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Favorite Gen and Least Favorite Gen?

  • 2,845
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    • Seen Nov 14, 2023
    My favorite generation is 3 cause I love the GBA Pok?mon art style and sprite work. The music is fantastic too.

    Gen 1 is my least favorite only because of how archaic it is.
     
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    would be great if we could go into what we liked/disliked a bit rather than just listing two numbers without any context.

    fav: gen 5 c:
    it's awesome. the music is a big factor. the graphics aren't perfect and while they did get ugly and pixelated at times, as a whole i liked them. the areas were unique and interesting and had a lot of side areas to explore. it even stepped away from the traditional plot formula with some incomparable characters like N.

    unfav: gen 6 :c
    a mess graphically, mainly because it was clearly intended as a test for the 3D graphics that they didn't bother to put too much effort into. they ditched so many of gen 5's awesome features and emphasis on story, introduced forgettable pokemon and streamlined plots (both in XY and ORAS to a lesser extent).
     
    favourite - gen 4.

    Platinum wins hands down for me and I've yet to see another game that tops it. Music, characters, Pok?mon, storyline are just some of the reasons why I love these games. Sun & Moon came close, but ultimately the Sinnoh games are still my favourites.

    least favourite - gen 1

    I just don't enjoy playing these games due to how dated they feel compared to later titles. That and the fact that Kanto is my least favourite region.
     
    My favourite is easily Gen IV. This is the gen that revitalised my interest in the franchise, which was rapidly waning after Gen III bored the hell out of me with two games with half a story each - although I will give Emerald its due as being a complete experience - and threadbare remakes of the first games that weren't as good as Yellow. And the music was awful! But Gen IV turned it around - Sinnoh was a fantastically designed region, with Legendaries that actually felt like proper Legendaries, absolutely fantastic remakes of the second gen, and Platinum, which is easily my favourite core series game. Online battling was also a huge thing for me back then, I like 90% of the new Pokemon Sinnoh introduced, and the visual upgrade was nice too. Plus no more trumpets. Thank god.

    My least favourite is Gen VII. As I've said numerous times already, I strongly dislike the minimalistic NPC-focused approach to "story" that Pokemon has been taking from Gen V onwards - recycling Gen III's plot over and over, might I add - and Gen VII topped Gen V as the worst attempt at it yet by being practically on rails. Hau to the left of me, Lillie to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle of an almost stage-based island experience with far too many Gen I Pokemon in the Pokedex, a clear focus on style over substance, and the most painfully slow and tiresome pacing, so bad that I couldn't even finish Sun. That has NEVER happened to me before. I slogged through Ruby. I slogged through Black. I put down Sun. It was that bad. I'm still in shock over it.

    My Moon playthrough earlier this year was more successful in that I somehow mustered the energy to finish it - after transferring in a team of my favourites from Bank to make it more bearable - but it remains the most unpleasant experience I have had with the franchise to date. Even though I have no expectations for US/UM, I'm almost looking forward to them, because I can't imagine how they could possibly be any worse than S/M...and I have a very vivid imagination.
     
    Favorite: My favorite generations would have to be tied between 4 and 5. I really liked the Pokemon and soundtrack. It was also during this period when I would have friends who still played Pokemon actively. We would battle and trade between each other a lot. That's something I don't see anymore these days.

    Least Favorite: My least favorite generation would easily be generation 6. Those games had everything against them: Very easy gameplay, rushed storyline, shallow characters, little new Pokemon, and the region overall was very forgettable. The only thing they did right was the introduction of 3D.
     
    Favourite: Either gen 2 for nostalgia reasons or gen 5 because the plot

    Least Favourite: Gen 6 was a mistake
     
    Favorite: GEN 4, hands down.
    Gen 4 imo just had the perfect balance of everything. The plot, Pok?mon, soundtrack, concept, features, design, lore/mythology, characters, and post-game were just all spot-on. Also, the replay value of Gen 4 is insane, for me, you can never seem bored with the game due to the amount of challenge and options they provide to the player. For example, they included contests, poffin making, hidden events, legendary hunting, & tons of exploring to the game. Plus, Gen 4 kinda reverts back to the good ol' Pok?mon days where the battling scene wasn't overwhelming which kinda reminds you how Pok?mon was originally laid out. I can go on and on but I'll just end it here haha

    Least Favorite: Gen 6.
    Kalos just lost the true essence of what made Pok?mon, Pok?mon in a way (plot/concept-wise). I didn't mind the Mega-Evolution feature, I actually quite enjoyed it but if you exclude all the new features from Gen 6 (like trainer-customization and Pok?mon-Amie), there's really nothing there besides it being the first 3DS game. Kalos's plot was underwhelming and hard to follow due to the many gimmicky rivals and characters, it was just hard to remember them. Team Flare as a villainous team failed to make their mark for the player & the whole region is just hard to follow since nothing stands out. The lore wasn't properly explained and just left a lot of unanswered confusing questions. Plus, there's no replay value of Kalos imo, there's nothing to do after the post-game if you don't have wifi and there's just nothing to look forward to. + Even when you beat the Pok?mon League, its unsatisfying. Every player should be satisfied when they beat the Pok?mon League since that's the goal of every game but Kalos was just unsatisfying.
     
    My favourite is a tie between generation 2 and generation 6 due to regions and Pokemon designs. Generation 1 is my least favourite due to broken game mechanics, too many poison types and not as many good Pokemon designs as the newer generations.
     
    My favourite is gen 5. I love everything about it. The region, the music, the story, the pok?mon.

    My least favourite is gen 1. It's outdated, boring and full of glitches.
     
    Gen 4 is probably my favourite of the bunch. Sinnoh is my preferred region geographically, I really like the story, and the music is great. I also have a lot of nice memories of playing Pearl as a young teen, when I still had the heart of a child, and having a blast. Then, the year SS came out was the first and last time I ever looked forward to springing forward and losing an hour (it brought us closer to the release day, after all). After HGSS came out, the stigma of liking Pokemon seemed to vanish and many people who had grown of the series came back. I have a lot of positive associations with Gen 4 and remember it very fondly.

    Honourable mention to Gen 2 and Gen 5. The former was my first and the latter was quality all around. Gen 7 is too early to call, but I loved the more plot-focused story and seeing the characters be more involved in the going-ons. Plus, Lillie and Gladion are pwn. And Alola Vulpix.

    As for least favourite... I'd have to say 6. Although Gen 1 does have notable flaws, most of which have already been mentioned: bugs, type inbalances, Wrap, graphical quality, ect. However, it was gen that started it all, and the programmers did have to work with limited tech. And, at the time, it was legendary, which keeps me from calling it the worst outright.

    Gen 6 did bring some great Pokemon (ESPURR!), Pokemon Amie, and character customization to the table. However, with that being said, the story felt very weak up until the climax and Team Flare was a joke. Having a 5 man band of rivals could have made for unique and interesting character dynamics, but that did not happen. Instead, the rivals all felt rather one note and didn't develop too much, unlike in the preceding and proceeding gens. I should also note the gym leaders; other then Korrina (and maybe Valerie and Wulfric) they were rather forgettable and had no major role in the story.These flaws are feel even more striking, as Gen 5 was so strong story and character wise. I just feel Kalos had A LOT of wasted potential.

    I don't hate Gen 6, don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun playing through it the first time and adored my team. Plus, as I mentioned, it brought a lot of great things to the table! It just feels like it could have been much better then it turned out being.
     
    Favorite: Gen 5
    It didn't do it for me immediately, but after numerous playthroughs, I came to realize how much I really enjoyed Gen 5 more than any of the other games. I'm a fan of the story, music, characters, urban setting, and numerous pokemon designs. What problems I did have with the original pair, where pretty much rectified with BW2. Also, bridges!

    Least: Gen 7
    It's hard for me to pinpoint why exactly. The hand-holding, constant interruptions, underwhelming dex did have a part in it, but it's the first game that really felt like a chore to get through. Maybe I'm just getting old? Never thought I'd feel the games were getting stale, but that's exactly what happened after playing S/M. That's why I have no excitement for the upcoming Ultra games. :(
     
    Favorite generations: 1 (not only because I started with that generation, but, despite its many flaws, I feel most at home playing Red, Blue, and Yellow as compared with later games.) and 6 (only because of Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, which I thought were considerably fun as compared to X/Y, which seemed a bit on the lackluster side in comparison.)

    Least Favorite: Generation 7 (Seems the drastic changes made for Sun/Moon were made solely for the sake of change, rather than being done out of actual necessity. My experience with Moon has been sour enough that I've been thinking of trading in my copy.)
     
    Least Favourite: Generation One - I never had the nostalgia associated with this generation like many others did and in terms of gameplay, the games are pretty bad and tedious imho.

    Favourite Generation: Generation Three - My first Pokemon games were from Gen 3 and I loved and played them to death. Their quality hasn't lessened for me and I still play the likes of Emerald and FireRed to this day, the music, graphics and regions are special to me so this generation is definitely my favourite.
     
    Favorite: Gen V. People love to hate Gen V for being such a radical departure from the series; honestly, though, that's what I felt made it succeed. From the more urban setting to the new Pokemon, whose designs marked a major stylistic change in the series, these games are unapologetically the black sheep of the franchise. I actually enjoyed not being able to catch any old Pokemon in Black and White - it made building a team much more interesting. Black and White 2 were also fantastic, and I felt that the decision to wait until the sequels to include older Pokemon was a smart one. The inclusion of a challenge mode was something that I had been waiting for, and for me it tops the list of features that should be included in S/M 2.

    Least favorite: Gen VI. Basically everything I have to say about these games has been said before a million times. They're too easy. The story is boring. The characters are unlikable at best and forgettable at worst. However, I will give this region two things. First off, the soundtrack was fantastic, and maybe even the best the series has to offer. Second, the new Pokemon, while few in number, were great. Honestly, though, the biggest letdown of this gen, at least for me, is OR/AS. Let's be honest: OR/AS was a debacle. For a set of games that the entire fanbase had been begging for for years, OR/AS couldn't have been more of a letdown. The replacement of the Battle Frontier (or even the Battle Tower) with a carbon copy of the Battle Maison was a slap in the face, and the incredibly easy main game was disappointing. The games were in no way bad, but it says something that Emerald, a 10 year old game, is better.

    Overall, I'd say:
    V>III>VII>II>IV>I>VI
     
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