New-ish to Pokemon gaming, looking for an opinion

[phome]

I'm not exactly a major pokemon fan really but i have always heard good things about the games themselves and have always been slightly interested in trying them out. Im sure that most will have a varied opinion on this question but i was just curious as to which version would be a good starting point to begin my journey. Having access to most platforms outside of a nintendo 64(not sure really if any pokemon game was made for that platform though?) which would you all recommend as a good beggining? Thank you for all who do participate in this thread, your opinion is valuable to me.

 

[Kirbychu]

Just go ahead and get Black or White (The newest games); that's what I'd do. Pokemon isn't the type of series where you need to play the previous game to understand the next. If you like BW, I would recommend playing these next.

FireRed or LeafGreen (Game Boy Advance)
HeartGold or SoulSilver (DS)
Platinum (DS)
Emerald (Game Boy Advance)

However, if you're interested in seeing the evolution of the series, I would recommend playing Pokemon in this order...

Red or Blue (Game Boy) -> Crystal (Game Boy) -> Emerald (Game Boy Advance) -> Platinum (DS) -> Black or White (DS)

They're all excellent games!

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'd recommend one of Gold/Silver/Crystal as a good starting point (or HeartGold & SoulSilver if you'd like to see the improvement in graphics and gameplay advanced by the DS and other generations). They've always been my favourites, I like the storyline the most out of the ones I've played, and it combines two regions in one - that of Kanto of the first generation and Johto of the second.

G/S/C provide a good glimpse of the rest of the franchise as a whole to see whether you'd enjoy playing more games if you liked it. There've been loads of improvements on RBY, RSE seems to have been regarded as the worst for some reason (not sure why, although I can remember very little about playing them), didn't play D/P/Pt so cannot comment, and B/W, while good, feel a little rehashy which can either be a good or a bad thing.

 

[mondays suck]

Now, I might have a nostalgia bias, but I didn't find any of the newer games even close to being as fun to play as the first two generations.
I'd recommend starting with generation 2 (Gold/Silver/Crystal), since the first generation ([Green]/Red/Blue/Yellow) has a lot of exploitable broken game mechanics, that might lead to bad habits.

Or, a maybe a bit more objective piece of advice: Know whether you prefer decently fast games with - well, some might say sucky - graphics, or obnoxiously slow games with still not good but better graphics.

 

[phome]

Thank you all for your swift replies, they are very much appreciated. I just wanted to be sure there was nothing I woild be missing by ignoring the older games and starting with the most recent releases. I'm sure they all have their merits in their own way though and its good to see that its not just the case that the newer version always out preforming the old. Gives me hope that no matter where I choose to begin with I will not be disapointed.

Also one smaller question I had forgotten to ask. What is the significance of the releases aalways seeming to come in twos(black and white, silver and gold etc). Are they linked games or seperate? And should one of the two always be played before you start the next? Or does it not exactly matter?

Again thank you very much for your responses, they're very helpful

 

[mondays suck]

Most of the two games thing is just franchise milking, the differences aren't too big.
Version-exclusive Pokemon, I'm pretty sure BW also has version-exclusive locations. That's pretty much it.

 

[blue]

I'd reccommend buying Pokémon Heart Gold & Soul Silver First, because you can get an insight to what it's like, and if you enjoy it, try one of the older games, like Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald and if you like that too, one by one, try them all, they all differ so it's not like one is the same than the other (apart from remakes in a way) but with Pokémon Heart Gold & Soul Silver, you get a big hands on experience with 16 badges, a nice long storyline that keeps active, 2 regions, Johto & Kanto filled with lots of fun stuff to do like taking on Gym's batteling trainers, collecting items, exploring caves/routes and lots more but it's also more recent and has alot of great features, nice graphics and almost all the Pokémon (excluding those introduced in Generation V; Pokemon Black & White) so yeah, if I was you I'd go with Pokemon HG/SS, I've been playing for 12 years and I've loved all the games!

 

[Oryx]

Thank you all for your swift replies, they are very much appreciated. I just wanted to be sure there was nothing I woild be missing by ignoring the older games and starting with the most recent releases. I'm sure they all have their merits in their own way though and its good to see that its not just the case that the newer version always out preforming the old. Gives me hope that no matter where I choose to begin with I will not be disapointed.

Also one smaller question I had forgotten to ask. What is the significance of the releases aalways seeming to come in twos(black and white, silver and gold etc). Are they linked games or seperate? And should one of the two always be played before you start the next? Or does it not exactly matter?

Again thank you very much for your responses, they're very helpful

Adding to your first question, I would recommend starting with Black or White as well. Starting with the older generations might put you off because the graphics are much worse, and there's only one connection with the older games in B/W which is not necessary to know to advance the plot. It's by far the prettiest one with the best plot, the people that claim RBY are the best tend to be a bit blinded by nostalgia. Everything's more fun when you play it at 8-10 years old.

As far as the second, the games are nearly identical to each other. An average Pokemon player will only buy one of a pair, and possibly the third game which mixes the two original games in that generation. There are minor Pokemon differences, and normally you have access to a certain legendary that you wouldn't in the other game (most often the one shown on the box). I would recommend not playing both in a pair, just one, since they're so similar and you don't really need to spend the extra money on both unless you're sure that you'll like both of them and/or are a pretty hardcore Pokemon fan and are willing to pay the extra money.

 

[champagnepapi]

I really recommended that you purchase HeartGold or Soulsilver. Most everyone loves them and everyone who has started their Pokemon gaming careers with them, have been quite pleased with the games. The games have many features that would make their initial playthrough enjoyable and user-friendly, such as the fact that your Pokemon follow you and the Gym Leaders and Elite Four are a bit underleveled. The game's also feature an extended journey, featuring two regions to traverse, as opposed to 1, like in all of the other Pokemon games. The graphics are beautiful as well, yet not overwhelming. While it would be nice to get the newest game, you won't fully enjoy Pokemon until you play HeartGold/Soulsilver, I can almost guarantee that you won't be disappointed.

 

[phome]

Apologies for the somewhat late-ish reply. Again though thank you everyone who has participated, got alot more information that i had expect. Multiple votes for Heartgold/Soulsilver so i believe ill start there. Youve all been very helpfull to me, i cant thank you enough.

 

[Pidgeotto]

You can't really go wrong with either of the most recent releases (HH/SS & B/W), so just pick one and enjoy! :)

 

[Oryx]

Apologies for the somewhat late-ish reply. Again though thank you everyone who has participated, got alot more information that i had expect. Multiple votes for Heartgold/Soulsilver so i believe ill start there. Youve all been very helpfull to me, i cant thank you enough.

We're always welcome to new Pokefans :3 If you get stuck or would like to discuss the games, feel free to mosey on over to the HG/SS forums.

 

[Heart Gold]

I'd reccommend buying Pokémon Heart Gold & Soul Silver First, because you can get an insight to what it's like, and if you enjoy it, try one of the older games, like Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald and if you like that too, one by one, try them all, they all differ so it's not like one is the same than the other (apart from remakes in a way) but with Pokémon Heart Gold & Soul Silver, you get a big hands on experience with 16 badges, a nice long storyline that keeps active, 2 regions, Johto & Kanto filled with lots of fun stuff to do like taking on Gym's batteling trainers, collecting items, exploring caves/routes and lots more but it's also more recent and has alot of great features, nice graphics and almost all the Pokémon (excluding those introduced in Generation V; Pokemon Black & White) so yeah, if I was you I'd go with Pokemon HG/SS, I've been playing for 12 years and I've loved all the games!

I agree completely. HG/SS will give you the insight on the series and how to play, and it is one of the most memorable games I've played. I would play it before B/W so when you start B/W you will have at least some experience and will probably enjoy it more!

 

[Dark Piplup]

Maybe HG/SS? Because it gives you the first 2 regions. Though it would be nice to start with B/W. You would be more excited when getting new stuff in B/W if you did it first. But it may set your expectations to high for Poke games.

 

[Shining Raichu]

If you can suffer through the 90s graphics, I recommend you start with Red or Blue version. Everyone should start in Kanto. If that's not for you, then start with FireRed or LeafGreen on GBA. Those graphics aren't great anymore either, but they're far more bearable than the old ones. Then move onto either Gold/Silver, or HeartGold/SoulSilver if you can't stand early 2000s graphics. Kanto and Johto are the best regions for newbie players.