2nd Gen What do YOU think made GSC so great?

Started by The Roshi June 16th, 2009 8:50 PM
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  • 104 replies

The Roshi

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Age 30
Male
Lavender Tower
Seen November 6th, 2011
Posted February 1st, 2010
227 posts
14.9 Years
I think this series was so good because it was full of innovations.

day/night
female character
longest storyline
pokegear
multi-pocket pack
registering key items
pressing an HM tile to use said HM (i.e clicking on water for surf)
time-based events
shiny pokemon

However, I also think it's so widely loved because it wasn't remade right away, and its pokemon were made relatively exclusive.

Your thoughts?

BeachBoy

S P A R K of madness

Age 31
Male
Texas
Seen November 17th, 2016
Posted November 16th, 2016
8,396 posts
15.3 Years
I think the atmosphere made the GSC games amazing; yeah, that may sound a bit odd, but the overall feel of GSC just... blew people out of the water. Well, at least for me it did.
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California
Seen September 13th, 2012
Posted August 8th, 2012
345 posts
14.1 Years
GSC was the first time that we saw a lot of the innovations that have stuck around, and somehow the innovations that took place in RSE and DPPt weren't nearly as exciting. The day/night system, berries and hold items in general, the first new Pokémon, the first baby Pokémon and extra evolutions (and the only ones to not suck IMO), and the first ability to go back and battle other trainers (through the phone in the Pokégear) were all awesome additions to the games. The Johto region is my favorite region of them all, as I think it was exceedingly well-designed, and the ability to visit two regions (not to mention the final challenge against Red) was something that I wish they had kept, as it really set GSC apart.
Age 29
Female
Dublin, Ireland
Seen June 21st, 2013
Posted June 21st, 2013
222 posts
14.4 Years
Nostalgia! Oh, come on! I can't be nostalgic for RBY! :P

No, seriously, the improvement in the graphics, colour, some amazing Pokémon (my favourites are pretty much from that generation) not to mention the animations, and the facts they actually LOOK like the Pokémon they're supposed to be, breeding, shinies and Goldenrod City <3.

JoltIce

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Male
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Seen December 4th, 2009
Posted August 22nd, 2009
218 posts
14 Years
Probably that you could go to not one, but TWO regions. No other Pokemon game before or since has allowed you to go to two regions. That is what sat it apart.



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seeker

Ireland
Seen November 1st, 2019
Posted May 20th, 2018
10,593 posts
14.1 Years
Compare it to R/B/Y and its easy to see why..
It was such an epic jump!!
And you even got to revisit R/B/Y in a sence but 3 years later... And you got to fight red. The champion from the region.
There was just so much! I mean it tied perfectly in with R/B/Y!
I mean if it was directly after R/S/E i dont think it would have had the same effect! Maybe after FR/LG though. It was just a great sequel and a great game overall!
Age 30
Female
Florida
Seen June 19th, 2009
Posted June 19th, 2009
10 posts
13.9 Years
For me, it was definitely the ability to go between Kanto and Johto. Just to be able to re-visit Kanto, with all the spiffy new graphics, was awesome. And there was so much to do after defeating the Elite Four! And yes, like everyone else had said, the huge jump in graphics quality and the new innovations like day/night and hold items just made it feel shiny and new and amazing.
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Male
In the clouds
Seen October 13th, 2016
Posted July 28th, 2016
319 posts
14 Years
So many new features,
new areas to explore, check out old areas that have been revamped
so much to do after the E4
New pokemon
introduction of the battle tower
Hold items
shiny pokemon
just everything about it made it so memorable
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Age 26
Male
Washington
Seen February 16th, 2022
Posted April 15th, 2010
80 posts
15 Years
Johto. I just liked it. Oh Yeah, Raikou/Ho-oh/Celebi.
And a few things the first guy mentioned.


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Age 28
Male
Australia, NSW
Seen January 28th, 2011
Posted January 27th, 2011
237 posts
14.1 Years
Many reasons:
It was my first Pokemon game ever ... making it great haha.
The night and day feature made me love the game even more and was a great feature of the game for me.
Another one was the Pokemon...I simply just love Johto Pokemon more then anything else. And the events (Bug contest) was really awesome and was fun for me. And the main one of all was being able to go to both Johto and Kanto and have a long journey! All this thinking about it makes me want to play it right now..
Age 29
Male
PA, USA :effort
Seen December 8th, 2013
Posted December 5th, 2013
2,319 posts
15.9 Years
Stadium 2. That is the main thing that made the entire G/S/C experience well worth my while. Mini-games, battling, Mystery Gift, your room; Stadium 2 was freaking amazing.
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Age 29
Male
MAINE, U.S.
Seen August 12th, 2009
Posted July 19th, 2009
22 posts
15.5 Years
I think the atmosphere made the GSC games amazing; yeah, that may sound a bit odd, but the overall feel of GSC just... blew people out of the water. Well, at least for me it did.

I agree with this guy. The feel of the games is something that will always stick with you. I hope HGSS don't ruin that.

The reason I liked them most, because of the memories I have playing them.

I used to sit out on my porch at my old house in the middle of the night just playing crystal. I loved it so much. ahh... good times.
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alisaie

they/them
Seen March 14th, 2023
Posted February 3rd, 2022
13,598 posts
14.8 Years
For me? G/S/C was so great because it was my first three games. (I think I may have gotten Blue before I got Crystal but...) The hours I spent playing those games (especially my Silver) are memories I will never forget. Not to mention going to two regions, Day and Night (even though it was always screwed up in my game).

Not to mention that for me? The First 251 Pokemon I have always thought of as the 'Originals', because of how much I enjoyed my game. The Johto Pokemon were just as amazing as the Kanto Pokemon. :D

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The Raggedy Doctor

Age 30
Male
Inside the Pandorica
Seen November 30th, 2014
Posted October 20th, 2013
751 posts
14.1 Years
For me it was the chance to go to Kanto to see how much it changed over the years and the new Pokemon that were introduced were actually ORIGINAL back then.

Plus the rival for that gen is my favourite of them all.

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Mt Moon
Seen May 27th, 2021
Posted October 31st, 2020
2,523 posts
14.2 Years
Day & night: I honestly thought having time of day and how it affected which wild Pokémon you battled was one of the best features of any Pokémon game.
Female main character: Ok, I never owned Crystal but it made a nice change from having male only characters to pick from.
Apricorns: A feature admittedly I didn't use much, but one that came in very handy.
Breeding: It started in Gen II and set the benchmark for the following games. Excellent addition with a lot of neat features.
Shiny Pokémon: I've only ever caught a paltry 3 or so, but this was the beginning for them and let's face it, if you'd completed the already massive game and completed the normal Pokédex, there was nothing to stop you trying to complete a shinydex.
Pokérus: Godsend to EV trainers everywhere.
The inclusion of Kanto: Not one, but TWO huge worlds to explore plus with a few exclusions (I'm guessing due to size limitations) the Gen II Kanto was more or less completely faithful to the original.
New evolutions: Gen II gave us some kick-ass evolutions (Espeon & Umbreon, anyone?) and also some new ways to evolve your Pokémon, including new stones and items.
Berries & item holding: Arguably one of the best features that came with Gen II, holding berries & items not only effected evolution etc but added a whole new dimension to battling.
Phone calls: Okay, i'm not as big a fan of this one as with the exception of Swarm-watchers I found the constant calls about Hikers battling "tough Starmies" incredibly annoying, but that said it came in handy if ever you needed to level up some lower-level beasts. And along with the SS Aqua, it meant you could rebattle a reasonable selection of trainers over and over.
Steel & Dark Pokémon: Yes.
Icy floors!: Okay, a bit childish but I adored sliding around in Ice Cave XD
Better music: Just my humble opinion, but I thought some of the battle themes (Especially for Champ Lance & your rival) were amazing, and a vast improvement over the Gen I games. Some of the music for the cities was class as well.
Happiness: Might just be me, but I enjoyed making my Pokémon happier by grooming/haircuts etc. Even if it was an expensive task.
Trainer names: A small detail, but it gave your opponents a sense of personality instead of just being some generic grunt or Cooltrainer.
Better gyms & leaders: Again, just my opinion but I prefer the Gen II gyms & leaders to the ones in Gen I for the most part.
Mystery Gift: Stuff for free! Plus I liked the way you got to battle the person you last Mystery Gifted in Viridian's Trainer House.

There are probably other things but for now that's all I can think of. Some of the things that didn't make GSC so great were Baby Pokémon (un-necessary and a cheap way to bump the Pokémon tally to 251 imo), the TMs available (Some of them sucked and made me wonder why they didn't just keep a few of the Gen I TMs instead) and the overall lack of challenge (Leaders & Leet Four's Pokémon could have done with another few levels added on imo). But the positives vastly outweight the negatives, and that's why Gen II is my fave generation ^^

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XxDawnfanxX

The stubborn Pokemon Trainer

Age 31
Male
Pennsylvania
Seen September 26th, 2012
Posted March 8th, 2011
739 posts
14.2 Years
Day & night: I honestly thought having time of day and how it affected which wild Pokémon you battled was one of the best features of any Pokémon game.
Female main character: Ok, I never owned Crystal but it made a nice change from having male only characters to pick from.
Apricorns: A feature admittedly I didn't use much, but one that came in very handy.
Breeding: It started in Gen II and set the benchmark for the following games. Excellent addition with a lot of neat features.
Shiny Pokémon: I've only ever caught a paltry 3 or so, but this was the beginning for them and let's face it, if you'd completed the already massive game and completed the normal Pokédex, there was nothing to stop you trying to complete a shinydex.
Pokérus: Godsend to EV trainers everywhere.
The inclusion of Kanto: Not one, but TWO huge worlds to explore plus with a few exclusions (I'm guessing due to size limitations) the Gen II Kanto was more or less completely faithful to the original.
New evolutions: Gen II gave us some kick-ass evolutions (Espeon & Umbreon, anyone?) and also some new ways to evolve your Pokémon, including new stones and items.
Berries & item holding: Arguably one of the best features that came with Gen II, holding berries & items not only effected evolution etc but added a whole new dimension to battling.
Phone calls: Okay, i'm not as big a fan of this one as with the exception of Swarm-watchers I found the constant calls about Hikers battling "tough Starmies" incredibly annoying, but that said it came in handy if ever you needed to level up some lower-level beasts. And along with the SS Aqua, it meant you could rebattle a reasonable selection of trainers over and over.
Steel & Dark Pokémon: Yes.
Icy floors!: Okay, a bit childish but I adored sliding around in Ice Cave XD
Better music: Just my humble opinion, but I thought some of the battle themes (Especially for Champ Lance & your rival) were amazing, and a vast improvement over the Gen I games. Some of the music for the cities was class as well.
Happiness: Might just be me, but I enjoyed making my Pokémon happier by grooming/haircuts etc. Even if it was an expensive task.
Trainer names: A small detail, but it gave your opponents a sense of personality instead of just being some generic grunt or Cooltrainer.
Better gyms & leaders: Again, just my opinion but I prefer the Gen II gyms & leaders to the ones in Gen I for the most part.
Mystery Gift: Stuff for free! Plus I liked the way you got to battle the person you last Mystery Gifted in Viridian's Trainer House.

There are probably other things but for now that's all I can think of. Some of the things that didn't make GSC so great were Baby Pokémon (un-necessary and a cheap way to bump the Pokémon tally to 251 imo), the TMs available (Some of them sucked and made me wonder why they didn't just keep a few of the Gen I TMs instead) and the overall lack of challenge (Leaders & Leet Four's Pokémon could have done with another few levels added on imo). But the positives vastly outweight the negatives, and that's why Gen II is my fave generation ^^
Nailed most of it, excellent detail provided here. All the new features and such that made the game so exciting. It generated a great atmosphere which is why so many adored these games and thought of it as "the best set" i was one of these people. I was just so excited about a whole new adventure for the first time because before that it was just Kanto (which I loved and still do) in B/R/Y, Johto introduced into GBC was great.