Poll: Pokemon Red/Blue/Gold/Silver vs Firered/Leafgreen/Heartgold/Soulsilver

[blizzaradragon]

Alright, I've been having this argument on and off with people for quite a while now and thought I'd ask the Escapist community what they think.

As I'm sure you are all aware of, the Pokemon games have been around for a while and hugely successful. In an effort to have more people play the older generations and for older gamers to have a nostalgia fest, they remade Red and Blue into Firered and Leafgreen on the GBA, and remade Gold and Silver into Heartgold and Soulsilver on the DS. However it seems like people(or at least the ones I happen to run into anyway) find that the older games are better and that the remakes shouldn't have been made because they "bring shame to the original games" and other things like that. I feel different, in that it's essentially the same story and characters but with better mechanics and graphics. Sure, they have a bit more hand-holding in the beginning to accommodate the new players, but that's really the only big criticism I have.

So I ask all of you, are the Pokemon remakes better than the originals or the other way around? I'd also like to know why you think one is better than the other, so please comment and have an intelligent, friendly discussion!

EDIT: I hope my poll was tasty, Escapist Forums...-_-

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Way too much nostalgia blinding me to answer that with my impulsive answer.

So, when thinking about it, the remakes are better for gameplay[footnote]Superior battle mechanics, the smoother textures, the ability to re-battle opponents, etc.[/footnote] but the originals are better for that Pokemon feel. Also Missingno.

...

Okay so I'm still talking with nostalgia vision, shaddup.

I do love Leafgreen for level training though. That's where I work up my level 100's the most.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I prefer the remakes because the gameplay is largely unchanged, this means that we get the old gameplay with the benefits of better graphics, a much more friendly pc box management system and the ability to transfer Pokemon to other GBA or the DS pokemon games.

It just seems better in both style and function.

 

[ThePurpleCube]

I grew up with Firered, so I'm going to be biased anyway. But even looking at it without the nostalgia goggles, I'm probably going to say Firered anyway. More content, less glitches and just general improvements of the formula which makes me love Pokemon.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

The remakes. As much as I love the originals even to this day, the remakes were just better plain and simple. The gameplay, music and graphics were all improved upon and nothing was lost, only gained.

 

[shrekfan246]

Alright, I've been having this argument on and off with people for quite a while now and thought I'd ask the Escapist community what they think.

All right, I'll bite.

As I'm sure you are all aware of, the Pokemon games have been around for a while and hugely successful. In an effort to have more people play the older generations and for older gamers to have a nostalgia fest, they remade Red and Blue into Firered and Leafgreen on the GBA, and remade Gold and Silver into Heartgold and Soulsilver on the DS.

Technically, they remade Red and Green (only released in Japan), hence why it was called LeafGreen. That bit of pedantry aside, let's continue.

However it seems like people(or at least the ones I happen to run into anyway) find that the older games are better and that the remakes shouldn't have been made because they "bring shame to the original games" and other things like that.

They should remove the nostalgia goggles. I love the original Gameboy titles, but they're horribly dated and haven't aged well at all. The animations are almost nonexistant, the monster designs are very lacking compared to their current designs, the over-world and combat gameplay are both much slower, and the writing is . . . well, actually present in the remakes.

I feel different, in that it's essentially the same story and characters but with better mechanics and graphics. Sure, they have a bit more hand-holding in the beginning to accommodate the new players, but that's really the only big criticism I have.

So I ask all of you, are the Pokemon remakes better than the originals or the other way around? I'd also like to know why you think one is better than the other, so please comment and have an intelligent, friendly discussion!

I'd say my above paragraph should give you my answer. As far as substantial RPG's are concerned (hah!) the remakes are much better than the originals. But then, I also wish they'd make a console Pokemon game that renders everything in full 3D with fully animated, 3D battles, and all of the Gameboy game regions put together at last. At this point it would cost a boat-load of money, but I'd buy it.

EDIT: Oh yeah, the box storage system is so much better in the remakes as well. I understand the limitations they were working with back in the Red/Blue/Yellow days, but even then I was annoyed with needing to save the game every time I wanted to check what Pokemon I had in what box, and being forced to deposit/withdraw instead of being able to just swap them around. And not being able to catch more Pokemon once a box filled up.

 

[Palfreyfish]

Heart Gold/Soul Silver are my favourite Pokemon games, purely because they let me build a team of my favourite Pokemon, all whilst playing through the best plot in the series (in my humble opinion) They give you options, yet are still true to the games they were based off.

R/B/Y/G are next, only because I sank upwards of 800 hours in to Red before I was satisfied woth my progress.

Nostalgia vision doesn't affect me >.>

 

[ccggenius12]

well, given that the average gold/silver cartridge wont work anymore because the always on clock killed the internal battery...
Also, in the remakes, being shiny isn't linked to your 'mons IV's, so you can actually have a shiny with decent stats. Honestly, the remakes are the originals with updated graphics and more depth for customization. Also, there isn't an exploitable glitch to encounter any pokemon on a path just outside town, or make infinity items. Honestly, the only point's in the original's favor are that you can play them on your gameboy (color), so you don't need a ds. Frankly, that isn't much of a selling point to me.

 

[Scrustle]

I don't know if the remakes are better or not but to have such a negative reaction as mentioned in the OP is just stupid. Those people are obviously overcome with nostalgia so much that they can't accept anything even attempting to get anywhere near their precious childhood memories. That's a total overreaction. I never really liked the remakes of Red and Blue, but that was because I didn't understand that they were supposed to be totally faithful remakes. I was disappointed that I couldn't catch later Pokemon in those games. I enjoyed SoulSilver a lot, but not as much as the original. But I think the only reason for that is because it was the first time I was experiencing it and I was just a kid back then. If I had a choice between normal Silver or SoulSilver at the time then I think SoulSilver would have been the obvious choice. It would have blown my little mind back then.

 

[LilithSlave]

The remakes, are, as expected, just a better version of the originals. There's nothing wrong here.

As a standalone game, though, as in a unique first time... what am I saying? On some ways of judging you say that that while the remakes are the better version of the game game, if you judge games by generation and other criteria, Gold and Silver and Red and Blue and Yellow are perhaps more solid.

As for the game I grew up on? Red. Simple old Red. And it felt amazing.

There is one thing that is superior certainly about the original Red and Blue, though. Missingno. Missingno. is my favourite Pokemon.

 

[badgersprite]

I actually think the Pokemon games are among the better examples of remakes, because they add new content, and change up things from the original to make it more interesting and give old players more to do. I have and still play the old games, but the remakes, especially Heart and Soul, added so much stuff and improved so many little things that it's kind of hard to go back and not have those things. I mean, having entire new areas, new modes of play, new Pokemon, new HM moves that make for different level design, new items, fixing broken elements, etc., it all makes such a difference.

More remakes should learn from the Pokemon games. If you're going to remake a game, you need to add or improve on enough features that it remains interesting for old players and gives them something different to do without betraying the spirit of and adherence to the original.

 

[Terminate421]

Newer ones beat older ones.

Its pathetic for people to think that Pokemon Blue can honestly stand up to Pokemon White.

Or even older ones for remakes.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

I'm still convinced HeartGold and SoulSilver are the best ones made, and I've been playing since day 1. The first gen games had an exploitable and broken battle system with no real balance at all, and every generation since has worked to fix the balance issues and introduce new layers of complexity and strategy. The story of Gold and Silver has returned, which is awesome, and expanded, which is even more awesome (Giovanni's back! Yay!).

Not to mention that difficulty is usually increased and there are more things to do in HGSS. The original GSC had no Safari Zone or Battle Frontier people! The winner is clear.

My only real complaint with HGSS is that Red is even harder now. I hate a Pikachu that can kick my ass.

 

[StealthyNinja]

The remakes are better games, there's no argument to it. However, I grew up on a diet of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Gold so I will always prefer those originals to the remkae

 

[Richardplex]

I dislike them all, despite playing them all as a child.

But, FR/LG curb stomps red/blue, that's for a damn sure. Even when I was 3 I was angry at how broken that game was. In FR/LG the music was remixed surprisingly well, for those not manly enough to scratch Onix to death they gave charmander iron claw, attacks against hybrid typed pokemon would cancel out instead of arbitrarily being super/not very effective (e.g. earthquake would either be super or not very effective against a grass/poison type, it wouldn't just do normal damage. And it wouldn't be consistent across all grass/poison types).

Can't speak for SS/HG, being that I grew out of pokemon before Diamond/pearl. However, Gold/Silver were functional games, if a bit grindy between boss 7 and 8, so the remakes weren't necessary for those ones. And from what I heard of the music, sounds like HG/SS ruined it.

My only real complaint with HGSS is that Red is even harder now. I hate a Pikachu that can kick my ass.

Isn't that a good thing? Red was cake in Gold/Silver.

 

[Something Amyss]

I prefer the remakes because the gameplay is largely unchanged, this means that we get the old gameplay with the benefits of better graphics, a much more friendly pc box management system and the ability to transfer Pokemon to other GBA or the DS pokemon games.

It just seems better in both style and function.

I'm inclined to agree.

I wouldn't mind a Red/Blue Or Green remake for the DS, actually, since I haven't had a unit that could play GBA games for quite some time (And wouldn't want to get one just for a couple games)

 

[RickyRich]

I like the remakes. They look better and play almost the same as the old ones.

 

[iNsaneMilesy]

May favourite was Crystal. Coloured, animations, no glitches, a pokedex that can actually be completed...

 

[MassiveGeek]

I prefer the remakes because the gameplay is largely unchanged, this means that we get the old gameplay with the benefits of better graphics, a much more friendly pc box management system and the ability to transfer Pokemon to other GBA or the DS pokemon games.

It just seems better in both style and function.

Essentially this.

I started my Pokémon obsession with Saphire though(shun me, I know), so that'll always have a special place in my heart, it's still my favourite(but it's fucked over now, the save file dies all the time).
I'm currently replaying HeartGold though, and I do enjoy it a lot.

 

[windlenot]

I liked Silver favorite and, of course, this is nostalgia blinded. Right now, I am replaying red with a few chaps also playing Red or Blue or something. I didn't like the idea of the new ones because there are just way too many Pokemon! Sure, the gameplay and graphics may have been upgraded a bit, bit I liked when I didn't have to google what kind of pokemon is what.