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[Persona7]

Emerald and Fire Red.

 

[dc89]

First post wins it for pure nostalgia reasons.

 

[WhyMe6]

Play them all in chronological order. If not for the joy of discovery and the journey of a Pokémon Master, then for the delightful music!

If not, Diamond/Pearl, though that could be the nostalgia talking. The most memorable soundtrack (they're all amazing though), my favourite time in the competitive environment, and the wonder of D/P being Nintendo's greatest online accomplishment at that time: Pokemon had become online <3

All those independent factors work together to make it my favourite; all reasons which are totally irrelevant to many others.

Ruby/Sapphire also hold a special place, but that's nostalgia too. It was because that was released back when I was in high school and I still lived at home, so it was the most locally social Pokémon game for me. Secret bases were the best! (Why do they insist on taking out awesome features? Secret bases, 6v6 scaled lv.100 WiFi battles, the underground...all gone ).

 

[Gregorn]

Heart Gold/Soul Silver would make sense due to them being 'sequels' to Yellow, but you can't go wrong by playing Black/White either.

But there's a chance that Black/White 2 could just be an updated version of Black/White and buying BW to find out a week later that a better version is coming out would be annoying.

 

[Jockel]

As someone who isn't really into Pokemon as a whole, but sort of tolerates the games, I enjoyed Black and White the most. It's got a nice presentation and its difficulty isn't an absolute joke.

 

[Wiseblade]

Black/White are the best games in the series, so them. HG/SS manage to take the worst games in the series and make them good, and they're a solid second choice.

 

[Robin64]

White/Black vote from me with Soul/Heart VERY close seconds.

 

[abasm]

I'm playing Black right now, and it feels like the biggest leap in the series in terms of game design. Bigger, even, than the leap from Red+Blue to Gold+Silver. As has been stated, the leap is so big that going backwards from there will feel like settling for less.

Not only that, but you won't encounter any Pokemon from previous generations until the post-game. (I think.) No prior knowledge is expected or required--it's really beginner-friendly.

 

[Tambini]

I vote Soul Silver.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Souls Silver is the best mayne.

 

[Sponge]

Gotta say Soul Silver, you're not getting much of an upgrade in Black & White when compared to Diamond and Pearl. Plus, the Gameboy MP3 item in SS is such a neat feature. I absolutely love being able to listen to Silver's old tunes ingame, even if they are slightly remixed.

 

[Shaffield]

HG/SS is top priority, but D/P and LG/FR are practically required as well.

I found that SoulSilver felt even greater after spending so much time in Pearl, the improvements and features are just fantastic. Plus, I think its a good idea to get to know the fourth gen before getting into HG/SS, since there's a lot of them used by the Elite Four and Battle Frontier dudes later in the game.

I never played Black or White, so I can't comment on those.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Glorious Gold is better than Stinky Silver.

.
Arcanine > Ninetails
Donphan > Urasring
Ho-oh > Lugia
Mantine < Skarmory (why did you have to be in SoulSilver ;_

 

[Wichu]

1. Black/White
2. HeartGold/SoulSilver
3. Platinum
4. Emerald
5. FireRed/LeafGreen

Don't bother with Diamond/Pearl; the battle speed is ridiculously slow. Platinum is just D/P with fixed battle speed and more stuff. Similarly, no point going for Ruby/Sapphire when you have Emerald.
HeartGold/SoulSilver are good (and probably longer than B/W), but B/W are just more fun to play IMO. I'd personally pick up one of B/W and one of HG/SS.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

I vote Black/White. Fast battles, fun campaign.

 

[zroid]

But there's a chance that Black/White 2 could just be an updated version of Black/White and buying BW to find out a week later that a better version is coming out would be annoying.

It was definitely confirmed that B2W2 are not going to be 'new versions', but entirely new games. So BW are safe bets for sure.

--

I see a lot of people recommending FR/LG. They're great and all, but man, I literally have no interest in ever playing a pre-Gen4 pokemon again. The new phys/spec designations changed everything. I'm never going back.

 

[Ultimadrago]

1. Platinum
2. HeartGold
3. White
4. Black

What's hood, baby!

(Also see: agree)

I might have HG first though, but besides that

 

[Anoregon]

People generally don't seem to like the 4th gen too much, but I really enjoyed Platinum.

 

[enzo_gt]

First post knows what's up. Superior Silver all day.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Platinum first, then Superior Silver, then B/W. If you play B/W first you might not like the older ones due to the huge jump, for instance.

 

[Koroviev]

.
Arcanine > Ninetails
Donphan > Urasring
Ho-oh > Lugia
Mantine < Skarmory (why did you have to be in SoulSilver ;_

Teddiursa being in SS makes me want to cry

Oh well, at least I have Omanyte.

 

[pr1ley]

Without a doubt: Heart Gold / Soul Silver. So many hours!

 

[Bentendo]

I'd say white.

But I'd say diamond and pearl just for the amazing ost

Oh God don't remind me. This will be in my head all day now.

 

[Boerseun]

Black/White

It's the most accessible entry in the series, doesn't require you to know anything about Pokémon, and is a genuinely great role-playing game to boot, including likeable characters, a lovely setting and an involving story. I can't wait for B/W 2!

 

[Slermy]

SoulSilver is the best! I really hope they bring back the lead pokémon following you in a future title.

White is also very good.

Oh God don't remind me. This will be in my head all day now.

Man, Diamond/Pear/Platinum had an amazing score. I never tire of those tunes.

 

[Red UFO]

Soul Silver

 

[qq more]

If you're going for Diamond/Pearl, go for Platinum instead. D/P has a very slow battle system, Platinum has improved it + has tons of other features.

 

[Supermanisdead]

Black > Platinum > Soulsilver