[SURVEY] Best Pokemon Game by Generation

[Coaltergeist]

(sorry if I posted this in the incorrect forum last time, let's try this again)

Hello everyone, long time Smogon viewer but first time forum poster here.

We all know that the gen 3 remakes are coming out next month, but I had a question the other day; Which main series Pokemon game is undoubtedly the greatest? And surely all the games have redeeming features, but which one stands out on top in which category? This thread is not big enough to do the type of poll I'm interested in, so I made a survey.

The question is simple; by category, which Pokemon game is the best? Here is the link to the survey.

[url]https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HGzNlezkk3gqe3wyo6jOidwSRlt4F_lAXxhHgmxcW64/viewform?usp=send_form[/URL]

Keep in mind I will post this survey to multiple sites to get a broad range of answers. Who knows, I may even write an article on https://www.screwattack.com to share my results and my personal favorites? May the best game win!

 

[viperGTS]

I'd have to say Diamond/Pearl. I'm not exactly sure why, because they're not even the first games I played from the series. But I loved just about everything about them.

 

[NoCheese]

Just a friendly reminder that we want topics to promote discussion. I'm fine letting this go ahead for now, but should this turn into a string of one sentence answers/votes without much more, I will lock it.

 

[Kittttten]

Heartgold/Soulsilver. They had 2 regions, and I never played G/S/C.

 

[noobcubed]

I picked HG/SS too! I feel it has the most content out of any of the games, and it tickles my nostalgia bone as I was about ten playing Gold and Silver. I'm actually replaying a dual run with my brother at the moment (as in, he has HG, I have SS and we can trade & battle with each other), and having a blast doing so.

I liked some of these categories btw. For example, I'd never really considered the puzzles in Pokemon at all. Though IMO Gen I has the hardest ones by a long way - Strength puzzles in Seafoam Islands and Victory Road, the teleporters in Sabrina's gym, the converyor belt-type things in the Rocket Hideout and Lieutenant Surge's switches of glorified guesswork all had me groaning in frustration. Pokemon seems to have forgotten its routes in that respect.

 

[awiec]

Just a friendly reminder that we want topics to promote discussion. I'm fine letting this go ahead for now, but should this turn into a string of one sentence answers/votes without much more, I will lock it.

In honor of this request I am going to do a little breakdown...unfortunately my knees are terrible so it can't involve dancing.

Now what qualifies as "best"? There are many aspects of pokemon that attract a certain group of people: Battlers, Breeders/RNGers, People who just like the story etc. I feel I'm pretty well rounded in this regard so I will go through each gen and point out the highlights for each group and then say which one I enjoy the most.

Gen 1

Good ole Yellow,Blue,Red and Green which introduced Pokemon. This is what launched the phenomena around the world and is when the show was probably in its heyday. This game does not have a single thing for breeders so they are kinda out. IVs did exist in this game but straight up manipulation wasn't really possible; fun fact is that due to some odd RNG programming electrode always had an unusually high special stat. This was probably the hardest of the series as you were kinda thrown into the game (you where taught how to catch pokemon and there was a trainer school tucked in somewhere) and left to explore. The story was pretty simple in that you as a 10 year old were foiling the plans of the mafia while you were on your way to become the pokemon master. This generation probably has the only "real" rival as Gary is not only always one step ahead of you, he is a little helpful while still jeering you. He is also the only one who actually becomes champion and it's a satisfying conclusion when you beat him at the end. Another interesting fact is that after the 3rd badge you could get the next few badges out of order. I remember doing this as a kid as it was fun to me to challenge myself by trying to go fight Koga after I got the Pokeflute. For battlers there is some meat here even though the main way to win was the bring very very hyper offensive pokemon and slam shit until it dies. Also while dragons where cool they didn't have their own good stab but had a wide enough move-pool to make up for that. Also Psychic was broken as heck making them a must on most teams. Another fun little thing that gen 1 had was Pokemon Stadium which allowed you to battle all to your heart's content, while not exactly part of the main series of games, it gave kids who had no cable cords or friends to play pokemon, a chance to test their battle skills; you also got prizes from the game and where challenge to beat a league with every single pokemon. The mini-games were pretty fun too and there was a proto pokebank in the game as professor oak's lab would let you transfer pokemon and items from one game to another. Also because this game lacked running shoes, Nintendo was nice enough to add a giant gameboy in the game that allowed you to play at 3x speed. The music is iconic even though it was limited to simple electronic sounds (and can be replicated exactly on mario paint studios music maker) and is probably my personal favorite soundtrack of the series. The remake followed the same spirit but had the "Teachy TV" to explain in game things and had all the modern goodies of running shoes, better graphics and some after story stuff in the form of the Sevii Islands where you can catch Jhoto and Hoenn pokemon. It also has its own version of Pokemon Stadium in the form of Pokemon Colosseum and XD which functioned similarly. Overall I think this game is good for people who like a decent story line without restrictions and some challenge in their games.

Gen 2

This was a major breakthrough in the pokemon games as it introduced breeding/genders, weather moves, Night/Day Evolutions, Stall was born as a battle style, held items, the special attack and defense split, two new types, new types of pokeballs and shinys. There was a lot going in this game and it had a little something for almost everyone. The rival wasn't particularly good but it was still satisfying to beat the snot out of him. RNGers still really didn't have much here except for the fact that shinys and female pokemon would always be weaker than their non-shiny male counterparts so any competitive pokemon had to be non-shiny and male if possible. Breeding was a new adventure in itself, all you had to do was throw your friend's starter with a ditto/same egg group and tada egg. This also introduced Little Cup in Pokemon Stadium 2 which got people to test out all sorts of combos to see what egg moves there was. The story wasn't anything ground breaking as you were once again a 10 year old going on an adventure, stomping in some gangsters faces and chasing around legendary pokemon. This game had a lot of post main story content as you got to go to Kanto and fight all the old gym leaders and then beat the two main characters from the first games as a gym leader and champion respectively. I would say the elite 4 and the champion (Red) was the hardest part in the series as your team was always not up to level and dark pokemon (besides the god tyranitar) still weren't that good. This gen also brought a lot more strategy to fighting as Stall was in its infancy with the introduction of suicune and skarmory. Weather wasn't a dominating force just yet but it was usable as several grass types could take advantage of spamming solarbeam everywhere. Also earthquake could finally hit pokemon under-ground something that even my step-father complained that it didn't do. Pokemon Stadium 2 had all the fun functionality as the first one BUT you could see a much better rendered version of your room and all your pokedolls (don't lie, you had a ton). The remakes are superb in the fact that you had all the goodies of 4th gen like RNG, the special physical split, bigger move-pool etc and your cute little pokemon could follow you, along with a lot of post story content. People who like the story and Battling will enjoy this game. Breeders and RNGers would probably enjoy the remake more.

Gen 3

This is when competitive battling truly came alive, more moves were added and abilities came into being. Breeding was improved as you could put an everstone for a 50% chance at a nature you wanted, flame body allowed for faster hatching and IVs and EV's arrived in their modern form. The competitive battle scene bloomed with Stall, Hyper Offense and some Balanced Offence as valid play-styles. The story was very nice as you are a 10 year old who has to stop some eco-terrorist groups, your "rival" is the start of a long line of useless "friendly" rivals. This gen also has XD and Colosseum which have their own story and still allow a battle simulation and trading. There is also a ton of legendaries and extra non-story elements like secret bases, pokemon contests and the battle frontier. This game even has stuff for RNGers even though cart abuse is a little mind numbing. I believe the matsuda method was revealed this gen as well adding some new breeding challenges. I consider this gen a good mix for battlers, breeders, story people and even people who like contests.

Gen 4

There was another physical and special split but this time things like Gyarados could have physical water moves and weather was king, also there was a ton of legends. The story was alright as you had to save the world from being re-created and your rival was still not very fun. The after story content wasn't bad as the battle factory island was something fun for battlers and you could run around and catch new pokemon via Radar. RNG was also pretty reasonable especially with the advent of the computer programs to assist with it. Breeders got a small bone in that power items could pass on an IV. The battling scene had a variety of playstyles even if rain was a bit centralizing. You still had pokemon contests with a few extra things like dressing them up along with the actual contest part. This game was a boon for battling and RNG, story wasn't bad nor were the contests. You also had a strict battle simulator in the form of Pokemon Battle Revolution which allowed for easy online match ups and lots of prizes.

Gen 5

This brought the Dream World and Hidden Grottos which breathed new life into a lot of pokemon in the battle scene and the Dream Balls looked pretty cool. The story was kinda meh and very linear, you couldn't really explore much and the rival was non-existent. The sequel were not really able to capture the magic that Gen 2 was as a sequel. The after story content wasn't bad as there was a decent amount to do afterwards and still a billion legends to catch. IT also included a bunch of tutor moves allowing some goodies for battlers and RNG was pretty simple this gen. Breeders really didn't get anything new besides everstone being 100% for nature passing. I would say this gen is good for battlers and RNG people. My favorite thing about this is the multiuse TM but not much besides that. Contests basically turned into guitar hero. This game is more for RNGers and battlers but not much for anyone else.

Gen 6

Story was very meh and you could get through most of it in less than 8 hours. Despite the fact that you have a whole group of "rivals" they are utterly useless and annoying. Though this gen brought it for breeders and to an extent battlers as both male and females can pass egg moves, pass pokeballs, the advent of TSV databases making shiny hatching easy, Mega Evolutions and destiny knot passed 5 IVs. RNG got smashed this gen with The Time Machine Method being the closest thing to RNG there is this gen. The creation of the PSS allows for easy trading and battles with a click of a button. This game lacks a lot in the story department and the contests are non-existent but I guess pokemon Amie is kinda cute. Another positive for battlers is the training bag/super training screen, it makes training and resetting IVs a snap and pokemon hoards are very handy for EV training and getting hidden abilities. This game is aimed towards battlers and breeders which is not necessarily bad.

Using the criteria I would say that Gen 3 and to an extent the Gen 2 remakes have something for everyone and are my personal favorites. With this conclusion I will say that the Gen 3 remakes will have something for Breeders, Battlers, Contest Lovers and Story people as it will combine all the positive aspects all the past generations have brought and thus will probably will be the best game of the series as of yet.

 

[Coaltergeist]

I expect to have analytics done in about a week. I have to write a program that reads the data for me; excel does not read it efficiently enough, because the poll has exploded in popularity much further than I thought possible; it already has over 1.5k responses.

EDIT: I will post my personal favorites and the internet's overall favorites (as well as some random facts) early next week.

 

[Kittttten]

I picked HG/SS too! I feel it has the most content out of any of the games, and it tickles my nostalgia bone as I was about ten playing Gold and Silver. I'm actually replaying a dual run with my brother at the moment (as in, he has HG, I have SS and we can trade & battle with each other), and having a blast doing so.

I liked some of these categories btw. For example, I'd never really considered the puzzles in Pokemon at all. Though IMO Gen I has the hardest ones by a long way - Strength puzzles in Seafoam Islands and Victory Road, the teleporters in Sabrina's gym, the converyor belt-type things in the Rocket Hideout and Lieutenant Surge's switches of glorified guesswork all had me groaning in frustration. Pokemon seems to have forgotten its routes in that respect.

In my opinion, the Kanto region has the hardest puzzles.

The hardest puzzle in any game for me would probably have to be Rock Tunnel in FR/LG/R/B/Y.

 

[Antihaxxer]

Hardest ... ? I would say the trollest with Surge gym trash random things, but not the hardest !

 

[Karxrida]

Are we allowed to discuss what we think is the worst game(s), as long as we keep it intelligent? I believe that it's a very interesting topic to delve into.

 

[awiec]

Are we allowed to discuss what we think is the worst game(s), as long as we keep it intelligent? I believe that it's a very interesting topic to delve into.

The mods said intelligent discussion was needed, but this thread is about the best game. I still pointed out some aspects I didn't like in my post but I still focused on the positive aspects.

 

[Karxrida]

The mods said intelligent discussion was needed, but this thread is about the best game. I still pointed out some aspects I didn't like in my post but I still focused on the positive aspects.

It was more a question for the mods, but maybe I'll post another thread just for that if I'm allowed (and stop being lazy long enough to actually make it XD).

 

[awiec]

It was more a question for the mods, but maybe I'll post another thread just for that if I'm allowed (and stop being lazy long enough to actually make it XD).

I think there may be a thread for that, but I wouldn't see why not as long as it promotes good discussion. Of course I ain't a mod so I have no idea what the culture is here in this section :).

 

[NoCheese]

Aye, there's nothing wrong with discussing the worst game of each generation (here or in another thread), so long as there is real discussion and not just a bunch of one sentence votes. So by all means, if you'd like to start that conversation, go for it.

 

[Red G]

Best Visuals: Generation 6. 3D Pokemon and the beautiful over world win this by a longshot. No other generation shocked me as much with how nice the game looked.

Best Audio: Gotta love those trumpets. Gen 3 had some great music, though I like the 8-bit Gen 1 soundtrack as well.

Best Story: Black and White have the best story, by far. That said, it still had fairly one-dimensional characters: Ghetsis is evil, N is nice, etc. The worst story has to be either Gen 2 (the evil team is defeated way too early, though the rival is very interesting) or Gen 6 (the post game Looker quests made up for this in a big way, however).

Best Puzzles: This is a tough one. Gens 1 and 2 had some great puzzles, for sure. But Gen 3's Trick House takes the cake. Later generations haven't had as many tough puzzles for some reason. I don't get the same enjoyment beating an easy puzzle.

Best Pokemon: This is a very tough one. I liked how Gen 5's pokemon lines were a callback to Gen 1. It's hard to not vote for the original 151.

Best Connectivity: Each generation has improved upon the last. Gen 6 wins easily.

Best Metagame: I started playing competitively in Gen 4 and never came back to the level I was at then. I'm guessing that the majority of the population likes Gen 6 the most; I know the weather wars divided people in Gen 5.

Best Difficulty: I think Gen 4 (DPPt) was the toughest modern game. I liked the challenge then - I haven't again struggled facing the Elite 4 like I struggled facing Cynthia.

Best New Additions: RSE had my favorite additions (battle frontier and the contests). I like HGSS's Pokeathlon as well. The physical-special split was another very welcome change.

Best Nostalgia: I played GSC a ton as a kid. I was giggling like a schoolgirl playing HGSS for the first time.

Best Generation: I think Gen 3 and 4 were the best overall, with great remakes, contests, and battle frontiers. Plus both new games of those generations had good (but not great) stories.

 

[Coaltergeist]

Hey guys, I have compiled all of the data (almost 3000 answers) and I have revealed the winners! Come on over to screwattack.com to find out who won, and who I thought was the best.

 

[noobcubed]

I wonder how much these results were skewed by people's hype for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

 

[ghostbandit]

oh the wonderful wonderful reasons to choose hg/ss.

1.it has 2 regions and (im counting...) what, whats this 9 WHOLE LEGENDARIES
2. you get three different starter pokemon(sure 2 of them are after you beat the game, but still)
3.and last who could resist the fact that your rival always says hgmh after you beat him. one of the reasons i restarted my ss game

 

[Mulan15262]

1.it has 2 regions and (im counting...) what, whats this 9 WHOLE LEGENDARIES

BW2 has 15 legendaries (Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Latias/Latios, Zekrom/Reshiram, Kyurem, Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Regigigas, Uxie, Mespirit, Azelf, Cresselia, and Heatran).