2nd Gen G/S/C is overrated

[ORegan]

Crystal was my favorite game by far... You had 16 gyms, 2 "champions",

Three champions. Blue was also a champion before Red came along :P

Errmmmm... So frog-dinosaur things and turtles with water cannons are dragons now?

I'm pretty sure he meant reptile-like creatures, which is a truth.

R/B/Y isn't as good as the more recent games (excluding D/P/Pt, they sucked) but it is a revolutionary generation (which is why I like it), contrary to what you say about it.

Explain? How is it more revolutionary when all it was, as one of the workers of the local Game Stop in my neighborhood summarizes it, was playing Final Fantasy only with summons.

Starting in R/S, new things like EV training and Natures came, which changed competitive (and in-game, at least how I play the Pokemon games) battling for the entire series. Now there came a way to make sure your Pokemon were their best: You could catch (or even better, breed) some until you got the nature you wanted, you could EV train a Pokemon in a particular stat, and you could come out with an unstoppable juggernaut which excelled in a certain stat.

Hate to break it to you, but effort values have been around since generation 1. And that breeding for the unstoppable juggernaut was a feature first brought to the player via GSC. :P I'll give you the breeding for Natures for RSE, but I personally don't like Natures anyways, or the abilities they tacked on.

Let's make a list of things GSC brought to the Pokemon gaming world;

Held items
A day & night cycle which also had a weekly calendar
Pokemon that could only be caught during certain days or time of day.
Breeding & by association egg moves as well as giving ditto a legitimate use.
A second region to explore after the E4. I believe FR and LG did expand on it by giving us those little islands to mess around with afterwards.
Roaming legendaries
Giving each trainer an individual name, save for the Rockets.
Backwards compatibility.
Separation of the item menu.
Female character
While Yellow introduced happiness, GSC havily expanded on it by having pokemon evolve through high happiness
Growing berries
Shiny Pokemon

Compare it to RSE, which is a generation I can barely get through the second city without feeling as though I've done this many times before. Seriously, I bought Emerald two months before Black & White hit stateside and I still have yet to leave the second town with my under level 10 team of three. :P

And what are the flaws? The levels in johto aren't as high as Kanto? Obviously since Kanto was the last third or so of the game. Otherwise Kanto would've felt as a waste of time and just more badge collecting.

Another flaw is that kanto is 'unfinished.' Sure this is true due to memory restraints. All the stuff mentioned above took its toll :P TMs suck? I never used TMs since the game's AI (this is also true for the newer generations too) are pants on head retarded and can be beaten easily by just picking strong attacks and going for type advantages. No need to really use moves like tailwhip unless you plan on fighting friends.

 

[2Cool4Mewtwo]

I don't see G/S/C overrated in any way. 16 Gyms and 2 regions make "overrated" sound crazy.

Though I must admit, the levelling curve was messed up. You had 7th Gym Leader whose strongest pokemon was only 1 lv higher than that of 5th Gym, and 4 levels higher for 6th Gym (Though this was somewhat remedied in HGSS). But again, 16 badges and 2 regions? Along with strongest trainer that you can fight in ALL of the games released so far? Those facts alone is just too awesome for ONE game to have. I think it's rated just fine as is, but that's just me.

 

[LightOfTruth]

I did play Pokemon Gold back then and it was a good game
But now I would play Heartgold or Soulsilver as its the same game that looks better plus there is more to do like the S zone and the Pal Park :)

 

[Chiar]

I don't think Gen II is overrated. Personally, I think Gen I and V are the ones that are. Both of them had very poor aftergame (with Gen I having none), Gen I had very bland locations & script and Gen V had a really pathetic difficulty level after Lenora.

 

[Atomic Pirate]

I don't think Gen II is overrated. Personally, I think Gen I and V are the ones that are. Both of them had very poor aftergame (with Gen I having none), Gen I had very bland locations & script and Gen V had a really pathetic difficulty level after Lenora.

Yeah, I have to agree with you there, Gen. V is very overrated. People just like it because there are more new Pokemon than even the first generation. Although I like many of the Pokemon, that isn't enough. Heck, HG/SS tops B/W by a huge margin. B/W tortured me for a while because of the omission of conveniences like the running shoes toggle and the touch screen registered items toggles. And there really was no reason to exclude some of the other features that made HG/SS great, like the way the first Pokemon follows you. And after Lenora, the only time I had trouble was with Ghetsis's Hydreigon, so there isn't much difficulty in it. Cynthia gave me some trouble, though. I like Gen. 3 most, but I guess that's just me. I'm what you would call a "Battle Nerd" so I enjoyed Emerald's Battle Frontier greatly. It was much better than the Platinum and HG/SS Battle Frontier, that's for sure. Plus, R/S/E was the generation that gave me the most challenge, and if you can tell, I like challenge in my games. I mean, I still like G/S/C (the only Pokemon games that I absolutely hate are Diamond and Pearl), but I don't agree with the way everyone favors it over any other Pokemon games.

 

[Alice]

Well, there are a lot of things that GSC did right, and a lot of things it did wrong. I like the fact that there are 2 regions/16 badges, but the difficulty, and leveling arc is completely ruined because of it.

Also, Johto is by far the most boring region imo. Revisiting Kanto is cool, but Johto itself is really boring.

 

[Malvagio]

I think GSC were the best pokemon games and GBY were so easy it was sad lol

 

[IAshKetchum]

It all comes down to personal preferance. G/S/C has better graphics and pokémon, so people will say it's better. Like I said it's personal preferance.

 

[ORIONgsc]

I have to disagree, i have, at one time, owned every pokemon RPG type game. I lost them all or sold some, except the originals. R/B/Y/G/S/C I still own, and i will always cherish them. But remember, GSC really did bring all the new stuff to the table. Color, accurate sprites, gender options, animation. Immense world of both kanto and johto. All the pokemon in johto are my absolute favorites. They arent too childish like sinnoh and unova, and are not too bland like kanto. The only old game that i really find replay value in is my crystal version, it is by far my favorite video game of all time. But that is my opinion and you also hold yours. Yes the levels are low, but the way training works, and the levels around you, the games difficulty proves that of almost any other game. So to sum it up, GSC are amaxzing, they had their flaws buut brought amazingnes to the plate. Now, back to playing crystal on my pichu/pikachu edition color changing GBC. lol, my friend gave it to me for free this past winter. It is so cool, sure beats the lime green one i had at one point.

 

[Rio448]

Nah, GSC are not as good as RSE but they are still pretty good games. They deserve the love they are getting. I do think that RSE are underrated, but that's a different story.

 

[rapid dave]

Well I can say from experience that Morty, Chuck and Sabrina are no fun to fight if you go in with the wrong pokemon (especially Sabrina with a team lacking any fire or ground types!)

Can get the whole grinding issue before the Elite Four, it took me a long time in Victory Road getting up to scratch because, whatever people say, there's really quite a level gap between what you can get away with against Claire and what will win against the E4.

On an unrelated note, I swear to god Claire's Kingdra once used 5 moves against me. Anecdotal evidence, but I stand by it that i was cheated out of that badge as a kid. ¬_¬

 

[Atomic Pirate]

Along with strongest trainer that you can fight in ALL of the games released so far?

He's only mildly stronger level-wise as Steven Stone in Emerald. Steven was more difficult for me, probably due to the fact that he had some Pokemon with REALLY unexpected attacks, such as his Aggron with Thunderbolt and Solarbeam, which struck down my Walrein before he could even get in an attack. Add in the fact that Steven has a bunch of Pokemon with strong type combinations that cannot easily be defeated (Metagross, anyone?) and you have a ridiculously strong trainer. Red was easily beat with my Tyranitar the first(and only) time I fought him in Gold. Plus, Red is like Ash what with his borderline insane decision to not evolve his Pikachu, and to use a Pikachu in the first place. And just a suggestion, but don't post in a bluish purple, it's eye-hurting considering that I'm using the Team Magma layout.

 

[(=Nemesis=)]

Plus, Red is like Ash what with his borderline insane decision to not evolve his Pikachu, and to use a Pikachu in the first place.

1) The whole point is that he's using all the Pokemon that Red is almost guaranteed to have by completing Yellow version: Pikachu, Snorlax, Lapras, Squirtle (evolved), Bulbasaur (evolved), and Charmander (evolved).

2) LIGHT BALL makes Pikachu generally better than Raichu.

 

[SyngthaSuyeon]

I think the OP has valid points. GSCHGSS are good games, but they aren't without problems. If anything, they could have waited until the GBA to release them if only to correct those problems. The games introduced a lot, but those introductions didn't come without issues.

Better sprites (though the shading & perspective were crap from an artistic standpoint)
Day-Night system (though with the non led screen at the time, it was a b*tch to play the games at night cause even with the lights on you couldn't really see)
Better overworld (yay the towns are no longer multiple shades of pink/red/green/yellow/orange, etc.)
Internal clock, phone, radio (the games feel more like an extension of the real world, but the cartridge batteries die. If they had came out during the GBA, they'd still be playable in cart form without replacing the batteries.)
Bigger region (Combining the 2 regions made the game feel like an actual sequel. The newer games in comparison feel more like spinoffs with occasional references to the other games/events that take place at the same time. The problem with expansion came with the level curve (and exclusion of a certain area that had to wait until 4th gen). The games actually took skill to beat for the first 8 gyms and elite 4. After that (assuming you're using the same team throughout the entire game), the game becomes button-masher-with-your-eyes-closed easy. The only real challenge was Red. The only reason he was even a challenge at all was because the Kanto gyms remained in their 40s-50s and you couldn't get any real experience. That meant you had to grind for hours fighting low level pokemon to even crack past level 70. Even when you beat Red, the payoff wasn't worth the effort.)
More Pokemon (though some of them were fodder for the pokedex)
Hold Items (Sure, they were useful and still are, but the ones that had any real use were made for specific pokemon to make them more BAMF. It wasn't until third and fourth generation that items could be used to benefit any kind of pokemon.)
Breeding (Took some initially useless pokemon and gave them a purpose to exist: babies. They could also be bred to be fighting machines with customized movesets.)

Most of the innovation was in the looks department. The games didn't improve the game play beyond a few tiny tweaks and a couple of new typings. In my opinion, even though the 4th gen was crap, that was something they got right: the game play as far as battling goes. 5th gen perfected things (for the most part). I still like the 2nd gen, but I think the 5th gen is pokemon at it's near best. 2nd gen is a good trio of games by themselves, but the later games make any innovation they had pale in comparison.

 

[MotherPunker970]

Not calling it overrated, but GSC definitely have flaws that many fans of the generation are more than happy to shove under a rug... the poorer TM's, incomplete Kanto, the huge level gap between Blue and Red, the fact that Red's not tough except for his high levels...

I enjoyed the Johto games, but they weren't my favorite generation.

I completely agree man,there are a buntch of flaws in it that the fanboys(lets call them like that)just ignore,and red wasnt tough at all!

 

[Pokemon Game Fan]

^ Wow. You are very ignorant. You have no proof to back anything up, yet you have the audacity to call people with an actual argument, "fanboys".

 

[rapid dave]

Internal clock, phone, radio (the games feel more like an extension of the real world, but the cartridge batteries die. If they had came out during the GBA, they'd still be playable in cart form without replacing the batteries.)

I can claim from experience that the in game batteries on GB carts are much more solid than the GBA ones. I mean, my Ruby version ran dry over a year ago, but my GSC games are all functioning perfectly despite the oldest one being nearly 4 years older. ;)

Breeding (Took some initially useless pokemon and gave them a purpose to exist: babies. They could also be bred to be fighting machines with customized movesets.)

Yep, Baby pokemon added a dex-filling incentive to catch the likes of Jigglypuff and Clefairy. But did they actually make them a more worthwhile team addition? Definitely not. In fact, I felt the added chore of getting the happiness of a baby pokemon up before they evolved was a real dampener. The Magby/Elekid/Smoochum trio were alright pokemon, but they just made having what were once quite rare pokemon in RBY seem like nothing special.

Baby pokemon also paved the way for the 4th generation, the most uninspiring and fodder-ridden pokedex addition yet seen. Granted, the 5th Gen rectified this, but if I see another classic evolution chain tampered with, i'm going to straight up quit buying new pokemon games. :tired:

 

[SyngthaSuyeon]

I can claim from experience that the in game batteries on GB carts are much more solid than the GBA ones. I mean, my Ruby version ran dry over a year ago, but my GSC games are all functioning perfectly despite the oldest one being nearly 4 years older. ;)

My Sapphire works just as well as the day I bought it and I bought it as soon as it hit the shelves. You obviously bought GSC when they were no longer being sold in stores (via ebay) or you just didn't play those carts to death. I bought Gold and Crystal as soon as they came out in North America and my carts no longer save.

Yep, Baby pokemon added a dex-filling incentive to catch the likes of Jigglypuff and Clefairy. But did they actually make them a more worthwhile team addition? Definitely not. In fact, I felt the added chore of getting the happiness of a baby pokemon up before they evolved was a real dampener. The Magby/Elekid/Smoochum trio were alright pokemon, but they just made having what were once quite rare pokemon in RBY seem like nothing special.

Baby pokemon also paved the way for the 4th generation, the most uninspiring and fodder-ridden pokedex addition yet seen. Granted, the 5th Gen rectified this, but if I see another classic evolution chain tampered with, i'm going to straight up quit buying new pokemon games. :tired:

I didn't mind baby Pokemon - not that I used them pre HGSS. Don't remind me of DPPt's atrocity of adding more evos and isht. Who's bright idea was that?! >.< I didn't like the new generation additions let alone the added evolutions which were completely unnecessary. I haven't bought a game since Sapphire. I mostly skipped 4th gen but for HGSS and I use an emulator. I don't think they'll do anything to this generation since there's plenty of 2 and 3 stage evolutions and they can't really add anything more to that.

 

[MotherPunker970]

it is pretty overrated,but rse is overrated too...

^ Wow. You are very ignorant. You have no proof to back anything up, yet you have the audacity to call people with an actual argument, "fanboys".

i clearly said "lets call them like that" i didnt say they ARE fanboys,dont call me names if you didnt read what i posted,i didnt mean to in**** anybody,this is a site about pokemon,not about fighting and calling others something they arent...

 

[MMundy777]

I can understand your opinion saying that GSC was overrated, I personally found them to be my favorite, even to this day. I think it was more so my favorite due to the Pokemon themselves, not the story. What makes it so popular is the fact that you get to go back to Kanto after you have defeated the Elite Four and take on "harder" versions of the original 8 gym leaders.

And I don't think Red was meant to be hard here guys. I think it was the point that you get to fight him period. It's like fighting the GameFreak worker in Castelia City...not exactly hard...just over leveled and fun!

And folk...seriously calm down, it's a friend discussion about someone's opinion. It's meant to spark debate not rude and intolerable behavior! Have fun! :)