Time has been fairly kind to generation 3. While at the time it felt like more of the same, just bigger and prettier - it now feels like a pleasantly polished Pokémon adventure with its gameplay still very rooted in the series origins.
Lots of distractions in farming ash for flutes, Pokémon beauty contests, pokeblocks, secret hideouts. Not all to my tastes, but they make the world feel distinct and more alive.
My taste here might be clouded by a sweet-spot in my nostalgia, but if anything I've grown fonder of this generation as years go by.