Do you prefer newer or older games?

BW2>C>Pt>GS>E>ORAS>BW>HGSS>FRLG>DP>XY>RS>RB>Y for the main series games and PMD Explorers of Darkness is my favourite spin-off game.

Nostalgia factor is irrelevant to me, so are hype trains (except the Weavile hype for Pokkén Tournament).

Well, I assume know I'm a newgenner. Because I screamed my gratitude to everything holy, right after I found out the "you can keep using that item without opening the bag again to use it some more because we don't want you to lose your precious seconds" fix in BW. I did the same when I found out I could arrange my team by dragging the pokémon because I always use the stylus more than the A/B/X/Y buttons. It's these small arrangements that made me truly enjoy these games because I can find happiness in every Pokémon game.

Now, for the analysis:
Generation 1
Kanto is a simple region, I appreciate that. But the whole Gen1 was too sluggish, too static and too glitchy for me. Nothing much to do post-game. It was really hard for me to build an okay team until the Elite 4. If I give this generation any points, it's for the sake of the 39 pokémon that I like from this generation. Overall 4/12 the worst generation I experienced, in my humble opinion.
Generation 2
The gym leaders and the Elite 4 were brilliantly gimmicked and memorable but artworks were... meh, this generation gave us the best rival. Johto region didn't really grow on me but Gen2 games gave us access to Kanto region post-game. Available pokémon gave me a hard time building a team around Chikorita. Overall 9.5/12, nothing much to say about it and it's the simplicity of it that made me love this generation.
Generation 3
Emerald was my first game. This generation gave us 3 awesome starters, something the previous generation didn't do. I loved the Hoenn region but the water routes still drive me crazy. An incredible champion and gym leader character development yet again but the Elite 4 didn't live up to what I expected. Teambuilding wasn't hard because it literally forces you to have 2 water types and a Ground type to stand a chance against the trainers and the Elite 4. The places which required various HMs lessened the joy of playing the game. Emerald's Battle frontier was an awesome post-game ending. Overall 7.8/12 too much HMs.
Generation 4
Physical/special split, starters with advantages over each other and the game named Platinum, this generation was incredible. Arguably the best champion and all 12 of the gym leaders and Elite 4 were lovable. The game made it hard to build a team with it's limited number of Fire, Fighting, Flying and -to an extent- Ice types which we all sorely needed. Mt. Coronet destroyed my spare time with the sluggish pace of the game. HGSS made everything about Gen2 even better with the added storyline both pre and post game. HG and SS are probably the games with the best after story events. Overall 9/12.
Generation 5
This is my favorite generation. A lovable roster of pokémon (Vanilluxe is a cutie), an incredibly well-developed Elite 4 (unfortunately a little too easy in BW), so many memorable quotes and many things to do post-game. Had probably the best sriminal organization because Team Plasma had many memorable characters like N, Ghetsis, Rood, Colress and Zinzolin. We also had old and neo Plasma splattered in the storyline in B2W2. Feast to the eyes. Overall 10/12, Tepig FTW.
Generation 6
I felt the hypes and heartbrakes of people who lived miles away from me while scrolling past news in Serebii. XY had so many tiny details that caught my heart but it was Pokémon-Amie that convinced me to buy this game almost immediately. 3D models could wait until Generation 7 if Pokémon-Amie didn't exist this gen. I had my hopes high for ORAS, with the somewhat lessened obligatory use of HMs and the Eon flute, I highly enjoyed the game, I started to see the crippling flaws 2 weeks after finishing the game. Overall 7/12.
EDIT: Fixed typos.
 
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I prefer majority of the gens but I usually play the latest games more often because I like battling with my own Pokemon against others a lot. It should be noted that it is rather difficult for me to find people in my local that have the older games and play competively at the same time.
I play the older games just to breeze through the game and try out stuff that I wouldn't do in my main game: using trash pokemon, using overpowered pokemon, in-game only trade challenges, mono-teams, nicknamed teams playthrough, use healing/battle items etc.
 
I'm a newgenner. I need features like respawning legendaries, reusable TMs, multiple key items on y, new breeding mechanics, experience off of caught pokemon, and exp. share key items. On the other hand, HGSS are my favorite games. The overworld looks good. The game has the pokeathlon and pokemon to follow you around. It has battle frontier, the apricon pokeballs, and the pokewalker. So many good features and one of the largest regions. Tons of available legendaries. Also, you can battle Red.
 
I'm a newgenner.On the other hand, HGSS are my favorite games. The overworld looks good. The game has the pokeathlon and pokemon to follow you around. It has battle frontier, the apricon pokeballs, and the pokewalker. So many good features and one of the largest regions. Tons of available legendaries. Also, you can battle Red.
HGSS were good enough to be the last games of the franchise. Tons of content, events, and it was a remake so I wouldn't complain if we never got to gen5 (though I'm glad we did).
 
Anything before Gen V is unplayable to me. I've gotten too accustomed to the Quality of Life changes that GameFreak made in Unova and Kalos to ever go back to earlier games.
 
RGBY and GSC I will usually replay once every few months but often as a small speed run. Trying to beat Silver with only my starter or make the "if I was really in Pokemon what would I use" playthroughs in Red.

Everything else between Gen 3 and Gen 5 other than HGSS (remakes of my favourites and pokeathlon is good fun) I can't touch.
 
NoCheese Edit: Since there is a ton of overlap with an existing thread, I merged "Your favorite Gen?" into this existing discussion.

--

Almost every pokemon fan has a favorite generation for multiple reasons. What's yours, and why? Also, for this thread, I'm having remakes count as the gen they're remaking, just to help make things simple.

Well, my favorite gen has to be 3rd gen. OR/AS were good, though I find the originals to be more enjoyable(Yes, I'm that guy). Hoenn is just such a great region. It may have too much water, but whenever I play any of the Gen 3 games, I feel like I'm on a tropical vacation. The region is just so varied and tropical, it makes me wish we had another one like it. Also, the Pokemon designs and the music are just great! All the pokemon are brightly colored and help you feel immersed in the environment you're in, and the music is just so goooooood! *Trumpets Intensify*
 
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Honestly, I can't truly say that I have a favorite generation; I like all of them in their own ways, since they all have their own high and low points compared to other gens.

-I love Gen I for it's non-linearity. It may not have much from a story perspective, but I love being able to choose my own path throughout the game once you reach Cerulean. Want to save the Vermillion Gym for later? No biggie! Want to get to the Safari Zone and catch a Tauros as soon as possible? Sure thing, you can get the Rocket Hideout & Pokemon tower quests done first so you can get to Fuchsia, and have a Tauros before battling Surge, Erika, Sabrina, and Koga. The freedom of choice on how to play through the adventure makes the games fun, and also adds a layer of personal touch to the games. The game-breaking glitches also add their own layer of personality to the games (abusing the Ditto/Mew glitches also make R/B the only games in the franchise where you can complete the Pokedex without trading, which is especially handy in modern times).

-I love the whole "atmosphere" of Gen II. Johto may be a small region, but the little bits of Poke-history scattered throughout the region & the Japanese-inspired architecture/inhabitants give Johto a very distinct personality compared to other regions in the series. Gen II also introduced some of my favorite Pokemon as well, even though many of them feel like DLC characters for Red/Blue Pokemon, or don't really serve a purpose. Gen II are also, ironically, my favorite games in the series from a graphical standpoint. 3D models are cool and all, but I still enjoy the sprites, and the Pokemon & overworld sprites of Gen II are my favorites in the series. They're also the longest games in the series since we get to explore Kanto after Johto has been conquered.

-Similar to Gold/Silver, I love the landscape of the Hoenn region from Gen III. The tropical climate and varied landscapes make the games a blast to explore, more so than other games. The Battle Frontier was awesome, and introduced a lengthy, challenging post-game sidequest that tested the skills of the player. In fact, I feel like competitive-level play was at its best in the R/S/E era, both in-game and vs other players; advanced definitely feels like the most balanced metagame to me. The Game Cube games are also fun; Colosseum is the only Pokemon game in the series that was legitimately challenging to beat imo.

-Gen IV would easily count as my least favorite generation, but there are still many things it did right. Wi-Fi trading and battling became a thing, the physical/special split fixed a lot of problems Pokemon had with its movepools, Platinum brought us another awesome Battle Frontier (which would sadly be our last one for the time being), and HGSS fixed a lot of issues the Gen II games had, and brought us the biggest games in the entire series: two regions (with a spruced up Kanto), the Battle Frontier from Platinum, and even the awesome Pokeathlon for those less crazy about battling.

-Gen V gets props for having a half-decent story. And while not many people cared about it, I liked how the 1st B/W games had all-new Pokemon before the post-game,and even had an easy way to level grind in order to allow us to experiment and try out the new Pokemon species instead of falling back on tried and true species. Furthermore, lack of reliance on HMs was nice, and allowed for players to actually use full teams this time around, instead of dedicating a slot or two to HM slaves. I also really like most of the Unova Pokemon that didn't try to be knock-offs of previous species. Pokestar Studios from the second games was a fun way to waste some time. And don't forget about reusable TMs either; no more replaying through a save just to get another copy of a one-off TM like Earthquake.

-Gen VI obviously introduced Megas to the series, which was a cool concept that gave new life to many Pokemon that were falling behind the power curve or just plain sucked in the first place. I was sorta worried about how the franchise would translate from sprites to full 3D models (games like Stadium and Colosseum haven't aged very well from a graphical standpoint), but the Pokemon and regions look great on the 3DS, and I can still see them looking good years later. I've grown to appreciate the minimal amount of new Pokemon, since all of them fill their own unique niches and not a single one feels useless and unnecessary. Being able to customize your trainer in X/Y was fantastic, and helped with making your character and adventure feel more personal. And in a similar case to Johto, Kalos has its own distinct personalty to it that made the region memorable.

tl;dr: I don't have a favorite generation, because they're all good in their own rights.
 
Honestly, I can't truly say that I have a favorite generation; I like all of them in their own ways, since they all have their own high and low points compared to other gens.

-I love Gen I for it's non-linearity. It may not have much from a story perspective, but I love being able to choose my own path throughout the game once you reach Cerulean. Want to save the Vermillion Gym for later? No biggie! Want to get to the Safari Zone and catch a Tauros as soon as possible? Sure thing, you can get the Rocket Hideout & Pokemon tower quests done first so you can get to Fuchsia, and have a Tauros before battling Surge, Erika, Sabrina, and Koga. The freedom of choice on how to play through the adventure makes the games fun, and also adds a layer of personal touch to the games. The game-breaking glitches also add their own layer of personality to the games (abusing the Ditto/Mew glitches also make R/B the only games in the franchise where you can complete the Pokedex without trading, which is especially handy in modern times).

-I love the whole "atmosphere" of Gen II. Johto may be a small region, but the little bits of Poke-history scattered throughout the region & the Japanese-inspired architecture/inhabitants give Johto a very distinct personality compared to other regions in the series. Gen II also introduced some of my favorite Pokemon as well, even though many of them feel like DLC characters for Red/Blue Pokemon, or don't really serve a purpose. Gen II are also, ironically, my favorite games in the series from a graphical standpoint. 3D models are cool and all, but I still enjoy the sprites, and the Pokemon & overworld sprites of Gen II are my favorites in the series. They're also the longest games in the series since we get to explore Kanto after Johto has been conquered.

-Similar to Gold/Silver, I love the landscape of the Hoenn region from Gen III. The tropical climate and varied landscapes make the games a blast to explore, more so than other games. The Battle Frontier was awesome, and introduced a lengthy, challenging post-game sidequest that tested the skills of the player. In fact, I feel like competitive-level play was at its best in the R/S/E era, both in-game and vs other players; advanced definitely feels like the most balanced metagame to me. The Game Cube games are also fun; Colosseum is the only Pokemon game in the series that was legitimately challenging to beat imo.

-Gen IV would easily count as my least favorite generation, but there are still many things it did right. Wi-Fi trading and battling became a thing, the physical/special split fixed a lot of problems Pokemon had with its movepools, Platinum brought us another awesome Battle Frontier (which would sadly be our last one for the time being), and HGSS fixed a lot of issues the Gen II games had, and brought us the biggest games in the entire series: two regions (with a spruced up Kanto), the Battle Frontier from Platinum, and even the awesome Pokeathlon for those less crazy about battling.

-Gen V gets props for having a half-decent story. And while not many people cared about it, I liked how the 1st B/W games had all-new Pokemon before the post-game,and even had an easy way to level grind in order to allow us to experiment and try out the new Pokemon species instead of falling back on tried and true species. Furthermore, lack of reliance on HMs was nice, and allowed for players to actually use full teams this time around, instead of dedicating a slot or two to HM slaves. I also really like most of the Unova Pokemon that didn't try to be knock-offs of previous species. Pokestar Studios from the second games was a fun way to waste some time. And don't forget about reusable TMs either; no more replaying through a save just to get another copy of a one-off TM like Earthquake.

-Gen VI obviously introduced Megas to the series, which was a cool concept that gave new life to many Pokemon that were falling behind the power curve or just plain sucked in the first place. I was sorta worried about how the franchise would translate from sprites to full 3D models (games like Stadium and Colosseum haven't aged very well from a graphical standpoint), but the Pokemon and regions look great on the 3DS, and I can still see them looking good years later. I've grown to appreciate the minimal amount of new Pokemon, since all of them fill their own unique niches and not a single one feels useless and unnecessary. Being able to customize your trainer in X/Y was fantastic, and helped with making your character and adventure feel more personal. And in a similar case to Johto, Kalos has its own distinct personalty to it that made the region memorable.

tl;dr: I don't have a favorite generation, because they're all good in their own rights.
That's a very good way of putting it, and wrapping everything up in one general statement for each gen.
 
Gen IV.

In terms of plot (and specifically in Platinum), it was most compelling. The mechanics improved a lot but one thing I really enjoyed was the climate - the addition of snow was something sorely missing from the previous generations. A lot of my favorite pokemon debuted in this gen as well such as Luxray, Staraptor, Abomasnow, Mamoswine, Garchomp, and Heatran. Many of the legends had fantastic designs and continued the importance of the box legend to the plot trope Gen 3 introduced, which I feel enhanced the games. Also, Sinnoh's Battle Frontier was better than Hoenn's. Flint & Volkner were cool and it gave us the greatest in game Champion ever, Cynthia.

When (if?) they remake this, I would love if they based the remakes off of Platinum instead of D/P.
 
Gen IV.

In terms of plot (and specifically in Platinum), it was most compelling. The mechanics improved a lot but one thing I really enjoyed was the climate - the addition of snow was something sorely missing from the previous generations. A lot of my favorite pokemon debuted in this gen as well such as Luxray, Staraptor, Abomasnow, Mamoswine, Garchomp, and Heatran. Many of the legends had fantastic designs and continued the importance of the box legend to the plot trope Gen 3 introduced, which I feel enhanced the games. Also, Sinnoh's Battle Frontier was better than Hoenn's. Flint & Volkner were cool and it gave us the greatest in game Champion ever, Cynthia.

When (if?) they remake this, I would love if they based the remakes off of Platinum instead of D/P.
I agree. I really liked the music and the plot with team galactic as well.
 

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My favorite is Gen 5, in terms of gameplay and competitive battle mechanics.
I love how you face N instead of the champion, I was really fascinated when I was redirected into N's castle.
Competitive battle in Gen 5 was more diverse than in Gen 6. You can just come up with a good strategy with Pokemon you like, instead of being forced to use Mega Kangaskhan or Mawile.

Gen 6 has the best Pokemon designs. Megas are also cool, design wise, and is a good move to revive older Pokemon.
However, I dislike their stats-- adding 100 points to a Pokemon is way too much. It also makes it unfair for other Pokemon.
VGC in Gen 6 is less diverse than Gen 5. You have teams that look more or less the same over and over again.
 
I think that all of the games are good which is why I like Pokemon. The older games are more classic but then the new games add interesting concepts like mega evolutions but the plot of the games gets worse. I think that the first 4 generations were the best. I didn't like pokemon black and white because of the limited pokemon but I did like the plot twist at the end. Black and white 2 was worse in the sense that there was no twist, but there was the return of old pokemon which did make it better. My favourite generation was probably gen 4.

Let's move this to the unpopular opinions thread!
 
I think that all of the games are good which is why I like Pokemon. The older games are more classic but then the new games add interesting concepts like mega evolutions but the plot of the games gets worse. I think that the first 4 generations were the best. I didn't like pokemon black and white because of the limited pokemon but I did like the plot twist at the end. Black and white 2 was worse in the sense that there was no twist, but there was the return of old pokemon which did make it better. My favourite generation was probably gen 4.

Let's move this to the unpopular opinions thread!
Technically the subject fits both this thread and there. Though honestly, I think liking any game the best aside from the originals is an unpopular opinion by definition...
 
Technically the subject fits both this thread and there. Though honestly, I think liking any game the best aside from the originals is an unpopular opinion by definition...
I honestly run into more gen 1 hate then anything else. As far as this actual thread goes my favorite gen varies based on what we are asking about. Like are we asking about the competitive part or about the region/pokemon/NPCs because this gives me very different answers.

In we go by competitive: Gen 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 5. Four because I found it the most balanced, and 6 because it is fun. I also really enjoy competitive gen 2, but the existence of Snorlax is a pretty big neg in my book. Gen 1 is meh for battle, but more enjoyable then gen 3 in my book. Gen 5 was so bad that I almost quite pokemon.

If you go more by the in game stuff: Gen 1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5. Gen one has a large portion of my favorite NPCs and a good chuck of my favorite pokemon. The freedom in gym leader battle choice is fun and I like Kanto as a region way more then the others. Second gen had that awesome red battle, good mons, and going to two regions was awesome. Gen 4 had the hardest elite four and I really like a lot of the evolutions granted to older mons and a lot of the newer ones. Gen 6 had a lot of really cool mons but the region was bland. Gen 3 had too much water but in general I liked the mons. Gen five was was shit. Teh region was trashed and the only mon I really liked was Victini. Not to mention all the worthless mons added just to be trash replacements for older mons because they wanted that "fresh" start feel.

That being said, I have enjoyed every gen but 5.
 
I honestly run into more gen 1 hate then anything else. As far as this actual thread goes my favorite gen varies based on what we are asking about. Like are we asking about the competitive part or about the region/pokemon/NPCs because this gives me very different answers.

In we go by competitive: Gen 4, 6, 2, 1, 3, 5. Four because I found it the most balanced, and 6 because it is fun. I also really enjoy competitive gen 2, but the existence of Snorlax is a pretty big neg in my book. Gen 1 is meh for battle, but more enjoyable then gen 3 in my book. Gen 5 was so bad that I almost quite pokemon.

If you go more by the in game stuff: Gen 1, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5. Gen one has a large portion of my favorite NPCs and a good chuck of my favorite pokemon. The freedom in gym leader battle choice is fun and I like Kanto as a region way more then the others. Second gen had that awesome red battle, good mons, and going to two regions was awesome. Gen 4 had the hardest elite four and I really like a lot of the evolutions granted to older mons and a lot of the newer ones. Gen 6 had a lot of really cool mons but the region was bland. Gen 3 had too much water but in general I liked the mons. Gen five was was shit. Teh region was trashed and the only mon I really liked was Victini. Not to mention all the worthless mons added just to be trash replacements for older mons because they wanted that "fresh" start feel.

That being said, I have enjoyed every gen but 5.
I agree with absolutely everything here apart from gen 4's elite four being the hardest. I actually thought gen 5/1 had the hardest.
 
That being said, I have enjoyed every gen but 5.
go back to your goddamn room

jk, I respect your opinion, though my favorite gen is 5.

Anyway, I've only played Generation V and VI's metagames, and I personally prefer VI's, especially XY's. While I did find Generation V's weather wars fun, I find the balance XY brought more fun.

In terms of actual in-game generations, in order, it's 5, 4, 6, 2, 1, 3. Gen 5 brought the most immersion for me, and truly got me back into Pokemon. 4 was my first generation, and had a lot of good stuff in it (Physical-Special split, fun region, Togekiss, etc.) 6 was bland, but it's still fun enough for me. 2 was also immersive, and was pretty fun to play. Gen 1 was iffy and bland, but still had a decent amount of fun things and kicked the franchise off. Gen 3 was bland, with the only good thing coming out of it being its Pokemon and contests. Other than that, Gen 3 was pretty bad.

I still enjoy every generation though.
 
I agree with absolutely everything here apart from gen 4's elite four being the hardest. I actually thought gen 5/1 had the hardest.
Really? I can easily understand finding 1 the hardest, but... 5's? I always found it the easiest; Gen 6 exp share notwithstanding.
 
Really? I can easily understand finding 1 the hardest, but... 5's? I always found it the easiest; Gen 6 exp share notwithstanding.
Indeed the elite four only had four pokemon, but, I found that by the time I got to the elite four most of pokemon were under levelled (this is in pokemon black and white versions) and due to the fact you could only have Unova pokemon, my teams were the worst. I kept repeating the same type like 2 or 3 times. I think Gen 6's elite four was the easiest, specifically pokemon X and Y! (Tell me this was gen 6' am I right?)
 
I definetly prefer the hoenn games because those were the first games I really played. I began getting into pokemon more serious for fourth gen so I also love sinnoh. Definitely the nostalgia factor is there, but I played gen 1 and 2 and they just couldn't compare to gen 3 and 4 in my mind. The real selling point for me is the battle frontiers in Emerald and platinum. Gen 5 was definetly ish in my opinion, and gen 6 was a step up, but mostly because it became significantly easier to breed for perfects and battle. All in all though, definetly a hoenn guy!
Don't you feel tossed around the region at times? Everything was just... put there. And the game makes you go from one place to the other without much guidance at times.
 
Don't you feel tossed around the region at times? Everything was just... put there. And the game makes you go from one place to the other without much guidance at times.
It was my first game, so I didn't have anything to compare it to when I initially played through, so I guess I don't recall feeling too tossed around or confused. And at this point I've played it so many times it just feels natural. I understand how it could feel pretty hectic, but I like the fact that you have to revisit areas and explore everywhere!
 
3-5 and then the others, IMO. RBY and GSC are great experiences aesthetically and of course have all those exploitable bits of code we like to call glitches, but the main source of replay value they have is completing the Pokédex on both generations (inevitably linking up the two along the way), which, while taking longer than completing any game I can think of in the GB/GBC library, doesn't stand up to what's offered in the later generations (there's also playing through the story again, but that's not something that's ever appealed to me much.) Also, you need to either have an emulator or a soldering iron to play them at all as of 5 or so years ago.

The Pokémon data structure from Gen 3 onward is pure genius, and is what gave competitive battling its depth. Take into account the ability to transfer Pokémon forward between generations, the capacity for collecting 'Mons with different spreads/shininess/ball/ability/etc and using them to the fullest on Wi-Fi (confined to Gen 6 now) and the Battle Frontier/Subway/Tower (where team options are more limited, but still) and you have endless possibilities, for most of which you can carry evidence of completion to the most recent games. RNG with all its intricacies in each game and the ability to soft reset on the lovely GCN titles add plenty of fun as well.

Why not Gen 6? Reading this back, I think it's just personal. I haven't had as much drive to play Pokémon over the last few years, don't have any great memories with XY/ORAS, am obviously peeved at the lack of RNG and the pentagon rule, and also don't like the fact you need to keep your 3DS and software updated to use Wi-Fi (which is why I've never once used those features yet). If I pick up one of the games, I'm probably going to be RNGing and training more 'Mons for the sake of posterity.
 

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