Overall, I prefer the newer generations over the older ones, and I end up finding the odd generations more thoroughly enjoyable compared to the even ones. So I guess this makes me a combination of a Newgenner and an Oddgenner. However, I have found most games to be enjoyable and entertaining to play at some point, there is only really one exception to this, more about that later. So some might categorize me as a Truegenner, but I wouldn't do so myself. My focus for the games is mostly about the general gameplay. Regarding the Pokemon introduced in each generation, there are very few I actually dislike, I like the vast majority of all Pokemon from all generations. But regarding that, I do still prefer the newer generations since they have all new Pokemon and all the old ones as well. If not from start, then they will get them eventually, at least.
Generation one was the first one I played. I think it was fine when it was new, but it is unplayable to me today. This is the only generation where I prefer the original pair over the third version, Red and Blue might have had worse sprites but they didn't force you to start with a Pikachu and they did not make a failed attempt at fusing the anime with the games, which I never liked how Yellow did. I did play these games a lot when they were new, and I played them still over the second generation for a long while. Today I can't find any reason to play them. I don't care much for nostalgia, if I wanted it I would have to put up with ancient graphics and physics as well as outdated mechanics, which I'm not a fan of. Then the remakes came around and fixed pretty much all the problems from the originals so that I would never have to play a game from this generation again.
The games from generation two were, like their precursors, good when they were new, but unplayable to me today. However, I think they are considerably more flawed than the first generation games, in addition to also having outdated physics, mechanics and graphics. They have really huge problems with training and level curve as well as Pokemon distribution and Johto never got the focus on itself and its own Pokemon as it was reliant on Kanto for several things like post-game and final bosses. I also think those games are extremely overrated, most people love them for the reasons I can't understand at all. Sure, they introduced several things that are standards in the series today, but they only really deserve credit for introducing them as most of these things weren't well done back then. I didn't play these as much when they were new compared to the first and third generation, I believe the lack of replayability and the horribly executed post-game were the causes of this. Either way, Crystal was my favorite from here since it had several things like the somewhat changed story and the Battle Tower. As horrible as it was back then, this is the very first incarnation of all of its successors like the Maison we have today.
With Ruby and Sapphire, things were starting to get interesting. Unlike G/S/C, they offered a completely new start for the series, which is something I have grown to appreciate more and more with time. They reworked the mechanics of the series, making the games more playable than the earlier ones. Unlike their precursors, I find these (and the other games from this generation) to be both playable and enjoyable by modern standards. Their age has started to show, but I still feel like they are far from being outdated.
The main problem with Ruby and Sapphire was that they didn't have access to all the Kanto and Johto Pokemon. How to fix that? Remake the games from first generation to make all Kanto and some Johto Pokemon available, also fixing all of their problems like adding the Sevii Islands for a good post-game as well as introducing the VS. Seeker to make training easy. I think FR/LG are really fantastic remakes, the best remakes in the series and the only ones which in my eyes had a valid reason to exist.
Despite FR/LG being a thing, some Johto Pokemon were still unavailable. They could be obtained from Colosseum, or from the final game of the generation, Emerald, which is my favorite game from this generation. And it featured the Battle Frontier which was my gateway into a more competitive way of playing. So it will always be special to me, even if it isn't my favorite anymore.
Diamond and Pearl were, unlike Ruby and Sapphire, more of a follow-up than a new start. Which is not something I find bad, but I don't like it as much as when the games focus on a new start. I did like D/P, they were the most enjoyable games for me at the time when 4th generation was the newest.
Though they did have a few shortcomings like the regional Pokedex and some other stuff like inconveniences with the Poketch and usefulness in general, but fortunately, Platinum came around to fix those things. It improved on much else like the story and the post-game as well, keeping everything D/P had done well and made it even better. Platinum is my favorite game from this generation and it is one of my favorite games in the whole series, I'd say it is my 4th favorite from all games we have gotten so far.
This generation could have ended here, and more importantly, ended on top, but it did not. We got HG/SS, the first remakes existing solely due to fan demand, but unfortunately not the last ones. They are the only games in the series that I have never liked, they didn't fix any of the problems from G/S/C and made several things worse. I played through the main storyline, but could never finish the post-game. How are you supposed to complete the Pokedex or train Pokemon when there is nowhere to train through the entire game? I gave up on both and have never gone back to attempting either again because it just wasn't fun. The other parts of the games did nothing to make up for this, I thought the following Pokemon was the most useless gimmick ever and I didn't care for most of the other stuff they had to offer. Removing features or making them worse was a terrible move. They had too much focus on the wrong things to make these games enjoyable for me. Many people seem to like them for nostalgic reasons, but in my honest opinion, screw nostalgia when I can actually play a good game instead and have fun with it instead of trying to recreate overrated parts of my childhood.
Overall, the fourth generation was mixed for me. I did like D/P/P, but unfortunately, I lost a lot of interest in Pokemon five months before Platinum was released. Platinum did unfortunately not give me back all of my interest from the past, and HG/SS did nothing, they only made it worse. Later on, I started appreciating Platinum much more. Sadly, one of the shortcomings of this generation is that it only really has one game worth playing.
Fifth generation is my favorite generation in practically every single aspect. I love everything about it, the new start feeling, the new Pokemon, the region, the story, the characters, the gameplay, the post-game, the mini-games and the new features. And sequels. Took them long enough to actually do good and successful sequels. Looking back, this was everything fourth generation could have been as they are on the same system. This generation also brought me back into Pokemon after my burnout from the latter part of fourth generation. Everything about this generation was just so much fun, collecting 649 Pokemon in four games or training several Pokemon to high levels was awesome, much more so than in any previous generation. You know a game is good if it is an RPG and the actual training and level grinding is enjoyable, which is the case for me reagarding these games. I like B/W2 a little better than B/W because of their larger amount of content, but all four are wonderful games and my favorite games out of everything I have ever played.
Generation six is, for the lack of a better expression, good, but it could have been so much better. I like the new features introduced, but I don't like how they removed several features from fifth generation that I liked. I know that features has been removed in all previous generations, but this was honestly the first time it bothered me. X/Y also had a lot of fan pandering to Kanto fans, which I don't like. If I wanted Kanto Pokemon and areas, I'd play a Kanto game. The post-game and story also felt like huge steps down compared to fifth and fourth generation (not counting HG/SS). Still good games though, but not my absolute favorites.
And then we have OR/AS. Yay, more fan pandering. Though I don't have an actual opinion on these games, simply because they are the only ones in the series I haven't played. They just don't interest me enough to warrant a purchase. While there are several things I like about them, it feels like they offer very little new compared to X/Y, and they don't improve on the original Hoenn games in some areas where it would have been an excellent idea to do so. On the whole, these games seem to be slightly worse than X/Y from my perspective, which isn't bad, but they could have been so much better.
I can't properly judge this generation yet as it is (hopefully) not over yet. Really hoping that the next Kalos game(s) will be what truly gives the best 6th gen experience. If we for whatever reasons don't get any more games from this generation, then I'll actually be okay if they cut this generation short and make generation seven much better from the start. If the pattern continues, the next generation will likely be my new favorite anyway. Though I still really want generation six to end in the best possible way.
That's what I have to say about this. My favorite games are B/W and B/W2, with X/Y, Platinum and Emerald as runner-ups. My least favorites are R/B/Y, G/S/C and HG/SS.
Generation one was the first one I played. I think it was fine when it was new, but it is unplayable to me today. This is the only generation where I prefer the original pair over the third version, Red and Blue might have had worse sprites but they didn't force you to start with a Pikachu and they did not make a failed attempt at fusing the anime with the games, which I never liked how Yellow did. I did play these games a lot when they were new, and I played them still over the second generation for a long while. Today I can't find any reason to play them. I don't care much for nostalgia, if I wanted it I would have to put up with ancient graphics and physics as well as outdated mechanics, which I'm not a fan of. Then the remakes came around and fixed pretty much all the problems from the originals so that I would never have to play a game from this generation again.
The games from generation two were, like their precursors, good when they were new, but unplayable to me today. However, I think they are considerably more flawed than the first generation games, in addition to also having outdated physics, mechanics and graphics. They have really huge problems with training and level curve as well as Pokemon distribution and Johto never got the focus on itself and its own Pokemon as it was reliant on Kanto for several things like post-game and final bosses. I also think those games are extremely overrated, most people love them for the reasons I can't understand at all. Sure, they introduced several things that are standards in the series today, but they only really deserve credit for introducing them as most of these things weren't well done back then. I didn't play these as much when they were new compared to the first and third generation, I believe the lack of replayability and the horribly executed post-game were the causes of this. Either way, Crystal was my favorite from here since it had several things like the somewhat changed story and the Battle Tower. As horrible as it was back then, this is the very first incarnation of all of its successors like the Maison we have today.
With Ruby and Sapphire, things were starting to get interesting. Unlike G/S/C, they offered a completely new start for the series, which is something I have grown to appreciate more and more with time. They reworked the mechanics of the series, making the games more playable than the earlier ones. Unlike their precursors, I find these (and the other games from this generation) to be both playable and enjoyable by modern standards. Their age has started to show, but I still feel like they are far from being outdated.
The main problem with Ruby and Sapphire was that they didn't have access to all the Kanto and Johto Pokemon. How to fix that? Remake the games from first generation to make all Kanto and some Johto Pokemon available, also fixing all of their problems like adding the Sevii Islands for a good post-game as well as introducing the VS. Seeker to make training easy. I think FR/LG are really fantastic remakes, the best remakes in the series and the only ones which in my eyes had a valid reason to exist.
Despite FR/LG being a thing, some Johto Pokemon were still unavailable. They could be obtained from Colosseum, or from the final game of the generation, Emerald, which is my favorite game from this generation. And it featured the Battle Frontier which was my gateway into a more competitive way of playing. So it will always be special to me, even if it isn't my favorite anymore.
Diamond and Pearl were, unlike Ruby and Sapphire, more of a follow-up than a new start. Which is not something I find bad, but I don't like it as much as when the games focus on a new start. I did like D/P, they were the most enjoyable games for me at the time when 4th generation was the newest.
Though they did have a few shortcomings like the regional Pokedex and some other stuff like inconveniences with the Poketch and usefulness in general, but fortunately, Platinum came around to fix those things. It improved on much else like the story and the post-game as well, keeping everything D/P had done well and made it even better. Platinum is my favorite game from this generation and it is one of my favorite games in the whole series, I'd say it is my 4th favorite from all games we have gotten so far.
This generation could have ended here, and more importantly, ended on top, but it did not. We got HG/SS, the first remakes existing solely due to fan demand, but unfortunately not the last ones. They are the only games in the series that I have never liked, they didn't fix any of the problems from G/S/C and made several things worse. I played through the main storyline, but could never finish the post-game. How are you supposed to complete the Pokedex or train Pokemon when there is nowhere to train through the entire game? I gave up on both and have never gone back to attempting either again because it just wasn't fun. The other parts of the games did nothing to make up for this, I thought the following Pokemon was the most useless gimmick ever and I didn't care for most of the other stuff they had to offer. Removing features or making them worse was a terrible move. They had too much focus on the wrong things to make these games enjoyable for me. Many people seem to like them for nostalgic reasons, but in my honest opinion, screw nostalgia when I can actually play a good game instead and have fun with it instead of trying to recreate overrated parts of my childhood.
Overall, the fourth generation was mixed for me. I did like D/P/P, but unfortunately, I lost a lot of interest in Pokemon five months before Platinum was released. Platinum did unfortunately not give me back all of my interest from the past, and HG/SS did nothing, they only made it worse. Later on, I started appreciating Platinum much more. Sadly, one of the shortcomings of this generation is that it only really has one game worth playing.
Fifth generation is my favorite generation in practically every single aspect. I love everything about it, the new start feeling, the new Pokemon, the region, the story, the characters, the gameplay, the post-game, the mini-games and the new features. And sequels. Took them long enough to actually do good and successful sequels. Looking back, this was everything fourth generation could have been as they are on the same system. This generation also brought me back into Pokemon after my burnout from the latter part of fourth generation. Everything about this generation was just so much fun, collecting 649 Pokemon in four games or training several Pokemon to high levels was awesome, much more so than in any previous generation. You know a game is good if it is an RPG and the actual training and level grinding is enjoyable, which is the case for me reagarding these games. I like B/W2 a little better than B/W because of their larger amount of content, but all four are wonderful games and my favorite games out of everything I have ever played.
Generation six is, for the lack of a better expression, good, but it could have been so much better. I like the new features introduced, but I don't like how they removed several features from fifth generation that I liked. I know that features has been removed in all previous generations, but this was honestly the first time it bothered me. X/Y also had a lot of fan pandering to Kanto fans, which I don't like. If I wanted Kanto Pokemon and areas, I'd play a Kanto game. The post-game and story also felt like huge steps down compared to fifth and fourth generation (not counting HG/SS). Still good games though, but not my absolute favorites.
And then we have OR/AS. Yay, more fan pandering. Though I don't have an actual opinion on these games, simply because they are the only ones in the series I haven't played. They just don't interest me enough to warrant a purchase. While there are several things I like about them, it feels like they offer very little new compared to X/Y, and they don't improve on the original Hoenn games in some areas where it would have been an excellent idea to do so. On the whole, these games seem to be slightly worse than X/Y from my perspective, which isn't bad, but they could have been so much better.
I can't properly judge this generation yet as it is (hopefully) not over yet. Really hoping that the next Kalos game(s) will be what truly gives the best 6th gen experience. If we for whatever reasons don't get any more games from this generation, then I'll actually be okay if they cut this generation short and make generation seven much better from the start. If the pattern continues, the next generation will likely be my new favorite anyway. Though I still really want generation six to end in the best possible way.
That's what I have to say about this. My favorite games are B/W and B/W2, with X/Y, Platinum and Emerald as runner-ups. My least favorites are R/B/Y, G/S/C and HG/SS.