Favorite main series game?

[Sheep]

Many main series Pokémon games have been released since the franchise's debut in 1996. From R/B/G/Y all the way to the most recent OR/AS, which main series game is your favorite and why?

 

[Judge Mandolore Shepard]

When it comes to my favorite main series Pokemon game, it would have to be Blue since it was the first one I ever played. Had I not played Blue, I probably would not have become a Pokemon fan.

 

[FireSnow]

For me it would be the one and only Pokemon Crystal. It was the first game i ever played and 13 years later, I'm still playing and couldn't be happier. Though basic, I loved how simplistic it was and Rocket storyline. This game also churned out some of my favorite
Pokemon.

Tied for a close second would be RBE, PDPt, and ORAS for their graphics and overarching plots.

 

[esperance]

My favorite is and likely always will be Black 2 (/White 2). Not only is the art the downright best of the series, the story is arguably the best too. I have yet to see a story (apart from Black/White's) that is as well thought-out and engaging in a core series game. And don't even get me started on post-game content. BW2 is literal proof that GameFreak can do post-game content (they just seemingly don't all too often). Black 2 is one of those games that despite the changes in the series I have no problem coming back to and playing through again, and I sure hope that never changes.

 

[Pendraflare]

My favorite is and likely always will be Black 2 (/White 2). Not only is the art the downright best of the series, the story is arguably the best too. I have yet to see a story (apart from Black/White's) that is as well thought-out and engaging in a core series game. And don't even get me started on post-game content. BW2 is literal proof that GameFreak can do post-game content (they just seemingly don't all too often). Black 2 is one of those games that despite the changes in the series I have no problem coming back to and playing through again, and I sure hope that never changes.

This. I've talked several times about how much I love Black 2 and White 2, but i'll say that its variety stands out a lot to me and there's so much to do throughout the game. I won't go on much more about it since i've talked about it so many times, so there. Fans of BW who call it the same game/region can go screw themselves.

 

[ElCabron]

It's a hard choice. I agree with Achromatic and believe HeartGold is fun as hell to play, the post elite four content is amazing. However, I love Black (and 2) and White (and 2 too), plus Platinum, just as much. Buuuuuuuuuut, as much as I like those guys and Platinum is my bae, my truly love is Crystal. My God, this guy was amazing. It had two regions, just like HG, it had items, it had daycare, it had day and night, it had babies, it had Battle Tower (which was challenging too!), the graphics were also cool:

Spoiler:

and we also got some freaking beasts pokemon! It had items too.
Somehow I feel Crystal was much more enjoyable than the whole franchise and one of those which aged really well. Even nowadays the game is beast!

 

[blue]

Platinum is my favourite. I love Sinnoh and the storylines from Diamond & Pearl, but Platinum just totally expanded upon that in so many great ways. We saw new areas, an extended Regional Dex and new characters introduced. Platinum is also probably the most challenging of any of the mainstream games, so it's great fun to nuzlocke a game like that!

 

[Eruption]

It's a popular choice, but I love Heart Gold/Soul Silver the most. There's plenty of post-game content and some fun additions like Pokéathlon and following pokémon. I doubt many people have a problem with a revisit to Kanto and an extra eight badges either. It probably helps that they stayed true to the great originals too. My love for Typhlosion and Ho-oh also helps.

Most of the games are pretty amazing though so I can see why any of them could be other people's favourites.

 

[Wicked3DS]

HeartGold is still my favorite to this day. It's the game that really got me back into playing Pokémon and I still love that your Pokémon follows behind you (something that needs to be reintroduced asap).

 

[magicalgirlj]

This is so hard I can't choose between gen 2 and the remakes and Pokemon X and Y

 

[Sun]

Seems like I'm the only one here who appreciates Emerald to the max? Battle Frontier, fast frame rate (like all Gen III games), first game with a gym leader rematch and all Hoenn exclusive things. :)

 

[DraconianWing]

Seconding Sun and picking Emerald for this one. Nothing in the series is like its Battle Frontier, and it was the only 3rd Gen game with animated sprites. Unlike Ruby and Sapphire, the main storyline involved all three of the weather trio. Double battle Gym rematches made the game feel a bit more fresh along with some small changes in detail here and there. The nostalgia factor is strong here too, because it was the first region and generation I was introduced into.

 

[Sopheria]

Black/White 2 for me, for all the reasons Hopeless Masquerade already gave. These games do an amazing job building on the groundwork that Black/White had already laid down. There's so much to do and explore in these games, they have such a big variety of Pokemon available, Unova is such an amazing region to explore, and they're just amazing games to pick up and play :) I still play White 2 from time to time, and I still get so much enjoyment out of it.

 

[VisualJae]

Gold/Silver/Crystal for me.

There really hasn't been anything quite like playing the protagonist and then at the very end of the game, after everything is said and done, face off against the previous protagonist you played as and have grown attached to.

Over 15 years later, that amazingly chilling feeling still hasn't been replicated (excluding remake; because at that point you already expect it).

In GSC, there were no hints that Red was waiting at the top of Mt. Silver. For all you knew, Mt. Silver was just the end-game dungeon where you get to fight crazy powerful Pokemon (in addition to Pokemon you haven't encountered during the playthrough). Just navigating your way around, climbing to the top, and you suddenly see this lone trainer...

The first time I pressed A in front of him and realized what just happened...

Again, no core series game since then has done something like that.

Other little things like facing off against Blue again (when he transformed from bratty rival to a respectable gym leader) was amazing as well. It was especially strong since the player was coming off playing RBY. This was somewhat revisited with BW Cheren → BW2 Cheren, but Blue and Cheren are drastically different characters. Cheren's presence was also somewhat diluted due to a far larger cast of characters, whereas in RBY you had few people to consistently interact with throughout the game other than Blue.

 

[Hiatus]

Emerald, for sure, with part of it being due to nostalgia factor. Aside from that, I'm also a huge ORAS fan.

 

[LusoTrainer]

FireRed/LeafGreen > Gold/Silver/Crystal > Red/Green/Blue.

 

[Apollo]

Emerald, then closely followed by HeartGold and SoulSilver. The former because of the nostalgia factor partly, and also for the adventure aspect of it. The reason why I started playing the Pokemon games in the first place was because I liked to explore the various areas and Hoenn had a great diversity when it comes to those. The latter for the amazing features (walking Pokemon!), the fresh graphics (especially compared to the sort-of dull graphics of the previous games) and having two regions at once was a treat. :)

 

[Oreanna]

I like Crystal, as gen 2 was my introduction for Pokemon, and the first to pick a gender.(And the fist case of gender confusion...)

 

[G0!d]

Gold/Silver/Crystal and their remakes are the best for me. The plot is good, the gym leaders are interesting (esp. whitney and clair) and the champion is so cool! The shiny Gyarados is cool as well for those players who haven't caught shiny poke before. I also enjoyed the finer and classic graphics of gen II compared to the generations following it. Last and certainly is the least is Gold's rival which really up to this day grinds my gears.. >:(

 

[noahr94]

OR/AS