What did each generation do best?

[Frozen Lotus]

In my experience, EVERY Pokemon generation has done at least ONE thing better than any other generation... so in your honest opinion, what did each generation do the best out of the entire series?

 

[BettyNewbie]

Red/Blue/Yellow:

- Were the first games (duh)
- Introduced some great, iconic Pokémon and characters
- Yellow had great sprites for the time and did a good job of mixing RB's setting up with anime influences
​

Gold/Silver/Crystal:

- The very first direct sequels
- Excellent postgame (8 more Badges beats some battle facility ANY day)
- Johto was a fascinating, if small, region
- Lots of great character designs (including Kris, the best player character ever)
- Only Gen to use new Pokémon to accent the older ones and not replace them
- Only Gen to add new features without taking any older ones away
- Crystal still has the best animated sprites

​

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:

- Uhhh... Well, Emerald did a good job of changing things up from RS, and it had the best battle facility, by far

​

FireRed/LeafGreen:

- Er, they were the first remakes, I guess?

​

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:

- Brought back Day/Night and added the P/S Split
- Many of the new Evos were good
- Platinum was the most "complete" Third Version, fixing all of DP's many issues as well as upping the difficulty; it was the first game to truly have a "smart" AI

​

HeartGold/SoulSilver:

- Were the greatest remakes, willing to change things up (unlike FRLG) without going too far out there (unlike ORAS)
- Gorgeous graphics (compared to DPP and earlier games)
- Best implementation of following Pokémon (compared to Yellow)
- Already great postgame from originals made even better by Gym Leader/E4 rematches and new areas
- The Pokéwalker was neat

​

Black/White:

- Excellent story
- Did a great job of changing up the formula from the previous games
- Also had gorgeous graphics
- First games to have seasons
​

Black 2/White 2:

- First mid-Generation sequel
- Still had a good story (was much better at continuity than GSC/HGSS were)
- Graphics still gorgeous
- The PWT was a cool idea, despite the flawed execution

​

XY:

- First games to not use sprites
- Had many good mechanical improvements over earlier games

​

OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire:

- First remakes to dramatically change up certain things from the originals, even if the execution was very flawed
​

 

[Palkia]

Gen I: Established the series and actually pushed the GB to it's limits. Introduced the core mechanics of the series, and had the best plot twist and rival the series has had.

Gen II: Expanded the original games with new pokémon designs and fixed many of the inconsistencies that Gen I suffered from. It also introduced in-battle weather and held items and the concept of a battle facility. Felt like the only Gen that was a 'sequel' to the past one. It also had the best connectivity towards the past generation via the Time Capsule.

Gen III: Rebuilt the battle system and introduced natures and double battles. Also introduced remakes of past games and had the best battle facility in the series. It introduced a more tropical setting to extend the different kids of pokémon available in the climate and also ran faster.

Gen IV: Introduced the much needed Physical/Special split, and introduced wi-fi battling. It also implemented the first elements of 3D graphics into the mainline games. The pokémon designs were also more creative and expanded on past designs with a wide variety of evolutions, and had the best legendary pokémon of the series.

Gen V: Introduced reusable TM's and had the best spritework of the series.

Gen VI: Introduced full 3D graphics and also had a larger range of reoccurring characters. The region was the most immersive of the series and it featured new Mega Evolutions and introduced an excellent new pokémon type. It also had remakes that feel truly different from the originals.

 

[Frozen Lotus]

OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire:

- First remakes to dramatically change up certain things from the originals, even if the execution was very flawed
​

As somebody who didn't care for Emerald enough to get more than half way I don't really know everything about R/S/E... but I've heard this opinion a lot. What exactly did OR/AS mess up so badly at? Aside from lacking the Battle Frontier, I'm not really aware of anything it was flawed or lacking in.

 

[BettyNewbie]

As somebody who didn't care for Emerald enough to get more than half way I don't really know everything about R/S/E... but I've heard this opinion a lot. What exactly did OR/AS mess up so badly at? Aside from lacking the Battle Frontier, I'm not really aware of anything it was flawed or lacking in.

CONTINUITY. They had already established RSE as concurrent with RBY/FRLG and XY as concurrent with B2W2, and accordingly, both Fairies and Megas were treated as "recently discovered" in XY.

... Which would obviously cause issues for a Gen 3 remake. They couldn't just remove these two very important Gen 6 features, but at the same time, how do they explain the existence of Fairies and Megas in Hoenn 10+ years before they were "discovered" in Kalos?

GF decided to "patch" this issue in the Delta Episode by establishing Gen 6 as part of a different timeline from Gens 3-5 (Gens 1-2 are their own separate timeline), and it did help explain why we saw Fairies/Megas in Hoenn but not Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Unova... but it didn't do JACK about the discrepancies between XY and ORAS! XY is supposed to be part of the Mega timeline, and yet, the continuity errors between it and ORAS are numerous.

 

[Megan]

Gen 1:
- introduced the core mechanics that still hold up
- first games ever that used player interaction as a core element (without making it a neccessity if you just want to play)
- introduced Pokemon lore (burnt mansion diaries)

Gen 2:
- brought color to the series
- backward compatibility
- time based events
- friendship evolution
- hold items
- divided bag
- the Select button
- usage of HMs by simply clicking on the obstacle
- Berries
- a Battle facility
- animated sprites
- Poke Balls with special abilities
- weather effects in battle
- special split
- Steel and Dark type
- communication via Infra Red interface (first time that the Link Cable was not neccessary for communication)

Gen 3:
- a better engine
- Natures/Abilities
- growing Berries
- Contests
- Double Battles (first time to introduce a new battle style)

Gen 4:
- internet access
- Pokeathlon
- physical-special split

Gen 5:
- permanently animated sprites
- dreamworld abilities

Gen 6:
- good saving times
- 3D models
- Fairy type
- base stat adjustments of a lot of older mons


You know, the thread title is actually quite confusing.

 

[Sopheria]

Great topic!

Gen I:

• Introduced a great video game franchise, of course.

Gen II:

• Introduced more features than any other generation, most of which are still a core part of the series to this day (genders, breeding, the day/night mechanic, hold items, berries, friendship values, etc.)

• Gave us the largest explorable map, by far.

Gen III:

• Introduced the best line-up of Pokemon, imo.

Gen IV:

• Most challenging games, in almost every aspect.

Gen V:

• Had the most complex, mature plot out of any Pokemon game to date.
• Introduced more Pokemon than any other generation (even more than Gen I).

Gen VI:

• Best graphics (obviously).
• Best generation for competitive battling (with super training, battle spot, etc.)
• Introduced Mega Evolution, which is arguably the most daring move GameFreak has made so far. It's certainly paid off ^^

 

[Frozen Lotus]

Thank you for the detailed answer. ^-^ And I can see what you mean, now. That makes sense to be a little bothered by. Personally, I've never put a lot of stock in the plotline so I can't say it phases me and even thought the Star Trek-style "alternate timeline" thing was clever... but it does sound like it was a little bit lazy with it, or at least careless.

 

[punkysaur]

I will shout out to platinum which brought the p/s split.The p/s split simply rocksss!
Every gen has some unique features.Cause well theres no interest among the kids for a game which has nothing unique!

 

[LucarioFan3]

Gen 1: Introduced core mechanics.
Gen 2: Fixed major issues in Gen 1.
Gen 3: Introduced the best region design wise.
Gen 4: Physical/ Special split.
Gen 5: Reusable TMs.
Gen 6: Vastly improving competitive play.

 

[StikLover2]

Honestly, I admired Generation V's story. It always had a deeper aspect to it than the other generations.

 

[BettyNewbie]

Thank you for the detailed answer. ^-^ And I can see what you mean, now. That makes sense to be a little bothered by. Personally, I've never put a lot of stock in the plotline so I can't say it phases me and even thought the Star Trek-style "alternate timeline" thing was clever... but it does sound like it was a little bit lazy with it, or at least careless.

I think a lot of the continuity issues go back to XY being set during B2W2's time and not during ORAS' time (or earlier). ORAS' reboot only works when it takes place during or after XY. Then, Fairies and Megas can still be "recently discovered" in Kalos without contradicting their appearance in Hoenn.

The fact that GF set XY so late in the timeline compared to ORAS makes me think that they weren't originally planning on remaking Gen 3 in Gen 6. It's possible that ORAS were originally intended to be RSE sequels, but were changed into being remakes at the last minute.

Either way, this is why I hope that GF just makes a standalone "Z version" instead of attempting another B2W2-style sequel. I want Z to retcon out XY and reestablish the Kalos story as taking place during or before ORAS. Going back to another Third Version may seem like a step backwards, but I think it's warranted in this case.

 

[Frozen Lotus]

I think a lot of the continuity issues go back to XY being set during B2W2's time and not during ORAS' time (or earlier). ORAS' reboot only works when it takes place during or after XY. Then, Fairies and Megas can still be "recently discovered" in Kalos without contradicting their appearance in Hoenn.

The fact that GF set XY so late in the timeline compared to ORAS makes me think that they weren't originally planning on remaking Gen 3 in Gen 6. It's possible that ORAS were originally intended to be RSE sequels, but were changed into being remakes at the last minute.

Either way, this is why I hope that GF just makes a standalone "Z version" instead of attempting another B2W2-style sequel. I want Z to retcon out XY and reestablish the Kalos story as taking place during or before ORAS. Going back to another Third Version may seem like a step backwards, but I think it's warranted in this case.

What if they were to somehow combine the idea? Maybe make Pokemon Z and call it "Delta Z", basically allowing you to go through Kalos again but more... properly explained this time, which would lead -directly- into Hoenn and explain how they connect to one another. Could have something to do with Hoopa, even. Between Hoopa, Deoxys, and Rayquaza I'm sure there could be a plausible explanation for a lot of the more confusing events.

Granted, I've never paid as much attention to the plot in Pokemon games as a lot of people seem to, so my specific understanding of how the entire thing works is only somewhat accurate.

 

[Starry Windy]

Gen I
- It's the generation that started it all.
- For the first time, in Pokémon Yellow, we have a walking Pikachu in our side. It even cries 'Pikachu' in its anime voice long before X and Y did.

Gen II
- Introduction of held items and berries, which can be useful.
- I'm glad that they implemented Friendship, because it indicates the bond with Pokémon.

Gen III
- Introduces Double Battles, which is pretty decent.
- Pokémon Contest which can be entertaining for those who decides to show off the charm of Pokémon.

Gen IV
- Having the ability to send out any Pokémon with style thanks to Ball Capsules and Seals.
- In Platinum, I'm surprised that this is the first time a trainer owned a villa and able to manage it. So he/she basically have two homes.

Gen V
- It has the deepest story ever among any main series Pokémon games.
- For the first time, TM can be used multiple times without worrying about it breaking after one use!
- Sometimes you'll be able to fling the Pokéball and make a critical capture, which can help a lot if you want to catch elusive Pokémon.
- This particular minor feature debuts in Black 2 and White 2, but it saves me the hassle of having to go through bag if the Repel wears out.

Gen VI
- Having the feature that lets you bond with your Pokémon and making them stronger. They are Pokémon-Amie and Super Training.
- Fairy type, which is able to balance the strong Dragon-type Pokémon.
- For the first time, we're able to customize the trainer's look to our liking (at least in X and Y).

 

[Sun]

Generation I
- The mother of our franchise. *bows to Satoshi Tajiri*
- Safari Zone

Generation II
- Almost-fully colored
- New Pokémon, new evolutions and related items
- Sequel to the Kanto saga
- Steel and Dark types
- Special stat's split
- Shiny
- Bug Catching Contest
- Apriballs and Berries
- Attachable Items
- Days of the week and Time
- Post game contents
- Official introduction of Friendship for all Pokémon
- Animated intro for sent out Pokémon (Crystal)
- Weather conditions
- Headbutt trees
- Breeding and Egg Moves
- PokéGear; Trainer rematch, mother's shopping

Generation III
- Running shoes
- Updated Berries
- A complete split on the IV and EV department for S. Atk and S. Def
- Natures as well as a whole new IV and EV calculations
- Series reboot: RS
- Remake of the original pairs
- New Pokémon, only 2 are related to the old Pokémon and there aren't much old Pokémon
- TRUMPETS
- Exotic locations and diving (RSE)
- Abilities (and Emerald later updated some Abilities like Swarm, Lightning Rod, Magma Armor, etc.)
- Battle Frontier (Em)
- Completely colored
- Fastest overall frame rate to date
- Tightly-constructed plot, finally involving the legendary Pokémon.
- Wally, Brendan, Steven and May
- Double Battles
- Contests (RSE)
- Secret Base (RSE)
- New Pokéballs
- Forms
- Hail
- Expanded the Move Tutor (FRLG/Em)
- Mach Bike (RSE)
- Gym Rematch (Em)
- Elite Four Rematch (FRLG)

Generation IV
- Physical, Special and Status split
- Platinum's Battle Frontier return
- Days of the week and Time return
- Dawn and Cynthia
- Remakes of the GSC
- Old fan-favorites receiving evolutionary families
- New evolution methods, location based, move based and more
- New competitive battle related items
- Underground (DPt)
- Expanded TM list
- Introduced a lot of awesome new moves like Draco Meteor, Leaf Storm, Close Combat, Flare Blitz, etc.
- Animated intro for sent out Pokémon became a standard
- New Pokéballs, Pokéball seals
- Honey trees (DPt) and the return of Headbutt trees (HGSS)
- Bug Catching and Pokéathlon (HGSS)
- Breeding related mechanics (Pt/HGSS)
- Adventuring with Stat Trainers

Generation V
- Fast battle frame rate
- Moving Pokémon
- Well-constructed plot; Generation V as a whole, have the best story
- A direct sequel
- Dream World: DW Abilities and Dream Balls
- Entralink: Funfest Mission, Entralink Missions and Pass Powers
- Treasure hunting through the re-introduced dive
- Hilda and Hilbert (BW)
- Generation that introduced the most Pokémon
- First regional dex without the existence of old Pokémon (BW), diversified Pokdex (B2W2)
- No remakes
- Triple and Rotation Battles
- Healing locations in game
- Equality between the Elite Four, can battle in any orders
- Breeding related mechanics
- Join Avenue (B2W2)
- World Tournament (B2W2)
- TM amendments
- Hidden Grotto and Dream Radar (B2W2)

Generation VI
- 3D
- Trainer customization (XY)
- OrAs; plot is more constructed than its originals
- Inverse Battle
- Real interaction with Pokémon though PokéAmie
- Horde Battles and Super Training
- Pokémon moving by the moves they are using
- Skates (XY)
- Old legendaries
- Megas
- Beautiful scenery
- Breeding related mechanics
- Friend Safari (XY)
- DexNav (OrAs)
- Fairy-type

 

[TopleyBird]

Gen 1: Obviously the generation that started things. So many iconic Pokemon and memories. Really maxed out that Game Boy hardware. So much detail packed into what you would assume was a tiny world. The thing it did best was lay the groundwork.

Gen 2: Where the series really came into its own. Much more visually appealing, everything was much better organized in the Bag and all. Held items started out simply and have grown from there. The thing it did best was give the series more life, both asthetically and gameplay wise.

Gen 3: A bold leap forward for the series to have so many Kanto/Johto favorites absent from these installment. Abilities continued making combat much more deep without sacrificing the pick up and play charm to Pokemon. The thing it did best was plant the seeds for more bold storytelling and shedding some of the stigma of Pokemon just being for little kids.

Gen 4: Another interesting leap forward. The new evolutions and pre-evolutions on old favorites gave a sense of completion to old favorites, Gen 4 seemed to be when the series first was aware they could have a metagame. The physical/special split is the biggest gameplay change IMO. The thing it did best was having a true sense of adventure to everything.

Gen 5: The groundwork had been laid for years now, so this Gen focused on a massive number of new Pokemon, and in B/W, forced you to use them. Really went to show how much the creators believed in their new product. The thing it did best was the best storytelling of any generation

Gen 6: This was the generation that gave fans what they were waiting for. The transition to 3d was nearly flawless and completely kept the spirit of everything in tact. It is in the awkward position of being an inbetween game. As graphics continue to improve these games may come to look dated, but I consider playing through X/Y the first time to be as memorable as my first time playing R/B on my old game boy color. That is a truly rare feat for a game series I know so well. The thing it did best was show the series was truly just getting started, nearly 20 years into its existence

 

[chaser10]

Just to focus on what I like best about the core games of each gen, rather than what each gen introduced:

Gen I - Simplicity and freedom. There's something charming and timeless about Red/Blue's simplicity. There was lore there, and a plot, but that wasn't the main focus of the game. It was just a world for you to explore and creatures to discover. The freedom you had traversing the region added to this I think, you weren't forced from point A to point B but would wander around at your own leisure. It helped to capture a sense of endless possibilities in what was in fact a very limited game (technologically speaking), which is impressive,
Gen II - The sheer scale of it. A whole region, an Elite Four and champion - and then there was not just a post-game, but a whole other region! 8 more badges, and a secret final boss in the form of last game's protagonist. Plus breeding, bug-catching contests, roaming legendaries - just so much to do. I was also impressed with how coherently it fit with the previous generation - with many of the new pokemon being rare or evolving from previous, it felt like were were simply moving forward in time and discovering new things, as opposed to the near-reboots of later gens, where massive amount of pokemon are introduced and we simply assume they were always around (not that either approach is superior, I just think this gen definitely achieved what it set out to do.
Gen III - I would put the region itself, with some really enjoyable and unique locations (deserts, jungles, volanoes, ocean floors, etc.) but it was hampered by the amount of water and I do think that design flaw holds it back. So what I'm going to say is the lore. It really expanded on the lore, giving us more myths, and shifted the focus of the games to the legendaries and their mythical power. We had a nice balance, with some story-focused god-like legendaries, and the best "hidden" legendaries in the series with the Regis (following a series of clues really felt a lot more "epic" and earned that just coming across a bird/fairy/horse in a cave).
Gen IV - I'm tempted to say physical/special split but keeping it away from gameplay enhancements for the moment (as great as that was)... these are my least favourite games I must admit, but I will give props to the in-game difficulty. For the first time it felt like the CPU was actually using tactics against me, and Cynthia was without a doubt the most impressive and challenging champion of any game.
Gen V - The storytelling. It's one of those rare times where I genuinely felt like the characters were real people, who I was interested in and sympathised with, rather than just vessels to give me items and exposition. N is my favourite character, a genuine shades-of-grey rival-cum-villain-cum-ally who was great to interact with, and Ghetsis was wonderfully fun as a pure evil yet believable villain. Cheren and Bianca genuinely felt like friends, and not irritating hangers-on (coughbarrycough). And while the plot was a little railroad-y at times, it was genuinely intriguing and exciting. The crashing together of the gym/E4 plot and Team X plot was genius. The scene where you go up the stairs to the champion to see that N has already beaten him is, in my opinion, the highlight of the franchise as a whole. So yeah, I loved the story. Also mad props to the PWT of B2W2 - I'm still going through the postgame and keep getting distracted by it, it's an incredibly cool concept.

I have not yet played Gen VI.

 

[Return]

Gen 1:

1. The generation that started everything.

Gen 2:

1. Obviously, Brought color to the game.
2. Huge Changes like Berries and Held items.

Gen 3:

1. Much better Graphics with Awesome Playable character.
2. Introduction to Double Battling and Running Shoes(Better)
3. New PokeBalls.
Gen 4:

1. So many new PokeBalls Introduction.
2. Challenging Games is more Introduced in this Gen.

Gen 5:

1. Most Importantly Moving Pokemons.
2. Introduction to Triple and even Rotation Battles.
3. Highly Changed Graphics and Games.

Gen 6:

1. Most Outstanding Graphics.
2. Best Playable Character.
3. Most of the PokeBalls Introduction and Better colours.
4. New items Introduced especially.

 

[BettyNewbie]

What if they were to somehow combine the idea? Maybe make Pokemon Z and call it "Delta Z", basically allowing you to go through Kalos again but more... properly explained this time, which would lead -directly- into Hoenn and explain how they connect to one another. Could have something to do with Hoopa, even. Between Hoopa, Deoxys, and Rayquaza I'm sure there could be a plausible explanation for a lot of the more confusing events.

Granted, I've never paid as much attention to the plot in Pokemon games as a lot of people seem to, so my specific understanding of how the entire thing works is only somewhat accurate.

A full-fledged reboot of Kalos could work, but that's about it. The continuity issues between XY and ORAS are just too big to fix without eliminating one or the other from canon, and since XY are older, it makes more sense to give them the boot. In fact, the fact that GF introduced so many new Megas and stuff in ORAS that literally cannot be sent back to XY tells me that they want fans to largely abandon XY, anyways.