3rd Gen More Than Just A Game?

[Lunar]

Whenever I play the likes of FireRed or Emerald I just get hit with instant waves of nostalgia everytime, I'm 17 now and I obviously played these games around the time of release so when i was about 6/7 and haven't stopped since. Even now I enjoy these games just as much but I get the feeling that (for me anyway) the games from gen 3 are more than just pixels on a screen, they hold memories, for all of us probably, from our childhood and brought us together with friends. I still think that these games will be the best I ever played not only because of how good they actually were but because they were more than just a game. My thoughts aside, do you guys agree, or even disagree, with the idea that Generation 3 will always hold a significant place in our hearts?

 

[Mab]

I agree completely. I can't really get into the games earlier than Gen III, since I never played them as a kid and thus don't have enough nostalgia to be able to stand the graphics. LeafGreen was my first game and Emerald quickly became my favorite and remains so to this day.
It's more than just nostalgia, though. Every generation after 3 has added more stuff that I don't really care about. I don't care about touchscreens, I don't care about 3D, I don't care about animated battle sprites, and I don't really care about mystery gift or online support or any of that jazz, and I hate a lot of the new Pokémon. As a former ROM Hacker, I also love Gen III because of how easy it is to completely remake the game into something even better. I doubt 3 will ever stop being my favorite generation (although 6 did come close, but even then the only new feature I really cared about was Mega Evolution).

 

[illumine]

No real reason why these games in particular would be more than games rather than the previous, which at least had Missingno. in certain cases. They were games, in some sense, and that is why people liked them by themselves, feeling nostalgic about a game or others liking it does not lead to any particular act of transubstantiation (I mean, unless it's Crystal. If you like Crystal, you're probably playing 'Quartz.') If anything, features such as the meek 'rival,' and so on, served to mean that many people particularly concerned about it were unlikely to be interested in further releases past Emerald. They were released as games, of some sort, and did not become otherwise. Obviously, when it comes to games, people experience the games in their own playthroughs or such, and then relate over this insofar as it flows from the game itself in a fairly introverted manner. Others things which may have been popular back then include the WWE, which is adamantly not that much more than it is, and games involving cars racing, for some reason, which aren't more than a game for this either. I suppose that you could compare the (especially earlier) games with alt music or other trends of that time, in which sense it is not only a game but made a statement regarding things in general, but I'm not sure if that's what was meant. That's surely the least expected from a game, though.

 

[Lunar]

Any game can have nostalgia attached to it. If a game is well-loved by many people for the memories it creates, I'd say it's special, and R/S/E qualifies. Although from my point of view, it is still just a game. A really awesome game that is loved by a lot of people who grew up with it.

I completely agree, but I feel like theres something more with these games, the soundtracks, the gameplay, just everything creates the feeling that their quality will never be replicated again. Of course I'm just super nostalgic about Gen 3 but the enjoyment factor of it just never seems to die.

 

[Elysieum]

It's true that the amalgamated elements of these games created a style of its own. Whether it's more than a game is really subjective to each person. We all carry our own impressions and memories of it.

(I always feel a pang of happy nostalgia when I hear the music of Nugget Bridge).

 

[Imperator161]

I completely agree, but I feel like theres something more with these games, the soundtracks, the gameplay, just everything creates the feeling that their quality will never be replicated again. Of course I'm just super nostalgic about Gen 3 but the enjoyment factor of it just never seems to die.

I think it has more to do with nostalgia than it does with the games themselves. The GBA is a unique platform, so there are certain things that can make it very nostalgic, especially if it's what you grew up with. And many of the elements that made the gen 3 games what they were probably won't be replicated again. With a re-release of RBY, and remakes of R/S in ORAS, the GBA games do appear to be a thing of the past, and they do feel quite different from games today (and yet not as different as gen I and gen II).

Personally, gens I and II do more for me on the nostalgia front. I still enjoy playing gen III a lot, but what draws me to FRLG is that they induce my original Kanto nostalgia from gen I (and give me access to a lot of the Pokemon from gens I and II that I used to love, but lost access to with the R/S reboot). I could take or leave R/S; they got rid of my access to many of my favorite team members from my first two games. Emerald I like for the Battle Frontier. But for people a few years younger than me, like you, who grew up with gen III as your first game, it makes sense that you'd feel nostalgic about gen III more than the others, just like I feel that way about gen I and especially gen II.

 

[Xertified]

It is not just a game, but yeah nostalgia. Everytime playing this and here FireRed's Music makes me cry and remember my cousin (he is in the hospital now) catching Articuno.

 

[sniper_x002]

I love Leaf Green, it was my first Pokemon game. Interestingly enough, I didn't buy it but my mom found it.. in the grass. Eventually I sold it to gamestop for something like $2 and thought I was rich, but I obviously regret that now.