1st Gen Are the older Gens losing popularity?

[jbernardocard]

Ah, so you started with the "meh" FRLG? Did you ever go back and play the original RBY? What did you think? Better or worse (outdated graphics/mechanics, notwithstanding)?



Yeah, GSC had a really good soundtrack, even with the 8-bit sound effects. Very nostalgic. {<3}



Well, HGSS sort of allowed you to do that, but the option came way too late in the game, and the songs weren't perfect recreations. The next Gen 1 remake should implement this feature to the fullest.

Sorry i'm not multi-quoting you but i don't know how to do it ahah.


Yeah i started with LG because it was the most recent one when i got a game boy... I did like the sevii islands but other than that i don't remember anything interesting in that game tho.

About RBY, i did play yellow before i got a game boy, my cousin has it so i eventually did play it for a couple hours back then. I never played the whole game, because after i played LG i wasn't very interested in going to Kanto again. In my opinion the option to have pikachu following you looks kinda fun, the game mechanics are pretty basic so maybe it is a cool game to play just for fun without caring with natures/abilitys/EVs/IVs. What's yout opinion on these games, did you get into pokemon in gen I?

I didn't know HGSS allowed you to do that, it's very interesting because i think that older players play remakes mainly due to nostalgic reasons. My case: i would never buy a 3ds if ORAS didn't came out, now i have it, i'm back into pokemon and i want to play all the games i missed.

I'm thinking about buying HG or SS to explore the game since i missed these ones too.

 

[Zehn]

Personally I found and still today I still think that gen 4 was my favourite generation. A lot of people said they dislike it and it has replaced gen 3 as the black sheep. I disagree. Gen 5 they tried to make the graphics more 3D but did not remove how pixelated the OW sprites, making some ugly games in my opinion

 

[Viscacha]

I think your point about newer generations is correct because fans have definitely grown up. I mean, RSE weren't bad games but the older players despised them anyway. Now that those new players are older, things have turned. But I don't think generation 1 and 2 games will become non-popular because they're really fun and I mean generation 2 and its remakes were amazing.

 

[Inkblots]

As others have said, I think a lot of it is nostalgia and age group. Even though I didn't start playing until I was 18 or 19, the first Pokemon game I played was FireRed, and it has remained my favourite. Probably partly because it was the first one I played, and because I grew up watching the very first seasons of Pokemon and obsessively reading the first "Official Pokemon Handbook" (and hoping that one day my parents would finally give in and let me have a GameBoy) so I have more of a connection to the Kanto region than any other. When I think of Pokemon, I always think of FR first. I later tried going back and playing the 1st and 2nd gen games, but the graphics and game mechanics are just so clunky in comparison that I can't get into them. I get frustrated very quickly with the box system, and the lack of unique sprites for each pokemon when looking at my team, and the way the map works, and find it very difficult to navigate for some reason. I have played a decent hacked "remake" of Crystal that used one of the gen 3 games as a base (I can't remember which one) and I did enjoy the storyline. I imagine if I'd started with gen 1/2, or grew up playing them, then I would like them more.

Likewise, the kids growing up now are playing the later gen games, and will probably look back at the older gens and wonder how anyone managed to play them without wanting to whip it across the room (which is how I feel about the gen 1/2 games). Of course, there will always be the fanatics who go back and play the older games and love them for the retro-ness and history (and can't discount the purity snobs either), so I don't think they'll ever be completely abandoned. It's the way it goes with any series that is long-running enough to have had several generations growing up with different versions of it (just look at the Doctor Who and Star Trek and Star Wars fandoms)

 

[BettyNewbie]

If I recall, the only other Pokemon game (not including spin offs) with animation was Emerald. That one was mostly morphing and moving the sprites, but not having the sprites animate.anything in particular. If they did, it was barely noticeable. With crystal they definitely took the time and care to animate them carefully. For a GBC game, I have never seen so much life. I'm not exaggerating.

The Gen 4 and 5 games had animated sprites, too. However, even their animations were far more static and generic than Gen 2's were. Emerald's animations were terrible, IMO.

About RBY, i did play yellow before i got a game boy, my cousin has it so i eventually did play it for a couple hours back then. I never played the whole game, because after i played LG i wasn't very interested in going to Kanto again. In my opinion the option to have pikachu following you looks kinda fun, the game mechanics are pretty basic so maybe it is a cool game to play just for fun without caring with natures/abilitys/EVs/IVs. What's your opinion on these games, did you get into pokemon in gen I?

Sad that FRLG "ruined" Kanto for you. FRLG were pretty poor games, IMO, so I don't entirely blame you for feeling that way.

If you want to give the original games another try, I suggest Yellow (my first game, BTW). While the non-evolving, Light Ball-less Pikachu can be an issue later on, it follows you, and you can get all three of the Kanto starters without trading. It also has nicer graphics and more bugfixes than RB. (Plus, Red's team in GSC will be A LOT more meaningful after playing Yellow... It's the game his team is directly based off of.)

My case: i would never buy a 3ds if ORAS didn't came out, now i have it, i'm back into pokemon and i want to play all the games i missed.

What ORAS were to you is what a new Yellow remake would probably be to me. I'd actually consider going out and buying a 3DS if it meant playing my very first Pokémon game in beautiful, full-color 3D.

I'm thinking about buying HG or SS to explore the game since i missed these ones too.

I definitely recommend HGSS. Unlike FRLG, HGSS actually weren't afraid to mix things up and add new features and elements to Gen 2's story, and the graphics still look gorgeous and hold up very well. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Baggie_Saiyan]

Personally I found and still today I still think that gen 4 was my favourite generation. A lot of people said they dislike it and it has replaced gen 3 as the black sheep. I disagree. Gen 5 they tried to make the graphics more 3D but did not remove how pixelated the OW sprites, making some ugly games in my opinion

Couldn't agree more, I never understood the hate for Gen 3 and 4, I loved the generations. Gen 5 was horrible, which leads me to believe it was filler for Gen 6 because you don't go from something as horrible as Gen 5 to something as beautiful Gen 6.

 

[Mega_Kris]

Gen 3's hate comes from being a new Gen that didnt add more. Two teams that werent exactly all that interesting.


Not that I agree with it, but I can see why. Personally it felt like a fresh start. But in each gen after is like a reset button more or less.

Gen 2 will forever remain my favorite and enjoy it just the way it is. Gen 3 and 4 arent bad. I actually like gen 4's starter pokemon as they have a subtle nod to the original starter. Im sure everyone sees that turtwig was inspired by Bulbasaur

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Really Gen IV? I think Gen V is commonly seen as the new Death of Pokemon'. I've seen more Gen V bashing than Gen IV bashing in recent years.
Also I wouldn't say Gen II has lost popularity, it still does well in popularity polls (usually first actually), but Gen I on the other hand hasn't been so lucky...

 

[BettyNewbie]

Also I wouldn't say Gen II has lost popularity, it still does well in popularity polls (usually first actually), but Gen I on the other hand hasn't been so lucky...

Well, it probably helps that Gen 2's last games are still fairly recent, while every version of Gen 1 is an ancient relic (with the latest release being crap, IMO). But, even then, I've seen many younger fans complain about Johto being "too small" and "too connected to Kanto," conveniently forgetting that Gen 2 was meant to be a direct sequel.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Well, it probably helps that Gen 2's last games are still fairly recent, while every version of Gen 1 is an ancient relic (with the latest release being crap, IMO). But, even then, I've seen many younger fans complain about Johto being "too small" and "too connected to Kanto," conveniently forgetting that Gen 2 was meant to be a direct sequel.

Even back in Gen IV people were saying that Johto could be bigger, and thankfully they did add parts to the region.
Though, Gen II has always been more popular (even back pre-HgSs and possibly even pre-FrLg) than I even if Gen I did sell better.

 

[BettyNewbie]

Though, Gen II has always been more popular (even back pre-HgSs and possibly even pre-FrLg) than I even if Gen I did sell better.

Well, Gen 2 basically took all of the things that were great about Gen 1 and improved them. The graphics were nicer, there were fewer glitches, Psychics had weaknesses, Critical Hits weren't broken, there were a ton of fun new features (like the Pokégear and Day/Night) and last but not least, the story was deeper and more fleshed out.

And, that, of course, was a big reason why many were disappointed with Gen 3, especially FRLG. People expected to get everything they had in Gen 2, plus more, and suffice to say, that didn't exactly happen.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Well, Gen 2 basically took all of the things that were great about Gen 1 and improved them. The graphics were nicer, there were fewer glitches, Psychics had weaknesses, Critical Hits weren't broken, there were a ton of fun new features (like the Pokégear and Day/Night) and last but not least, the story was deeper and more fleshed out.

And, that, of course, was a big reason why many were disappointed with Gen 3, especially FRLG. People expected to get everything they had in Gen 2, plus more, and suffice to say, that didn't exactly happen.

Yet Gen III was oddly as popular as Gen I even back in Gen V...and it had the same issues.

 

[BettyNewbie]

Yet Gen III was oddly as popular as Gen I even back in Gen V...and it had the same issues.

Well, even RSE had more than FRLG did, to be technical. Plus, Gen 5 was around the time that the younger fans who grew up with RSE instead of RBY/GSC started entering their late teens and getting nostalgic. :P

 

[Bellsprout]

I can see why people hated gen 3, but I really loved it. I played the first two generations before it and I still loved everything about that region. I feel indifferent about gen 4. I disliked it for a long time and then came to realize I really love a lot of characters from those games, the region itself was just kind of meh to me.

I think like the op stated 6-7 years ago there were probably more people active online who started with the original games and moved up from there, but yet were loyal to the originals. I tend to see a lot more people now who say they actually started with the third gen and then moved back.

I grew up with the original Pokemon and they do feel different to me than ones in other generations. It probably is just a feeling of nostalgia, but whenever I see the old anime or artwork of the original pokemon or sprite styles from the first or second gen it just makes me happy? Idk they just have a very special place in my heart lol. I intensely loved Pokemon as a child and I've grown up to still enjoy it so I guess it's embedded in me. With that said I think they will always have their place, even if newer generations become more widely loved.

 

[Cerberus87]

I think Gen V is commonly seen as the new Death of Pokemon'. I've seen more Gen V bashing than Gen IV bashing in recent years.

Which is BS IMO because the gameplay was fast and crisp and the Pokémon roster was great, even though the region wasn't anything special.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

Which is BS IMO because the gameplay was fast and crisp and the Pokémon roster was great, even though the region wasn't anything special.

Well you're right, as most of the criticism of Gen V I hear is directed at the region rather than Gameplay...though the Pokemon also get some stabs here and there (Trubish and Vanillite lines).
It's possible though that Gen VI will get the title soon for having a rather boring story-line and being easier than past Gens...

 

[Mega_Kris]

Which is BS IMO because the gameplay was fast and crisp and the Pokémon roster was great, even though the region wasn't anything special.

The pokemon were not that great...granted some were good but definitely could've waited for a 3DS. But not only that but the new features were farmore gimmicky than necessary. its not like mega evolution or overworld traveling.

 

[TaintedBeing]

They are, yes.

Why? Because as new generations come, the older ones slowly gain dust. Not only this, but a portion of the people that liked the first generations are now growing up/grown up/into other things. Ontop of this, as time goes by, new generations of fans flow in and begin their Pokemon journies with the lastest regions, unlike older fans who began in the roots (Gen I & II).

Unfortunately we cannot control this entirely. But I can say that the first generations aren't extremely deserted, nor will they be.

 

[TheFunnyFeraligator]

I don't consider there to be a death of pokemon, because generation 6's games rocked

 

[Megan]

Define popular. For me popular sounds more like "everyone likes it", but that would also imply that unpopular means "everybody hates it". If something loses popularity that means, it becomes more and more unpopular, which means that it gets from "everybody likes it" to "everybody hates it", or in other words: people who liked the games once, now start to hate it.
But that doesn't make any sense. Sure you could argue that people liked the games out of nostalgia and that they finally grew up and realized how terrible those games are, but isn't that just another onedimensional viewpoint? There clearly is more to the old games than just terrible graphics, a hugh amount of bugs and glitches and horribly implemented and unpolished mechanics.

I really love the first two games. There's just no reason for me, to not like them. But I also like the new games. Every Pokemon game has its own "spirit" so to speak. Every game has its own things that make it likable and nostalgia is definitely not the only reason why someone would like the old games. ORAS has tons of nifty features, over 700 Pokemon to choose from, incredible customization options in terms of movesets, nature, EVs, IVs, etc.
RBY and GSC don't have most of it (or only in a more restriced fasion), but they also don't suffer too much from stuff like powercreep, streamlined EVs, IVs and legendaries; when encountering a legendariy it actually feels like uncovering a mystery, instead of letting the plot tell you to get said legendary, or get to a random island where there's only a ring with a legendary inside.

Do I think, the old games lose popularity? Honestly, I really couldn't care less about that. I still like them and I know a lot of other people like them, too, even if they are not talking about those games, anymore. There's just no need to tell people how awesome the old games are, when everybody is busy having fun, playing the new games. I mean let's be honest: you play Pokemon to have fun and it doesn't matter if there's a Blastoise, a Giratina or a Primal Kyogre on the cover.