Pokemon games, Was it better during the first few generations of pokemon?

[Scarim Coral]

I say it's Nostalgia. Don't forget about the hardware we had to play for the past games (Gamboy/Gamboy colour for Red/Blue). They are mostly trying to bring out the hardware capability to the max. I also agree that the designs had always been a mix bag of good and bad but I always welcome the new ones with open arms. At the end of the day if you don't like the game then just trade it in and I guessing some people won't be buying the possisble next Pokemon game if there will be one (it most likely be a new one).

 

[Lunaras13]

the absolute worst thing about the pokemon games generation 3 and beyond is that you CANT CATCH THEM ALL! Mew was one thing, but the fact that there are so many legendaries that you cant even get at most times, and i think theres one that hasnt been released except in japan

that fact right there is why i havnt gotten black or white yet

 

[azukar]

The first generation (and second) where (sic) all fresh ideas...

This. And not just fresh ideas for the company - the expectations were not there in the minds of the players. *Everything* in Red and Blue versions was new and never-before-seen; even as far as Gold and Silver versions a player could journey from town to town and still be surprised.

 

[Sarge034]

Course they were..... I was there. :? )

 

[azukar]

a rock with gas escaping turning into three rocks with gas escaping

Hold on... do you mean Koffing? It's a balloon, not a rock!

 

[Not-here-anymore]

The gameplay elements are constantly getting better.

The creature designs... Well, there seem to be fewer good ones and more 'meh' ones with each generation. And Gen. 5 has more bad ones, I guess. But even 1st gen. had some absolute shockers (Jynx? Mr. Mime?)

2&4 are my favourites for creature design. 3&5 tie in last place.

 

[fordneagles]

Technology has brought pokemon a long way, I'll grant that. And I think I've played a pokemon game from every generation (or near enough). I think my biggest problem with pokemon now is that a pokemon's name, its picture/image and its type don't seem to relate anymore. Ok, maybe Dugtrio looks a bit silly, but it was Dugtrio, its picture was of three Diglets (trio) and its type was ground (Dug). It all linked together nicely. These days you get a spakky picture with a name that's barely pronounceable and a type that has nothing to do with either. That's the part that I, and probably a lot of people, have with the newer versions as opposed to the old ones.

 

[silversnake4133]

It's just Pokemon getting old and Nintendo running out of ideas, the newer pokemon are just way too bizarre.
Take that piggy of a pokemon for example, that suppose to be a fire type? Sure it has the color going for it... kinda... but that's about it.
A cog, Klink, that evolve into three then four.

Spoiler: Klink

A "cell" pokemon, Solosis, which I think is completely absurd.

Spoiler: Solosis

Vanillite... an icecream cone...

Spoiler: Vanillite

And Cofagrigus from Egyptian coffins.

Spoiler: Cofagrigus

Need I say more?
Don't get me wrong I really like pokemon (Generation 1-4)... just not the lastest Generation

When I get Black or White, I most likely going to end up most of my possible time in the dream world dragging earlier generation pokemon into my game to put onto my team.

Don't forget the Garbage bag pokemon:

Spoiler

And it's evolution which is an exploding garbage bag:

Spoiler

 

[Wondermint13]

Wow...! A thread that understands me! (see my previous comments on pokemon forums)

What is the word you're looking for.... Hmmmm.. The new generation designs are... Unloveable? Childish?
I would go with Childish. Seems to me like they just cant be arsed to create new pokemon so they evolve original pokemon into fatter, and more spikey versions of themselves. Just look at Lickatung's evolution.. F**ing pointless.
I admit MR.Mine was a mistake but that still gives us 149 for christ'sake!

I'm willing to defend myself to the death here so I will just say it. The newer generrations -are- getting worse. You can pick any pokemon from the first 150 and say something bad about it, but take any pokemon from any other generation and there is enough evidencce to verbally tear it to shreads!

 

[mrdude2010]

not nostalgia, the older pokemon were more clever and the intimidating pokemon were more intimidating... also it was a relatively new idea at the time so it seemed more fresh

Tell this guy that he is not intimidating and he will rip your head off

you're not that intimidating =p

 

[Buizel91]

not nostalgia, the older pokemon were more clever and the intimidating pokemon were more intimidating... also it was a relatively new idea at the time so it seemed more fresh

Tell this guy that he is not intimidating and he will rip your head off

you're not that intimidating =p

Are you sure?

 

[scorptatious]

Currently playing through White, and I think it's very good. Sure, the basic formula hasn't changed. (Choose a starter, go out and catch pokemon, battle gym leaders, battle elite four)

But I don't mind at all personally. I like how the game is true to it's roots.

As for the new Pokemon designs. For the most part I've find them interesting, but there's no lying that some of these pokemon are simply redesigns of the older generation's pokemon. Such as Emolga and Woobat. But there are still some good ones.

BTW, Snivy is awesome.

 

[(whitty name here)]

I wouldn't say that it was better before, but it certainly was simpler. Before you had 150(1) pokemon, 5 different stats, and about 160 moves. Now theres well over 600, 6 stats, a thousand attacks, held items, natures, abilities, online play, tournaments, double battles, triple battles, and the list goes on.

Some people preferred the simplicity. I don't.

 

[144_v1legacy]

It's just Pokemon getting old and Nintendo running out of ideas, the newer pokemon are just way too bizarre.
Take that piggy of a pokemon for example, that suppose to be a fire type? Sure it has the color going for it... kinda... but that's about it.
A cog, Klink, that evolve into three then four.

Spoiler: Klink

A "cell" pokemon, Solosis, which I think is completely absurd.

Spoiler: Solosis

Vanillite... an icecream cone...

Spoiler: Vanillite

And Cofagrigus from Egyptian coffins.

Spoiler: Cofagrigus

Need I say more?
Don't get me wrong I really like pokemon (Generation 1-4)... just not the lastest Generation

When I get Black or White, I most likely going to end up most of my possible time in the dream world dragging earlier generation pokemon into my game to put onto my team.

Don't forget the Garbage bag pokemon:

Spoiler

And it's evolution which is an exploding garbage bag:

Spoiler

As someone who genuinely likes both klink's design and trubbish's, and their evolutions, I have to protest. First off, one of my absolute favorites from generation 1 was magneton. And all it was was three magnemites. I imagine that, if klink had been there first and magneton was what had just come out, I'd hear a similar argument. And trubbish is, in my opinion, more imaginative than, say grimer or muk, which kind of look the same.

Every generation has its cutes, cools, and weirds. They all have their pikachus or mincinnos. They all have their charizards or serperiors. They all have their Mr. Mimes and their Cofagrigus (Cofagriguses? Cofagrigi? whatever the plural would be).

This is just another example of gamers' cynical natures.

 

[Terminate421]

No, it was never better. Pokemon has always gotten better.

The second and fourth generations have been my favorite design wise

Fifth gen has the best mechanics.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

I think the main problem with the new pokemon designs is that they ran out of things to base pokemon on around the second generation. From there on it's been pretty much reskinning and coming up with a few new now and then. You know, a bird there, a fish here, a humanoid shape there and a dragon over there. And I guess the new pokemon are dissed because they're based on non-living things and less organic forms. Like the ice cream cone or the garbage bag. Those are both just man-made things with no life in them, whereas say, dragon pokemon already have tons of lore behind them: dragons have always been things of great power in fiction, so dragon pokemon are usually powerful. Mostly dragons have wings, so dragon pokemon can usually fly.

In my opinion the 1st gen games still have the best music. The DS tunes are so complex they're more like ambient background music than actual themed tunes. This is partly why I didn't like the 2nd gen games: the music and overall sound effects were somehow so rough that they prevented me from enjoying the game to full extent.

The 1st generation certainly wasn't the best. Among many problems it had uneven difficulty (the first 2 gyms are both super effective against fire and extremely weak against grass and you can only fight trainers once), serious balance issues (although I think that has been more or less the problem with every pokemon game) and the known bugs. But despite these, it had a sense of tension which I haven't felt in pokemon games since. Partly perhaps due to the sometimes downright brutal difficulty, but also because there was some sense of mystery. If I remember right, it was never explained what Mewtwo exactly was in the game. Neither were Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos given any actual purpose, they were just something you stumbled upon. And also the ghost in Pokemon Tower in Lavender town was somewhat unnerving when a 7-year old that was me played it for the first time.

My favorite is the 3rd generation. To me it was the high point of the series after which it started getting stale (I haven't even played the 4th or 5th gen games). It introduced enough new ideas to make it feel fresh but not out of place. Like diving into the sea and running, thank GOD for that. The gameplay was faster than before, which made the 4th gen games seem intolerably slow by comparison. And also it introduced the dual villain factions, which was cool.

 

[Baneat]

I think for a new player, the latest generation is always the best

 

[mrdude2010]

not nostalgia, the older pokemon were more clever and the intimidating pokemon were more intimidating... also it was a relatively new idea at the time so it seemed more fresh

Tell this guy that he is not intimidating and he will rip your head off

you're not that intimidating =p

Are you sure?

admittedly, some of the newer ones are badass looking, but i mean some of the newer ones seem as if they're not even trying... especially with the names.. i feel like the overall quality of the older pokemon was higher

 

[Drafon]

First I'll mention gameplay. In my opinion, Gen IV had the best, except that I'm fairly certain you can't store items in PC anymore.
Second is character desgin (humans, not Pokemon). I think they're trying to be politically correct by making the Prof. a chick in this, but it doesn't really work. The only game your dad ever showed up in was Gen III, so a female Prof. would have been apt there. The male Prof. has always been kind of a substitute dad imo. Plus I maintain my adamant defense of Colosseum in that in that game your character is a f***ing badass.
Thirdly, there's the actual Pokemon. Gen I was awesome. Gen II was awesome. Gen III had a lot of flaws, but epic-looking Legendaries, so I kinda forgave it (that and fusing Hitmonlee and Charmader, genius imo). Gen IV had more flaws than Gen III, but because of all the epic game revampings, I kinda didn't care. BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE! Gen V's Pokemon are, in comparison, the worst thing ever gto come out of changes between Gens other than the male character's increasingly wimpy clothing.

 

[Kukakkau]

I have just been overwhelmed by NOSTALGIA.
I couldn`t bring myself to play anything after saphire/ruby/emerald. FireRed and LeafGreen both were just... bad IMO.

Um what? Fire red and Leaf green were just the originals with up to date mechanics and graphics - it was the same game

And my opinion is same as what a lot of people said - everyone downs on them because they aren't the originals. And to be fair how many of you can actually think up 649 different creatures?

Granted some of the recent designs are...lacking in innovation but still.