I wanted decent levels for the Gym Leaders and Elite 4, but I heard that a few people were underleveled (like Whitney and her Miltank). A 'Second Wave' factor akin to FR/LG's Elite 4 would have been nice. (I don't know if the Fighting Dojo substitutes adequately for this, though, since I do not actually have a copy of HeartGold Version yet...).
Contests could've been a nice post-game addition. If you have the Battle Frontier (which was not present in the original GSC either save for the Battle Tower), you might as well add Contests as another diversion.
I was also hoping for Poketch Apps like the PokeRadar to be utilized in a different manner on the PokeGear...
And there's nothing wrong with the Sevii Islands in 3D (not the event ones, the regularly accessible ones)! :) They could have possibly set up a better TR expansion plot like in FR/LG, and could have given us backstory on where Lorelei and Agatha are now. You could have Agatha visiting Lorelei for tea or something, and have a double battle against them...?
The complete omission of Leaf just annoys me. Really, would it be
that hard to swap out Red's sprite and name if a female was playing? It seems sort of sexist if only Red is included at Mount Silver and Leaf isn't (who was clearly also in FR/LG).
Too bad Kris didn't get a cameo. I was hoping that she could at least pop up as Elm's lab assistant or something... :)
For me though, if anything, I would have liked for HG/SS to have included Pokémon Contests. I know we have the Pokéathlon to take its place, and it is a fun feature in the game, but the more the better right?
[S-HIGHLIGHT]Anyway, I thought that the empty lot in Vermillion City would have made a pretty basic and suited spot for a Contest building.[/S-HIGHLIGHT] Sadly, it was never done. :\
Awesome idea; that would've been a great use for the area!
Secret Bases are definitely not a waste of time if you know the advantages of them. For example, when you mix records with another RSE cart, the Secret Base of that cart shows up on your own, and whatever Pokemon where in the party of that cart at the time are available for you to battle either once a day, or once every time you mix records. I would have 6 Lv100 Blissey with no offensive moves in one cart, mix records, and then be able to battle them and gain 5464 Exp Points for each one, 8196 Exp Points for each if your Pokemon is traded or holding a Lucky Egg, and 12,294 Exp Points for each one if your Pokemon is traded AND holding a Lucky Egg. That is inbetween 32,784 and 73,764 Exp Points in about 10 minutes. Include 5 Pokemon that are holding Exp Share and it makes it even that much more invaluable.
Thank goodness you, too, know the true value of Secret Bases! (I've been planning to do the Blissey thing, but it's sort of tedious, and getting a Lucky Egg in FR/LG, let alone catching a Blissey, takes
forever, or at least a very long time.) Hopefully, Secret Bases can make a full-fledged return in their Emerald incarnation in Generation V! (would've been nice to see Secret Bases in Johto and Kanto, though...)