I just beat Pokemon Black (and by "beat" I mean got to the credits) and I figured this was a good time to do a retrospective of the series in the order I played them. I'm also interested in hearing what everyone here's opinion of all the individual generations are.
This is my personal pokemon rundown:
Generation I: Versions owned - Blue first, then Red
What can I say besides a classic. It has the simplistic pick up and play style that was so good that it's still unchanged. Yeah the blocky graphics look a bit dated, but that won't stop me from playing it again. Not to mention; a completely manageable 150 pokemon!
Generation II: Version owned - Gold
I may have played generation I first, but Pokemon Gold was the first pokemon game and the first gameboy game that I actually owned. Probably the version that I've replayed the most and spent the most time playing. New region, new pokemon, and a lot of great improvements and upgrades. My personal favorite being you can actually see your pokemon's experience bar!
Generation III: Versions owned - Ruby first, then Sapphire
Damn does pokemon look good in HD. Okay, so that's more of a point towards the gameboy advance rather than the game itself. Well it's the same structure of the first two generations, just with some new stuff (my favorite being the running shoes) but now it's starting to get a bit repetitive. Unlike generation II where there's a lot of good upgrades, there's only a few, but plenty of what I'd call gimmicks. Growing berries was pretty cool, but pretty tedious too, and so was pokemon contests (although to be fair, I did spend a lot of time trying to win those) Coincidentally, this is the only version that I have a completed pokedex. I must have had a lot of free time back then.
Generation IV: Version owned - Diamond
Okay, now the phrase "if it's not broken don't fix it" is really starting to loose meaning. It's the same game as the others, just with more pokemon, and too many if you ask me. Honestly I don't remember much about this game, I blew through it since I only played it to play all the games. By this point in time I was not interested in new pokemon, and wanted the series to end. I only even bought a DS so I could play Heart Gold, and in fact only bought it a few months before it came out. So yeah, not much else to say about it.
Generation I Remake: Version owned - Fire Red
At this point since I just beat Diamond I figured I might as well go back and play the remakes. Once again, not really much to say except it's the first generation games with a graphics update. There's also some new stuff to do after the credits, but I didn't do them. Not really much else to say except it's nice to see Team Rocket back again. (The other generations teams don't even come close to the Rockets and Giovanni)
Generation II Remake: Version owned - Heart Gold
Boy was I excited to play my favorite gameboy game of all time again with a HD shine. But it was still basically the same game, and I once I started playing it I didn't get all that into it. I still haven't finished it yet, although I do plan on it. So I really can't say much about it because I haven't gotten that far, but I'm assuming that like the generation I remakes that it's the same basic game just with some more extra stuff to do post credits.
Generation V: Version owned Black (planning on getting White)
I got this game with absolutely no expectations, and like I previously stated, only got it to be a competionist and beat all the games. But I gave it a shot, and to be honest I was shocked. It was good, really good. I feel that the creators of the game were aware that the tried and trusted pattern was getting old, and did their best to try and mix it up, and in my opinion they succeeded. Yes it's the same formula at it's base, but there are really nice new set pieces not seen in any of the other games. Yes there's even more pokemon now, but once again I feel the creators were self aware that the number of pokemon was getting out of control and made it so that only the new Black and White pokemon are in the game, and none of the pokemon from the previous four generations are in it until after the credits and you get the national pokedex.
The only real con for me was that the more the game progressed, the more the plot and main villains started to resemble one you would find in a sci fi anime. I don't want to give away any spoilers for the people who haven't played/finished the game yet, but if you've played it and watch anime on a regular basis, then you probably know what I mean. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it breaks the immersion when the villains start spouting lines that could be straight out of a Gundam series. All in all, this game made me love pokemon again, and the only game to give Gold a run for its money.
Random statistics:
Favorite game: Gold (Possibly tied with Black)
Least favorite game: Diamond
Favorite team: Rocket of course
Best rival: Gary Motherfucking "Butt" Oak (I called all my rivals "Butt")
Favorite Professor: Oak (He's definitely a pimp; he has to remember so many names that he can't remember his own grandson)
Favorite music: Generation I Route 1, Pokemon Center, Generation III Route 101, Team Plasma battle
So that's my opinion of the pokemon games, and I'm interested in everybody elses. Of course you don't have to go into as much detail as I did, but make sure to say your most and least favorite games and why.
This is my personal pokemon rundown:
Generation I: Versions owned - Blue first, then Red
What can I say besides a classic. It has the simplistic pick up and play style that was so good that it's still unchanged. Yeah the blocky graphics look a bit dated, but that won't stop me from playing it again. Not to mention; a completely manageable 150 pokemon!
Generation II: Version owned - Gold
I may have played generation I first, but Pokemon Gold was the first pokemon game and the first gameboy game that I actually owned. Probably the version that I've replayed the most and spent the most time playing. New region, new pokemon, and a lot of great improvements and upgrades. My personal favorite being you can actually see your pokemon's experience bar!
Generation III: Versions owned - Ruby first, then Sapphire
Damn does pokemon look good in HD. Okay, so that's more of a point towards the gameboy advance rather than the game itself. Well it's the same structure of the first two generations, just with some new stuff (my favorite being the running shoes) but now it's starting to get a bit repetitive. Unlike generation II where there's a lot of good upgrades, there's only a few, but plenty of what I'd call gimmicks. Growing berries was pretty cool, but pretty tedious too, and so was pokemon contests (although to be fair, I did spend a lot of time trying to win those) Coincidentally, this is the only version that I have a completed pokedex. I must have had a lot of free time back then.
Generation IV: Version owned - Diamond
Okay, now the phrase "if it's not broken don't fix it" is really starting to loose meaning. It's the same game as the others, just with more pokemon, and too many if you ask me. Honestly I don't remember much about this game, I blew through it since I only played it to play all the games. By this point in time I was not interested in new pokemon, and wanted the series to end. I only even bought a DS so I could play Heart Gold, and in fact only bought it a few months before it came out. So yeah, not much else to say about it.
Generation I Remake: Version owned - Fire Red
At this point since I just beat Diamond I figured I might as well go back and play the remakes. Once again, not really much to say except it's the first generation games with a graphics update. There's also some new stuff to do after the credits, but I didn't do them. Not really much else to say except it's nice to see Team Rocket back again. (The other generations teams don't even come close to the Rockets and Giovanni)
Generation II Remake: Version owned - Heart Gold
Boy was I excited to play my favorite gameboy game of all time again with a HD shine. But it was still basically the same game, and I once I started playing it I didn't get all that into it. I still haven't finished it yet, although I do plan on it. So I really can't say much about it because I haven't gotten that far, but I'm assuming that like the generation I remakes that it's the same basic game just with some more extra stuff to do post credits.
Generation V: Version owned Black (planning on getting White)
I got this game with absolutely no expectations, and like I previously stated, only got it to be a competionist and beat all the games. But I gave it a shot, and to be honest I was shocked. It was good, really good. I feel that the creators of the game were aware that the tried and trusted pattern was getting old, and did their best to try and mix it up, and in my opinion they succeeded. Yes it's the same formula at it's base, but there are really nice new set pieces not seen in any of the other games. Yes there's even more pokemon now, but once again I feel the creators were self aware that the number of pokemon was getting out of control and made it so that only the new Black and White pokemon are in the game, and none of the pokemon from the previous four generations are in it until after the credits and you get the national pokedex.
The only real con for me was that the more the game progressed, the more the plot and main villains started to resemble one you would find in a sci fi anime. I don't want to give away any spoilers for the people who haven't played/finished the game yet, but if you've played it and watch anime on a regular basis, then you probably know what I mean. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it breaks the immersion when the villains start spouting lines that could be straight out of a Gundam series. All in all, this game made me love pokemon again, and the only game to give Gold a run for its money.
Random statistics:
Favorite game: Gold (Possibly tied with Black)
Least favorite game: Diamond
Favorite team: Rocket of course
Best rival: Gary Motherfucking "Butt" Oak (I called all my rivals "Butt")
Favorite Professor: Oak (He's definitely a pimp; he has to remember so many names that he can't remember his own grandson)
Favorite music: Generation I Route 1, Pokemon Center, Generation III Route 101, Team Plasma battle
So that's my opinion of the pokemon games, and I'm interested in everybody elses. Of course you don't have to go into as much detail as I did, but make sure to say your most and least favorite games and why.