Best Pokemon Game

[Juniper]

As the title suggests, which game do you guys think is the best?

Emphasis on Legit (gamefreak type) games but if you happen to think a rom is better, feel free to say so.

Spin-off games like mystery dungeon and *shudders*.... Trozei.. are welcome too.

Personally, my favorite game is Platinum.

I like everything about this game. Literally. There's so much to do in it in my opinion, especially with events like darkrai, shaymin and arceus. I like the protagonist sprites and I liked the new sprites of all the pokemon as well as Giratina's origin forme (and rotom's household appliances). Not to mention, 4th gen is just my favorite generation of pokemon, so... That's what I think.

Edited August 16, 2015 by Juuzou

[Juniper]

But... 4th gen gave birth to the mighty majestic..

BIDOOF

Edited August 16, 2015 by Juuzou

[Magus]

Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, cause the pokemon can follow you around and stuff, that was cool.

[Omega_Ra1der]

Torn between Gen 3 and 4. Gen 3 gave birth to my favourite electric type: Manectric. But I am leaning to Gen 4 overall.

[mde2001]

I hate Gen 4 with a passion. Slow speed, terrible pacing, forgettable characters. Overall my favourite game would be crystal as I always have enjoyed it. I also like Sapphire and X.

[Juniper]

but 4th gen introduced the looker.. the looker is like Phoenix wright ace attorney mixed with professor Layton... (I have literally never played either of those games..)

[Vlado Vladimir]

Platinum is the best hands down

The hardest choice between starters, the most evil team to beat, the most "powerful" legendary pokemons theme (I mean, it's time, space, bidoof and another damn dimention), a powerful staraptor, really cool post game features, and Cynthia. THAT'S JUST TOO MUCH.

[Juniper]

YES! hop on board the platinum train!

I don't mind, everyone has their own opinion like you said

Edited August 16, 2015 by Juuzou

[Drymus]

Pokemon Yellow. The first video game I ever beat, so the nostalgia wins hands-down.

[Juniper]

To continue, prove that you are not a robot.

Capthcha: What is the name of this pokémon? POKECHOO

Recently got a Captcha thing that asked what Vullaby evolves from (into?)

I actually couldn't remember the answer ¬¬

Edited August 16, 2015 by Juuzou

[InnocentSerenity]

I have to say, I'm split between Colosseum and XD. If I had to choose a favorite of the two, it would be Colosseum; Wes is pretty cool, after all. I just love the idea of Shadow Pokémon.

[luccaconde]

I'm with PBX5 cause it was my first game too, and I loved Suicune

So...yeah. Crystal

[Shadow Tack]

Colosseum was my favorite...

[Juniper]

I haven't played coliseum, crystal. XD or 3rd gen games 0_0 oops

I imagine I''m missing out

Edited August 16, 2015 by Juuzou

[TRHStatement]

Platinum hands down! Plot wise it was really good. Team Galactic were actually some savages (They blew up a mfn' lake looking for one PKMN). Home to who is accepted as the best champion: Cynthia (and best girl Dawn). Introduced some powerful legendaries and GOD and the post game was really good as well. We looked down on Defog as a useless HM,but it's almost mandatory in today's competitive battling. Oh yeah the anime was amazing along side this game.

[drevance]

Torn between Colosseum and Fire Red. Fire Red because gen 1 is my favorite and I started with Blue. Naturally a revamp is #1 (including the 7 isles). Colosseum because that was the only reason I purchased a Gamecube when I saw an ad for it in the newest issue of Shonen Jump when I was a kiddo. I loved Shadow pokemon and it was the first time I struggled with a pokemon game. I'd probably pick Fire Red ultimately.

[dead account]

Colosseum is my favourite. I loved the idea of stealing pokemon from other trainers(even if it's limited to shadow pokemon) and how the amount/variety pokemon you can get is limited.

Edit: Actually, I forgot to mention two things: the amazing soundtrack and Miror B.

I haven't played coliseum, crystal. XD or 3rd gen games 0_0 oops

I imagine I''m missing out

You are definitely missing out.

Edited August 16, 2015 by aquawaffle

[BBD]

My favorite game is PMD2 but I dont think it's the best game so I think the best game is HG/SS because it's a good remake with better graphic and fun new feature from gen4.there're 2 region so the game is long and best part is we gwt to fight Red which make most people say that this is the best sequel ever.

[Jacobliterator]

Platinum, hands down. It emphasized everything Gen 4 did right and eliminated everything it did wrong. Also Cyrus. Need I say more?

[Juniper]

You needn't. It's nice to see that I'm not the only platinum fan out there

[ChivesKirk]

I am very moved by nostalgia, so my favorite pokemon game would have to be Pokemon Emerald. It was the first game I officially owned, beat, and the game I put the most hours into.

[mde2001]

Platinum, hands down. It emphasized everything Gen 4 did right and eliminated everything it did wrong. Also Cyrus. Need I say more?

It eliminated the terrible pacing but still left us with a really slow game with little character development (with the exception of Cynthia and kind of Cyrus). I can't even name half of the Gen 4 gym leaders having played if really recently. I don't think Platinum is terrible (and it is definitely better than Diamond and Pearl) but I don't think it fixed everything that was wrong with what I consider to be the worst gen of pokemon.

[Chase]

6. Platinum/Diamond/Pearl

Aside from the interesting starter Pokemon, Gen 4 was so bad that it's the only generation of Pokemon I do not or have not ever owned. Perhaps that's not fair of me - but the games pacing was raised into question -AND- the game required one to purchase a then-next-gen console along with it at the time (Generation 4 was the first game to be featured on the DS.) I was deliberating. On top of that, whenever I think I'm going to potentially "play" through Platinum - I lose interest and remember that Generation 4 was the "dark ages" of Pokemon for me. Aside from that, only one starter (Infernape) is remotely attractive to use during a run based on the eye test - and that would mean picking the 2nd of THREE Firefighters. The gym leaders are completely foreign to me, and perhaps the only noteworthy figure looking from the outside was Cynthia - the first woman to hold the title of League Champion - who received stellar reviews from players as far as difficulty in a main series 'Mons title was concerned.

5. Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen

The thing everyone should know about this choice right here, is that there is a LARGE gap between Gen 1 and the bottom of the barrel, even though it is going to rank as the second worst generation for me. In fact, I'll be callous enough to say that I very much am a #Genwunner in several respects even though my regard for the game is outclassed by most other generations. The non-linear grid-like map style however, caused some ire way back when the dinosaurs roamed. As an autonomy gamer, even with that non-linear map, it felt like I was being forced to play what would seem like a very linear game. Initially, the selection in the first generation compared to today is quite underwhelming - and the remakes of the game don't do much to improve on it being the first remakes ever made. Throw in some serious balance issues regarding the Psychic type and you could see the stones what arguably would need your nostalgia glasses to be SERIOUSLY tinted. All of that aside, Kanto was a place of happy exploration and good times - and ultimately set the tone for an amazing franchise that thrives on "bad game design."

4. Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver

This game beat the PANTS off of Gen 1 by doing what Generation 1 did well, and then throwing down some crack cocaine on top of it. 8 Gym leaders? NO SCREW THAT DOUBLE THE OFFER. ...and then you have some very endearing character progression that isn't seen at all in the first generation. Professor Oak has his own radio show and is seen from beginning to end. Blue cools his jets and relieves Giovanni as the Vermillion Gym leader - being the only leader to run monotype. Red decides to look for complete solitude to hone his skills away from the spotlight - becoming one of the biggest main-storyline challenges to date. So where did Gen 2 falter? The game had a lot of Pokemon that were difficult to find early on and a region that felt too large at times (and that's without throwing Kanto back into the soup pot) - and many of the better 'mons were difficult to obtain. The game also featured linear backtracking and lost the sense of freedom that Gen 1 tried to portray - which for me was bothersome. This game however, was the kickstarter that turned Pokemon from a one trick ponyta to a monopoly.

3. X/Y

I've come to the conclusion that X/Y is a game that is much-maligned by older fans. Several of them are not even fans of the key game-play element that Mega-Evolution brings to the table, and the story was a decline of quality from the previous generation. X/Y also had the unfortunate bearing of a game that was next-gen, requiring many who didn't buy a 3DS before to do so. The Gym Leaders have returned to expected stoicism, and around this point in time, it's harder to get anyone excited about new Pokes - following a generation where there were several duds. X/Y however had many great aspects, taking the franchise to a completely 3D game, introducing interesting connection-based resources like the Friend Safari and Wonder Trading, allowing Trainers to customize their appearance and truly making the game their own, providing a very large availability so that you could use the Pokemon you like during the story if you looked hard enough, etc. The game provides us with a sleek current gen feel and still finds it's uses next to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. X/Y ended up a solid addition to the franchise in which many people didn't buy into the details. I was among those at first - but after playing a little of the game recently, Kalos is a very picturesque experience all around.

2. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

Generation 3 is the game that wins me over with nostalgia, with Ruby being the first and only 'mons title I've ever completed the National Pokedex on. The game was immersive for it's time, showcasing a colorful display and vibrant game-play, an interesting couple of rival discourses that were refreshingly friendly for a change (back then.) Lots of brand new Pokemon, and an often forgotten feature - connectivity to the Nintendo GameCube to play against your Pokemon Colosseum/XD: Gale of Darkness teams and trade for the elusive Generation 2 Pokemon. The games would also connect to FireRed and LeafGreen to move all of your newer Pokemon over to Kanto (where you had zero chance of actually finding them yourself.) - and Emerald would provide a few more gap fillers for Gen 2 hunters a couple of years later - introducing the largest post-game parades outside of 8 more gyms to defeat - with the added bonus of making the game's competitive era being to start turning. Then, most recently, we re-visted Hoenn for a modern experience and it is home to the best 'Mons remakes by and far. There's a lot to love about this generation of Pokemon, and depending on the last color I saw or mood I was in, it may occasionally be the "Best" in my opinion.

1. Black/White/Black 2/White 2

Look! An Unpopular Opinion! - Unova was the home to what many fans will claim is a number of maladies. Unoriginal Pokemon, perhaps too comprehensive characters, nothing that reminds players of why they loved Pokemon in the first place. Some of the derpiest rivals. The list goes on and on.

So why does Gen 5 take the cake on most days for me? It's the resurgence title. This game dug me out of the rut that is being anti-Pokemon. By this time, I had a DS of my own, and I was hooked simply because it was a Pokemon game.

Outside of personal appeal, the generation brought in many of today's most common threats in the competitive scene, such as the Genies and Ferrothorn. The game introduced cute relationships between people. Every gym leader seemingly had a bit of significance not seen from the statue-esque predecessors. The map was easy to understand and yet somehow still felt large and immersive. The music score was awe-inspiring, the colors were incredible, and all of the little details in Gen 5 sold me, and were seemingly mixed in with a touch of genuine love from GameFreak. "Hilda, we are thankful you have stuck with us on this incredible 20 year journey." is literally what the games speak to me.

The sequel idea was absolute perfect - adding on to what was already the best story ever told in the Pokemon universe, involving tough abstracts such as truth and ideals, liberation vs. companionship, and everything in between. As an ADULT, Generation 5 did everything in it's power to fight of the stigma that Pokemon was a kids game. Something the next generation wouldn't keep pace with. The availability in the sequels was brilliant, kickstarting arguably one of the most thriving metas in competitive history. The list of small victories for Gen 5 is quite large, once you get past some dumb ice cream cones and garbage bags.

[Darvan Korematsu]

Aaaaannnndddd the award goes to Hilda for 1-upping any response I had for Black and White. Yep that's right. The Black and White series as a whole, because even the elements from the first game lingered well into the second one.

BW the original version was my favorite for a lot of reasons, starting with Team Plasma. Where Team Galactic was a group of reckless badasses, Rocket was a group of thugs, and Magma, Aqua, and Flare all had very misguided goals, Team Plasma, at least on the surface and in BW (not BW2) had a believeable and even sympathetic goal to them, and even the grunts thought they were helping. Everyone except Ghetsis (you dick) thought their goal was pure, and EVEN FROGGIN N thought he was gonna help the word as Plasma's "king".

Secondly, BW was the biggest grassroots movement that Pokemon ever had, to remind people that Pokemon could be as fresh and relevant by making an entirely new cast of Pokemon, very much like RBY where you had to figure out the 150 Pokemon, with 150 different ideas.

The rivals were believeable and easy to relate to, the Gym Leaders were pulled out of their marble thrones the Leaders prior always seemed stuck to them, and even interacted and helped you usually quite a lot, and even made the gameplay a little deeper. (Here's to you Burgh, Elesa, and Clay).

I liked how they diverged from the usual Champion crap you had to go through, and even commence in a fight of legends where two fabled beasts of old duke it out for supremacy. Then the fk you the game throws with the actual final boss before the post-game. (Alder is not techincally the "champion" of BW on the first E4 grind.)

Again the music was amazing and appropriate. Never has it felt so right listening to Gym Battle music like the original BW's, except maybe RSE's.

The game also incorporated dark themes and feelings of hopelessness, something I've never felt in any Pokemon game prior to it, nor since, in any storyline.

The game was by all means stunning and I'll never understand why people EVER hated on BW. It was the fresh resurfacing of Pokemon after a stale run of somewhat mediocre titles, much like Frozen with Disney.

Yup BW was where it was at.

[SnowGlaceon]

INCOMING OPINION

So this is about favorite games, huh? Well that's hard, but my favorite gen was 4. Hands down, no contest. And don't you dare say I'm nostalgia blind, cuz technically I started with Gen 3 and my first pokemon was Minun. Points to whoever can figure out what game that was. My first main series game was Platinum, and oh lord did I love it. Unfortunately with gens 4 and 5, you either love it or hate it. I love gen 4, think gen 5 was crap for the most part. Before you start gathering your pitchforks and torches, hear me out. I'm talking about both gens as a whole. That means main series and spinoffs. It also only includes what I've played, which is pretty much everything but Conquest. I heard that it was pretty good though. So let's start with why I like Platinum.

1) The music

So I'm a really musically oriented person. Music has a huge effect on me and the game. With Platinum, the music was very enjoyable. I liked pretty much all of them but the generic legendary theme, which sucks in BW too. Actually this is the opposite of gen 5 for me. The routes' music was amazing, the rival battle theme was fitting, and team galactic's theme was boss. All the battle themes were excellently done, and the area themes too, but that's enough gushing about that.

2) The evil team

I love team Galactic for the same reasons I love teams Aqua and Magma. Their goal. In all three cases, each team wanted something extreme and would do whatever it took to get it. In DPPT's case, it was stuff like blowing up the lake, kidnapping and almost killing the lake trio, that poor guy in the Valley Windworks, etc. They also almost accomplished their goal by summoning said legendary. In platinum, it got so out of control that a literal God had to step in. And it's dark enough to be enjoyable too (ever notice how Cyrus never makes it out of the Distortion world?).

3) Pokemon and designs

Like #1, this is pretty much the opposite with BW. The designs and concepts were good for the most part. Gen 4 was the last gen (excluding Sylveon) to give old pokemon new evolutions. Togekiss, Magnezone, Glaceon. Of course, the good comes with the bad, and I will not ignore the fact that gen 4 has flaws, like every other gen, but we'll get to those later.

And where do I start with the starters? They're all good. They all have counters for each other. Infernape has Fire for Torterra and Fighting for Empoleon. Torterra has Ground for both. And Empoleon is capable of learning ice moves to ruin Torterra (and flying, but why would you do that?).

4) Areas and atmosphere

MOAR MUSIC

nah, this is more about the maps. Every map had it's own feel to it. From the Lively, adventurous feel of 205, the serene, peaceful feel of Eterna forest and the 210? area (with pokemon mansion and pastora city. It's been a while.) the intense climb up Mt. Coronet and the dark, dangerous feel of the Distortion world, this game had arguably the most varied enviroments.

5) The characters.

This is a mixed bag really... As far as gym leaders go, most of them are forgettable in any game. Especially gen 6. 5 wasn't that good either... But characters like prof. Rowan, Lucas/Dawn, the rival, and Cynthia were very well done. I saw a complaint about lack of character development, but that really depends on how hard you look. If you really explore everything, you can get a lot more information than if you just rush through the game. Even the gym leaders get quite a bit. For example, in the Villa, or by talking to other npcs, you get a lot of information. Also events. Those are last. Platinum also does a great job with implications. Cyrus'childhood is an example.

6) Events and post game

So I didn't really play Diamond or Pearl, but since platinum is their successor I see no need to focus on them. It's different with BW/B2W2, since those are sequels, continuations of the story.

Platinum had a crazy amount of small events and sidequests. There was stuff like the Iron Island thing with Riley. Stark mountain with Buck. Even Victory road with Marley. There was Mira too, in that cave under cycling road. I'm 100% serious when I say you need to check everything. The mystery gifts were amazing also. Rotom was a nice little thing, but the Secret Key and Oak's letter were by far the best mystery gifts ever. They added new story and even areas to the game.

As far as post game goes, Platinum falls short to only HGSS, and that's because there was another region in those. You have the Stark Mountain arc, the sidequests, underground, and a plethora of legendaries to catch. Don't forget the battle frontier either.

And now, FLAWS.

As good as the game is, there are flaws.

Let's go in order.

1) Generic legendary battle music was generic. It was uninteresting, really. But that's more than made up for with the other themes.

2) I got nothing. The team was great. Although they seemed to be silly at first, they quickly got their act together.

3) Okay, so we have the good, the bad, and the wtf is this. Most of them were good, but stuff like Hippowdon, Tangrowth, and God forbid Probopass are a thing. Ugh

4) Ha! The only thing wrong with this is the fact that you can't revisit the distortion world in its entirety.

5) Some gym leaders were good. Then some weren't. Lookin at you, Gardenia. But Candice, Wake, Roark and Byron were just fine. Maylene was...meh. They each had character, except for the garden freak. Idk what she was doing.

6) The only issue here is that mystery gift isn't available forever. Apologies to those who didn't get to do the Shaymin event. Go buy an Action Replay.

Dear god this is long, but there's still more. Spin off time!

So my favorite game is a tie between this and PMD: sky. Why? Sky has amazing story, good music, and lots of content. Nuff said. The Ranger games were a fun little thing too. Gen 5 brought a lot less to the table.

(Pokepark sucks in both gens.)

And now for why Gen 5 is my least favorite. It's pretty much the opposite of gen 4 for me.

1) Music was meh. Really, there weren't many outstanding tracks. Route 10 is pretty good, entralink is amazing, N's castle bridge was good, Hugh's theme and team plasma grunts were catachy.That's about it. The legendary themes were ass, Ghetsis was literally just drums, N was ok, Rival's wasn't that good. At least not for cheren.

Black city was beautiful too. Almost forgot.

2) This is a mixed bag.

Their story was interesting. Their true motivations and actions were a cheap rerun of team Rocket. Especially in B2W2, when they were more overt. I do like the climax of BW though. Except, you know, music. God it's awful.

I loved Bw2 because of the extremes they went through. You know, freezing the region.... That was good.

3) Designs and pokemon were an all time low for the series. Some seemed reused, some were plain, some were good. Of course we have Garbodour and the ice creams, but there's also the Fire/fightimg pig and Emoga the flying Pachirisu. And for Christs sake, wtf Unfesant? And the elemental monkeys, and the list continues. I liked a fair amount of them. Serperior, Krookodile, Volcarona... The legendaries weren't all that either. Swords of justice were ugh. I really liked the idea of Reshiram and Zekrom being fused with Kyurem though.

4)

This is the part where I start asserting the redemption bw2 brought. Allow me to remind you about how you can't access a good chunk of the region until post game. And after that, there's not much to do there. As far as maps go... I don't really remember a lot of the routes. Forgetable.... N's castle wss cool. That's it.

5) Characters

So now you're gonna want to shoot me. I welcome it. Like I said earlier, gym leaders were Forgetable (like many other gens). I only remember Marlin because he was so badly done. Iirc, he doesn't care about team plasma at all. And remember Brycen? Cuz until a few days ago I didn't. Anime was soooooo bad. I actually stopped watching because of it. N was really the only in depth character we get. The champions are embarrassing to say the least... I'm done.

6) Again, bw2 saved gen5's ass. While there was close to nothing in bw, bw2 brought more exploration and legendaries. It was great. BW? Not so much. I hope you enjoy diving. As far as mystery gift we got, what, Victini?

And now, spinoffs. I don't even like mentioning PMD: GTI. it was the only game I wasn't upset to lose when I lost a bunch of games. It's like a lot of gen 5, pretty decent until you compare it to the other games. Then it's god awful. I think Conquest is the only other game besides that, but I heard it was pretty good.

There were some cool things about gen 5, like seasons and HAs. They aren't terrible games, just my least favorite. Could have been better.

Side note: this post is probably full of errors. I spent an 1 and a half writing this on my phone. Ugh. Also it's crazy long. And more rushed towards the end. Oh well.

TLDR: You wish, I'm too tired. Its 3 am. Read it, I dare you.