As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I find it fascinating that new discoveries continue to emerge about classic games like Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The latest revelation regarding their original Japanese names, “藍バージョN” (Sapphire) and “朱バージョン” (Ruby), is a captivating glimpse into the game’s history.
It’s amazing how, more than two decades later, fresh discoveries continue to emerge regarding the Pokémon games. The most recent revelation pertains to Ruby and Sapphire, the titles that initiated Generation 3, and their original intended names.
Pokémon researchers KmiE_821 and Wobbuu on Twitter discovered something intriguing while exploring the files of Ruby and Sapphire games. They found the Japanese terms “アイスブルーバージョン” and “スカッタビルローズバージョN,” which correspond to Pokémon Sapphire and Ruby, respectively. A rough translation using online tools suggests Indigo (Sapphire) and Scarlet/Crimson (Ruby). I’ve reached out to native Japanese speakers for a more contextually accurate interpretation, and this post will be updated once confirmed.
At Festa 2002 in Japan, held in November 2002, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were officially unveiled and playable demos were presented. It’s plausible that the names of these games had already been decided before this event, even if they weren’t explicitly mentioned when the comments were removed earlier.
The original titles for these Pokémon – Indigo and Sapphire, as well as Crimson for Ruby – held a comparable meaning to their current names. However, they evoke a distinctly different atmosphere. I’ve often thought that Ruby and Sapphire had the least appealing names among the Pokémon series, and I can’t help but wonder if my connection to them would have been stronger with more intriguing titles. It is possible that The Pokémon Company chose to move away from “Pokemon Indigo” due to potential associations with the Indigo League, the first animated series season, which may have influenced their decision.
I had a conversation with my coworker, Antony Terence, who has a good command of the Japanese language. He added valuable background information about the origin of the name “Ruby” in Ruby-related contexts. The character 朱 can be linked to several meanings: it represents cinnabar or vermilion, two vivid colors prominently used in the initial Pokémon Red and Blue games.
We delved a bit into the past of cinnabar and vermillion. Vermillion refers to the color, while cinnabar is the source material. As per Nara Sightseeing’s account, cinnabar was believed to have “rejuvenating powers if consumed.” It’s intriguing to ponder how the narrative of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire might have unfolded differently had they adhered to Indigo/Vermillion monikers for their titles.
After twenty years, we now have Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. It’s intriguing to consider that these new titles may be inspired by the original names of the Hoenn games.
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2024-07-15 13:10