DecoReturns
Member
Pokemon Emerald or Heart Gold/Soul Sliver.
The best wouldbe a Crystal remake with the battle frontier.
The best wouldbe a Crystal remake with the battle frontier.
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
What's the best Pokemon game so far?
- Thread starter ZombiePlatypus
- Start date
The games are basically the same with incremental improvements in each. I think that the time between RB and XY is probably what makes XY seem so nice (it's new, been a while, but still familiar).
If you're gonna play any of the older games, HGSS is nice for someone who played RB originally.
If you're gonna play any of the older games, HGSS is nice for someone who played RB originally.
PreyingShark
Member
Black/White 2 IMO
But best to buy would be ORAS.
But best to buy would be ORAS.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
the first gen pokemon designs where the best.
yes the pc transfer was old.
but this was the game that made pokemon what it is today.
this game is still the best in my eyes.
I know we can;t ever agree this is basically the starwars 4,5,6 vs 1,2,3
but i am happy that we both share love for pokemon
Matt Attack
Member
B2W2 are probably my favorites. Tons of content, great music, and I love the Gen V sprites.
HG/SS remakes include the Crystal Suicune backstory as well as the Battle Frontier. They are essentially Crystal remakes so you know the deal.
Yup, Emerald was the best in the series (that I had the motivation to play) and the Battle Frontier was an amazing edition. Coincidentally, Emerald was also my last fully completed Pokemon game.
Savinowned
Member
Silver... when I randomly found out about Kanto after beating the Elite Four... Mind explode.
Junahu
Member
Pokemon Colosseum respects your ability as a trainer and stacks the deck against you with some of the hardest doubles battles ever conceived, and a very limited roster of Pokemon to take them on with. If you like challenge more than the freedom to build any team you want, then nothing beats Colosseum.
Out of the main series, the remakes are typically the most feature-rich, polished adventures available. Heart Gold and Soul Silver in particular are incredibly competant at hitting the nostalgia button whilst still expanding on the core of the franchise.
It also has incredible sprite-work that takes into consideration how menacing the pokemon would be to face in battle, and what kind of trainers would be using it.
Other than that, the best main entry is mostly down to personal opinion. None of the games really play the same way
Out of the main series, the remakes are typically the most feature-rich, polished adventures available. Heart Gold and Soul Silver in particular are incredibly competant at hitting the nostalgia button whilst still expanding on the core of the franchise.
It also has incredible sprite-work that takes into consideration how menacing the pokemon would be to face in battle, and what kind of trainers would be using it.
Other than that, the best main entry is mostly down to personal opinion. None of the games really play the same way
Yeah the only one I'd truly recommend to the OP is HGSS because there are multiple payoffs for those who've played RBY. There's no harm in playing the others though whenever you feel like playing a new Pokemon game too.
I liked what it was going for but ultimately the battles are too slow and I think the game could have been a lot better if they had more money and/or time
the first gen pokemon designs where the best.
yes the pc transfer was old.
but this was the game that made pokemon what it is today.
this game is still the best in my eyes.
I know we can;t ever agree this is basically the starwars 4,5,6 vs 1,2,3
but i am happy that we both share love for pokemon
Oh trust me, it's way more than just the PC lol
But I'm happy that you are still having fun with the first games, I got spoiled too much by the newer games
User 479360
Banned
papertoonz
Member
the first gen pokemon designs where the best.
yes the pc transfer was old.
but this was the game that made pokemon what it is today.
this game is still the best in my eyes.
I know we can;t ever agree this is basically the starwars 4,5,6 vs 1,2,3
but i am happy that we both share love for pokemon
saying which gen had the best designs isn't really a good point, sure Gen 1 started pokemon but the fact that
Gen 1 is full for glitches, lacks type variety, has broken type balance and lack post game content
sure it's still a good game but other games in the series have fixed what Gen 1 did wrong
Does post-game content really matter for older Pokemon games?
papertoonz
Member
for most people i know post-game content is a huge factor in Pokemon game so yeah i think it should count some what
ShadowFox08
Member
This is like asking what the best 3d Zelda game is. Lol
Black/White for me. It was basically a complete reset for the main game (only new Pokemon) and the main thing: It had a story with a real endboss. Such a small change, because in all other games the "story" is basically finished before the Elite 4 and Champion thingy, but this small detail, pushing the final of the story beyond the Elite 4 and Champion battle somehow struck a nerv.
Benzychenz
Member
HeartGold/SoulSilver > Black/White > Black2>White2 > Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald > FireRed/LeafGreen > Diamond/Pearl/Platinum > X/Y > OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire
Definitely play HGSS, and the gen 5 games are worth a go for sure.
Definitely play HGSS, and the gen 5 games are worth a go for sure.
The best games are the gen 2 remakes, B2/W2 and Emerald. I say this not having played the original B/W or ORAS, though I want to play the original white nothing excites me about ORAS.
The gen 2 remakes were masterful with how much content is in it, b2/w2 are as amazing with how much there is to do, how the region is and the ton of new pokemon that gen had, emerald is godly because of the battle frontier which is one of the biggest reasons why I skipped on ORAS. Such a fucking shame.
The gen 2 remakes were masterful with how much content is in it, b2/w2 are as amazing with how much there is to do, how the region is and the ton of new pokemon that gen had, emerald is godly because of the battle frontier which is one of the biggest reasons why I skipped on ORAS. Such a fucking shame.
Junahu
Member
In the process, they defined what Pokemon "is", by solidifying it with a child-friendly, "everyone loves Pokemon!", aesthetic. The lack of definition in the gameboy games allowed the player to see the Pokemon world as dark as they liked. It didn't HAVE to be the anime if the player didn't like that interpretation.
The first generation also had a 90s eco-conservation angle to it, that has been missing from the series ever since. The incredibly prolific Poison type, the multiple "created by humanity's folly" pokemon, the sheer rarity of pure Grass type pokemon, along with the number of one-off gift/trade pokemon, made the world feel a lot less pro-pokemon. Not every NPC talked about how much they loved Pokemon, and the villainous team had an explicit agenda of using Pokemon as tools and nothing else.
Depending on what you want out of Pokemon, any generation could be considered "the best", even if it is mechanically weak or missing features.
linkandzelda
Member
The Nostalgia in me says Diamond and Pearl but from an objective standpoint BW2 are the best Pokemon games with regards to the single player and the sheer amount of content, all of it great. However going back to them now you won't have the same experience as Pokemon is now very much an online series, competitive battling and trading for shinies and Events is a very large part of the fun so in that way you will probably have the best experience with whatever the newest game is at any point in time.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
Black 2 White 2 are the ones that do the most interesting things with the formula.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
I still think HeartGold and SoulSilver are the best games in the series. The only one I haven't played is Black/White 2.
Runners up are Black/White and X/Y
Runners up are Black/White and X/Y
Nocturnowl
Member
I personally prefer Black/White 1 to the sequels due to pacing and the heavier usage of new pokemon but I think Black2/White2 is a valid choice as being one of the very best so far along with Heart Gold/Soul Silver if you can get past the somewhat sluggish Gen 4 game speed.
Andrefpvs
Member
My favourite is Black and White for the unique take on the single-player campaign. It kind of breaks my heart that the people who skipped (or didn't complete) Black and White are usually the same people who complain about Pokémon campaigns being always the same. They tried something new with Black and White. Some people liked it, others didn't. Myself, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. But many didn't even give it a shot.
But, objectively speaking, the best game is probably Black 2 and White 2, just for the sheer amount of content that game has. It's absolutely insane that a Pokémon game exists that could top HGSS in terms of content offered.
If we're talking about online features, then the Gen VI games (XY and ORAS) have made great strides in that field. Everything is so much more convenient, it's seriously great. Unfortunately, the single player experience took a big hit when compared to Generations IV and V.
But, objectively speaking, the best game is probably Black 2 and White 2, just for the sheer amount of content that game has. It's absolutely insane that a Pokémon game exists that could top HGSS in terms of content offered.
If we're talking about online features, then the Gen VI games (XY and ORAS) have made great strides in that field. Everything is so much more convenient, it's seriously great. Unfortunately, the single player experience took a big hit when compared to Generations IV and V.
Yeah definitely, but I'm just talking about older games. Things like trading and battle frontier have little to no value in the non-current games, to me at least.
Battlechili
Banned
Heartgold/Soulsilver has the most content of any of the games, having two whole regions and supporting Pokemon from newer gens. Its by far my favorite and I'd argue its the best. Even has the original 8-bit soundtrack on it as an option for nostalgia.
That said, the Mystery Dungeon games are fantastic and arguably better than the mainline games, and I hear that Explorers of Sky is where it hit its peak.
This game is how to get a heavily damaged touch screen.
That said, the Mystery Dungeon games are fantastic and arguably better than the mainline games, and I hear that Explorers of Sky is where it hit its peak.
RIP my touchscreen
This game is how to get a heavily damaged touch screen.
Battlechili
Banned
The original games didn't have a separation between special defense and special attack. It was just a special stat to represent both. The games were broken as heck. I mean I can understand you saying the remakes afterwards, but the original first gen has had a lot of needed fixes.
Angst-Incarnate
Banned
I really like everything that ORAS has to offer.
Stadium 2
Lost interest after the 2nd gen. The 2nd gen has a big flaw in that the early game is awful when it comes to catching compelling pokemon. It makes up for it with its post-game. The Game Boy aesthetic of the first 2 gens is so classic to me nothing compares. Then getting that Stadium and loading up your pokemon and seeing them battle in 3D. Mind blowing. Stadium also offered much more challenging trainers to fight than in the Game Boy game so it was a post-game of sorts. It was also really convenient in that you could trade without a link cable, could access information on when pokemon can learn certain moves in any version they're available in, you could play your game on it and speed the gameplay up either 2x or 3x speed and you could even store pokemon on the cartridge so you could start a new game and carry pokemon over from the last one without needing another Game Boy and pokemon game cartridge. Seems very un-Nintendo-like today, but it happened. Now we got pokemon bank subscription and no Stadium equivalent. Gee thanks. Their enthusiasm for the series clearly peaked in Gen 2 and so did mine.
Lost interest after the 2nd gen. The 2nd gen has a big flaw in that the early game is awful when it comes to catching compelling pokemon. It makes up for it with its post-game. The Game Boy aesthetic of the first 2 gens is so classic to me nothing compares. Then getting that Stadium and loading up your pokemon and seeing them battle in 3D. Mind blowing. Stadium also offered much more challenging trainers to fight than in the Game Boy game so it was a post-game of sorts. It was also really convenient in that you could trade without a link cable, could access information on when pokemon can learn certain moves in any version they're available in, you could play your game on it and speed the gameplay up either 2x or 3x speed and you could even store pokemon on the cartridge so you could start a new game and carry pokemon over from the last one without needing another Game Boy and pokemon game cartridge. Seems very un-Nintendo-like today, but it happened. Now we got pokemon bank subscription and no Stadium equivalent. Gee thanks. Their enthusiasm for the series clearly peaked in Gen 2 and so did mine.
GreatMightySymp
Member
Depends on the legendary you want, and some version-specific Pokemon. And some minor stuff like the last town being different depending on the version.
As far as the topic goes, easily B/W, with B2/W2 and HG/SS being behind that. Was nice to play a Pokemon game that wasn't baby mode the entire way through and had an actual storyline. After playing through the dreck that was X/Y/OR/AS, I'm burnt out on the series since they went back to the old formula.
Andrefpvs
Member
Getting Pokémon White is fine. If you like it and want the sequel, then you should get White 2 afterwards.
Dedication Through Light
Member
yes pokemon trading card game is the best pokemon game on handhelds, best on consoles is Pokemon Battle Revolution.
Pokemon Diamond is best pokemon version.
Aaronrules380
Member
The originals are by far the worst. So many terrible design decisions and glitches
And this comes from someone who started on gen 1, and who loved it at the time
And this comes from someone who started on gen 1, and who loved it at the time