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Probably every case.
One complication I'd like to add/address: The "third game".
First Gen had such a random smattering of games; Japan had Red/Green, then Blue, the rest of us got a Red/Blue based on *their* Blue, then we all got Yellow with little anime additions, but it otherwise doesn't do much to serve as an "enhanced edition". So FRLG naturally ignored Yellow, but otherwise reasonably improved and modernised Kanto for the 3rd gen, and sorted out the tremendous amount of bugs and glitches. FRLG > RBGY
In every other case -Crystal, Emerald and Platinum - we were given a significantly better experience for that generations' region. So with that in mind, the oft-used "It's a ____ and ____ remake, not a ____ remake" is not, was never and will never be valid.
For HGSS, they packaged all of Crystal's extras, and then some. HGSS absolutely improved on the Johto experience. Somehow the level curve issues remained, more or less, but the overall experience was so much more substantial. HGSS > GSC.
ORAS… will always lose points for omitting the Battle Frontier. It did add a whole bunch of excellent content to modernise the experience, with the Pokenav+ and all its additions. They also did something incredibly interesting, which I don't often see addressed:
Once you beat the 8th Gym Leader, it's noted that there were significant climate changes due to the Groudon/Kyogre event. Wallace asks "What will you do now? Challenge the Pokémon League? Or maybe complete the Pokédex?".
And from there, you can go ahead and retrieve the National Dex, before ever going near Ever Grande City. They've since ditched the National Dex model, but my mind was blown at the time; that I could put the League on hold and catch some non-Hoenn Pokémon if I wanted. Thats one of many things that made ORAS a wonderful remake, even if it loses significant points for missing the Frontier. ORAS > RS, but ORAS = E. It's just hard to get past the postgame we could've had.
BDSP… Yeah. BDSP > DP, but BDSP < Plat, entirely. This is always going to be wildly divisive.
BDSP is not a remake in the same vein as FRLG/HGSS/ORAS. It's a remaster, a port.
Where each previous remake used that generation's engine and mechanics, BDSP stands on its own.
My stance is such that, BDSP should've used an enhanced version of SwSh's engine; at least graphically. Game Freak shot themselves in the foot by changing their stance on battle gimmicks, and locking them in to their native regions. They made Mega Evolution fit into ORAS just fine; but decided to make Dynamax a Galar-only phenomenon. I digress;
BDSP being so closely based on DP is a crying shame. The only convenience it offers over vanilla DP, is that it's physically faster to play. The Grand Underground and Ramanas Park are absolutely not enough to propel it into "great remake" territory like HGSS or ORAS.
Some merits I'll give it, are
- Being able to finally battle Lucas/Dawn. Massively disappointed they were just NPCs in the base games
- The various scales of League rematches, and the Gym Leader rematches.
- The Grand Underground at least giving some access to extra Pokémon (fire types, anyone?).
But still, just to disappointing an approach to look past.
One complication I'd like to add/address: The "third game".
First Gen had such a random smattering of games; Japan had Red/Green, then Blue, the rest of us got a Red/Blue based on *their* Blue, then we all got Yellow with little anime additions, but it otherwise doesn't do much to serve as an "enhanced edition". So FRLG naturally ignored Yellow, but otherwise reasonably improved and modernised Kanto for the 3rd gen, and sorted out the tremendous amount of bugs and glitches. FRLG > RBGY
In every other case -Crystal, Emerald and Platinum - we were given a significantly better experience for that generations' region. So with that in mind, the oft-used "It's a ____ and ____ remake, not a ____ remake" is not, was never and will never be valid.
For HGSS, they packaged all of Crystal's extras, and then some. HGSS absolutely improved on the Johto experience. Somehow the level curve issues remained, more or less, but the overall experience was so much more substantial. HGSS > GSC.
ORAS… will always lose points for omitting the Battle Frontier. It did add a whole bunch of excellent content to modernise the experience, with the Pokenav+ and all its additions. They also did something incredibly interesting, which I don't often see addressed:
Once you beat the 8th Gym Leader, it's noted that there were significant climate changes due to the Groudon/Kyogre event. Wallace asks "What will you do now? Challenge the Pokémon League? Or maybe complete the Pokédex?".
And from there, you can go ahead and retrieve the National Dex, before ever going near Ever Grande City. They've since ditched the National Dex model, but my mind was blown at the time; that I could put the League on hold and catch some non-Hoenn Pokémon if I wanted. Thats one of many things that made ORAS a wonderful remake, even if it loses significant points for missing the Frontier. ORAS > RS, but ORAS = E. It's just hard to get past the postgame we could've had.
BDSP… Yeah. BDSP > DP, but BDSP < Plat, entirely. This is always going to be wildly divisive.
BDSP is not a remake in the same vein as FRLG/HGSS/ORAS. It's a remaster, a port.
Where each previous remake used that generation's engine and mechanics, BDSP stands on its own.
My stance is such that, BDSP should've used an enhanced version of SwSh's engine; at least graphically. Game Freak shot themselves in the foot by changing their stance on battle gimmicks, and locking them in to their native regions. They made Mega Evolution fit into ORAS just fine; but decided to make Dynamax a Galar-only phenomenon. I digress;
BDSP being so closely based on DP is a crying shame. The only convenience it offers over vanilla DP, is that it's physically faster to play. The Grand Underground and Ramanas Park are absolutely not enough to propel it into "great remake" territory like HGSS or ORAS.
Some merits I'll give it, are
- Being able to finally battle Lucas/Dawn. Massively disappointed they were just NPCs in the base games
- The various scales of League rematches, and the Gym Leader rematches.
- The Grand Underground at least giving some access to extra Pokémon (fire types, anyone?).
But still, just to disappointing an approach to look past.
