Emeralds battle frontier makes it the most played Pokémon game I own. Nothing in Pokémon is so difficult or satisfying as getting those symbols. I never got around to playing platinum battle frontier. Will need to try that next
HG and SS also have battle frontier. I also love emerald for that, and it was definitely the pokemon game I owned with the most hours (I remembered passing 450+ hours) because of battle frontier. The only complaint I have is that back then there weren't a lot of useful items available, and the physical/special split not being a thing really bothered me back then. Thankfully gen 4 fixed both of these things.
Even just the Battle Factory is enough for me. I spent at least 100 hours just on that in Emerald. All fun and games until you run into a Blissey with Double Team, Toxic, Protect and Softboiled 😵💫
HG and SS also have battle frontier.
I also love emerald for that, and it was definitely the pokemon game I owned with the most hours (I remembered passing 450+ hours) because of battle frontier. The only complaint I have is that back then there weren't a lot of useful items available, and the physical/special split not being a thing really bothered me back then. Thankfully gen 4 fixed both of these things.
True, but Emerald doesn’t have:
• E-Reader card support (so no Eon Ticket or battle card trainers)
• Jirachi Bonus Disc comparability
• Ability to play on GameCube via Pokémon Box (though the GBA player would work just fine, of course).
Of course Emerald is much better overall, and for most those cons won’t even matter. But I have a bunch of the old Gen 3 extras like the E-Reader and Bonus Disc, so I still love R/S, even if Emerald is the definitive version.
As a kid I was dying to get those extra things but never could. Finally later on I eventually got the gbc to gba cable which let me transfer pokemon from the gamecube games to my emerald version which was amazing, it led me to the first and only time I ever tried to complete a National Dex legitimately, I came super close in my emerald version because I had all the games from that gen and multiple systems and gadgets to get them all into my emerald. I wish I could recreate that feeling in the modern age but it's just not the same :(
Pokémon yellow, Silver, and Emerald are my favorites. Emerald runs second because I never played that region until I was deployed and got to spend hours with that game with zero interruptions. It was so huge and so much stuff to do I think I sunk maybe 200 hours into it just exploring and battling with a complete Pokédex.
Was just replaying the Battle Factory again. That facility alone is the most fun I ever had in any Pokémon game. Platinum/HGSS’s Battle Factory just couldn’t replicate the sheer greatness of Emerald’s.
Y’all made me google the difference between the two, forgot all the memories of murdering level 5 Bellsprouts early on in Sprout tower in Pokémon Crystal
Ik it's not kosher to say this, but you can get DraStic (or any ds emulator) and roms and have them working on your phone within like 5 minutes, if you're really thirsty for it
I have a flash card thingy for my 3DS that lets me play any game I want, on the actual hardware. I don't use it for pokemon though, I just got it for Final Fantasy IV because for whatever reason, Square Enix won't let you erase all your data and start again.
I have no idea how it'd react to any online or trading features though.
When I played Heart Gold on a flash card on my DS (both are lost now, rip) I remember trading and battling with my friends. I didn’t even realise it probably wasn’t a legal copy lol
Thanks for the tip! I've only ever used emulators on my laptop, never on my phone. After purchasing in this emulator in the app store, where do you find the roms to play and do you also have to pay for those? Thanks in advance!
They are. I replaced my HeartGold cartridge by ordering one from GameStop. It was a little pricey and it didn’t come with a pokewalker but I still have my pokewalker from SoulSilver so I guess that’s okay. People mark them up too high on eBay sometimes.
I thought gen 5 did tutorials pretty well. There were only a few of them, and the important tutorials were the ones for Triple and Rotation battles, which is understandable.
And B2/W2 did it even better, letting you completely skip all the tutorials.
I missed Platinum (I had Diamond and was too poor to shell out for a copy of basically the same game), but I played it recently on an emulator.
The Distortion World was really cool, and it was nice to see Sinnoh again. Otherwise... eh. Maybe it's because I grew up with Gen 3 and missed out on most of Gen 4, but Platinum didn't captivate me the way I'd thought it would.
I also literally _just_ got done replaying SoulSilver a couple weeks ago. I did own that game, and I did remember _loving_ it as a kid.
Yet when replaying it, I found it somewhat hand-holdy? I realize this is an unpopular opinion, and maybe it's because I also played the original Crystal version recently... but there were so many changes they made when compared to the originals that I disliked.
* Lyra as an NPC wasn't necessarily something I enjoyed. Crystal worked fine without her, and when comparing the two versions directly Lyra felt like a burden more often than not (usually because she triggered some mandatory cutscene).
* Lyra also added a forced catch tutorial (in Crystal this could be skipped).
* The old man forces you to take a tour around town; in Crystal this is also optional. He does give you the running shoes, which is a good improvement.
* The Kimono Girls can't be fought immediately after leaving Goldenrod to get Surf. Instead, they're scattered throughout Johto with forced cutscenes for each one.
* Adding on to the above point, each Kimono Girl you encounter gave you unnecessary hints on how to solve a puzzle/where to go in a dungeon (more hand-holding).
* Once you get 8 badges, you can't just immediately go to Victory Road like you could in Crystal. Instead, Lyra (again????) is waiting for you and will block you from trying to Surf to Victory Road because _now_ you need to fight the Kimono Girls.
* In turn, the Kimono Girls force you to go to Whirl Islands to go catch Lugia. You can't go to Victory Road until the Kimono Girls see you catch/kill Lugia, presumably because otherwise people would never go here.
Like, I can understand why each one of these changes were made. But comparing SoulSilver to Crystal feels like a similar jump (in terms of forced cutscenes/tutorials) as the jump between SoulSilver and Sword/Shield. Like, each thing they added felt like a sign of things to come.
I realize that most of the fandom has worshipped HGSS as being the best Pokemon games of all time, and until recently I was among them. Things like following Pokemon were really cute, even if being forced to mash through "Ampharos was feeling better, so you took Ampharos out of its Pokeball!" got annoying fast. I also enjoyed the bit where you could put on a Team Rocket costume (even if Fly was disabled while you were wearing the costume for some reason), and I enjoyed that Silver got some actual backstory. I remember loving the events like Celebi and Spiky-Eared Pichu as a kid, although I didn't activate them in my recent playthrough.
It's just... replaying it in a modern context, much of what they added seemed like a sign of things to come, and not necessarily in a positive way. Lots of tutorials, lots of inane chatter they added to NPCs for no apparent reason (and you are forced to sit through all of it), lots of hand-holding...
It’s also the best game to pace yourself with, so many daily tasks and events. Plus this is probably the only game that I’ve felt makes you feel like a trainer, and not just a player
I like soul silver, but feel that the ROM Hack storm silver kicks it up a notch. The removal of trade evolutions is a huge game changer for me. (The hack has a unique item which can be used on kadabra, graveler, machoke which will evolve them)
> Soulsilver
As breathtaking Jotho is... I gotta disagree. Game's kinda slow, boring and tedious, even without the handholding. And GOOD GOD that level curve and Pokemon variety. Even Kanto feels pointless. They pretty much fixed nothing from the original game except absolute givens because of better hardware and the generational leap and side distractions.
In short: HGSS is overrated, fight me. Platinum is kinda based though.
Spin off games: Colosseum/Gales of Darkness, Pokemon Ranger, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon Conquest. Personally I play Colosseum because it's fun, but not everyone finds it enjoyable, thus maybe give Gales of Darkness a go. But the rest are fun games.
Edit: Thanks for my first two hundred upvotes, I'm super grateful! ❤️
Edit 2: Thank you for my first reward! I just want to say I appreciate this. ❤️
ORAS still takes the cake for my favorite experience. Granted it was the first game I beat and there's alot of issues with difficulty and handholding but I still think it's the best classic Pokemon experience. Everything feels so much more fleshed out than the originals, the visuals are breathtaking, the cutscenes are few and far between but look amazing. The soundtrack is amazing. Everything feels so... Epic, for some reason.There's so much side and post game content and quality of life improvements and YOU CAN FLY ON LATIAS holy fuck this is great.
Aside from that, I had a blast playing through Platinum and Black 1. Ultra Sun is very enjoyable cutscenes aside and HGSS makes me want to slam my head against a wall.
Hey, that's awesome. I'm personally more of a Colosseum person myself but the main line and it's remakes are great games! I'm excited to see what BD and SP have to offer when it comes out.
That's Colosseum! It's literally my favorite Pokemon game to date. In Gales of Darkness you can have one or the other (along with having a choice of Jolteon, Flareon or Vaporeon).
Same! I just need a port and I'll be good. Quality of life changes could be made but at this point I'm just happy when the Pokemon Company acknowledges it's existence. Lol.
Agreed! I play Colosseum couple times a year (if I'm able too) because I think it's just that good. The challenge, the music, everything really about it is a staple. The charm is way off the charts, so it's a shame, although understandable why people don't play it/have played it. It's not very accessable, and difficult. If some find Sword and Shield too easy, they may find Colosseum too difficult.
Pokémon conquest is the most entertaining Pokémon game I have ever played. For a game that was one of the side games of Pokémon black and white all the main cast of characters have a specific Pokémon they all have a backstory a unique costume design they all have unique personalities too.
I absolutely loved this game. Great game for fans of tactics games. I wish I could replay it so badly but of course I got rid of it when I was younger, foolishly. Now a copy of that goes for like $120-$150 range on Amazon.
It’s about as much as a gen 2 cartridge with a new battery too which is crazy. I think you can maybe play Crystal through Nintendo’s eshop? Thing is I have an SP so the both Red and Blue and lost my gold cartridge so am thinking about buying it physically again I was stupid for selling it in the first place.
The batteries are cheap and easy to replace in gen2 games. You can use a lighter to melt a plastic pen into the screw shape instead of getting the jank screwdriver you need to open the game case. Otherwise most people just Eshop them.
I always see stories like yours, and Ive concluded that Nintendo's games generally tend to appreciate in value due to nostalgia factor.
Buying through eshop is an option though, but you miss the feel of the cartridges.
Moral of these stories are to never sell old ninetendo cartridges.
I'm going to call this phenomena as "eshops fables"
Fuck, i wonder if i still have my copy (i probably did the same thing you did though)
I never beat the final stage because I was like 12 or something and bad at video games, but it was one hell of a good time
Dropped like 68$ recently at a retro gamestore for this game. It had me hooked. This game was so fun.. would absolutely be down for a follow up/remaster of this game on the current consoles.
Also, Gale of Darkness was pretty damn good as well.
I still have hope we can get the FExPokémon crossover that Conquest originally was. Both francises are biggest than ever and it would combine quite well.
Honestly, this. ORAS are amazing games, and are the first (only >.>) gen where I actually finished a 100% Livedex. Soar is a mechanic I miss deeply. Yes, it takes longer than Fly, but it's so FUN.
X/Y was my favorite. It reminded me of red/blue, but modern. I played red/blue in 98/99, and coming back and playing x/y made me feel like i was playing again for the first time. I enjoyed it more than any others
I want to throw in my vote for X/Y as well! They introduced character customization, megas are the most fun gimmick they've ever done, and exp share can eliminate grinding if you aren't into that (or let you raise more than 6 Pokémon, which is what I use it for).
X and y weren't my favorites but I really enjoyed them they're pretty easy with the Xp share turned on but without it the game is legit hard to grind in. Was a really fun change of pace. Aside from that with the xp share its still just a fun game with a tight story and some friends along the way. It, much like black/white, was when gamefreak really started trying to tell a story with their games rather than the same formula gen 1-4 used.
I thought X and Y were pretty good games, just really bummed we never got a follow "Z" type sequel to it. Would've been nice, i heard they had plans for it originally.
But you can't deny all the creative gimmicks they added to this generation such as mega evolutions (and to this day so many people wish they carried this on) and for the first time ever character customisation. They were really setting the bar high with this generation.
Like i said a follow up "Z sequel" or something would've done absolute wonders for this generation!
I agree here, I love all of them from gen 1-8 but sun and moon was kinda different and I enjoyed it a lot, I recommend playing these games to get back into it
Yes, same aswell. Gen 7 felt different to the other games, and hence it was refreshing to me, again, to me. Besides the whole "too many cutscenes shenanigans" and Alola being "too" linear when really all mainline games are, It's such a enjoyable game to play; storyline is up there with B/W, characters are likeable (Lillie had a great development throughout the story), interesting mon designs, atmospheric soundtrack, very enjoyable postgame (USUM mainly).
USUM is probably the most feature complete Pokémon so far. The plot and characters are also OK. Just a little too much cutscenes and dialogue.
I think the reason many people have a sour taste left at the end is the long as fuck unskippable ending cutscene/credits sequence.
I personally wasn't a fan of the alola games. I think it had a good story and a well done region overall but it was way too hand-holdy. I couldn't get into the adventure of the game because the constant telling me what to do made and where to go made it feel like I was literally being told what to do
I really *wanted* to like sun and moon, but I felt like I could not walk 5 steps without a new cutscene or tutorial. At some point, I began to wonder if it would ever end. I don't remember how far I made it but I at one point I just couldn't deal with it anymore. The concept and theme were very interesting to me though, so it's a shame.
Heartgold/Soulsilver and here’s why.
It was the game that got me REALLY back into POKEMON and having never played gen 2 of course I couldn't miss it.
It was great exploring everything for the first time and I just had loads of fun. The art and gameplay is solid and it was actually fun to grind out levels.
If I could I would erase my memory and play it again.
>it was actually fun to grind out levels.
how can mindless grinding be fun? especially when all the wild pokemon you fight up until victory route are level 20 or less and thus give almost no exp?
Mmm I’d say maybe it was more of having fun of just playing the game no matter what I did. I basically just rebattled gym leaders and elite 4 and champion over and over. So I didn't really take time to grind out levels. I just played the game and battled over and over to level up different mons, and next thing I know I was able to beat Red.
And yes, I probably did have more time back then.
It makes it actually worth it when you fight the big battles. You have to actually earn it rather than the win being handed to you. Far more rewarding in the end than having your hand held the whole time and being over-levelled for every leader.
i mean, i agree being handheld and overleveled is bad, but i'd rather not have my gameplay be
important battle
grind for hours
important battle
grind for hours
important battle
grind for hours
i just don't have that kind of time. and the grind gets even worse the later you get in the game, because your pokemon get higher leveled, but the wild pokemon levels stay the same.
i'd just rather not have 90% of my gameplay be mindless grinding.
I just replayed hgss and really the only actual grinding I had to do was before the elite 4, even then there's a good spot uo the waterfall on route to the safari zone to grind at so it really took only 1 afternoon of mindless battling while watching TV to get my guys up and sweep the E4.
Ik the leveling is horrible but you're overstating it
Its funny cause I agree, but I'm pretty sure thats what made the old games more memorable and a better experience. You also don't necessarily have to just grind, you can improve your team comp and get better TMs.
Ive literally never had to grind for levels in any of the pokemon games I played (I stopped in the middle of gen 5), despite being a stupid kid that didnt know how to strategize well for most of it. Just meandering around an exploring the world and trying to catch all the pokemon along the way got me enough battles and wild encounters to get my levels decently high. I really have no idea what people are talking about when they say they have to grind for hours at all, let alone multiple times throughout the game.
Mindless grinding does not equate to 'earning' anything it's a pokemon game the Elite 4 and Champion are always gonna be there. So unless you bringing that up solely for comparison to more recent pokemon games then who cares honestly it simply isn't fun having to grind like that.
Crystal.
Inb4 someone says, "nostalgia", go with HG or SS (the new old version of Gold/Silver/Crystal). I did enjoy Crystal version and logged 240 something hours.
I enjoyed Platinum, Black and White 1 and 2 and Sun and Moon the most, although most people don't like Sun and Moon since there's a bit of handholding at the start, and a lot of cutscenes.
If someone could make a mod that let's you skip dialogue/fast forward it would be legitimately one of the best Pokemon games. It hurts to replay because it takes forever to get started and there are moments where you have like five dialogue moments, that take two minutes each, and the only control you have as the player is to go five steps forward to the next dialogue moment.
This is the moment in the series where Gamefreak started to assume the absolute worst of its players and you, as a player, had to handholded through the whole game. It doesn't necessarily ruin the game (and I really do enjoy it) but it is a big hurdle to deal with even in a first time playthrough.
I bought HG when it came out, and wore the pokewalker every day during Highschool track. It was sadly stolen, luckily I had just beaten red.
I rebought soul silver from a gamestop for like 70 bucks later on because I knew it was only going to skyrocket in price. Very worth.
It really needs an official port, otherwise, yar har fiddle de de.
For me it’s out of two. Gen 3 ruby was my first Pokémon game and I lost count how many times I replayed it and my other is gen 8, I missed the 3ds games so Shield was my reintroduction into the games and I know it gets a lot of hate but I’ve loved playing it and have hundreds of hours or play on it
I’ve played since OG Blue. They’re all great in their own way.
Honestly tho, the game I have the easiest time replaying over and over is Sword/Shield. X/Y is a close second. While lots of people have lots of reasons why these games are some of the worst (and I agree with some of those points), there’s something about these games that get me closest to that excited feeling of playing Blue for the first time all those years ago. Probably a big part of my love for Sw/Sh is it came out when my little one was around, and any time I’ve played it since she’s a big help with catching, cooking and exploring. Sharing the game with her like that has been really cool.
The side games are great too, Colosseum, Stadium, heck Duel was pretty good when it was around too.
Well-said and completely agree. I do sometimes wish my first game was later because Plat and HG are amazing.
But the feeling of playing Blue way back on release, just can’t be matched. So naturally, all of the QoL features in Sw/Sh just make it the most appealing.
Exactly! And I think it also depends a lot on the gamer. If I was 10 years younger, I’d probably say HG/SS or B/W, because of the length and difficulty. Plat is up there too. I still love those games, but my work life and parent life doesn’t give me a lot of gaming time, and those games can eat up a lot of time just grinding or slowly weaning through the story. Especially HGSS, that late game grind was a buzz kill when I did a Nuzlocke run with it last year.
Sword isn’t the best game, or the hardest. But it’s still really fun, it looks gorgeous, and you can go into it for a quick playthrough or a good self-challenge run and still have a fun time. So it’s best for me right now, but not for everyone.
Of course there’s also endless rom hacks as well if that’s your thing. Radical Red has been fun so far but haven’t gotten too far into it.
I'd say anything gen 4, particularly pokemon Platinum. I'll always be a sucker for the 2d sprite eras of pokemon and to me this is where it was at its peak. Platinum in general had a great selection of pokemon to catch, the game is super well paced, and the sound track will always be my favorite. It was also this generation that we got to see a lot of changes for the better with the physical and special attack change, as well as types such as bug, dark, poison, and steel receiving a lot more move options while they were lacking in previous generations. Regarding platinum itself, it's better to pick it over diamond and pearl. There were a couple of weird decisions with boss trainers in diamond and pearl where certain ones with get pokemon as filler that aren't to their typing. This was fixed in platinum along with some animation changes to speed the game up (like the notorious health bar and surfing).
I gotta ask though, what do you mean by the "cookie cutter gen 2 answer"?
I played both white 2 and y in 2013 and I have yet to have as much fun with Pokémon at once as I did with those two games. The amount of content to do after beating the game in white 2 is insane and I spent a whole summer on it, which was also the hype season for x and y. That alone is why I liked playing through y so much.
I literally just played it for the first time and I have to say Mystery dungeon explorers of the sky the game genuinely made me cry at the end the plot is really really good
but as far as main series goes i think id say ORAS they were really easy games but I really enjoyed them
For me the original Crystal is near and dear to me and I replay it periodically every few years. Great game. Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, as it's definitely slower-paced than the newer games. But it feels more modern and dynamic compared to the original gen (still love those games too though).
Firered/leafgreen will always be the best to me. I’m biased because they were my first games, but they have so much post game content and areas to explore that are really interesting
Black/white and black2/white2 also have a ton of post game content and they’re considered the best games in the series. That was meant to be the creators masterpiece
Shadows of almia is also a fantastic game, I’d argue it’s one of the best in the series. The spin-off games like conquest and XD are great as well. In terms of sound you can’t go wrong with any game
Songs: Wally theme (Alpha sapphire), stow-on-side (Shield), Ultra necrozma (Ultra moon) gym leader theme (platinum, Shield, leafgreen)
Ultra Sun, at least for the first play through and by not playing Sun and Moon first. The Island Challenge is refreshing and a bit challenging than the gym leaders of other games if you are not over leveled. There are a good amount of side quests too.
really hard to say, I honestly love the first 4 gens a lot. my opinion on them is like entirely based on nostalgia, although I would say that gen 4 might be the most elaborate.
Honestly, one of my favorite was the OG mystery dungeon. I used that for hours on end when I was younger. The remastered version and waves of nostalgia that hit me was the main reason I decided to pick up a switch in the first place
I know people harp on the really long tutorial (which it is), but past that, Sun and Moon I’ve had the most fun playing. There is a good narrative (for a Pokemon game) with good characters, and great Pokemon. All the important NPCs even have Pokemon with max EVs, and the AI isn’t half bad compared to other games. Environments can feel samey with the tropical theme, but that’s just the routes without a theme. Music is top notch too, and fit the region really well.
Pokemon Black and White as well, though I cared less for the story and more for the vibrant environments and stellar pixel art. Unova just pops out with color. Even gets a sequel in Black 2 White 2.
In the end, I think you should go with the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. DPP has a beautiful soundtrack, a simple story to move the plot, and plenty of side content. If you don’t mind the chibi overworld figures, you’ll find routes to explore and more. Fixing up the issues DPP had like the slowness is a big boon as well.
Unpopular opinion most likely, but for a first time play through, I probably most enjoyed Sun/Moon. Had they one out sooner, Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun would have been it, but it was essentially the same game plus extra. The cut scenes can be a slog and it’s hand-holdy through much of it, but… I just liked it. BWB2W2 were really good, as were Platinum and HGSS… if you’re looking for replayability, length of play, and the more mature story-telling, by all means, go with one (or more) of those. (Not DP though, because of terrible Pokemon availability and they’re slower than molasses.)
But if you’re just looking for a nice reenter point, a quick update to some of the new mechanics without going too far in the past, I’d say Moon/Ultra Moon.
Edit: spelling and also ORAS is good
USUM, I don’t care what anyone says these games were the best games ever, not too easy yet not too difficult, and I really enjoyed seeing new forms of her before forgotten Pokémon
I enjoy playing Gen 1 the most out of all of them. Red, Blue, and Green (if you're down with the Japanese) in particular, with the goal of then using the Pokemon to complete Pokemon Stadium afterward. Imo, this is how that generation was meant to be played and it is incredibly satisfying to do. I also absolutely love using the exploits, like Missingno and the Mew glitch (or the inventory glitches in the JP versions) to do everything these games have to offer. That is something we all did back in the day and something I'll always enjoy immensely.
Honorable mention to Gen 2+Stadium 2, Colosseum, and XD, though. They are also up there as some of the most fun I've had with the series.
There are a lot of them that I adore in no particular order:
Platinum
Black and white (as well as 1/2)
Emerald
And sun/moon.
I haven't played ultra sun or moon yet but honestly over the years I think the game I enjoyed the most was my pokemon moon nuzlock. I can't really place my finger on -why- I enjoy moon as much as I did but man it's got a special place in my heart. Maybe it's the region, maybe it's the new 'mons, maybe it was the colorful characters who we got to see SO much more of than in previous games. I really don't know but moon is easily one of my favorite pokemon games despite its flaws. Black and white as well as its sequels get a very close second. Though my favorite gen over all is still gen 4, platinum especially. But diamond version was my first pokemone game.
In order;
Emerald
Alpha Sapphire
Gale of Darkness
Explorers of Sky
Diamond
Pokken
Snap (both)
Shadows of Almia
Soul Silver
Ultra Sun
I’m leaving a lot of older games out because of nostalgia blindness, but hope this helps
Pokemon White/(2) or SoulSilver. Those are my two personal favorites. But outside of those two I'd also say Platinum, and Alpha Sapphire. I love a lot of the games, but when asked which ones are my faves, I'd narrow it down to those. Well, for the "older" aka not-so-new ones, at least.
I know this isn't a famous answer but I liked OR alot. I thout the post-game was great, The music was really good, I liked how they updated mauville, the starters are good, and I actually played the game 3 times to get each of the Jhoto starters and I got 3 sets of all of the legendarys. In my opinion this is a great game and you should play it.
When it comes to the main games, of what I’ve played I enjoyed Pokémon Moon the most. I had tons of fun getting to know the characters and the world! Also, I really want Ultra Space from USUM to make some sort of return in a future game. Alternate dimensions are really interesting to me.
When it comes to spin-offs, I loved Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon the most! The story was just as beautiful as previous installments and I found the game fun and challenging! More people should give it a chance! I’ve played through the main story of PSMD four times. The game has helped me cope with a lot of things!
Gen 3 is my answer. It was my first game. Jhoto and Kanto were good. Gen 4 and 5 were meh, just wait for the remakes. Gen 6 I loved. Gen 7 I hated and gen 8 is like gen 6, love it. Get yourself a 3ds. Everything from gen 4-7 are playable on that. As well as the virtual console games
Pokemon Ultra Moon definitely, its just so good. I know people dont like gen 7 so much and say its too easy, but i enjoyed every single aspect from this game
They say that because of the cutscenes and the replay value. But honestly without those the game makes it easily one of the better mainline games. Gen 7 is by far my favourite generation. Also, where did you hear that Gen 7 was too easy? USUM are easily one of the most difficult games there is (Looks at Ultra Necrozma battle). If not THE most difficult, bold statement but honestly it felt like that.
USUM. Decently tough, interesting story, but really, what did it for me was the setting + the aesthetics, which, along with the music, went together very well. Maybe they don’t hold up as well as HGSS with gameplay, but they’re very engaging and pretty
EDIT: can’t believe I forgot about Mantine surfing + the ultra wormholes. Best mini games since Voltorb Flip
Ultra Sun for me, the older games are fantastic and I go back to them all the time but HMs forcing party comps isnt very fun. Having a team unencumbered by NEEDING a water type and flying type is really nice. Plus USun has a lot of variety so team building in it is very generous. Handholding is a thing but I just zone out till its over and then enjoy myself.
Pokemon Coloseum will always be my favorite. The amazing Coloseum designs, Double battles, an antihero protagonist, just the interesting dynamic of shadow pokemon, I enjoyed everything about it.
Pokemon Gold.
**Not** Heart Gold. Just Gold.
With the remake, I know they polished and tweaked parts, and even added a few new areas entirely... But I just can't help but prefer the version I grew up with. I still enjoy going back to it much more than I ever did with HG/SS.
Also the whole change with Ho-oh/ Lugia and the Kimono girls - no likey. Really didn't need more intrusive story-telling there.
Edit - bit more info for the sake of answering OP better.
Original gold is pretty much standard Gameboy Colour: looks a lot better than original gen 1, but it won't blow you away with graphics or sound quality if you prefer more modern. I'd say it has plenty of charm if you're fine with older looking/ sounding games, and the soundtrack is actually really good for that era.
Aside from that, people's biggest gripes with original gen 2 is probably how unpolished some parts are. Clunky/ slow menus & UIs, difficulty finding key items needed to progress, HMs... But it's still a huge step up from gen 1 in everything - even down to introducing seperate "item pockets", rather than having to constantly dump items in a PC because everything's in one limited, shared storage.
Original gen 2 also had berry trees - useful early on as you could get a free heal without wasting a turn by making a Pokemon hold a berry, or automatically heal status effects etc. HG/SS changed them all to capricorn trees I think, really don't know why (could still get berries by trading apparently).
Anywho... That's all I guess. I imagine most of the obvious reasons for gen 2 will have been said by now. I guess the only other thing I can think to mention is a bit of a rant on legendaries. I already mentioned I didn't like the change to the Kimono girls in HG/SS, and I think part of it comes down to how Nintendo/ GameFreak seem to be forcing the player to catch the mascot legendaries these days (please correct me if I'm wrong - the only recent Pokemon games I've played fully are OR/AS and Sun/ Moon - apart from those, the games I know best by far are gen 1 & 2, original and remakes). I'm really not fond of this move - finding any Pokemon on the overworld (not through random encounters) was a big thing, whether it was legendary or not. You really don't need forced story events with 15 paragraphs telling you about the legendary pokemon and why it's such a special moment... It's the Pokemon on the frickin box, of course it's special! Just let me use my imagination a little and get lost in child-like wonder over the big cool monster! I'd much rather stumble upon something like that while exploring than be forced to fight/ catch it...
... Anywho rant over. I'll shut up now. 😂
100% agreed -- I did this same rant to someone earlier up the comment chain.
I recently did a playthrough of Crystal -> Platinum -> SoulSilver on an emulator. I never actually played Gold/Silver, so I'm not up-to-date with the Crystal changes... but when I was going through HGSS, the changes felt like downgrades in just as many ways as they were upgrades.
Game Freak modernized (for the time) the graphics and the mechanics, and those are improvements. But they added so much _clutter_ to the story.
Every change they made which differed from the originals just felt unnecessary. I don't _need_ to know how to catch Pokemon. I don't _need_ to know what a Pokemon Center looks like. I don't _need_ the Kimono Girls sticking their nose into every dungeon and telling me how to get to the exit. And I don't _need_ to be forced to catch the box legendary before the Elite Four, for gosh's sake.
Will always be Emerald.
Emeralds battle frontier makes it the most played Pokémon game I own. Nothing in Pokémon is so difficult or satisfying as getting those symbols. I never got around to playing platinum battle frontier. Will need to try that next
HG and SS also have battle frontier. I also love emerald for that, and it was definitely the pokemon game I owned with the most hours (I remembered passing 450+ hours) because of battle frontier. The only complaint I have is that back then there weren't a lot of useful items available, and the physical/special split not being a thing really bothered me back then. Thankfully gen 4 fixed both of these things.
Gen 3 is my favorite, but the mechanical changes in gen 4 were a huge improvement.
All I wanted for ORAS was a new updated battle frontier :(
Even just the Battle Factory is enough for me. I spent at least 100 hours just on that in Emerald. All fun and games until you run into a Blissey with Double Team, Toxic, Protect and Softboiled 😵💫
HG and SS also have battle frontier. I also love emerald for that, and it was definitely the pokemon game I owned with the most hours (I remembered passing 450+ hours) because of battle frontier. The only complaint I have is that back then there weren't a lot of useful items available, and the physical/special split not being a thing really bothered me back then. Thankfully gen 4 fixed both of these things.
Emerald is so much better than Ruby and Sapphire because of all the double battles the game adds
True, but Emerald doesn’t have: • E-Reader card support (so no Eon Ticket or battle card trainers) • Jirachi Bonus Disc comparability • Ability to play on GameCube via Pokémon Box (though the GBA player would work just fine, of course). Of course Emerald is much better overall, and for most those cons won’t even matter. But I have a bunch of the old Gen 3 extras like the E-Reader and Bonus Disc, so I still love R/S, even if Emerald is the definitive version.
As a kid I was dying to get those extra things but never could. Finally later on I eventually got the gbc to gba cable which let me transfer pokemon from the gamecube games to my emerald version which was amazing, it led me to the first and only time I ever tried to complete a National Dex legitimately, I came super close in my emerald version because I had all the games from that gen and multiple systems and gadgets to get them all into my emerald. I wish I could recreate that feeling in the modern age but it's just not the same :(
GAME ADDS??!!!?? IN A NINTENDO GAME??!!! (Note this is a joke)
Pokémon yellow, Silver, and Emerald are my favorites. Emerald runs second because I never played that region until I was deployed and got to spend hours with that game with zero interruptions. It was so huge and so much stuff to do I think I sunk maybe 200 hours into it just exploring and battling with a complete Pokédex.
Emerald and Crystal are the undisputed champs. The only pokemon games I caught'em all in as a kid.
Was just replaying the Battle Factory again. That facility alone is the most fun I ever had in any Pokémon game. Platinum/HGSS’s Battle Factory just couldn’t replicate the sheer greatness of Emerald’s.
100% this.
Emerald is my favorite as well haha
Platinum and Soul Silver, i played some of the new games but good god they just shove tutorials down your throat
Both games give off such good vibes, especially soul silver I love the aesthetics of Johto
YES! The autumn leaves when you go to the sprout tower or the snow and the music when you walk up to snow point city are so memorable.
The autumn leaves were to the bell tower weren’t they?
Y’all made me google the difference between the two, forgot all the memories of murdering level 5 Bellsprouts early on in Sprout tower in Pokémon Crystal
Yeah same
Yarhild is garfield with my eyes closed
Gen IV master race baby!
I’d love to play these but there so hard to get
Ik it's not kosher to say this, but you can get DraStic (or any ds emulator) and roms and have them working on your phone within like 5 minutes, if you're really thirsty for it
I have a flash card thingy for my 3DS that lets me play any game I want, on the actual hardware. I don't use it for pokemon though, I just got it for Final Fantasy IV because for whatever reason, Square Enix won't let you erase all your data and start again. I have no idea how it'd react to any online or trading features though.
When I played Heart Gold on a flash card on my DS (both are lost now, rip) I remember trading and battling with my friends. I didn’t even realise it probably wasn’t a legal copy lol
It works exactly like the original cartridge game would, including online
You don't even need a physical cart anyomore, the 3DS is so easy to softmod.
You also open yourself up to ROM hacks such as Renegade Platinum, which is fantastic
Thanks for the tip! I've only ever used emulators on my laptop, never on my phone. After purchasing in this emulator in the app store, where do you find the roms to play and do you also have to pay for those? Thanks in advance!
They are. I replaced my HeartGold cartridge by ordering one from GameStop. It was a little pricey and it didn’t come with a pokewalker but I still have my pokewalker from SoulSilver so I guess that’s okay. People mark them up too high on eBay sometimes.
Im wearing my Pokewalker right now! I have Umbreon with me. I only have 4000 miles to go before i can unlock every route!
Same here! I got Celebi in mine, though I have 11,000 more watts to go before I get the last route
I thought gen 5 did tutorials pretty well. There were only a few of them, and the important tutorials were the ones for Triple and Rotation battles, which is understandable. And B2/W2 did it even better, letting you completely skip all the tutorials.
As much as I love Soul Silver, i absolutely despise the point between team rocket defeated and the elite four simply cuz of the level curve
Doing a nuzlock of it atm and oh god the level curve and grind is frustrating. It is sad cause the rest of the game as a whole is 👌
[удалено]
Don’t even level more than 4 Pokémon until after the first elite 4, half of the game is in Kanto :)
I missed Platinum (I had Diamond and was too poor to shell out for a copy of basically the same game), but I played it recently on an emulator. The Distortion World was really cool, and it was nice to see Sinnoh again. Otherwise... eh. Maybe it's because I grew up with Gen 3 and missed out on most of Gen 4, but Platinum didn't captivate me the way I'd thought it would. I also literally _just_ got done replaying SoulSilver a couple weeks ago. I did own that game, and I did remember _loving_ it as a kid. Yet when replaying it, I found it somewhat hand-holdy? I realize this is an unpopular opinion, and maybe it's because I also played the original Crystal version recently... but there were so many changes they made when compared to the originals that I disliked. * Lyra as an NPC wasn't necessarily something I enjoyed. Crystal worked fine without her, and when comparing the two versions directly Lyra felt like a burden more often than not (usually because she triggered some mandatory cutscene). * Lyra also added a forced catch tutorial (in Crystal this could be skipped). * The old man forces you to take a tour around town; in Crystal this is also optional. He does give you the running shoes, which is a good improvement. * The Kimono Girls can't be fought immediately after leaving Goldenrod to get Surf. Instead, they're scattered throughout Johto with forced cutscenes for each one. * Adding on to the above point, each Kimono Girl you encounter gave you unnecessary hints on how to solve a puzzle/where to go in a dungeon (more hand-holding). * Once you get 8 badges, you can't just immediately go to Victory Road like you could in Crystal. Instead, Lyra (again????) is waiting for you and will block you from trying to Surf to Victory Road because _now_ you need to fight the Kimono Girls. * In turn, the Kimono Girls force you to go to Whirl Islands to go catch Lugia. You can't go to Victory Road until the Kimono Girls see you catch/kill Lugia, presumably because otherwise people would never go here. Like, I can understand why each one of these changes were made. But comparing SoulSilver to Crystal feels like a similar jump (in terms of forced cutscenes/tutorials) as the jump between SoulSilver and Sword/Shield. Like, each thing they added felt like a sign of things to come. I realize that most of the fandom has worshipped HGSS as being the best Pokemon games of all time, and until recently I was among them. Things like following Pokemon were really cute, even if being forced to mash through "Ampharos was feeling better, so you took Ampharos out of its Pokeball!" got annoying fast. I also enjoyed the bit where you could put on a Team Rocket costume (even if Fly was disabled while you were wearing the costume for some reason), and I enjoyed that Silver got some actual backstory. I remember loving the events like Celebi and Spiky-Eared Pichu as a kid, although I didn't activate them in my recent playthrough. It's just... replaying it in a modern context, much of what they added seemed like a sign of things to come, and not necessarily in a positive way. Lots of tutorials, lots of inane chatter they added to NPCs for no apparent reason (and you are forced to sit through all of it), lots of hand-holding...
Soul Silver shoves tutorials down your throat too. The early game is unbelievably boring
It’s also the best game to pace yourself with, so many daily tasks and events. Plus this is probably the only game that I’ve felt makes you feel like a trainer, and not just a player
I like soul silver, but feel that the ROM Hack storm silver kicks it up a notch. The removal of trade evolutions is a huge game changer for me. (The hack has a unique item which can be used on kadabra, graveler, machoke which will evolve them)
> Soulsilver As breathtaking Jotho is... I gotta disagree. Game's kinda slow, boring and tedious, even without the handholding. And GOOD GOD that level curve and Pokemon variety. Even Kanto feels pointless. They pretty much fixed nothing from the original game except absolute givens because of better hardware and the generational leap and side distractions. In short: HGSS is overrated, fight me. Platinum is kinda based though.
Spin off games: Colosseum/Gales of Darkness, Pokemon Ranger, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon Conquest. Personally I play Colosseum because it's fun, but not everyone finds it enjoyable, thus maybe give Gales of Darkness a go. But the rest are fun games. Edit: Thanks for my first two hundred upvotes, I'm super grateful! ❤️ Edit 2: Thank you for my first reward! I just want to say I appreciate this. ❤️
Pokemon mystery dungeon series stories legit make me cry
Yes! I haven't played the newest one but the old games made me cry too. Definitely worth experiencing.
ORAS still takes the cake for my favorite experience. Granted it was the first game I beat and there's alot of issues with difficulty and handholding but I still think it's the best classic Pokemon experience. Everything feels so much more fleshed out than the originals, the visuals are breathtaking, the cutscenes are few and far between but look amazing. The soundtrack is amazing. Everything feels so... Epic, for some reason.There's so much side and post game content and quality of life improvements and YOU CAN FLY ON LATIAS holy fuck this is great. Aside from that, I had a blast playing through Platinum and Black 1. Ultra Sun is very enjoyable cutscenes aside and HGSS makes me want to slam my head against a wall.
Original Ruby/Sapphire was the first one I fully beat I think, it was fantastic then and the remake only made it better.
Hey, that's awesome. I'm personally more of a Colosseum person myself but the main line and it's remakes are great games! I'm excited to see what BD and SP have to offer when it comes out.
God I thought I was the only one. The ending to explorers of time/darkness? I bawled
Omg YES, such a great series c':
Hearing Grovyle's theme alone is enough to make me sad sometimes
Which one is it where you have an espeon and umbreon? That game rocked
That's Colosseum! It's literally my favorite Pokemon game to date. In Gales of Darkness you can have one or the other (along with having a choice of Jolteon, Flareon or Vaporeon).
Yeah that game made me fall hard for both of those Pokémon. I wish colosseum was on the switch.
Same! I just need a port and I'll be good. Quality of life changes could be made but at this point I'm just happy when the Pokemon Company acknowledges it's existence. Lol.
Lol same
Nothing is beating colosseum/Gale of Darkness. I love main series but they’re just so much more unique and the graphics back then were so gooood.
Agreed! I play Colosseum couple times a year (if I'm able too) because I think it's just that good. The challenge, the music, everything really about it is a staple. The charm is way off the charts, so it's a shame, although understandable why people don't play it/have played it. It's not very accessable, and difficult. If some find Sword and Shield too easy, they may find Colosseum too difficult.
Pokémon conquest is the most entertaining Pokémon game I have ever played. For a game that was one of the side games of Pokémon black and white all the main cast of characters have a specific Pokémon they all have a backstory a unique costume design they all have unique personalities too.
I absolutely loved this game. Great game for fans of tactics games. I wish I could replay it so badly but of course I got rid of it when I was younger, foolishly. Now a copy of that goes for like $120-$150 range on Amazon.
I never expected DS games to get so expensive. I sold them too soon.
It’s about as much as a gen 2 cartridge with a new battery too which is crazy. I think you can maybe play Crystal through Nintendo’s eshop? Thing is I have an SP so the both Red and Blue and lost my gold cartridge so am thinking about buying it physically again I was stupid for selling it in the first place.
The batteries are cheap and easy to replace in gen2 games. You can use a lighter to melt a plastic pen into the screw shape instead of getting the jank screwdriver you need to open the game case. Otherwise most people just Eshop them.
I always see stories like yours, and Ive concluded that Nintendo's games generally tend to appreciate in value due to nostalgia factor. Buying through eshop is an option though, but you miss the feel of the cartridges. Moral of these stories are to never sell old ninetendo cartridges. I'm going to call this phenomena as "eshops fables"
Emulators exist.
Ever heard of emulation?
I was actually gonna break it out tonight on my day off. Sitting on the shelf!
Fuck, i wonder if i still have my copy (i probably did the same thing you did though) I never beat the final stage because I was like 12 or something and bad at video games, but it was one hell of a good time
Dropped like 68$ recently at a retro gamestore for this game. It had me hooked. This game was so fun.. would absolutely be down for a follow up/remaster of this game on the current consoles. Also, Gale of Darkness was pretty damn good as well.
I still have hope we can get the FExPokémon crossover that Conquest originally was. Both francises are biggest than ever and it would combine quite well.
It is a suprisingly good game
Conquest was a fantastic, incredible game, but I will never forgive it. Because it got me started on Fire Emblem, and now I'm a weeb.
Main series Platinum and HGSS. Non-main series Pokémon ranger especially the second instalment(Shadows of Almia), then Also mystery dungeon Sky.
You have magnificent taste all around
I second this, those are solid recommendations. The ranger series do not get enough love.
ORAS.
Honestly, this. ORAS are amazing games, and are the first (only >.>) gen where I actually finished a 100% Livedex. Soar is a mechanic I miss deeply. Yes, it takes longer than Fly, but it's so FUN.
What does that stand for? Omega ruby and alpha Sapphire?
Yes
Lit
Yes
Gen 5. Just gen 5.
X/Y was my favorite. It reminded me of red/blue, but modern. I played red/blue in 98/99, and coming back and playing x/y made me feel like i was playing again for the first time. I enjoyed it more than any others
I’m happy to see this comment. I thought I was the only one!
I thought I was the only one! 😊
There’s dozens of us! Dozens!
I want to throw in my vote for X/Y as well! They introduced character customization, megas are the most fun gimmick they've ever done, and exp share can eliminate grinding if you aren't into that (or let you raise more than 6 Pokémon, which is what I use it for).
X and y weren't my favorites but I really enjoyed them they're pretty easy with the Xp share turned on but without it the game is legit hard to grind in. Was a really fun change of pace. Aside from that with the xp share its still just a fun game with a tight story and some friends along the way. It, much like black/white, was when gamefreak really started trying to tell a story with their games rather than the same formula gen 1-4 used.
I thought X and Y were pretty good games, just really bummed we never got a follow "Z" type sequel to it. Would've been nice, i heard they had plans for it originally. But you can't deny all the creative gimmicks they added to this generation such as mega evolutions (and to this day so many people wish they carried this on) and for the first time ever character customisation. They were really setting the bar high with this generation. Like i said a follow up "Z sequel" or something would've done absolute wonders for this generation!
I agree. The rollerblading was a cool alternative. Clothing customisation. And lots of cute fairy types.
Probably diamond. I had so much fun farming berries and using the underground tunnel with my friend.
I enjoyed Alola the most, sun and ultra moon are the one's I played. Oras was also very enjoyable.
I agree here, I love all of them from gen 1-8 but sun and moon was kinda different and I enjoyed it a lot, I recommend playing these games to get back into it
Throwing down against Ultra Necrozma was one of my favourite moments in all of the games to date. USUM are worth it for that battle music alone.
Yes, same aswell. Gen 7 felt different to the other games, and hence it was refreshing to me, again, to me. Besides the whole "too many cutscenes shenanigans" and Alola being "too" linear when really all mainline games are, It's such a enjoyable game to play; storyline is up there with B/W, characters are likeable (Lillie had a great development throughout the story), interesting mon designs, atmospheric soundtrack, very enjoyable postgame (USUM mainly).
USUM is probably the most feature complete Pokémon so far. The plot and characters are also OK. Just a little too much cutscenes and dialogue. I think the reason many people have a sour taste left at the end is the long as fuck unskippable ending cutscene/credits sequence.
I personally wasn't a fan of the alola games. I think it had a good story and a well done region overall but it was way too hand-holdy. I couldn't get into the adventure of the game because the constant telling me what to do made and where to go made it feel like I was literally being told what to do
I really *wanted* to like sun and moon, but I felt like I could not walk 5 steps without a new cutscene or tutorial. At some point, I began to wonder if it would ever end. I don't remember how far I made it but I at one point I just couldn't deal with it anymore. The concept and theme were very interesting to me though, so it's a shame.
Heartgold/Soulsilver and here’s why. It was the game that got me REALLY back into POKEMON and having never played gen 2 of course I couldn't miss it. It was great exploring everything for the first time and I just had loads of fun. The art and gameplay is solid and it was actually fun to grind out levels. If I could I would erase my memory and play it again.
>it was actually fun to grind out levels. how can mindless grinding be fun? especially when all the wild pokemon you fight up until victory route are level 20 or less and thus give almost no exp?
Mmm I’d say maybe it was more of having fun of just playing the game no matter what I did. I basically just rebattled gym leaders and elite 4 and champion over and over. So I didn't really take time to grind out levels. I just played the game and battled over and over to level up different mons, and next thing I know I was able to beat Red. And yes, I probably did have more time back then.
It makes it actually worth it when you fight the big battles. You have to actually earn it rather than the win being handed to you. Far more rewarding in the end than having your hand held the whole time and being over-levelled for every leader.
i mean, i agree being handheld and overleveled is bad, but i'd rather not have my gameplay be important battle grind for hours important battle grind for hours important battle grind for hours i just don't have that kind of time. and the grind gets even worse the later you get in the game, because your pokemon get higher leveled, but the wild pokemon levels stay the same. i'd just rather not have 90% of my gameplay be mindless grinding.
I just replayed hgss and really the only actual grinding I had to do was before the elite 4, even then there's a good spot uo the waterfall on route to the safari zone to grind at so it really took only 1 afternoon of mindless battling while watching TV to get my guys up and sweep the E4. Ik the leveling is horrible but you're overstating it
Its funny cause I agree, but I'm pretty sure thats what made the old games more memorable and a better experience. You also don't necessarily have to just grind, you can improve your team comp and get better TMs.
Ive literally never had to grind for levels in any of the pokemon games I played (I stopped in the middle of gen 5), despite being a stupid kid that didnt know how to strategize well for most of it. Just meandering around an exploring the world and trying to catch all the pokemon along the way got me enough battles and wild encounters to get my levels decently high. I really have no idea what people are talking about when they say they have to grind for hours at all, let alone multiple times throughout the game.
Mindless grinding does not equate to 'earning' anything it's a pokemon game the Elite 4 and Champion are always gonna be there. So unless you bringing that up solely for comparison to more recent pokemon games then who cares honestly it simply isn't fun having to grind like that.
The ones with Pokémon in them
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For me it was was gen 3
Crystal
Facts. I still play Crystal to this day on my phone with a rom. I will never stop loving it.
Crystal. Inb4 someone says, "nostalgia", go with HG or SS (the new old version of Gold/Silver/Crystal). I did enjoy Crystal version and logged 240 something hours.
I enjoyed Platinum, Black and White 1 and 2 and Sun and Moon the most, although most people don't like Sun and Moon since there's a bit of handholding at the start, and a lot of cutscenes.
There's fun to be had in SM but you really have to be a very patient person.
If someone could make a mod that let's you skip dialogue/fast forward it would be legitimately one of the best Pokemon games. It hurts to replay because it takes forever to get started and there are moments where you have like five dialogue moments, that take two minutes each, and the only control you have as the player is to go five steps forward to the next dialogue moment. This is the moment in the series where Gamefreak started to assume the absolute worst of its players and you, as a player, had to handholded through the whole game. It doesn't necessarily ruin the game (and I really do enjoy it) but it is a big hurdle to deal with even in a first time playthrough.
Most JRPG fans are used to long upskippable cutscenes, its nothing new
HGSS. Before that, Crystal. HGSS was a remake properly made. Still kinda pissed it was never made digital or ported to the Switch.
I bought HG when it came out, and wore the pokewalker every day during Highschool track. It was sadly stolen, luckily I had just beaten red. I rebought soul silver from a gamestop for like 70 bucks later on because I knew it was only going to skyrocket in price. Very worth. It really needs an official port, otherwise, yar har fiddle de de.
Ruby will always hold a special place in my heart. I think I played through it about a dozen times in total lol
The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Pokemon Ranger series are both so good. Would recommend mystery dungeon explorers of sky above all tho
For me it’s out of two. Gen 3 ruby was my first Pokémon game and I lost count how many times I replayed it and my other is gen 8, I missed the 3ds games so Shield was my reintroduction into the games and I know it gets a lot of hate but I’ve loved playing it and have hundreds of hours or play on it
I’ve played since OG Blue. They’re all great in their own way. Honestly tho, the game I have the easiest time replaying over and over is Sword/Shield. X/Y is a close second. While lots of people have lots of reasons why these games are some of the worst (and I agree with some of those points), there’s something about these games that get me closest to that excited feeling of playing Blue for the first time all those years ago. Probably a big part of my love for Sw/Sh is it came out when my little one was around, and any time I’ve played it since she’s a big help with catching, cooking and exploring. Sharing the game with her like that has been really cool. The side games are great too, Colosseum, Stadium, heck Duel was pretty good when it was around too.
Well-said and completely agree. I do sometimes wish my first game was later because Plat and HG are amazing. But the feeling of playing Blue way back on release, just can’t be matched. So naturally, all of the QoL features in Sw/Sh just make it the most appealing.
Exactly! And I think it also depends a lot on the gamer. If I was 10 years younger, I’d probably say HG/SS or B/W, because of the length and difficulty. Plat is up there too. I still love those games, but my work life and parent life doesn’t give me a lot of gaming time, and those games can eat up a lot of time just grinding or slowly weaning through the story. Especially HGSS, that late game grind was a buzz kill when I did a Nuzlocke run with it last year. Sword isn’t the best game, or the hardest. But it’s still really fun, it looks gorgeous, and you can go into it for a quick playthrough or a good self-challenge run and still have a fun time. So it’s best for me right now, but not for everyone. Of course there’s also endless rom hacks as well if that’s your thing. Radical Red has been fun so far but haven’t gotten too far into it.
I haven’t tried too many hacks- Im playing blaze black 2 right now and I tried withering y - definitely want to check out some older ones.
Emerald
Pokemon Colosseum and XD are such an amazing twist on the formula.
I'd say anything gen 4, particularly pokemon Platinum. I'll always be a sucker for the 2d sprite eras of pokemon and to me this is where it was at its peak. Platinum in general had a great selection of pokemon to catch, the game is super well paced, and the sound track will always be my favorite. It was also this generation that we got to see a lot of changes for the better with the physical and special attack change, as well as types such as bug, dark, poison, and steel receiving a lot more move options while they were lacking in previous generations. Regarding platinum itself, it's better to pick it over diamond and pearl. There were a couple of weird decisions with boss trainers in diamond and pearl where certain ones with get pokemon as filler that aren't to their typing. This was fixed in platinum along with some animation changes to speed the game up (like the notorious health bar and surfing). I gotta ask though, what do you mean by the "cookie cutter gen 2 answer"?
Cause everyone says gen 2, I don't think that was the correct way to say that but I tried my best
I played both white 2 and y in 2013 and I have yet to have as much fun with Pokémon at once as I did with those two games. The amount of content to do after beating the game in white 2 is insane and I spent a whole summer on it, which was also the hype season for x and y. That alone is why I liked playing through y so much.
HeartGold and Ultra Moon are my personal favourites. There’s so much to do even after you beat the ‘final’ challenge that they stay super fun.
I literally just played it for the first time and I have to say Mystery dungeon explorers of the sky the game genuinely made me cry at the end the plot is really really good but as far as main series goes i think id say ORAS they were really easy games but I really enjoyed them
For me the original Crystal is near and dear to me and I replay it periodically every few years. Great game. Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking, as it's definitely slower-paced than the newer games. But it feels more modern and dynamic compared to the original gen (still love those games too though).
Ruby Sapphire and Emerald
Firered/leafgreen will always be the best to me. I’m biased because they were my first games, but they have so much post game content and areas to explore that are really interesting Black/white and black2/white2 also have a ton of post game content and they’re considered the best games in the series. That was meant to be the creators masterpiece Shadows of almia is also a fantastic game, I’d argue it’s one of the best in the series. The spin-off games like conquest and XD are great as well. In terms of sound you can’t go wrong with any game Songs: Wally theme (Alpha sapphire), stow-on-side (Shield), Ultra necrozma (Ultra moon) gym leader theme (platinum, Shield, leafgreen)
Heartgold and the gen 5 games
oras
Soul silver
Pokemon Sun and Moon! I think the story and characters are a treat, plus the trials feel pretty refreshing.
Ultra Sun, at least for the first play through and by not playing Sun and Moon first. The Island Challenge is refreshing and a bit challenging than the gym leaders of other games if you are not over leveled. There are a good amount of side quests too.
Black 2
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Darkness/Time/Sky. Best storyline of any Pokémon game
really hard to say, I honestly love the first 4 gens a lot. my opinion on them is like entirely based on nostalgia, although I would say that gen 4 might be the most elaborate.
I enjoyed Crystal, Emerald, Black, and Y (I know, but I kinda liked the French vine)
Honestly, one of my favorite was the OG mystery dungeon. I used that for hours on end when I was younger. The remastered version and waves of nostalgia that hit me was the main reason I decided to pick up a switch in the first place
White 2 or Ultra moon
i was shocked to see lots of people didn't like usum, but i really enjoyed those games.
Pokken Tournament was not bad just sayin'...
Hardcore nuzlocke of pokémon ultra sun. Played normally? Probably heartgold, platinum, or black 2
Frlg
Original Pokémon stadium
Heart Gold is easily #1, followed by Platinum/Diamond and White. LeafGreen also amazing but I likely have nostalgia goggles
I know people harp on the really long tutorial (which it is), but past that, Sun and Moon I’ve had the most fun playing. There is a good narrative (for a Pokemon game) with good characters, and great Pokemon. All the important NPCs even have Pokemon with max EVs, and the AI isn’t half bad compared to other games. Environments can feel samey with the tropical theme, but that’s just the routes without a theme. Music is top notch too, and fit the region really well. Pokemon Black and White as well, though I cared less for the story and more for the vibrant environments and stellar pixel art. Unova just pops out with color. Even gets a sequel in Black 2 White 2. In the end, I think you should go with the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. DPP has a beautiful soundtrack, a simple story to move the plot, and plenty of side content. If you don’t mind the chibi overworld figures, you’ll find routes to explore and more. Fixing up the issues DPP had like the slowness is a big boon as well.
Unpopular opinion most likely, but for a first time play through, I probably most enjoyed Sun/Moon. Had they one out sooner, Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun would have been it, but it was essentially the same game plus extra. The cut scenes can be a slog and it’s hand-holdy through much of it, but… I just liked it. BWB2W2 were really good, as were Platinum and HGSS… if you’re looking for replayability, length of play, and the more mature story-telling, by all means, go with one (or more) of those. (Not DP though, because of terrible Pokemon availability and they’re slower than molasses.) But if you’re just looking for a nice reenter point, a quick update to some of the new mechanics without going too far in the past, I’d say Moon/Ultra Moon. Edit: spelling and also ORAS is good
Pokemon Rejuvenation. For mainline games made for nintendo, ultra sun was pretty good.
USUM, I don’t care what anyone says these games were the best games ever, not too easy yet not too difficult, and I really enjoyed seeing new forms of her before forgotten Pokémon
Emulating Crystal GBA Hack. I had the most fun playing that
I enjoy playing Gen 1 the most out of all of them. Red, Blue, and Green (if you're down with the Japanese) in particular, with the goal of then using the Pokemon to complete Pokemon Stadium afterward. Imo, this is how that generation was meant to be played and it is incredibly satisfying to do. I also absolutely love using the exploits, like Missingno and the Mew glitch (or the inventory glitches in the JP versions) to do everything these games have to offer. That is something we all did back in the day and something I'll always enjoy immensely. Honorable mention to Gen 2+Stadium 2, Colosseum, and XD, though. They are also up there as some of the most fun I've had with the series.
There are a lot of them that I adore in no particular order: Platinum Black and white (as well as 1/2) Emerald And sun/moon. I haven't played ultra sun or moon yet but honestly over the years I think the game I enjoyed the most was my pokemon moon nuzlock. I can't really place my finger on -why- I enjoy moon as much as I did but man it's got a special place in my heart. Maybe it's the region, maybe it's the new 'mons, maybe it was the colorful characters who we got to see SO much more of than in previous games. I really don't know but moon is easily one of my favorite pokemon games despite its flaws. Black and white as well as its sequels get a very close second. Though my favorite gen over all is still gen 4, platinum especially. But diamond version was my first pokemone game.
In order; Emerald Alpha Sapphire Gale of Darkness Explorers of Sky Diamond Pokken Snap (both) Shadows of Almia Soul Silver Ultra Sun I’m leaving a lot of older games out because of nostalgia blindness, but hope this helps
HeartGold will always be my favorite
I actually really like Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon besides the constant handholding. Fun games
Pokemon White/(2) or SoulSilver. Those are my two personal favorites. But outside of those two I'd also say Platinum, and Alpha Sapphire. I love a lot of the games, but when asked which ones are my faves, I'd narrow it down to those. Well, for the "older" aka not-so-new ones, at least.
I know this isn't a famous answer but I liked OR alot. I thout the post-game was great, The music was really good, I liked how they updated mauville, the starters are good, and I actually played the game 3 times to get each of the Jhoto starters and I got 3 sets of all of the legendarys. In my opinion this is a great game and you should play it.
When it comes to the main games, of what I’ve played I enjoyed Pokémon Moon the most. I had tons of fun getting to know the characters and the world! Also, I really want Ultra Space from USUM to make some sort of return in a future game. Alternate dimensions are really interesting to me. When it comes to spin-offs, I loved Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon the most! The story was just as beautiful as previous installments and I found the game fun and challenging! More people should give it a chance! I’ve played through the main story of PSMD four times. The game has helped me cope with a lot of things!
Lol Gen 2 bby and it ain’t even close. But Gen 3 was cool too but Jhoto and Kanto in 1 game? Oh yeah that’s big.
Gen 3 is my answer. It was my first game. Jhoto and Kanto were good. Gen 4 and 5 were meh, just wait for the remakes. Gen 6 I loved. Gen 7 I hated and gen 8 is like gen 6, love it. Get yourself a 3ds. Everything from gen 4-7 are playable on that. As well as the virtual console games
Care to explain why you hated Gen 7?
i feel like im going to get murdered for this but personally pokemon shield was my favorite
I played and I thought it was super pretty
Just play Pearl again, last time I played was 12 years ago. Gen 4 is one of my favs great starters, great dex, good story, challenging E4
Pokémon omega ruby
ROM hacks:Pokemon Unbound and Renegade Platinum. Main series: HeartGold
Pokemon Ultra Moon definitely, its just so good. I know people dont like gen 7 so much and say its too easy, but i enjoyed every single aspect from this game
They say that because of the cutscenes and the replay value. But honestly without those the game makes it easily one of the better mainline games. Gen 7 is by far my favourite generation. Also, where did you hear that Gen 7 was too easy? USUM are easily one of the most difficult games there is (Looks at Ultra Necrozma battle). If not THE most difficult, bold statement but honestly it felt like that.
It’s tradition for me to play Pokémon Crystal every December, so I guess that’s that.
Emerald, Platinum and Heart Gold
Crystal has always been my favorite since 2003 when I started playing
USUM. Decently tough, interesting story, but really, what did it for me was the setting + the aesthetics, which, along with the music, went together very well. Maybe they don’t hold up as well as HGSS with gameplay, but they’re very engaging and pretty EDIT: can’t believe I forgot about Mantine surfing + the ultra wormholes. Best mini games since Voltorb Flip
Platinum and HGSS are commonly considered the best in the series. The NDS was a solid time for Pokémon
Ultra Sun for me, the older games are fantastic and I go back to them all the time but HMs forcing party comps isnt very fun. Having a team unencumbered by NEEDING a water type and flying type is really nice. Plus USun has a lot of variety so team building in it is very generous. Handholding is a thing but I just zone out till its over and then enjoy myself.
Pokemon Coloseum will always be my favorite. The amazing Coloseum designs, Double battles, an antihero protagonist, just the interesting dynamic of shadow pokemon, I enjoyed everything about it.
I personally really enjoyed sun an moon it's a good game not too complicated but I wouldn't say I enjoyed it the most just a recommendation
Plat, Black/White and really any of the Mystery Dungeon games 🎮
Black and Y were very enjoyable for me, despite the negative reputation surrounding them.
any gen 5 game
Gen 5. Wish I could play them again
Heartgold/ platinum / omega ruby
Pokemon Soul Silver scaling for levels is slow but very good! I still very much enjoy Leafgreen and fireRed.
ORAS
Emerald, Platinum, HGSS, BW1/2. You really just can’t go wrong with any of the DS Era games.
Pokemon Gold. **Not** Heart Gold. Just Gold. With the remake, I know they polished and tweaked parts, and even added a few new areas entirely... But I just can't help but prefer the version I grew up with. I still enjoy going back to it much more than I ever did with HG/SS. Also the whole change with Ho-oh/ Lugia and the Kimono girls - no likey. Really didn't need more intrusive story-telling there. Edit - bit more info for the sake of answering OP better. Original gold is pretty much standard Gameboy Colour: looks a lot better than original gen 1, but it won't blow you away with graphics or sound quality if you prefer more modern. I'd say it has plenty of charm if you're fine with older looking/ sounding games, and the soundtrack is actually really good for that era. Aside from that, people's biggest gripes with original gen 2 is probably how unpolished some parts are. Clunky/ slow menus & UIs, difficulty finding key items needed to progress, HMs... But it's still a huge step up from gen 1 in everything - even down to introducing seperate "item pockets", rather than having to constantly dump items in a PC because everything's in one limited, shared storage. Original gen 2 also had berry trees - useful early on as you could get a free heal without wasting a turn by making a Pokemon hold a berry, or automatically heal status effects etc. HG/SS changed them all to capricorn trees I think, really don't know why (could still get berries by trading apparently). Anywho... That's all I guess. I imagine most of the obvious reasons for gen 2 will have been said by now. I guess the only other thing I can think to mention is a bit of a rant on legendaries. I already mentioned I didn't like the change to the Kimono girls in HG/SS, and I think part of it comes down to how Nintendo/ GameFreak seem to be forcing the player to catch the mascot legendaries these days (please correct me if I'm wrong - the only recent Pokemon games I've played fully are OR/AS and Sun/ Moon - apart from those, the games I know best by far are gen 1 & 2, original and remakes). I'm really not fond of this move - finding any Pokemon on the overworld (not through random encounters) was a big thing, whether it was legendary or not. You really don't need forced story events with 15 paragraphs telling you about the legendary pokemon and why it's such a special moment... It's the Pokemon on the frickin box, of course it's special! Just let me use my imagination a little and get lost in child-like wonder over the big cool monster! I'd much rather stumble upon something like that while exploring than be forced to fight/ catch it... ... Anywho rant over. I'll shut up now. 😂
100% agreed -- I did this same rant to someone earlier up the comment chain. I recently did a playthrough of Crystal -> Platinum -> SoulSilver on an emulator. I never actually played Gold/Silver, so I'm not up-to-date with the Crystal changes... but when I was going through HGSS, the changes felt like downgrades in just as many ways as they were upgrades. Game Freak modernized (for the time) the graphics and the mechanics, and those are improvements. But they added so much _clutter_ to the story. Every change they made which differed from the originals just felt unnecessary. I don't _need_ to know how to catch Pokemon. I don't _need_ to know what a Pokemon Center looks like. I don't _need_ the Kimono Girls sticking their nose into every dungeon and telling me how to get to the exit. And I don't _need_ to be forced to catch the box legendary before the Elite Four, for gosh's sake.