LT Weekly Poll #13 Most Beneficial Third Version?

[Joshawott]

Welcome to the thirteenth instalment in the Lost Tower Forum's new weekly series of polls!

Centered around the older installments of the Pokemon series of video games, these polls will be based on the various different aspects of the popular video game franchise. Every Monday, a Video Games staff member will post a new poll that'll remained stickied up on top of the forum. Suggestions for polls and questions can be sent to Joshawott, and they could possibly used for new polls (credit will be given, of course).

With that out of the way, here is the poll: Most Beneficial Third Version? Each third version adds something to the previously released primary pair, but which one had the most beneficial additions?

Past Polls of the Week
1) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-1-original-151-best-119200/
2) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-2-most-beneficial-past-new-generation-119621/
3) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-3-best-kanto-starter-120022/
4) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-4-should-we-go-back-coloured-cartridges-120348/
5) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-5-first-pokémon-game-120746/
6) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-6-best-johto-starter-121060/
7) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-7-how-old-were-you-when-you-started-playing-121483/
8) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-8-do-you-still-play-older-generations-121811/
9) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-9-best-hoenn-starter-122231/
10) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-10-slot-machines-voltorb-flip-122605/
11) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-11-favourite-kanto-gym-design-122952/
12) http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/f226/lt-weekly-poll-12-favourite-sinnoh-starter-123260/

 

[Almonds]

Pokemon Yellow was fun to play - starting with a Pikachu and getting all three Kanto Starters! But it wasn't "beneficial" - we never got anymore starters throughout the game play after Yellow. No change in storyline - but I liked how the rival got an Eevee. However... Fourth place because none of them were featured in future generations.

Pokemon Crystal was just so-so. I liked how they introduced the gender picking - which started from here and continued afterwards. And battling Suicune and Eusine was a nice addition. However, the GS Ball-Celebi event was only in the Japanese version, and was never allowed to other languages. No changes in storyline. Third place because of the gender choosing.

Pokemon Emerald - Great! I liked the change in storyline having both Team Magma and Aqua as villains, and being able to capture all the Weather Trio. The Battle Frontier was a nice addition, and I liked how they introduced TV based events - such as the Blend Master. Some of the gym designs had changed and the leaders were given different pokemons - good! I also liked the introduction of the rematch system with new pokemons! However, it would've been nice if they kept Steven as the champion (Wallace was kinda... a pushover, to be honest). Though I loved the tag-battle with Steven against Team Magma and battling him as a post-game boss. Second Place because of Battle Frontier and enabling the capture of all legendary mascots, and the rematch system.

Pokemon Platinum - This was epic. It's probably because Dia/Pearl had so many weak spots here and there. The biggest complain I had was Flint of E4 having pokemons that were NOT Fire-types - as well as Volkner having an Octillery. The Sinnoh dex in Dia/Pearl had been so weak - I'm glad they expanded it in Platinum. A lot of the gym designs became different and more challenging, while the gym leaders and E4 also got different pokemon that suit their styles better - ESPECIALLY the two best friends. I also liked the moving sprites of gym leaders, the E4, Cynthia, and the Frontier Brains. The rematches were also perfect!! Plus, being able to battle the stat trainers were another bonus! The Distortion World is also a BIG plus!! I give it first place for ALL the reasons - this game is just EPIC AWESOME!!

 

[rubinek]

Yellow - nice one I guess. Much, much better sprites, and having all elemental starters available was a nice touch. I didn't like Pikachu as a starter though, it was weak as crap because you couldn't evolve it. I always ended up boxing it. I was also a little sad that they removed MissingNo, but it was probably done for the good xD Otherwise, not many other notable changes.

Crystal - eh, I never really played it, but let's see... moving sprites, an option to play as a female trainer, elemental beam tutors and Battle Tower (easily exploitable one unfortunately) were definitely a plus. It lacked any other noticeable changes sadly... and no wild Mareeps was a turn-off to many people I know.

Emerald - now were talking! Battle Frontier was a huge blessing to the series as a whole, and single-handedly proved that you don't need a second region to have a worthwhile post-game content. Ability to capture both Kyogre and Groudon and either Latios or Latias. Johto starters. Moving sprites being brought back (although they were of a worse quality than Crystal's). Gym Leader's rematches. New move tutors on top of the ones from FireRed/LeafGreen. Introduction of abilities' secondary effects. Everstone finally stopped being useless. Cloning was back. Safari expansion after beating the E4. Easily exploitable RNG which allowed you to get battle worthy Pokemon in a short time without resorting to cheats. Cons? Eh, I'd really like Zangoose or Seviper to be catchable in the wild. Otherwise, none

Platinum - another good one. The expansion of the Sinnoh Dex was a big one, as it allowed the player to use all the new evolutions and fixed some type imbalances (like Fire having only Infernape and Ponyta pre-E4). Battle Frontier was back, and although it didn't match Emerald's, it provided the bulk of post-game fun. Tons of new move tutors which redefined the online metagame at time. Infinite Gym Leader rematches. Various improvements in graphics. New online minigames. New forms. Both Dialga and Palkia being catchable. It had some downsides though, like the "new old" Pokemon sprites, which were simply DP's second frame sprites copied and pasted into the game. Did the developers thought the players are stupid and they wouldn't notice or what? Forms not being usable over Wi-Fi and at the Frontier was another one I didn't like, simply because I would LOVE to use Rotom-H in my online team.

In short, Emerald > Platinum > Yellow > Crystal.

 

[Bouffalant Herdier]

Yellow had a lot of minor improvements over Red & Blue that made it a richer experience. It was a lot of fun battling much stronger Gym Leaders, and I loved the many Anime references and obtaining all three Kanto starters, but I never felt the game had quite enough changes to warrant buying if you already had Red/Blue. (Not that it stopped me)

Crystal was even more unnecessary, with no major changes other than the option to play as a female and the Battle Tower. The Gym Leaders in G/S were difficult enough, so I understand why they didn't change them at all, but it was still disappointing. Stuff like more evolution stones, pre-battle animations and more breeding moves are nice additions, but they're more like treats than essentials. Overall, G/S felt polished enough to begin with. (In 2001, anyway)

Emerald is my choice. As much as I love R/S, they felt like a step back from the 2nd Gen games, but Emerald added almost everything I wanted and then some, being the game they should've been in the first place. With Colosseum, Fire Red and Leaf Green already out, they were no longer frightened to show non-Hoenn Pokemon, and most importantly, Ditto was now obtainable in Hoenn. I loved the storyline changes, being able to capture both Groudon and Kyogre, the secondary ability effects and the much tougher Gym Leaders. I can't enjoy the Battle Frontier because I hate the win-streak system it has, but I appreciate the cool ideas and the effort. Even the graphics made it seem better; the text in R/S looks big and ugly now, and the gender symbols look wonky.

Once again, Platinum brought many great changes. It's like they read my mind; I loved the many new evolutions of old Pokemon in the 4th Gen, but was disappointed how few of them could be caught before obtaining the National Dex. Platinum sure changed that, and the 60 extra Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex made it feel much better balanced. But I was happy with D/P in the first place, and I hated how saving the game took even longer than them, so Emerald is my winner.

 

[Ghetsis-Dennis]

Platinum, hands down.

Upgraded dex, better rosters, gym leader rematches, better level grinding, and Battle Frontier.

 

[Oswin]

Platinum, purely for the expanded PokéDex.

 

[Infinity Mk-II]

JP Crystal introduced a precursor to wifi battles, so there is that.
It also introduced further personality to trainers which was great.

Emerald polished Ruby and Sapphire more than the rest. It introduced the battle frontier which is an improved version of the battle tower, and for a while random double battles (trainers grouping up against you) but overall it focused in making the concepts of those two games work better.

Platinum added plot and fixed things around, and basically helped define the current form of the games.


But the poll is asking which one was more beneficial to its respective games, so I'll say Emerald wins that one.

 

[やみのディアルガ]

For me, Platinum...it's a nice one.
Emerald? I have played it until getting to Verdanturf Town (that's a Hoenn town, right?)...it's a bootleg, so it deleted itself after putting a Game Card into the DS and accessing the card.
Looks nice, but since I never played it to the end, I can't say anything.

 

[Blue Dragon]

I vote for Yellow mainly because the sprites were updated dramatically to fit with what the Pokemon actually look like. Also it is the original third version after all

 

[Water Max]

I think the most beneficial third version was Platinum because it introduced Egg Swap trading, the Sinnoh and Johto Battle Frontier, the Wi-fi Plaza and various different movesets to Diamond and Pearl's. I also like that it has 3 legendary trios from previous generations which are the bird trio and golem trio.

 

[Blue1225]

Yellow definitely kicked things off and I think it should be remade, but it was mostly a giant tribute to the anime. (Though of course it can be argued its the canon game, since Red's team clearly comes from this version)

Crystal was kinda meh for me. The gender thing was nice and has become a part of the series since, but the entire event with the GS Ball was basically a "big screw you" to a lot of fans. Though, I did enjoy the new side quest with Suicune.

Emerald...Ah Emerald. It combined the different story lines of Ruby and Sapphire into one and gave us the Battle Frontier, which is not also a main part of the series and appears in every third version. A lot of people were disappointed by the lack of a second region this gen (And with good reason). Emerald didn't quite make up for it, but it showed the creators had other ideas and could keep the game interesting without repeating what they'd done before. It was an amazing idea and it definitely changed things up nicely. you could catch all 3 mascots again, you could choose witch Lati you wanted. Really GF came through for the fans with this one.


Platinum- Dex expansion was really the big thing for me with this game. Just made things seem more...real/better/like they should be. IDK how to really explain it but its what the Gen needed and this game delivered.

Emerald was easily the most beneficial in my eyes, but they really all brought a little something to the table.

 

[Ravarian]

Yellow was fun and I enjoyed the ties to the anime.

Crystal added Eusine to interact with Suicune and a Battle Tower. Ability to play as a female was added.

Emerald brought into the franchise the fantastic Battle Frontier, seven facilities that showed GameFreak's creativity and ability to have the player use their Pokemon and battling skills in different ways and provided hours of enjoyment in beating the facilities, Brains and getting the symbols. In addition, numerous trainers were added to routes, Gym Leader rematches were introduced, tag matches were introduced, expanding on RS's introduction of double battles (in addition two on two trainer matches appeared with Steven at the Space centre, which would play a big part in points of DPPt). EV berries were added to help with RS's introduction of natures and the overhaul of the EV system. An expansion was added to the Safari Zone, enabling one of numerous ways to easily obtain Johto introduced Pokemon outside of Johto based games. Several trainers teams including Gym Leaders were overhauled.

Platinum fixed surfing speed, battle speed which was slowed down in DP. The Galactic plot was extended, adding characters Charon and Looker to it and giving Cyrus a larger focus. The new Pokemon that should have been present in DP's regional Dex were added. Gym Leader rematches returned, as did a new version of Hoenn's Battle Frontier for Sinnoh and later Johto. Like in Emerald, level grinding was also made easier than it was in Platinum's respective games.

Both Emerald and Platinum were great additions, but Emerald comes out on top for introducing fantastic staples like Gym Leader rematches, Battle Frontier, overhaul of NPC rosters, etc.

 

[Figgles]

Plat for sure!

 

[Bolt Strike]

Platinum by far. The improvements made to the Sinnoh Dex alone make this game much more beneficial than any other third game, but they also added a Battle Frontier, a better story, new forms for some of the Pokemon (Origin Form Giratina and Sky Form Shaymin are both awesome), rematches, move tutors, and a bunch of other minor things like the Wi Fi Club and the Villa. It really felt like a different experience more so than any other game.