Pokémon
Mainline Pokémon games that I've played
13 Games
Note: I didn't play this until much later than Sapphire so my perception of it was slightly different compared to how I felt going through Sapphire as a kid.
At first this didn't click for me since I found myself wishing that the lack of physical-special split hurt far too many of the available Pokemon, however each time I revisit the game I find more to appreciate about it, including learning to work with where the mechanics of Pokemon were at during the time. I really like how Emerald expands upon double battles and it's a shame that we never saw as much focus on it in any of the later titles in the series after this point.
At first this didn't click for me since I found myself wishing that the lack of physical-special split hurt far too many of the available Pokemon, however each time I revisit the game I find more to appreciate about it, including learning to work with where the mechanics of Pokemon were at during the time. I really like how Emerald expands upon double battles and it's a shame that we never saw as much focus on it in any of the later titles in the series after this point.
I think it's telling how much I like Generation 4 despite this remake not doing much to actually improve upon many of the core foundational issues that Johto suffered from. The only title that lets your lead Pokemon follow behind you as you traverse outside of battle and I think it's such a shame they never brought that back.
Perhaps one of the most underappreciated titles in the franchise in my eyes, however I can't deny that it's a bit hard to sit through repeat playthroughs of this when that's generally a strength of many of the other games. Lots of fantastic character and Pokemon designs though and Alola is one of my favorite regions.
I've always wanted to experience Hoenn with the physical-special split, but my inherent bias against the art direction of Generation 6 and the decision to not implement any of the changes Emerald made ultimately put this below the originals for me. I've only played it once though so my impressions may change on a replay.
The first Pokemon game I ever became champion in! While it's nice to have a version of Kanto that can be played with more polished mechanics, I don't feel that this adds much to the table as a remake. Lots of the charm of the originals resided in their limitations and this remake is a bit too faithful for its own good considering a lot of that is lost in the transition to Generation 3.
It's incredibly impressive what was accomplished here despite the tremendous limitations of the hardware it was designed for. Very rough around the edges, but there's a lot of heart here and there are a handful of mechanics unique to this generation that I thought were interesting to mess around with. Thanks for launching a franchise that has meant so much to me over the years.
By all means, this is a tremendous step up from Generation 1, but I can't help but feel like the overall experience is half-baked. Adds new Pokemon but hardly utilizes them in important battles, adds 2 entire new types to the type chart yet they're barely incorporated into the game, the level curve is arguably at its worst in any of the mainline games that I've played, and Kanto is such a tremendous slog for me at this point. This was a pivotal title in shaping what Pokemon eventually came to be, but it's just not there yet.
I'm long overdue for a replay of this game. Originally I wasn't a fan of how padded some sections felt and the general difficulty curve of the game due to overall lackluster enemy team composition. Not sure if I would feel as indifferent towards it nowadays after doing several hardcore nuzlockes on other games in the series.
