Remakes vs originals

i've got too many ideas

the main series games have had several remakes of older games, being:

FRLG were remakes of RB
HGSS were remakes of GS
ORAS were remakes of RS
Let's Go were remakes of RB

It's speculated we'll get DP remakes in the future, but that hasn't been confirmed right now.

Did you like any these remakes more than the originals?

Red & Blue vs. FireRed & LeafGreen

I prefer FRLG. It's hard for me to play RB because of how broken the games are. There are many glitches, some of the Pokémon are way too OP and the sprites in RB look really bad. FRLG is really fun and has a lot of features to offer. I'm also a big fan of Gen III games in general.

Gold & Silver vs. HeartGold & SoulSilver

I like both GS and HGSS. I like GS for nostalgia, as Crystal was the first Pokémon game I ever played, and HGSS is a really good remake. I feel nostalgic when I play HGSS. HGSS has walking Pokémon, which is a nice feature that I wish it was in newer games. The only problem that I have with both GS and HGSS, is the level curve.

Ruby & Sapphire vs. Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire

ORAS is a good remake of RS, but it's not as good as Emerald. Emerald is challenging and fun, while ORAS is way too easy. ORAS has some cool features, but I really miss Battle Frontier. In ORAS, there are some things that I like better than in the originals, such as updated versions of the villain teams for example.

I never played Let's Go, so I don't have any opinion on it.

In general, the originals are better for challenges because they are bonkers, harder and have less options in general. That said - with the exception of Let's Go which I didn't play so I can't really comment and people usually take as more of a spinoff than a proper remake imo - I would say that the remakes are the definitive experiences.
Especially for younger people who might not appreciate pixel art or the constraints the games had to have back in the day.

I like RB and FRLG about the same, but for different reasons. RB allows for some really crazy things without being too complicated, but also doesn't really have any of the QoL stuff from later games. FRLG has the way more polished gen 3 system but also does some really mean gatekeeping especially when it comes to Pokemon from later generations.

Between GSC and HGSS the remakes kinda win out. I even think those remakes are still the best remakes of main line titles we've gotten so far. The only issue I have is the gen 4 slowdown which gets really frustrating especially when you're used to the way faster pre and post gen 4 games.

RSE and ORAS are kinda on the same level, as well. RSE is easier to pick up but ORAS does the inclusion of non native Pokemon really well. The main issue I had mostly came with the online feature. It ties to the lack of character customization. Basically, when you go online and your list of available players gets flushed in you just see the same face over and over again.

I haven't played the Let's Go titles so I can't say much about them. The catching mechanic kinda seems strange to me but I've never played Pokemon Go, either.

FRLG were some of my absolute favorites. The Sevii Islands were fun to revisit, and the VS Seeker made training very enjoyable. It's an experience I honestly do really miss, since no other form of rebattling has been the same to me. I definitely see those as huge improvements over the original RB.

Meanwhile I love HGSS and GS both... but HGSS easily win out in the features department. But the one thing it doesn't win on is menu and animation speed because dear god was going through the box and battling mons with high HP slow haha. I remember being kinda frustrated by it occasionally, though I still loooved the games. And the Pokeathlon!! luv. will prolly say they're about equal, HGSS wins out features-wise and GS wins out for replayability (for me).

RS was when my love for the games was very high, around peak time, since my friend and I loved to replay and mix records into our main games. I also spent a lot of time training random mons I liked. But ORAS was a whole lot of fun to play together with online friends and make use of their Blissey secret bases lol. Also the remixes were awesome for the most part. Plus Steven got such a huge improvement. I'd say ORAS win out here.

So overall.... kinda equal, with remakes inching a bit past??

For Kanto remakes, I like FRLG more than RB. I recently got the VC for Blue, and I felt it wasn't easy to get into a rhythm (at least for me).

GSC and HGSS are relatively the same in my experience, although I like that they incorporated Suicune's side story into the remakes. It's one of the more expansive games that we have had, with two regions being available to explore. My only gripe (as are many others) is the level curve. It's hard to grind levels, especially on Pokémon 10 or so levels below your team. I think that the Apriballs should be a staple in some of the later shops in any game.

Ruby and Sapphire are good games, I haven't played Emerald, but it is in my backlog. ORAS is a good remake; I love the updated PokéNav plus and horde encounters. The added Delta episode is also great. Updating the character models for the evil teams was a good call. It felt like they had more character to them, and at specific points, you would kind of bond with their ideals.

Let's Go series appears to more of spin-off series versus a remake. You are not replaying as Leaf or Red versus Blue/Gary. These iterations have their own characters who are going on their first journey. Trace (the rival in the game) is forgettable at best, and I feel bad for that, but I do not remember much about him while playing. I liked the catching mechanic but wish it would still incorporate battles. Something that I loved was that you could see if there was a shiny in the overworld. In SWSH, you can't tell if a Pokémon is a shiny until you encounter them, and it seems tedious to do this, especially after playing Let's Go.

So, those are my opinions on those games.

i don't know like i really value the originals and remakes as their own games that make their own strides, have their own feelings, like. if i'm in the mood to play gsc then hgss is not going to cut it. there's different things like mechanics, aesthetics, music style, etc that make things a unique experience despite being outdated in originals' cases or in the case of remakes, things that make them stand out from the original despite being in the same place. like one or the other doesn't cut it for me? my brain doesn't say oh i wanna play kanto which is the best kanto experience, it's usually a specific i want to play red or let's go eevee kind of deal.

but if you're going to make me choose, i'll just go with what i'm more likely to play given the choice:

lgpe > rby > frlg
gsc = hgss (sorry i love them both lol they both provide a unique experience)
rse > oras

not to say one is better than the other, i don't dislike any of the games listed (.......actually frlg no ur on thin ice) so yeah lmao okay i'm going to go be complicated somewhere else

FR/LG & HG/SS are the only versions I can play, the older versions I just cannot playthrough especially not R/B. ORAS though I really don't know how to feel because I like a lot of the additions like the Delta Episode, updated designs and music and the new/implementation of Megas but I just thing Emerald is a more challenging and fun experience, even if I couldn't care less personally about the battle frontier (but removing it is a dick move). Bare in mind I don't have nostalgia since I started with Diamond so from my perspective R/B are just a complete trainwreck

Because of how wack the mechanics are, I don't mentally compare RBY to FrLG. Yellow feels like Pikachu's Bizzare Nostalgia Adventure while FrLg feel like polished game. LetsGo I like overall, I would actually say it has the "screw it, we will do it live" that the original games have in contrast to FrLg, for better and for worse.

I LOVE GSY and HgSs but immediately when playing them the vibe is so freaking different. Cystal feels like you are playing a darkly shaded 90s anime game due to the color scheme which gives it a very different vibe than the well polished and newer HgSs. Honestly, if HsSs had a more dark theme like the old games, it might be the perfect Pokemon game for me.

RSE and ORAS feel like the exact game game except one has annoying tsundere anime characters with a trade off of better mechanics.

With the exception of the Let's Go titles and ORAS, I much prefer the remakes to the originals. The only thing that RBY and GSC have going for them is that their soundtrack is significantly better than their remakes...and HGSS has GB Sounds, so there's not even that. The games just run better on newer systems - I replayed Yellow when it came out on VC and I was actually appalled at how much of a slog it was. There are a lot of small QoL improvements that have been made across the generations that aren't really noticeable unless you go back to play the older titles. Sorting your boxes, seeing how much EXP you need to the next level, etc. It's quite jarring, and it makes you - or made me, anyway - appreciate just how much has been added, even if the games have the same basic gameplay and the exact same narrative since Gen III.

So, the two exceptions to the rule.

With ORAS it's simply a matter of content - Emerald is easily the definitive Gen III title because it has substantially more content than ORAS, and it brings the two teams of Magma and Aqua together for a more comprehensive world view and narrative. One of the things I hate about Gen III is that Ruby and Sapphire both feel like half a game, because they completely neglect the opposite team. They're just kinda there. Emerald brought them together in a much more meaningful and realistic fashion. ORAS, which were remakes of Ruby and Sapphire and not Emerald, were never going to measure up to Emerald's standard no matter what they added in...and let's face it, the Delta Episode didn't add much. It certainly wasn't on par with the Battle Frontier.

I suppose you could say the same for HGSS in a way since they didn't adapt the more complete Crystal version, but HGSS went above and beyond to be better than the originals by adding in a substantial amount of new content.

Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee I find a little harder to put into context because, no matter what the developers say, I still consider them spinoffs. They're the best quality Pokemon titles on Switch - at least at the moment - but...well, the gameplay is fundamentally different to the main series that it's a difficult comparison to make. The way you catch and train Pokemon adds a different flavour to the base gameplay experience, so whilst visually it's a significant upgrade from FRLG, the gameplay is completely different. The removal of the extra content added in FRLG give it a more "back to basics" feel to it as well. I don't think they're intended to be remakes in the same sense as they are a fresh introduction to the series for players from the mobile market. It's pretty clear that their target audience is different from the way they were put together, so...yeah, it's an apples and oranges comparison when it comes to comparing them to the more traditional remakes like FRLG.

I have a hard time replaying Gen 1 and Gen 2 games due to how outdated they are, while Gen 3 remains in a re-playable state

I didn't enjoy Let's Go at all, so if I wanted to play a Kanto game I would look towards Fire Red/Leaf Green, and for Johto it would be Heart Gold/Soul Silver

I prefer Emerald over Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire due to being able to battle both villainous teams and being able to catch both Groudon and Kyogre, though I would at least play Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire instead of Ruby/Sapphire

RBY vs FRLG i'll always take the latter. RB is broken as heck and literally older than me in age. it gets my respect for being the pioneer to this franchise that i love, but all the QoL features implemented in the remakes, along with the new areas and better looking sprites (not to mention Pokemon having genders, abilities, and better movesets) make me prefer them oh so much more.

GSC vs HGSS, again i'm taking the remake here. playing on the DS first made me prefer the style more than the olden one the originals used, and i really like that Red is much tougher too heh. granted it's a LOT slower to play in comparison, but once more the QoL features, Physical Special split, better movepools, & walking Pokemon (!!) win out over everything else.

RSE vs ORAS, this one's where it starts getting iffy, because i played the originals first and have yet to play ORAS. i keep hearing about the lack of the Battle Frontier and the remakes being so much easier to beat though, so even if i did play them, there's a good chance i'll still prefer the originals. who knows til i get up off my ass and actually go do it lol.

Let's Go is another iffy one. i'm with Dawn in that i don't consider it a mainline game even (i was legit surprised when it was labeled as one). its mechanics are way too different, and too kid friendly for me to consider it a remake of the once ruthless Kanto region (also, why did they remake Gen 1 twice again?).

anyway if they push through with the DPPt remakes, i just wish it's executed well. give Sinnoh the respect it deserves!

HGSS > GSC
LGPE > RB > FRLG
RS > ORAS

Honestly I love all these games except FRLG lol.

Nothing can replace the charm of the originals, sorry. RBY was such an incredible experience in how nostalgic, old, broken, adorable, unique, and genuine it was that there's no way a remake can outshine it.

i've thought about this topic for a very long time. the reason being is that it... for some reason was hard for me to put into words which i'd prefer over the other. allow me to explain:

→ FRLG vs RBY

i think this might be the hardest comparison for me to do out of every remake so far.

i have a confession to make here: i've never played the originals. while they are available digitally, i've never really had the time nor inclination to play them all that much, so i've never got to experience what they were like. due to this, i can't say for certain whether FRLG would've provided a better experience for me. sure, it's better in a "it doesn't have nearly as many bugs"- sense, but as far as enjoyment goes, i can't properly compare these two.

i will say that i did not enjoy FRLG for what it's worth. the best part of the game for me wasn't even the main game, it was the sevii islands and the stuff to do there. it just wasn't a very fun remake for me.

→ GSC vs HGSS

this one i can say a bit more on, since i've started with gen 2 (although to be honest... it's been quite a long time since i've played through original johto). i've loved HGSS and what it had to offer, and i don't even know where to even begin! pokeathlon should be a permanent addition to pretty much every pokemon game, as i love mini-game type things so i'm not stuck battling all the time. also, HGSS had the battle frontier AND pokemon following the player so yeah, it wins pretty easily in my eyes.

GSC was fine, and i think i prefer its old school pixel style to HGSS in some areas, but i can't ignore what HGSS brought to the table for me. nostalgia doesn't win, here.

→ RSE vs ORAS

oof. this is a tough one.

there are some parts of ORAS i was disappointed to see that really would've otherwise made it an outstanding remake, to me. i think staying too faithful to Ruby and Sapphire to a fault somewhat hurt it. don't get me wrong, i think the delta episode was really cool, but it bummed me out that there was no re-matching or interacting with Zinnia period, after that. it's just a one-time and done thing. aside from the delta episode, everything else seemed like vanilla ruby and sapphire with upgraded graphics and newer pokemon. to ORAS' credit, i think the punching bag thing from XY was carried over, so that was neat (but i guess that was more of a gen 6 in general thing than ORAS specifically). primal forms are a neat introduction, and it introduced very cool mega evolutions. and i would be very remiss if i somehow didn't mention soaring.

goodness soaring. one of the best experiences i've ever had. why is it so hard to skip the boring fly animations and soar? why couldn't game freak do this for subsequent pokemon games? it's not like hoenn was a super tiny region that somehow made it easier to render in overworld compared to others, right? i dunno. for me, soaring was the highlight of ORAS and i miss it to this day.

for me, this comes down to a tie between Emerald itself and ORAS. original RS was meh and unmemorable to me. i honestly gotta give credit where it's due to ORAS despite its shortcomings (really didn't like that battle frontier tease, game freak...), but it only beats out original RS for me.

Honestly I find RBY to be unplayable at this point, well to be real honest they have been unplayable to me for years and years. So, easily I have to say FRLG is better. I also always enjoyed the addition of the sevii islands.

Nostalgia wise I love the way GSC looks and sounds, but HGSS is by far better. I loved the follow me feature and I thought the additions to the region were positive. It was also nice to finally experience the region with evolved forms like scizor and steelix. My only drawback that I can remember was that the leveling was still poor in the remake.

I can easily say I prefer RSE to ORAS. The thing is I like ORAS and I can play it no problem, but there were a few things that bothered me. I remember this game came out after we had gotten the customization features in XY and they didn't add them in. They made the main protags more cutesy when originally I thought of them as a little rough around the edges due to the region itself. I also didn't like some of the admin redesigns for team aqua/magma. Zinnia and the whole delta episode is so cringe worthy to me. Lastly no battle frontier... aka the main reason why I even wanted the remake.

I think i prefer FRLG compared to the originals. I don't think the originals are unplayable but the GBA remakes are more fun i think, plus having the option to migrate your pokemon is always in the back of my mind as well as the battery going dry on original hardware. That being said though, i've played Gold through on virtual console and that was pretty fun. I got HG when that originally came out and that was fun too so i'd say G and HG are equal in my mind, though i think i have some nostalgia bias for Gold

I certainly prefer FR/LG over R/B/Y, and (objectively, putting aside nostalgia) I really don't think anyone could disagree. It's the same games, but better!

I prefer HG/SS over G/S/C, but barely. Just because it has better graphics and a Battle Frontier. My biggest issue with HG/SS is that it didn't fix the horrible Johto level curve.

I think Ruby & Sapphire are better than OR/AS, and Emerald is much better. I enjoyed playing OR/AS (especially the Delta episode) but it's way too easy compared to the originals. Of course the lack of a Battle Frontier was the biggest disappointment, but I also take issue with how they dealt with all the legendaries in the post-game, it was ridiculous. You encountered them all in the exact same way: go through a wormhole and battle them. I would have preferred less legendaries but with more diverse ways to catch them.

FR/LG > R/B/G/Y: there's a lot less bugs and there's no battery saves. I tried playing R/B/Y once, I literally couldn't do it, lmfao. I'm not including LGPE never played them, probably never will.

HG/SS > C > G/S: To be honest, HG/SS are just so much better. And Crystal is far superior to Gold/Silver. If I were to play the gen ii games, I'd never touch Gold/Silver, only Crystal and the remakes.

E > OR/AS > R/S: Emerald is just better, I don't know what to tell you. Emerald had the Battle Frontier, but OR/AS refined the R/S experience. R/S were... okay, but I honestly find them less fun to play because there's no Gym Leader rematches or any post game at all to make me want to play beyond maybe getting all the master ribbons in contests.

I loved fire red, OR & AS look absolutely mind blowing, but I haven't seen much of heart gold/soul silver but they look cool.

I think up until now or up until let's go, its been easy to say that each remake has been a marked and notable improvement over the original.

that said, the game industry seems to all be hopping onto the same trend right now, remakes are everywhere.
It's like remakes are the isekai of the game industry. . . hopefully it doesn't get to that point.