBA: Emerald combines both legendaries and adds the Battle Frontier. Ruby and Sapphire share the same story and are cheaper — a fine choice if Emerald prices sit above your budget. Our Emerald cartridge guide covers that one on its own.
Is there a battery inside, and does it matter?
Yes, and less than people fear. Ruby and Sapphire keep the save on flash memory; the internal battery only drives the clock — the berry and tide events. With a dead battery the game still saves and plays normally; only those time-based events stop. We state the clock-battery status in the listing. The 3DS remakes have no battery at all.
How do I spot a fake Ruby or Sapphire?
Generation 3 is the most counterfeited cartridge category there is. A genuine GBA cartridge is held together by a tri-wing screw — a regular Phillips screw means it was opened or was never Nintendo — weighs around 4.2 grams, and carries a Nintendo board with an AGB code such as AGB-AXVE-EUR for the European Ruby on a dark green board. A fake feels light, its label is glossy and blurred, and the board is often a single black blob. We open and check every copy before it is listed.
Which consoles play these cartridges?
Ruby and Sapphire play on the Game Boy Advance, GBA SP, Game Boy Micro and on the original DS and DS Lite through their GBA slot — not on the DSi, 3DS or 2DS. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are 3DS cartridges and play on the whole 3DS and 2DS family; the 3DS is region-locked, so a European console takes a PAL copy. We state the region in every listing.
Where Hoenn fits in the series: all Pokémon games in order — the generation before it, Gold, Silver & Crystal, and the one after, Diamond & Pearl, have their own guides.
Dutch reader? Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire kopen — dezelfde gids in het Nederlands.
