Hellomello
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Title says all. How would you rate each gen, on a scale of 1-10 (based on their main series games)?
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On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate each gen?
- Thread starter Hellomello
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My ratings will be based on my initial opinions and impressions at the time of playing each generation.
Edit: I decided to include my current opinions of each generation as well.
Gen I - I didn't get to play it.
Gen II - 5/10 (initial) 5/10 (current)
I was honestly not really impressed by the game. I liked it because it was "the Pokemon game", not necessarily because I thought the game itself was good. I was a huge Pokemon fan, but that was due to the anime. Pokemon games don't have Greek localization and I didn't know English back then so that probably contributed to not making the game memorable for me.
Gen III - 10/10 (initial) 9/10 (current)
This is entirely biased, but Gen III felt amazing to me as a kid. We entered the era of colour and Hoenn itself was a much bigger and more diverse region than Johto/Kanto (I count them separately). Exploring Hoenn was my joy. We even had diving! I had begun learning English so I could actually understand some parts of the story. What helped a lot was that fact that I had a couple of friends who also owned the games so I could trade, battle and play with them. I think I've replayed Sapphire and Emerald over 5 times each.
Although I would probably rate this generation as a 10/10 forever, I can acknowledge that RSE weren't quite as polished and the story needed some work. FRLG didn't do much for me as I had never played the original Gen I games. They were the first ever remakes so we didn't have a point of reference for how remakes should be. Emerald was great, introduced a lot of content and brought the story together though it still lacked characterization.
Gen IV - 9.5/10 (initial) 9.5/10 (current)
Gen IV took the things I liked about Gen III and made them even better. It only loses some points because I didn't like the Gen IV Pokemon as a whole as much as Gen III, which is my favourite over-all generation in terms of Pokemon designs and concepts. I'm actually one of those that love Sinnoh's messy layout, but I can understand why it was frustrating for others.
HGSS were fantastic and set the bar for what remakes should be, but I don't like Johto as much as some other regions so I don't love the remakes as much as other people. As of now I believe Gen IV was and still is the best over-all generation in terms of content and game design.
Gen V - 7/10 (initial) 7.5/10 (current)
I loved the Gen V story but this is where the gameplay began feeling stale to me. I actually lost interest in Pokemon sometime after I finished playing Black. Though, to be fair, the gameplay wasn't the sole reason for my loss of interest. When Gen V was new, I didn't like the urban design of Unova much nor the Gen V Pokemon. I replayed the game a couple of years later, and the region/Pokemon grew on me a lot. I learnt to appreciate it.
Various circumstances lead me to not playing BW2. Had I played BW2 I'm sure my initial opinion for Gen V would have changed, especially seeing all the content BW2 has to offer (I later watched a walkthrough on YouTube). Alas, that wasn't the case, so for a couple of years Gen V was for me the generation with "an amazing story in an unfortunate region".
I increased my score later because BW2 are really good games and doing sequels instead of a "third" version was a great idea. However, since I didn't experience BW2 myself I can't feel the same appreciation as the people that played the game themselves. Although Unova grew on me, I'm still not a fan of the urban atmosphere so it remains among my least favourite regions. I also didn't like how linear it was, but at the time it didn't bother me too much because I didn't know this trend would continue in later generations.
Gen VI - 8/10 (initial) 6.5/10 (current, though it changes a lot)
Gen VI is in a weird position for me. I really enjoyed playing Y, but I was also really disappointed with the story (coming right after Gen V) and the lackluster side/post-game activities. I pretty much stopped playing after I finished the main game and transferred my old Pokemon over. In terms of designs, I really like Kalos and the Gen VI Pokemon. It even introduced what became my favourite Pokemon of all time. This generation can be summed up as having some things I really like and some things I really don't like. It also gets a bonus for bringing me the remakes of Gen III.
Unfortunately, Kalos suffers from being yet another linear region and ORAS weren't the remakes Gen III deserved. I'm still happy we got them, of course, because having ORAS is better than not having them at all. As time passed and the initial wonder of playing Pokemon in 3D wore off, I began seeing more and more issues with this generation and how it compares to the DS era. My rating and my opinions still fluctuate because I really love Kalos and Hoenn, but the games were simply not as good as they could have been. Some days I like them more and some days I like them less, if that makes sense.
Gen VII - 7.5/10 (initial)
Gen VII is very much like Gen VI for me. It has some things I really like and some things I really don't like. I love the characters and the story and I love the Ultra Space and the Ultra Beasts. The Pokemon and region designs are really nice too, though I felt like they pushed the "vacation" and "paradise" themes a little too much which began turning me off after a while.
My biggest problem was the lack of a sense of exploration, which is one of the most important aspects of a Pokemon game for me. Alola felt small and hollow, despite having great concepts and designs behind it. Thus, I ended up having the inner conflict of wanting to love Alola because I can see the greatness behind its concepts, but being unable to do so because the execution just wasn't as good as it could have been. And we didn't really get to explore the Ultra Space much.
I'm sure that Alola will be end up in a similar situation as Unova, wherein it will grow on me a lot as time passes (and through my eventual re-play some day in the future), but right now I just have too many conflicting feelings about it.
Edit: I decided to include my current opinions of each generation as well.
Gen I - I didn't get to play it.
Gen II - 5/10 (initial) 5/10 (current)
I was honestly not really impressed by the game. I liked it because it was "the Pokemon game", not necessarily because I thought the game itself was good. I was a huge Pokemon fan, but that was due to the anime. Pokemon games don't have Greek localization and I didn't know English back then so that probably contributed to not making the game memorable for me.
Gen III - 10/10 (initial) 9/10 (current)
This is entirely biased, but Gen III felt amazing to me as a kid. We entered the era of colour and Hoenn itself was a much bigger and more diverse region than Johto/Kanto (I count them separately). Exploring Hoenn was my joy. We even had diving! I had begun learning English so I could actually understand some parts of the story. What helped a lot was that fact that I had a couple of friends who also owned the games so I could trade, battle and play with them. I think I've replayed Sapphire and Emerald over 5 times each.
Although I would probably rate this generation as a 10/10 forever, I can acknowledge that RSE weren't quite as polished and the story needed some work. FRLG didn't do much for me as I had never played the original Gen I games. They were the first ever remakes so we didn't have a point of reference for how remakes should be. Emerald was great, introduced a lot of content and brought the story together though it still lacked characterization.
Gen IV - 9.5/10 (initial) 9.5/10 (current)
Gen IV took the things I liked about Gen III and made them even better. It only loses some points because I didn't like the Gen IV Pokemon as a whole as much as Gen III, which is my favourite over-all generation in terms of Pokemon designs and concepts. I'm actually one of those that love Sinnoh's messy layout, but I can understand why it was frustrating for others.
HGSS were fantastic and set the bar for what remakes should be, but I don't like Johto as much as some other regions so I don't love the remakes as much as other people. As of now I believe Gen IV was and still is the best over-all generation in terms of content and game design.
Gen V - 7/10 (initial) 7.5/10 (current)
I loved the Gen V story but this is where the gameplay began feeling stale to me. I actually lost interest in Pokemon sometime after I finished playing Black. Though, to be fair, the gameplay wasn't the sole reason for my loss of interest. When Gen V was new, I didn't like the urban design of Unova much nor the Gen V Pokemon. I replayed the game a couple of years later, and the region/Pokemon grew on me a lot. I learnt to appreciate it.
Various circumstances lead me to not playing BW2. Had I played BW2 I'm sure my initial opinion for Gen V would have changed, especially seeing all the content BW2 has to offer (I later watched a walkthrough on YouTube). Alas, that wasn't the case, so for a couple of years Gen V was for me the generation with "an amazing story in an unfortunate region".
I increased my score later because BW2 are really good games and doing sequels instead of a "third" version was a great idea. However, since I didn't experience BW2 myself I can't feel the same appreciation as the people that played the game themselves. Although Unova grew on me, I'm still not a fan of the urban atmosphere so it remains among my least favourite regions. I also didn't like how linear it was, but at the time it didn't bother me too much because I didn't know this trend would continue in later generations.
Gen VI - 8/10 (initial) 6.5/10 (current, though it changes a lot)
Gen VI is in a weird position for me. I really enjoyed playing Y, but I was also really disappointed with the story (coming right after Gen V) and the lackluster side/post-game activities. I pretty much stopped playing after I finished the main game and transferred my old Pokemon over. In terms of designs, I really like Kalos and the Gen VI Pokemon. It even introduced what became my favourite Pokemon of all time. This generation can be summed up as having some things I really like and some things I really don't like. It also gets a bonus for bringing me the remakes of Gen III.
Unfortunately, Kalos suffers from being yet another linear region and ORAS weren't the remakes Gen III deserved. I'm still happy we got them, of course, because having ORAS is better than not having them at all. As time passed and the initial wonder of playing Pokemon in 3D wore off, I began seeing more and more issues with this generation and how it compares to the DS era. My rating and my opinions still fluctuate because I really love Kalos and Hoenn, but the games were simply not as good as they could have been. Some days I like them more and some days I like them less, if that makes sense.
Gen VII - 7.5/10 (initial)
Gen VII is very much like Gen VI for me. It has some things I really like and some things I really don't like. I love the characters and the story and I love the Ultra Space and the Ultra Beasts. The Pokemon and region designs are really nice too, though I felt like they pushed the "vacation" and "paradise" themes a little too much which began turning me off after a while.
My biggest problem was the lack of a sense of exploration, which is one of the most important aspects of a Pokemon game for me. Alola felt small and hollow, despite having great concepts and designs behind it. Thus, I ended up having the inner conflict of wanting to love Alola because I can see the greatness behind its concepts, but being unable to do so because the execution just wasn't as good as it could have been. And we didn't really get to explore the Ultra Space much.
I'm sure that Alola will be end up in a similar situation as Unova, wherein it will grow on me a lot as time passes (and through my eventual re-play some day in the future), but right now I just have too many conflicting feelings about it.
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1st gen- 6/10
For its time it was a good game, but it's aged horribly. The map design is incredibly simplistic, the storyline is practically nonexistent, there's even less content than the games that are criticized for having no content, there's no balance in the Pokemon selection whatsoever, and there's a ton of glitches. I mean it's a good foundation for the formula but not much else beyond that.
2nd gen- 7/10
Another generation that used to be good but looks worse from a modern perspective and suffers from a lot of the same problems. It's definitely a bigger game and balanced out the Pokemon and glitches, but it still feels fairly simplistic.
3rd gen- 8/10
Really fleshed a lot of things out in the formula and made major improvements in region design, extra content, and storyline. The post game is a little light compared to later entries (most notably 4th gen), but in general this was the first generation I can legitimately consider good.
4th gen- 9/10
Near perfection. These games were the pinnacle of the series in terms of region design and content and were extremely balanced in every facet of the game. There were a few things they could've done better, but very few.
5th gen- 7/10
This would easily be 3 or 4 points lower if it weren't for BW2. BW1 was a serious regression for the series that undid a lot of the progress the last few generations had made, making the region design worse and removing a lot of features that made 3rd and 4th gen so good. BW2 partially redeemed the generation and showed a glimmer of hope that the series would at least improve in new and unexpected ways, but some of the flaws that plagued BW1 still remained.
6th gen- 5/10
6th gen showed so much promise but ultimately ended up falling short. XY was the most barebones game since 1st/2nd gen, ORAS excluded so much from 3rd gen and offered so little new that it felt like a disservice to 3rd gen, and the lack of a Z/XY2 sort of followup really made this gen end with a whimper.
7th gen- 3/10
Introduced a few new gimmicks but did little else and ended up even further regressing in the direction that 5th and 6th gen did. Reverting from sequels to third versions is also one of the worst decisions Game Freak's ever made, and that's saying something considering how many bad decisions they've made lately.
For its time it was a good game, but it's aged horribly. The map design is incredibly simplistic, the storyline is practically nonexistent, there's even less content than the games that are criticized for having no content, there's no balance in the Pokemon selection whatsoever, and there's a ton of glitches. I mean it's a good foundation for the formula but not much else beyond that.
2nd gen- 7/10
Another generation that used to be good but looks worse from a modern perspective and suffers from a lot of the same problems. It's definitely a bigger game and balanced out the Pokemon and glitches, but it still feels fairly simplistic.
3rd gen- 8/10
Really fleshed a lot of things out in the formula and made major improvements in region design, extra content, and storyline. The post game is a little light compared to later entries (most notably 4th gen), but in general this was the first generation I can legitimately consider good.
4th gen- 9/10
Near perfection. These games were the pinnacle of the series in terms of region design and content and were extremely balanced in every facet of the game. There were a few things they could've done better, but very few.
5th gen- 7/10
This would easily be 3 or 4 points lower if it weren't for BW2. BW1 was a serious regression for the series that undid a lot of the progress the last few generations had made, making the region design worse and removing a lot of features that made 3rd and 4th gen so good. BW2 partially redeemed the generation and showed a glimmer of hope that the series would at least improve in new and unexpected ways, but some of the flaws that plagued BW1 still remained.
6th gen- 5/10
6th gen showed so much promise but ultimately ended up falling short. XY was the most barebones game since 1st/2nd gen, ORAS excluded so much from 3rd gen and offered so little new that it felt like a disservice to 3rd gen, and the lack of a Z/XY2 sort of followup really made this gen end with a whimper.
7th gen- 3/10
Introduced a few new gimmicks but did little else and ended up even further regressing in the direction that 5th and 6th gen did. Reverting from sequels to third versions is also one of the worst decisions Game Freak's ever made, and that's saying something considering how many bad decisions they've made lately.
Stratelier
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1-to-10 scales are biased, so I'm going to use a 1-to-5 scale instead. If you really must convert it to a 10-point scale, that's easy, just take ten times the square root of one-fifth the rating.
Gen 1 -
Then: 4/5. I could tell right away there was something special about this the first time I saw a friend playing it. We never got to play our respective games with/against each other, but compared to the usual RPGs of the 16-bit era, it was unique and refreshing.
Now: 3/5. In hindsight, the games haven't aged that well and it was replete with legitimate problems such as faulty AI, unbalanced type designs and matchups, etc. It is also unfortunate that the SNES Super Game Boy still is the only way to play these games looking their very best (like no VC ever has).
Gen 2 -
Then: 5/5. It fixed practically everything that was broken about Gen 1's mechanics, doubled the scope of the game and expanded the roster considerably, with most of the new additions being amazing designs.
Now: 4/5. Not all new mechanics actually worked right in this generation (e.g. Foresight relying on accuracy/evasion check to even function, Dark being a Special type) in comparison to later Generations. Limited backwards compatibility with Gen 1 was a nice bonus but it limited what they could do with the design, and it's clear they were hitting the limits of what they could do on the 8-bit Game Boy.
Gen 3 -
Then and Now: 4/5. This was my first "off" generation -- I wasn't really interested in Ruby or Sapphire, and picked up Emerald mostly because I heard it literally combined the two. (For brevity, I'll only discuss the Hoenn games.) Hoenn was a fun change of regions, something completely new and not connected to Kanto (no Ratattas!), even if its eastern seaboard did have a bit much water. It actually felt like you were exploring on the open ocean at times, and the underwater areas were quite appealing in their own right.
Gen 4 -
Then and Now: 3/5. I will focus on the Sinnoh games for this rating. This was my biggest "off" generation, and outside of introducing the first-ever likable Fighting-type Pokemon family, the new generation introduced very few designs I liked, and I especially felt that the new evolutions of older-Gen Pokemon to be superfluous. HG/SS on the other hand were worthy expansions of their source material, and added great features like a walking lead Pokemon, and the Pokeathlon minigame collection.
Gen 5 -
4/5. It was a bold move to feature NO returning Pokemon in the new region (prior to postgame), absolutely requiring you to start from scratch with Pokemon you know nothing about (wikis aside). I believe it paid off and well (e.g. no Zubats or Rattatas!). It's unfortunate the same region was also so linear - great for telling a JRPG story, not so much when you just want to roam around and explore, especially given how many things were artificially roadblocked from you. The choice of paired sequels (instead of an updated 'third version') was also a good move - it added a worthwhile expansion to the region and followed up on the story.
Gen 1 -
Then: 4/5. I could tell right away there was something special about this the first time I saw a friend playing it. We never got to play our respective games with/against each other, but compared to the usual RPGs of the 16-bit era, it was unique and refreshing.
Now: 3/5. In hindsight, the games haven't aged that well and it was replete with legitimate problems such as faulty AI, unbalanced type designs and matchups, etc. It is also unfortunate that the SNES Super Game Boy still is the only way to play these games looking their very best (like no VC ever has).
Gen 2 -
Then: 5/5. It fixed practically everything that was broken about Gen 1's mechanics, doubled the scope of the game and expanded the roster considerably, with most of the new additions being amazing designs.
Now: 4/5. Not all new mechanics actually worked right in this generation (e.g. Foresight relying on accuracy/evasion check to even function, Dark being a Special type) in comparison to later Generations. Limited backwards compatibility with Gen 1 was a nice bonus but it limited what they could do with the design, and it's clear they were hitting the limits of what they could do on the 8-bit Game Boy.
Gen 3 -
Then and Now: 4/5. This was my first "off" generation -- I wasn't really interested in Ruby or Sapphire, and picked up Emerald mostly because I heard it literally combined the two. (For brevity, I'll only discuss the Hoenn games.) Hoenn was a fun change of regions, something completely new and not connected to Kanto (no Ratattas!), even if its eastern seaboard did have a bit much water. It actually felt like you were exploring on the open ocean at times, and the underwater areas were quite appealing in their own right.
Gen 4 -
Then and Now: 3/5. I will focus on the Sinnoh games for this rating. This was my biggest "off" generation, and outside of introducing the first-ever likable Fighting-type Pokemon family, the new generation introduced very few designs I liked, and I especially felt that the new evolutions of older-Gen Pokemon to be superfluous. HG/SS on the other hand were worthy expansions of their source material, and added great features like a walking lead Pokemon, and the Pokeathlon minigame collection.
Gen 5 -
4/5. It was a bold move to feature NO returning Pokemon in the new region (prior to postgame), absolutely requiring you to start from scratch with Pokemon you know nothing about (wikis aside). I believe it paid off and well (e.g. no Zubats or Rattatas!). It's unfortunate the same region was also so linear - great for telling a JRPG story, not so much when you just want to roam around and explore, especially given how many things were artificially roadblocked from you. The choice of paired sequels (instead of an updated 'third version') was also a good move - it added a worthwhile expansion to the region and followed up on the story.
Hellomello
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*I haven't played gen 1, gsc, b2w2, oras or any of the gen 7 games yet, so I'll be excluding those out of this post.
Gen 2 - 6/10 (based on hgss, even if it's technically a gen 4 game)
Gen 3 - 8.5/10 (based on Emerald)
Gen 4 - 8/10 (based on DPPt, but mostly Pt)
Gen 5 - 7/10 (based on BW)
Gen 6 - 6.5/10 (based on XY)
Tl;dr - I find gen3 and gen4 to be the most definitive gens in the series, with BW as a representative of gen5 being not far behind. Gen2 in terms of HGSS and gen6 were enjoyable, but definitely not my favorites.
EDIT: Put in spoiler tags as the explanations ended up too long.
Gen 2 - 6/10 (based on hgss, even if it's technically a gen 4 game)
I still like this game, but I don't like it as much as the others. Johto as a region was nice - the culture and atmosphere throughout the region was well-incorporated, giving it a personality that stands out from the rest. I don't remember much of the lore, which proves it to be unmemorable to me. The rival being a callous trainer was an interesting concept for its' time, though I'm not sure I liked his personality and character development (which felt too sudden and a bit generic to me) much. He also didn't really provide me with much of a challenge. The overall difficulty felt like it tilted a bit on the easier side in my experience, though is overall still pretty balanced (not a fan of the leveling curve though). I wasn't too big on the pokemon introduced in this gen, but there were still some that I particularly liked. The music felt mostly unmemorable to me, but they score some points from me due to how well they fit in with the overall feel of the region. Storyline was non-existent apart from the continuation of TR's plot, however I do like the stronger friendship theme that's present throughout the region; which is enforced by the mechanic of walking pokémon, your rivalry with Silver, and the Pokéwalker that came with the game. The post game I felt was one of this game's best assets, with a whopping full region to explore after the main quest.
Gen 3 - 8.5/10 (based on Emerald)
This is probably a top contender for my all-time favorite game in the franchise. I found Hoenn to be absolutely stunning as a region - it was vibrant and colorful, which illustrated its tropical theme in the most festive way possible, despite the dated graphics. The lore regarding the relationship between Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza was one of my favorites in the series; as I really liked the idea of land and sea being archetypical rivals to one another (with the sky playing the role of the archetypical mediator if you have Emerald). The rivals' personalities were kind of bland (aside from Wally imo), though I like how Brendan and May each had different personalities depending on which one you chose, and their difficulty was one of the more challenging ones among the series' rivals. In regards to Wally, I like the idea of having a vulnerable/sick rival - someone you want to up-step yet care for at the same time. The overall difficulty struck a perfect balance for me; I felt that it provided me with enough challenges along the way to keep me stimulated throughout, yet is also not near impossible for me to get through. It is also imo that this gen introduced the overall best roaster of pokemon into the franchise; with their designs not being too generic nor convoluted. Suitably, most of the music in this game felt very pumped and festive to match the vibrantly tropical feel of the region. The storyline needs a lot of work (which I heard ORAS rectified), but the goals of TA/TM tied-in coherently with the lore of the region at the very least. Aside from the BF, the post game wasn't as elaborate as I'd like it to be, which takes away a few points from the game.
Gen 4 - 8/10 (based on DPPt, but mostly Pt)
Like Emerald, I found the games in this gen (specifically Platinum) to be very solid additions to the franchise. I found Sinnoh to be lovely as a region - probably the most atmospheric of them all; with slightly paled-out graphics, foggy areas, as well as generally slower and eerily-calm music to accompany the mysterious vibe of the region (with the name "Sinnoh" literally meaning "mysterious" being a nice little touch). The lore surrounding the creation trio/lake guardians felt overly-grandiose, but besides that, I found them to bear a lot of interesting ideas that I liked (most memorable ones for me being the one about how the region had originally spawned from Mt. Coronet, how each member of the lake trio represented an aspect of humanity, the neat little contrast to RSE's gurdians of tangible elements (land, sea, sky) in the form of those of intangible ones (time, space, antimatter), as well as the little backstory on Giratina's banishment to the DW). I enjoyed Barry in small doses, as I tend to find him annoying after a while. He also never really gave me much of a challenge either before the post game. The difficulty here was -like E- really balanced; not only in terms of battling and exp. gain, but also region navigation (albeit being a little too convoluted in certain areas). I wasn't too keen on the majority of pokemon introduced in this gen, excluding a few that I really like. The music, as stated, captured the overall feel of the region very well, which adds to the overall immersion. In Platinum's favor, this seems to be the point where the devs started to gain somewhat of a footing in storytelling. I found emotions and the universe to be a fairly interesting mish-mash of concepts. The execution of its' storyline was also really solid for its' time (I especially found the climax fitting where you had to make your way up to Mt. Coronet's pinnacle to stop Cyrus, seeing as how that's where it all began and also where it's all about to end). I didn't like how Cyrus' ideals weren't explored more, as I found them to be the more interesting part of the storyline. The goal of TG was also, I felt, not as neatly tied into the lore of the region as TM/TA's were to Hoenn's. The post game was another plus for this game; as it felt expansive and was filled with lots of little side-quests to accomplish, which puts it just behind HGSS's post game for me.
Gen 5 - 7/10 (based on BW)
Another solid addition to the series, though I didn't feel as committed to it as I did to the prior two. I didn't really like Unova as a region much; it just didn't scream "personality" to me like the other regions did, in spite of the diversity among its' cities/towns and a few cool places. The lore regarding the cover box legends was good; perhaps the most thematic of the main series' myths, and was well-incorporated into nearly every corner of the region (the contrast in appearance between the two versions of Opelucid City being a reflection of the urban vs. city life is my personal favorite incorporation of the Yin vs. Yang theme used for this game). The concept of Yin and Yang itself feels very overused and cliché however, which I felt took away from the originality of it. I really liked Bianca and Cheren as rivals, they are probably my favorites in the series. They were well-developed throughout the game, and their stories felt more personal than any of the past rivals (specifically Bianca's). It also helps that they were one of the more challenging rivals ime. The stark contrast between the both of them was nice as well. The difficulty here was good, though I didn't feel it was as balanced as E and Pt as majority of the battles tended to tilt towards the easier side ime. I'm really fond of most of the pokemon introduced in this gen, which says a lot considering how many of them there are. The music here is another huge plus for me, especially the battle soundtracks - as I found most of them to be exciting and successful in getting me engaged in even the most trivial of battles. The storytelling received much more focus here than it did in previous gens, reflecting the devs' accumulated experience in storytelling over the years. The buildup was good; Ghetsis's speech and your first encounter with N being very solid starter events that helped set the tone. The actions of TP were more consistent to their goal than TG's were to theirs and made for some engaging transpirations throughout the game, and their goal was a good reflection of the franchise introspecting on itself. The part where you had to befriend your dragon to go against N's was epic and was my favorite scene in the game. The end was the weakest part for me, as I really didn't like how Ghetsis revealed TP's plan to be a generic "take over the region" plan at the last minute; it felt really immersion-breaking and came off as dodging the initial question (is it right to use pokemon for battle?) to me. The post game is again not as expansive as I would've liked it to be, though I do like the search for the sages.
Gen 6 - 6.5/10 (based on XY)
These games were decent, though they don't really feel on par with the previous games to me. I thought Kalos was a beautiful region, mainly because I love French-inspired settings, but also because I thought the game did really well with its' own world-building as well, particularly with all the fashion customization available. I found the whole life vs. death theme of the lore regarding Xerneas and Yvetal to be intriguing as an intrinsic concept. Slightly cliché as well, but not as commonly seen as BW's Yin vs. Yang theme. The "tree of life" in regards to Xerneas demonstrates a fitting use of religious archetypes. The rivals were mostly bland and unmemorable to me (apart from Serena imo), and the difficulty of the challenges they provided weren't exactly up to par either ime. I do find Serena to be the most interesting one of the group, as well as one of the more interesting rivals in general, as I liked the idea of being rivals with someone that kind of looks up to you and is envious of you at the same time, further fueling the desire to one-up you on their part, but even that wasn't explored to it's fullest potential. In terms of difficulty, I found this game way too easy to prove challenging, partly due to how easy it is to gain experience and level up. The majority of pokemon introduced in this gen were great to me, being again not too generic nor convoluted. I'd probably put it just behind Hoenn in this regard. The music wasn't too memorable for me, but I liked how most of the pieces had a tint of graceful elegance to them, which adds to the personality of the region. The storytelling here seems to have taken a step back from gen 5's, which leaves a lot to be desired. Lysandre's motives and ideals, being the driving point of the story, were intriguing to me as his resolve to lessen the population due to greed seemed like a fairly plausible method of solving resource-deficiency issues from a birds' eye point of view and a fairly unique take on an otherwise generic "take over the world" plot at the same time, much like Cyrus's drive to reinvent the world/universe due to his hatred of sentience. I also found the curse of immortality being the concept behind AZ's character an interesting idea that fits in well with the overall theme of the game, but was not explored to its fullest potential. The weakest part of the storyline for me was the ultimate weapon, which felt to me like a lazy plot device used to grant Lysandre his vision without having to tie him into any of Kalos's established lore. I also wasn't a fan of the pacing, as it felt a bit patchy to me while I was playing through it. I have yet to play all of the post game, but from what I've seen, it seems to fall on the more barren side as well seeing as there doesn't seem to be much else left for me to accomplish, so that takes away a few points from the game.
Tl;dr - I find gen3 and gen4 to be the most definitive gens in the series, with BW as a representative of gen5 being not far behind. Gen2 in terms of HGSS and gen6 were enjoyable, but definitely not my favorites.
EDIT: Put in spoiler tags as the explanations ended up too long.
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Boss1708
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Well, I am willing to answer this thread, but I must warn you that in general, I prefer rating individual games, rather than generations. The big conflict I have when rating gens, instead of individual games, are remakes. Because remakes, to me, feel better when grouped with their original generation (HGSS with GSC, FRLG with RGBY, ORAS wih RSE).
But I will try anyway:
Gen 1 (RGB/Y): 5/10.
Not bad games, the source material is cool, the Pokemon designs are great, but there is a severe lack of content and an overabundance of glitches.
Gen 2 (GS/C): 7.5/10. A huge improvement over Gen I and the most nostalgic video game experience for me, since I started with Silver. A region twice as big, and huge improvements like rematching overworld trainers, the Bug Catching contes, one of the toughest bosss battles, etc. And thanks to Crystal, also the first ever Battle Tower (the Battle Facilities are my favourite thing in Pokemon games, and Crystal started the whole concept of "infinite battles on equal levels", so Gen II gets extra points for that).
The whole worldbuilding and regions are awesome, and so is the music.
Gen 3 (RS/FRLG/E): 9.5/10.
The first TOP CLASS generation in terms of content. RS were a fair start, FRLG were a surprising and cool trip down memory lane, and Emerald finished off the generation showing the TRUE capabilities of a Pokemon game. 8 Battle Facilities in the same game, something no Pokemon game has matched since. No wonder I like Gen III so much, seeing how I care for Battle Facilities and battle content a lot. This, coupled with the brilliant tropical feel and gorgeous colors and region design make Gen III a logical candidate for my favourite. And it was objectively an important generation due to Natures, Abilities, etc.
Gen 4 (DP/Pt/ HGSS): 9.5/10
That is my co- favourite generation along with Gen III, for 2 reasons: 1) physical/special overhaul, and 2) HGSS. HGSS is what Gen II always deserved to be, content wise. HGSS transformed GSC in an Emerald tier game content wise. That is the reason I rank Gen IV so high, and it is the reason I felt inclined to count remakes as part of their original generation, but oh well.
And regarding the original games that Gen IV gave us... well, I am not a huge fan of Sinnoh, so DP/Pt pale in comparison to HGSS for me. I still think Platinum is a great game, and content wise it is on par with HGSS and Emerald. The problem is I don´t like the region, Sinnoh is a bit claustrophobic imo. The cooler, snowy aesthetics don´t help either, since I much prefer Johto/Hoenn climate wise. Either way, I respect DPPt a lot for the amount of content.
Gen 5 (BW/BW2): 9/10
Gen V is very near the top for me. BW gave a sense of freshness that Pokemon needed. It was a bit content lacking but BW2 remedied that and is the main reason I rank Gen V so high (it gave us the PWT, the only feature I rank as high as the Battle Frontier, a true celebration of fan favourite cameos of all generations). The characters, region and atmosphere are all amazing. In a sense, Gen V proved Pokemon was still capable of evolving (pun intended). The urban theme was fantastically done, and Unova actually felt located away from the tightly connected Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinno regions. Brilliant.
The reason I give it half a point less than Gen III and IV, is simply the battle sprites. I like how they are moving, in theory, but they just look uglier and more pixilated than the BRILLIANT Gen II/III/IV sprites. Also the camera zoomes in and shakes too much when using a move.
Gen 6 (XY/ORAS): 6.5/10
My honest opinion of Gen VI has gradually become more negative over time. XY doesn´t do many things wrong, and brought interesting concepts like Pokemon Amie and Mega Evolution. The issue I have is, like with Sinnoh, the setting itself. Kalos is boring for me, unexciting. It is supposed to be beautiful and fashionable, and it is, but it is also unexciting. It does not convey the sense of exploration and adventure that all previous region do for me. That´s the main reason I am not too fond of XY.
I have such a love- hate relationship with ORAS that I would rather not go too deep into it. To me, ORAS is like a beta version of a perfect game. The foundation is great, and the game will become really awesome once it is finished, but the devs leave it unfinished for some reason. That´s what ORAS is for me. DexNav, Soaring and the revamped Super Secret Bases are all signs of a game with a trully huge potential, but absent features that should have been a NO BRAINER like the Emerald BF, Gym Leader rematches and the Mauville Game Corner (or a replacement for it like HGSS had) are all things that really hurt the game for me.
Gen 7 (SM/USUM): 7/10
Basically same case like Gen VI, except I much prefer Alola over Kalos as a setting so it gets half a point more. A lot of cool innoivations, but too many fuck ups as well.
But I will try anyway:
Gen 1 (RGB/Y): 5/10.
Not bad games, the source material is cool, the Pokemon designs are great, but there is a severe lack of content and an overabundance of glitches.
Gen 2 (GS/C): 7.5/10. A huge improvement over Gen I and the most nostalgic video game experience for me, since I started with Silver. A region twice as big, and huge improvements like rematching overworld trainers, the Bug Catching contes, one of the toughest bosss battles, etc. And thanks to Crystal, also the first ever Battle Tower (the Battle Facilities are my favourite thing in Pokemon games, and Crystal started the whole concept of "infinite battles on equal levels", so Gen II gets extra points for that).
The whole worldbuilding and regions are awesome, and so is the music.
Gen 3 (RS/FRLG/E): 9.5/10.
The first TOP CLASS generation in terms of content. RS were a fair start, FRLG were a surprising and cool trip down memory lane, and Emerald finished off the generation showing the TRUE capabilities of a Pokemon game. 8 Battle Facilities in the same game, something no Pokemon game has matched since. No wonder I like Gen III so much, seeing how I care for Battle Facilities and battle content a lot. This, coupled with the brilliant tropical feel and gorgeous colors and region design make Gen III a logical candidate for my favourite. And it was objectively an important generation due to Natures, Abilities, etc.
Gen 4 (DP/Pt/ HGSS): 9.5/10
That is my co- favourite generation along with Gen III, for 2 reasons: 1) physical/special overhaul, and 2) HGSS. HGSS is what Gen II always deserved to be, content wise. HGSS transformed GSC in an Emerald tier game content wise. That is the reason I rank Gen IV so high, and it is the reason I felt inclined to count remakes as part of their original generation, but oh well.
And regarding the original games that Gen IV gave us... well, I am not a huge fan of Sinnoh, so DP/Pt pale in comparison to HGSS for me. I still think Platinum is a great game, and content wise it is on par with HGSS and Emerald. The problem is I don´t like the region, Sinnoh is a bit claustrophobic imo. The cooler, snowy aesthetics don´t help either, since I much prefer Johto/Hoenn climate wise. Either way, I respect DPPt a lot for the amount of content.
Gen 5 (BW/BW2): 9/10
Gen V is very near the top for me. BW gave a sense of freshness that Pokemon needed. It was a bit content lacking but BW2 remedied that and is the main reason I rank Gen V so high (it gave us the PWT, the only feature I rank as high as the Battle Frontier, a true celebration of fan favourite cameos of all generations). The characters, region and atmosphere are all amazing. In a sense, Gen V proved Pokemon was still capable of evolving (pun intended). The urban theme was fantastically done, and Unova actually felt located away from the tightly connected Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinno regions. Brilliant.
The reason I give it half a point less than Gen III and IV, is simply the battle sprites. I like how they are moving, in theory, but they just look uglier and more pixilated than the BRILLIANT Gen II/III/IV sprites. Also the camera zoomes in and shakes too much when using a move.
Gen 6 (XY/ORAS): 6.5/10
My honest opinion of Gen VI has gradually become more negative over time. XY doesn´t do many things wrong, and brought interesting concepts like Pokemon Amie and Mega Evolution. The issue I have is, like with Sinnoh, the setting itself. Kalos is boring for me, unexciting. It is supposed to be beautiful and fashionable, and it is, but it is also unexciting. It does not convey the sense of exploration and adventure that all previous region do for me. That´s the main reason I am not too fond of XY.
I have such a love- hate relationship with ORAS that I would rather not go too deep into it. To me, ORAS is like a beta version of a perfect game. The foundation is great, and the game will become really awesome once it is finished, but the devs leave it unfinished for some reason. That´s what ORAS is for me. DexNav, Soaring and the revamped Super Secret Bases are all signs of a game with a trully huge potential, but absent features that should have been a NO BRAINER like the Emerald BF, Gym Leader rematches and the Mauville Game Corner (or a replacement for it like HGSS had) are all things that really hurt the game for me.
Gen 7 (SM/USUM): 7/10
Basically same case like Gen VI, except I much prefer Alola over Kalos as a setting so it gets half a point more. A lot of cool innoivations, but too many fuck ups as well.
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Hellomello
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@Meta Boss haha, I too prefer rating individual games to whole generations it's just that I wasn't sure how to put it in the title I guess; I mean, if I said "individual games", wouldn't that mean we'd have to rate 10+ of them seeing how many here have played most of them? Nonetheless, I think "how would you rate each region's definitive/representative game?" is closer to what I had in mind beforehand. But oh well, I guess we'll just have to go with this.
it's just that I wasn't sure how to put it in the title I guess; I mean, if I said "individual games", wouldn't that mean we'd have to rate 10+ of them seeing how many here have played most of them? Nonetheless, I think "how would you rate each region's definitive/representative game?" is closer to what I had in mind beforehand. But oh well, I guess we'll just have to go with this.
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Gen 3 - 7/10 Quite enjoyable games, and FRLG set a good standard for remakes, but the over reliance in trading for completing the Pokedex is a big problem.
Gen 4- 8/10 Platinum and HGSS feel solid and can stand on their own, both have simplistic but cool features that can be enjoyed inmensely.
Gen 5 - 7/10 They're cool too, but the graphics look very pixelated and I don't like how the didn't expanded on the Greek-based elements.
Gen 6 - 6.5/10 They are fun to play, and have very cool elements where it does feel the series did some innovation, but I have to take points for XY's low difficulty and ORAS' bad decisions.
Gen 7 - 5/10 Alola is ok and the trials and difficulty is ok, but there were a lot of moments were it feels they didn't try hard enough to make something compelling and amazing, specially in USUM, and both stories have loads of "Tell, don't show".
Gen 4- 8/10 Platinum and HGSS feel solid and can stand on their own, both have simplistic but cool features that can be enjoyed inmensely.
Gen 5 - 7/10 They're cool too, but the graphics look very pixelated and I don't like how the didn't expanded on the Greek-based elements.
Gen 6 - 6.5/10 They are fun to play, and have very cool elements where it does feel the series did some innovation, but I have to take points for XY's low difficulty and ORAS' bad decisions.
Gen 7 - 5/10 Alola is ok and the trials and difficulty is ok, but there were a lot of moments were it feels they didn't try hard enough to make something compelling and amazing, specially in USUM, and both stories have loads of "Tell, don't show".
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I value story over exploration(and I'm heavily biased when it comes to my favorite characters). The more the game tugs at my heart emotionally, the better.
Gen1: 7/10
I can't say much about it except it is the first game I ever played and I genuinely enjoyed it. However, I played too much Red version and Yellow version that I became rather bored of it.
Gen2: 7/10
I think I enjoyed this more than Gen1. But I played Gold version way too many times to count, to the point where I got bored of the game because I knew about it too much.
Gen3: 9/10(no remakes) 9/10(+remakes)
Hoenn is awesome by default. Steven Stone involvement in the games spells auto-excellent for me. Nice Battle Frontier is nice. The addition of FRLG was cool with their upgrades, though I wouldn't rank FRLG as great games because I've been exposed to too much Kanto previously. As of now, the only thing I like about FRLG is the minor tidbits included with Sevii Island, and Green's design.
Gen4: 8/10(no remakes) 9/10(+remakes)
I wanted to give this generation a solid 10/10 because it has most of my favorite pokemon, the Battle Frontier, THE UNDERGROUND, a lot of my favorite characters, and Johto remakes. The reason I can't give it a full score is because I remember suffering from speed issues that made the game extremely tedious at times. I don't know what made the games so slow, but I couldn't walk in a cave without experiencing frame drops (and walking pokemon seemed to make the game suffer even more). Oh and route 217 is never going to look appealing to me if it is going to force me to walk so slow AND make me get lost and stuck.
But other than that, having a solid story and a nice amount of content to enjoy long after the main campaign makes them really good games that I'd recommend to anyone.
Gen5: 9.5/10
Best story ever in BW? 10/10. Enhanced gaming content in B2W2? 10/10. Actual level difficulties we can choose from? 10/10.
A sweet, handsome young man who's the boss of Team Plasma, who was initially misguided but had genuinely good intentions and sought to make amends and even comes to rescue the PC in the sequels? 100/10. A dating-sim-ish sidequest that also gives you access to HA mons? 10/10. Freaking PWT?? 1000/10
The only thing that bothers me is the lack of post-game content in BW. I can overlook the pixlated mons on the battlefield. I'm a person who loves a good story, so a lot of things are forgiven here.
Also, props to B2W2 for keeping the Shadow Triad battles available even after Team Plasma disbands because it was nice being able to listen to the Team Plasma battle music from time to time
Gen6: 7/10(no remakes) 8.5/10(+remakes)
XY weren't bad... but Gen5 had given us so much quality content that Gen6 might have been overshadowed a bit. But eh, they were okay. The PSS was an awesome feature, O Powers being a saving grace. The story was so-so, probably average if we consider pokemon standards. ORAS is probably my favorite game out of the 3DS era becauseSteven Stone it was already solid to begin with. The Battle Frontier tease was pretty cruel, but they threw in plenty of stuff to do. And some of the Megas introduced in ORAS are my current aces. Best of all, they improved on Wally. In fact, they improved on nearly all the characters by giving them expressions and mini-arcs.
I'll give Gen6 a lot of credit for letting us put together a competitive team in a much easier way.
Gen7: 6/10
Sun and Moon were okay games... I'd give them a 7/10 on their own. Average story quality, colorful region, cute pokemon, etc. Some of the features were badly executed (like the Festival Plaza), though aside from that the Trials were fun and Gladion is my new favorite rival character.
USUM had so much potential to be better than Sun and Moon that it is more a disappointment than an improvement. They messed up Lusamine, and the Ultra Recon Squad/Ultra Megalopolis was totally underused.
In addition, Gen7 featured the worst customization options ever. At least Gen6 gave us classical semi-formal attire and parkas and stuff! Limiting clothes to tank top and t shirts was really disappointing.
Gen1: 7/10
I can't say much about it except it is the first game I ever played and I genuinely enjoyed it. However, I played too much Red version and Yellow version that I became rather bored of it.
Gen2: 7/10
I think I enjoyed this more than Gen1. But I played Gold version way too many times to count, to the point where I got bored of the game because I knew about it too much.
Gen3: 9/10(no remakes) 9/10(+remakes)
Hoenn is awesome by default. Steven Stone involvement in the games spells auto-excellent for me. Nice Battle Frontier is nice. The addition of FRLG was cool with their upgrades, though I wouldn't rank FRLG as great games because I've been exposed to too much Kanto previously. As of now, the only thing I like about FRLG is the minor tidbits included with Sevii Island, and Green's design.
Gen4: 8/10(no remakes) 9/10(+remakes)
I wanted to give this generation a solid 10/10 because it has most of my favorite pokemon, the Battle Frontier, THE UNDERGROUND, a lot of my favorite characters, and Johto remakes. The reason I can't give it a full score is because I remember suffering from speed issues that made the game extremely tedious at times. I don't know what made the games so slow, but I couldn't walk in a cave without experiencing frame drops (and walking pokemon seemed to make the game suffer even more). Oh and route 217 is never going to look appealing to me if it is going to force me to walk so slow AND make me get lost and stuck.
But other than that, having a solid story and a nice amount of content to enjoy long after the main campaign makes them really good games that I'd recommend to anyone.
Gen5: 9.5/10
Best story ever in BW? 10/10. Enhanced gaming content in B2W2? 10/10. Actual level difficulties we can choose from? 10/10.
A sweet, handsome young man who's the boss of Team Plasma, who was initially misguided but had genuinely good intentions and sought to make amends and even comes to rescue the PC in the sequels? 100/10. A dating-sim-ish sidequest that also gives you access to HA mons? 10/10. Freaking PWT?? 1000/10
The only thing that bothers me is the lack of post-game content in BW. I can overlook the pixlated mons on the battlefield. I'm a person who loves a good story, so a lot of things are forgiven here.
Also, props to B2W2 for keeping the Shadow Triad battles available even after Team Plasma disbands because it was nice being able to listen to the Team Plasma battle music from time to time
Gen6: 7/10(no remakes) 8.5/10(+remakes)
XY weren't bad... but Gen5 had given us so much quality content that Gen6 might have been overshadowed a bit. But eh, they were okay. The PSS was an awesome feature, O Powers being a saving grace. The story was so-so, probably average if we consider pokemon standards. ORAS is probably my favorite game out of the 3DS era because
I'll give Gen6 a lot of credit for letting us put together a competitive team in a much easier way.
Gen7: 6/10
Sun and Moon were okay games... I'd give them a 7/10 on their own. Average story quality, colorful region, cute pokemon, etc. Some of the features were badly executed (like the Festival Plaza), though aside from that the Trials were fun and Gladion is my new favorite rival character.
USUM had so much potential to be better than Sun and Moon that it is more a disappointment than an improvement. They messed up Lusamine, and the Ultra Recon Squad/Ultra Megalopolis was totally underused.
In addition, Gen7 featured the worst customization options ever. At least Gen6 gave us classical semi-formal attire and parkas and stuff! Limiting clothes to tank top and t shirts was really disappointing.
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Stratelier
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And now for my view of Gen 6. I will be focusing primarily on XY for this score.
Score: 3/5, or "meh".
First, the good points: Despite the relatively small number of new Pokemon species, the designs were largely great all around, with a special nod to the Mega designs (in general). Kalos is large enough (at least in terms of Pokemon species) that they chose to split the regional Pokedex into sub-regional 'Dexes. There were a lot of nice quality-of-life improvements (Keen Eye negating evasion, Electrics immune to paralysis, etc.) -- heck, even the ability to just sit down on chairs/benches was a nice touch because it at least gave these props some interaction. Pokemon-Amie does make the creatures feel more alive, Super Training is a great diversion when you want one, and the PSS streamlined multiplayer functions into an on-demand service (the new, multiplayer-free Pokemon Center designs also felt nice and cozy, like a place you'd want to relax in between battles).
However: The story is only okay, and the region as a whole suffers from artificial railroading. Lumiose City's layout is a major offender here - it is genuinely large by Pokemon standards, but you simply aren't allowed to explore it in its entirety until game progression allows you. If you're going to gate my progression, a simple body of water is far less intrusive than an NPC actively declaring YOU SHALL NOT PASS. Despite the 3D, the maps are still explicitly tile-based in this generation, and being unable to unequip the roller skates ultimately became a nuisance. And there isn't much depth to many of the locations -- during the course of the story you generally just visit them once and keep going, never looking back. I also didn't need the free handout of a Lucario just to demonstrate Mega Evolution with -- how many of Korrina's Lucarios ended up in GTS or Wonder Trade limbo solely because players had taken time to acquire their own beforehand? Then there's the fact that, despite Mega Evolution being touted as powered by the Trainer-Pokemon bond, it doesn't actually enforce this on a gameplay level -- you can literally just pluck a Pokemon from the wild, slap a Mega Stone on it and BAM! mega evolved. (No wonder the Rotom Dex paints it with such infamy?) Similar thing for the Lapras - I respect the desire to give you access to a Surfable Pokemon at this stage, but to just give you one for free at the very moment you need one is a little too convenient. And then there's the broken mess that is the Exp.Share, which is enabled by default (though you can switch it off). The game's difficulty felt right if you just switched it off and forgot it was even there, but leaving it on invariably causes your core Pokemon team members to become vastly overleveled. And the fact that the vast majority of NPC trainers don't have even three Pokemon in their party makes the game feel not challenging enough overall. There's also the odd technical issues here and there, like the inability to suspend the game without losing your PSS connection.
As for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, my primary complaint here is that in direct contrast to HGSS beforehand, they followed the original Ruby and Sapphire to a fault, at the expense of basically everything that Emerald did better than the original pair (particularly Wattson's lineup of Pokemon, which was a nostalgic highlight moment in Gen 3).
Final verdict: While I definitely enjoyed my playthrough of XY, my standards are admittedly higher than back when I was new to the series as a whole and some of the decisions they made to introduce new players come at the unnecessary expense of series veterans.
Score: 3/5, or "meh".
First, the good points: Despite the relatively small number of new Pokemon species, the designs were largely great all around, with a special nod to the Mega designs (in general). Kalos is large enough (at least in terms of Pokemon species) that they chose to split the regional Pokedex into sub-regional 'Dexes. There were a lot of nice quality-of-life improvements (Keen Eye negating evasion, Electrics immune to paralysis, etc.) -- heck, even the ability to just sit down on chairs/benches was a nice touch because it at least gave these props some interaction. Pokemon-Amie does make the creatures feel more alive, Super Training is a great diversion when you want one, and the PSS streamlined multiplayer functions into an on-demand service (the new, multiplayer-free Pokemon Center designs also felt nice and cozy, like a place you'd want to relax in between battles).
However: The story is only okay, and the region as a whole suffers from artificial railroading. Lumiose City's layout is a major offender here - it is genuinely large by Pokemon standards, but you simply aren't allowed to explore it in its entirety until game progression allows you. If you're going to gate my progression, a simple body of water is far less intrusive than an NPC actively declaring YOU SHALL NOT PASS. Despite the 3D, the maps are still explicitly tile-based in this generation, and being unable to unequip the roller skates ultimately became a nuisance. And there isn't much depth to many of the locations -- during the course of the story you generally just visit them once and keep going, never looking back. I also didn't need the free handout of a Lucario just to demonstrate Mega Evolution with -- how many of Korrina's Lucarios ended up in GTS or Wonder Trade limbo solely because players had taken time to acquire their own beforehand? Then there's the fact that, despite Mega Evolution being touted as powered by the Trainer-Pokemon bond, it doesn't actually enforce this on a gameplay level -- you can literally just pluck a Pokemon from the wild, slap a Mega Stone on it and BAM! mega evolved. (No wonder the Rotom Dex paints it with such infamy?) Similar thing for the Lapras - I respect the desire to give you access to a Surfable Pokemon at this stage, but to just give you one for free at the very moment you need one is a little too convenient. And then there's the broken mess that is the Exp.Share, which is enabled by default (though you can switch it off). The game's difficulty felt right if you just switched it off and forgot it was even there, but leaving it on invariably causes your core Pokemon team members to become vastly overleveled. And the fact that the vast majority of NPC trainers don't have even three Pokemon in their party makes the game feel not challenging enough overall. There's also the odd technical issues here and there, like the inability to suspend the game without losing your PSS connection.
Mega evolution: Will not function without a high friendship rating with the Pokemon in question.
Mega Stone Lucario: If the game detected you already had a Riolu or Lucario in your current party, Korrina would simply give you the Mega Stone automatically, noting that your Lucario can use it. (You can still ask her separately if you want to also take her Lucario with you.)
Free Lapras: I would rather this be an in-game trade, to make the Lapras actually feel like a reward.
And: Your first wild Pokemon encounter in the game (which was scripted) SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FLETCHLING, NOT A PIDGEY. It's very important for the new Pokemon to make a first impression first -- but XY failed to do this and I can't express how much of a disappointment it was.
Mega Stone Lucario: If the game detected you already had a Riolu or Lucario in your current party, Korrina would simply give you the Mega Stone automatically, noting that your Lucario can use it. (You can still ask her separately if you want to also take her Lucario with you.)
Free Lapras: I would rather this be an in-game trade, to make the Lapras actually feel like a reward.
And: Your first wild Pokemon encounter in the game (which was scripted) SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FLETCHLING, NOT A PIDGEY. It's very important for the new Pokemon to make a first impression first -- but XY failed to do this and I can't express how much of a disappointment it was.
As for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, my primary complaint here is that in direct contrast to HGSS beforehand, they followed the original Ruby and Sapphire to a fault, at the expense of basically everything that Emerald did better than the original pair (particularly Wattson's lineup of Pokemon, which was a nostalgic highlight moment in Gen 3).
Final verdict: While I definitely enjoyed my playthrough of XY, my standards are admittedly higher than back when I was new to the series as a whole and some of the decisions they made to introduce new players come at the unnecessary expense of series veterans.
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Feign
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I will always love Pokemon. Even when it's lacking that extra special something, it's still like drinking something warm when the air is cold.
That said, I don't know that I'll ever love a Pokemon game like I loved RSE when I was growing up. I played since the games first came out, but Hoenn was something new. I remember thinking about how I couldn't wait to get to the end so I could go back to Johto. And then that didn't happen. I was extremely sad at first and thought maybe something was wrong. It wasn't. So I went back and I started digging into Hoenn. Surprisingly, I didn't miss traveling to Kanto and Johto at all after that. What I found was a world full of mysteries. One that showed me a world beneath the sea. A world that made me go on my dial up internet and copy a braille alphabet to the best of my abilities as we didn't have a printer. I found the clues and eventually ran into my first Regi. Looking back, do I love the design? Not really. But back then it was a mythical Pokemon that I had discovered, hidden away in its chamber for who knows how long. The design didn't matter. The fact that it was there did. Every part of Hoenn felt rewarding and like something special. No other game got me as into contests as it did. Heck, even using the berry machines while trying to make a Feebas beautiful to get a Milotic was cool at the time. And not only could you dive under the sea, you could ride two bikes. Two bikes. Hoenn was beautifully crafted and always showed you something you could get to with the right gear and thinking. And the tall grass? Disappearing inside only to find the coolest dumb helicopter bananasaurus makes Tropius feel like it's a legendary. Everything surrounding it was. And that's why Hoenn works. Everything felt like it was made to serve a purpose. Have an open slot when Nincada evolves? Suddenly there's an extra Pokemon in your party. There was always more.
I don't know if it's because I'm older, but ORAS just didn't click for me in the same way. I love the Delta episode, but that's one of the few things that felt right. Everything else felt so small, which is the opposite to how Hoenn felt on the GBA. I like the smooth graphics for battle, but the game stutters during double battles and loses the 3D. That is Hoenn's signature style. I can't help, but feel a richly detailed 3D sprite based game with all enhanced camera work and colors could have made Hoenn incredible. As it is, it mostly feels like developers doing what's expected of them. It's only when they get to create the Delta episode and really mess with the story that the game feels inspired. I can't help but feel that inspiration is a reflection of its workers. It must be so limiting to try and recreate a world and not be able to dictate major changes. That and the limited 3DS hardware is likely very frustrating. I think that shows.
I love Gen V. That's probably obvious by my avatar. What I didn't realize was just how much I loved it. I recently went back and beat White 2 for the first time and let me tell you: If you get the chance, get it. It helps the linearity by adding routes and blocking others. And while I adored the experience of no old Pokemon with White, the sheer joy of seeing an old favorite as you start your game in full movement is nothing short of thrilling. Add that to an enhanced sound stage where the tunes from White have been upgraded further along with adding some new tracks and it all just...works. Really, there's something so primal about getting to that last Pokemon in a gym battle and having the music change and get excited with you. BW2 has a more raw feeling with the music than the original BW and it works. It's probably my favorite music in the series to date, which is part of why Kalos is a bit frustrating to me. I just don't get how you can go from Unova's spirited and melodic tracks to the sort of music that's playing in the background of mii plaza. VII is much better in regards to its music, but it still has some issues. I just think the 3DS has a better sound than the DS, but not enough better that they had to be creative and work within limits. Anyway, replaying the games, I think BW2 are some of the best Pokemon games they've made with some wonderful characters. It's worth it to feel what playing the game is like. Especially if you have an original DS/Lite/i. It plays fine on 3DS, but the resolution of the screen makes the game blurrier and text harder to read sometimes. It's weird, but it's sharp on my DSi and DS Lite so I've stuck to playing it on that.
Feign
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The customization is way worse in Gen VII...for the girl. Kalos gave guys awful haircuts, clothes that fit weird, and this was true for both male and female players: The inability to remove those hats. I'm playing as a girl in my replay of X and it is ridiculously better, it's not even funny. Alola gave guys so many more options along with the ability to both not wear a hat while also WEARING THE GLASSES, BUT ON YOUR FACE. And I recently cheated and got myself powersaves, which unlocked the entire wardrobe and every color, including dye/hidden ones. I've actually been able to come up to come up with some cool looking illusions through color blocking. It is nice to have the color I want instead of like 3. You're right, though. The selection of tops and skirts for the girl character in alola is seriously lacking in shapes if not variety of what exists.
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Gen 1 (RBY): 7/10 - I can't really imagine a better start for the series. Damn-near perfect for their time. Of course, when you go back to them these days, they don't hold up all that well, but that's fine. "How will this hold up in 30 years?" wasn't really an aspect of their design.
Gen 2 (GSC): 8/10 - Fantastic progression from RBY in almost every way. They have their faults - of course there's the level curve meme (it's true though), but it is also deeply unfortunate that the Apricorn Balls are so bugged, and the region is, to a large degree, just a messier Kanto aside from highlights like Ecruteak and the Ruins. The story is kinda rubbish too, despite having some really good ideas within (but if anything, I'm more mad at HGSS for failing to fix that - it's at least an understandable problem in the originals' case, and even Crystal took some good steps to emphasize the story in the ways it needed to be, which HGSS would then undercut). But despite these problems, there's no denying these were brilliant sequels and classics in their own right.
Gen 3 (RSE): 9/10 - Forward progression hurrah! Continuing advancement for the franchise in just about every department, with hardly an expense spared. I mean, they could have easily gotten away with not adding a lot of the stuff that they did here. The GBA allowing new elements like Abilities and Double Battles revolutionizes the series, and not to mention the vivid, colorful overworld and the range of environments to which we were now treated. Downsides... lack of backwards-compatibility would probably be the main one, but that's not entirely their fault (and they've compensated for that now, for what it's worth). Building on what Crystal did with tying a Legendary Pokémon into the storyline, and making the villains a part of that story was a natural conclusion, and nothing the anime hadn't already done to great success. The problem is that they then proceeded to make the villains complete and utter morons. (But at least ORAS saw that and fixed it. See how that's supposed to work, HGSS?) Aside from that, though, these were really great games.
Gen 4 (DPP): 5/10 - Bland, repetitive, and slow. In fairness, they deserve credit for the Physical/Special split and, more importantly, for taking the series global. That was a very important thing to do, even though it wouldn't truly come to fruition for another seven years. But other than that, what do these games really do that RSE couldn't have? (Or worse, didn't already?) The explorational value is great... except that you've got to have every HM under the sun on your person throughout the game, and mostly just so you can look at cave walls and rocks. Which is especially painful in DP, where the selection of Pokémon is rather pitiful. (Also, this is where they got really stupid with the Legendaries, so it's lost me there personally.)
Gen 5 (BWB2W2): 10/10 - lol, we all know how I feel about this one. God-tier Pokémon games, period.
Gen 6 (XY): 7/10 - As always, I rather liked XY. I don't even think they hurt much for lack of an enhanced version. I think they did a really nice job in taking the series to the 3D realm, with a host of ambitious new ideas and mechanical improvements, and to me, that's enough to cover for some of the weak spots, like the flimsy story and the profound lack of anything to do after beating the game (although, ORAS were only a year away, so it's slightly less painful than it would have been with the wait times of previous generations). Shame it's been so remarkably downhill ever since.
Gen 7 (SMUSUM): 6/10 - Lots of fantastic ideas trapped on the ocean floor by the pressure of clumsy execution and technical overreach. The story's nice, but at the expense of everything else. Pokémon's stories aren't even that good, on balance, and this generation definitely overprioritized in that area. But, that being said, I do greatly appreciate that they were willing to try out so many new things for the anniversary, which in my opinion should be about demonstrating that the series still has life and new ideas to work with. It's just that the brilliance of the new stuff was so bogged down by virtue of the games being so thoroughly a hallway simulator.
Gen 2 (GSC): 8/10 - Fantastic progression from RBY in almost every way. They have their faults - of course there's the level curve meme (it's true though), but it is also deeply unfortunate that the Apricorn Balls are so bugged, and the region is, to a large degree, just a messier Kanto aside from highlights like Ecruteak and the Ruins. The story is kinda rubbish too, despite having some really good ideas within (but if anything, I'm more mad at HGSS for failing to fix that - it's at least an understandable problem in the originals' case, and even Crystal took some good steps to emphasize the story in the ways it needed to be, which HGSS would then undercut). But despite these problems, there's no denying these were brilliant sequels and classics in their own right.
Gen 3 (RSE): 9/10 - Forward progression hurrah! Continuing advancement for the franchise in just about every department, with hardly an expense spared. I mean, they could have easily gotten away with not adding a lot of the stuff that they did here. The GBA allowing new elements like Abilities and Double Battles revolutionizes the series, and not to mention the vivid, colorful overworld and the range of environments to which we were now treated. Downsides... lack of backwards-compatibility would probably be the main one, but that's not entirely their fault (and they've compensated for that now, for what it's worth). Building on what Crystal did with tying a Legendary Pokémon into the storyline, and making the villains a part of that story was a natural conclusion, and nothing the anime hadn't already done to great success. The problem is that they then proceeded to make the villains complete and utter morons. (But at least ORAS saw that and fixed it. See how that's supposed to work, HGSS?) Aside from that, though, these were really great games.
Gen 4 (DPP): 5/10 - Bland, repetitive, and slow. In fairness, they deserve credit for the Physical/Special split and, more importantly, for taking the series global. That was a very important thing to do, even though it wouldn't truly come to fruition for another seven years. But other than that, what do these games really do that RSE couldn't have? (Or worse, didn't already?) The explorational value is great... except that you've got to have every HM under the sun on your person throughout the game, and mostly just so you can look at cave walls and rocks. Which is especially painful in DP, where the selection of Pokémon is rather pitiful. (Also, this is where they got really stupid with the Legendaries, so it's lost me there personally.)
Gen 5 (BWB2W2): 10/10 - lol, we all know how I feel about this one. God-tier Pokémon games, period.
Gen 6 (XY): 7/10 - As always, I rather liked XY. I don't even think they hurt much for lack of an enhanced version. I think they did a really nice job in taking the series to the 3D realm, with a host of ambitious new ideas and mechanical improvements, and to me, that's enough to cover for some of the weak spots, like the flimsy story and the profound lack of anything to do after beating the game (although, ORAS were only a year away, so it's slightly less painful than it would have been with the wait times of previous generations). Shame it's been so remarkably downhill ever since.
Gen 7 (SMUSUM): 6/10 - Lots of fantastic ideas trapped on the ocean floor by the pressure of clumsy execution and technical overreach. The story's nice, but at the expense of everything else. Pokémon's stories aren't even that good, on balance, and this generation definitely overprioritized in that area. But, that being said, I do greatly appreciate that they were willing to try out so many new things for the anniversary, which in my opinion should be about demonstrating that the series still has life and new ideas to work with. It's just that the brilliance of the new stuff was so bogged down by virtue of the games being so thoroughly a hallway simulator.
Hellomello
Hello marshmallow
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Stratelier
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I can sympathize with them. Something about the Sinnoh region just ... doesn't appeal to me, but I have a hard time finding any specific reasons about what. I know not every region needs to be a theme park of ecosystems, but....
Gen I: 7,2 (But 10 when it comes for invation and start of series)
(first generation itroduced only 2 dual type starters)
Gen II: 7,1
(too many mono types but liked addition of steel and dark types and the changes)
Gen III: 8,1
(plus for sp.stats eperation, introduction of abilities and more weather)
Gen IV: 8,3
generally good
Gen V: 8,2
(a little lack of better abilities but plus for amount of pokemon)
Gen VI: 8,5
(low amount of pokemon, but fairy, retypings and megas make it the best)
Gen VII: 8,4
(lack of pokemon gyms and league, speed tiers are lower but maybe needed to hapen, good nerfs and buffs, a little hasty with water compaction and some small details, z-moves make it feel better then previous ones, but the lack of new megas for old gen pokemon was a little iritating)
my point system :
- new abilities
- new moves
- effects of moves and abilities
- amount of dual and mono type combos
- starters with dual types
- in game plot
-gameplay
- amount of new pokemon
- vilian group
- level of oponents
- movesets
- proportions of types and abilities distributed with pokemon
-amount of legendaries and regular pokemon
-buffs to abilities , moves and stats
-nerfs to abilities, moves and stats
In comparition to the new ones and the advancement we made through out time.
Before you complaint about this, think what would be if Gen 2 would be Gen 1, if the generation would apper in diffrent time and in diffent order then we had it till now. How would then your choice change?
(first generation itroduced only 2 dual type starters)
Gen II: 7,1
(too many mono types but liked addition of steel and dark types and the changes)
Gen III: 8,1
(plus for sp.stats eperation, introduction of abilities and more weather)
Gen IV: 8,3
generally good
Gen V: 8,2
(a little lack of better abilities but plus for amount of pokemon)
Gen VI: 8,5
(low amount of pokemon, but fairy, retypings and megas make it the best)
Gen VII: 8,4
(lack of pokemon gyms and league, speed tiers are lower but maybe needed to hapen, good nerfs and buffs, a little hasty with water compaction and some small details, z-moves make it feel better then previous ones, but the lack of new megas for old gen pokemon was a little iritating)
my point system :
- new abilities
- new moves
- effects of moves and abilities
- amount of dual and mono type combos
- starters with dual types
- in game plot
-gameplay
- amount of new pokemon
- vilian group
- level of oponents
- movesets
- proportions of types and abilities distributed with pokemon
-amount of legendaries and regular pokemon
-buffs to abilities , moves and stats
-nerfs to abilities, moves and stats
In comparition to the new ones and the advancement we made through out time.
Before you complaint about this, think what would be if Gen 2 would be Gen 1, if the generation would apper in diffrent time and in diffent order then we had it till now. How would then your choice change?
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Hellomello
Hello marshmallow
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- #17
I've seen this sentiment echoed around a lot, about how some players just couldn't get into it for some reason. I think it's safe to say that Sinnoh's a pretty acquired taste!
Cookies and Creme
PK Fire
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Generation 1
RBY - 6/10
I see how it was a landmark game back then, but 21 years later I don't believe it aged well. Too slow, too gimmicky, and really glitchy. The need to grind excessively could had made the score worse, but because of the gimmicks the battles were made easier, thus giving it a mediocre grade of 6
Generation 2
GSC - 8/10
This game fixed every problem in Generation 1 and improved it. It also added a fresh, new experience while adding good ol' Kanto at the end. The difficulty imo wasn't too bad until Red, and it has hands down the best 8-bit soundtrack I had ever heard. There were some aspects of the game that I didn't really like (friendship being hard to raise in some cases, Whitney, the E4 being a slight downgrade from Kanto), but overall it was a fun experience
Generation 3
Start of generation (RS): 7/10
I kinda saw why many fans left during Gen 3. The anime's changes, the games not being fresh like Gen 2, and the return of some excess grinding kind of made these games tiresome. It's still enjoyable, introducing the now-cliche concept of a new villainous team and its associated Box Pokemon, and had some of my all-time favorite Pokemon, but I saw it as something that could have been better....
End of generation (Emerald): 9.5/10
Emerald fixed it. Grinding was still a bit of an issue, but it wasn't too bad thanks to the Match Call feature. The post game was exciting, with the Battle Frontier taking the cake for an almost-perfect rating. Having 2 evil teams was also neat, and a surprise change of a Champion (that was reflected in future games) was surprising to me.
I did not note FRLG because I didn't really like the Gen 1 remakes that much, nor have I really played it to have an opinion. They did improve from the original, however
Gen 4
Start of generation (DP): 5/10
Three words: it was SLOW. Battles were slow, grinding was slow, the pacing was slow imo. Everything was really slow. Not to mention the sudden difficulty curve near the end of the game, especially with Cynthia. The battle frontier was fun, however not a match to the grand Hoenn frontier. Some really boring Pokemon, unnecessary evolutions, and boring characters made this game feel bland.
End of generation (Platinum, HGSS): 8.5/10
As all third games do, Platinum fixed all my previous problems that I addressed. Faster gameplay, more respectable characters imo (though probably because I got used to them), and the difficulty curve being a bit more bearing. To end off this generation, we got my favorite remakes, the Gen 2 remakes. Not only did they stay true to the originals in multiple aspects, it perfectly blended nostalgia with new additions like walking Pokemon and the Pokeathlon, and stronger opponents to correlate with an easier game. Gen 4 ended off with a bang, but imo still fell short compared to Gen 3. Only thing that didn't was the soundtrack. Sinnoh and Johto both have the best soundtrack in Pokemon imo.
Gen 5
Start of generation (BW): 8/10
A soft reboot to the franchise, and something that was definitely needed. A compelling storyline, some great Pokemon, great characters, and some changes to the typical formula tops the cake for this game. Also, having not 1, not 2, but 3 rivals also made the characters stand out with their differences. Not to mention the twist during the E4 that I was pretty surprised.
End of generation (B2W2): 9/10
Like many, I was skeptical of this game, mainly because of the similarities it had with its predecessors. But, I was proven wrong, and not only did this boost my love of Gen 5, but B2W2 nearly beat Emerald as my favorite Pokemon game. It still had many factors from Gen 5, but in addition there were more Pokemon, a much more darker story, more characters, and overall a much more fun sequel filled with PWT, a great replacement for the Battle Frontier.
Gen 6
Start of generation (XY): 7.5/10
These games got dark, and I loved it. There were also even more characters, with great Pokemon and a really great soundtrack, sprinkled in with a pretty compelling story. The downside? Too easy. Way too easy. Exp Share became broken, none of the gym leaders had memorable fights, E4 took me about 2 minutes each, and Diantha was a major joke. Lysandre did give me some trouble, but mainly because I didn't know that Gyarados became a Dark type. I thought this game was good overall...
End of generation (ORAS): 6.5/10
...however, now replaying it I realized how boring the game was. Not to mention how disappointing ORAS was, with many additions that killed off the vibe a bit and no really nostalgic themes besides a few. Also the Battle Maison in both games were terribly thought out and executed, and that replacing the Battle Frontier was a really terrible move. Overall my view on this generation degraded a lot.
Gen 7
Start of generation (SM): 9/10
I fully enjoyed this game. Best story I had ever experienced, many new changes that made the game still Pokemon but also a slight reboot. Fantastic characters, many twists and surprises, and a lot of great Pokemon and new ideas. This temporarily became my second favorite Pokemon game before my hype kinda died down, though it's still one of my favorites. One thing I hated, however, were SOS battles and how annoying they can get
Mid-gen, possible end (USUM): 6.5/10
Disappointment. USUM could had been so much more than just a rehash of SM. When they advertised SM, it made it seem like it was going to be a completely different game like B2W2. However, when I played the game it was almost the same as SM up to the climax on Ula-Ula. I do appreciate the changes they made, however that made me wonder why that wasn't in SM. They didn't fix SOS battles and they actually made Rotom-dex, something I really appreciated, extremely annoying. Not to mention how the post-game was hyped up a lot but fell really short afterwards, and the Battle tree just barely improving from the Battle maison. My opinion on this generation fell a lot after USUM. In fact, if USUM was released instead of SM this generation would have been perfect...
RBY - 6/10
I see how it was a landmark game back then, but 21 years later I don't believe it aged well. Too slow, too gimmicky, and really glitchy. The need to grind excessively could had made the score worse, but because of the gimmicks the battles were made easier, thus giving it a mediocre grade of 6
Generation 2
GSC - 8/10
This game fixed every problem in Generation 1 and improved it. It also added a fresh, new experience while adding good ol' Kanto at the end. The difficulty imo wasn't too bad until Red, and it has hands down the best 8-bit soundtrack I had ever heard. There were some aspects of the game that I didn't really like (friendship being hard to raise in some cases, Whitney, the E4 being a slight downgrade from Kanto), but overall it was a fun experience
Generation 3
Start of generation (RS): 7/10
I kinda saw why many fans left during Gen 3. The anime's changes, the games not being fresh like Gen 2, and the return of some excess grinding kind of made these games tiresome. It's still enjoyable, introducing the now-cliche concept of a new villainous team and its associated Box Pokemon, and had some of my all-time favorite Pokemon, but I saw it as something that could have been better....
End of generation (Emerald): 9.5/10
Emerald fixed it. Grinding was still a bit of an issue, but it wasn't too bad thanks to the Match Call feature. The post game was exciting, with the Battle Frontier taking the cake for an almost-perfect rating. Having 2 evil teams was also neat, and a surprise change of a Champion (that was reflected in future games) was surprising to me.
I did not note FRLG because I didn't really like the Gen 1 remakes that much, nor have I really played it to have an opinion. They did improve from the original, however
Gen 4
Start of generation (DP): 5/10
Three words: it was SLOW. Battles were slow, grinding was slow, the pacing was slow imo. Everything was really slow. Not to mention the sudden difficulty curve near the end of the game, especially with Cynthia. The battle frontier was fun, however not a match to the grand Hoenn frontier. Some really boring Pokemon, unnecessary evolutions, and boring characters made this game feel bland.
End of generation (Platinum, HGSS): 8.5/10
As all third games do, Platinum fixed all my previous problems that I addressed. Faster gameplay, more respectable characters imo (though probably because I got used to them), and the difficulty curve being a bit more bearing. To end off this generation, we got my favorite remakes, the Gen 2 remakes. Not only did they stay true to the originals in multiple aspects, it perfectly blended nostalgia with new additions like walking Pokemon and the Pokeathlon, and stronger opponents to correlate with an easier game. Gen 4 ended off with a bang, but imo still fell short compared to Gen 3. Only thing that didn't was the soundtrack. Sinnoh and Johto both have the best soundtrack in Pokemon imo.
Gen 5
Start of generation (BW): 8/10
A soft reboot to the franchise, and something that was definitely needed. A compelling storyline, some great Pokemon, great characters, and some changes to the typical formula tops the cake for this game. Also, having not 1, not 2, but 3 rivals also made the characters stand out with their differences. Not to mention the twist during the E4 that I was pretty surprised.
End of generation (B2W2): 9/10
Like many, I was skeptical of this game, mainly because of the similarities it had with its predecessors. But, I was proven wrong, and not only did this boost my love of Gen 5, but B2W2 nearly beat Emerald as my favorite Pokemon game. It still had many factors from Gen 5, but in addition there were more Pokemon, a much more darker story, more characters, and overall a much more fun sequel filled with PWT, a great replacement for the Battle Frontier.
Gen 6
Start of generation (XY): 7.5/10
These games got dark, and I loved it. There were also even more characters, with great Pokemon and a really great soundtrack, sprinkled in with a pretty compelling story. The downside? Too easy. Way too easy. Exp Share became broken, none of the gym leaders had memorable fights, E4 took me about 2 minutes each, and Diantha was a major joke. Lysandre did give me some trouble, but mainly because I didn't know that Gyarados became a Dark type. I thought this game was good overall...
End of generation (ORAS): 6.5/10
...however, now replaying it I realized how boring the game was. Not to mention how disappointing ORAS was, with many additions that killed off the vibe a bit and no really nostalgic themes besides a few. Also the Battle Maison in both games were terribly thought out and executed, and that replacing the Battle Frontier was a really terrible move. Overall my view on this generation degraded a lot.
Gen 7
Start of generation (SM): 9/10
I fully enjoyed this game. Best story I had ever experienced, many new changes that made the game still Pokemon but also a slight reboot. Fantastic characters, many twists and surprises, and a lot of great Pokemon and new ideas. This temporarily became my second favorite Pokemon game before my hype kinda died down, though it's still one of my favorites. One thing I hated, however, were SOS battles and how annoying they can get
Mid-gen, possible end (USUM): 6.5/10
Disappointment. USUM could had been so much more than just a rehash of SM. When they advertised SM, it made it seem like it was going to be a completely different game like B2W2. However, when I played the game it was almost the same as SM up to the climax on Ula-Ula. I do appreciate the changes they made, however that made me wonder why that wasn't in SM. They didn't fix SOS battles and they actually made Rotom-dex, something I really appreciated, extremely annoying. Not to mention how the post-game was hyped up a lot but fell really short afterwards, and the Battle tree just barely improving from the Battle maison. My opinion on this generation fell a lot after USUM. In fact, if USUM was released instead of SM this generation would have been perfect...
Stratelier
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2012
- Messages
- 4,695
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- 1,018
Actually from what I hear they did, in USM wild Pokemon only call for help until it is answered, then won't call for help again (unless you use an Adrenaline Orb).
Cookies and Creme
PK Fire
- Joined
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- 751
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- 478
It's generally the same as SM and equally as annoying. There were multiple times I wanted to catch a Pokemon only for it to call a Pokemon over, forcing me to defeat it. If it has a low catch rate, it can call many times, making it extremely frustrating for me. I don't really see it as much of a difference as SM