I played Yellow first, so FR definitely gets points for nostalgia with me. Yet, I prefer Sapphire Version. On every Pokemon game I have, I've restarted at least once, with the exception of Sapphire and Diamond.
So, that means I've had the same Sapphire Version game file since I first opened the game up in 2003. Since then, I've raised an amazing Blaziken, ousted Team Aqua, saved Hoenn from disaster and preserved Kyogre from being used for evil, used my Nintendo Power EON Ticket to get myself a Latios, and traded them both to Colosseum where they mop the floor with Team Snagem and Team Cipher.
I don't plan on importing anything from Sapphire to Diamond. I hold every Pokemon I capture and raise there to be sacred, and don't want to defile them with 4th Gen mechanics and battle animations. :P
I enjoyed Sapphire mainly because it only cut out things from Gold and Silver that it had no room for; another league of badges, a true day-night cycle, and Team Rocket. Other than that, and its awesome musical score, it made some serious breakthroughs alongside Ruby Version, especially the whole island-hopping mechanic employed later on in Fire Red and Leaf Green, double battles, secret bases (and repeating battles with your friends' best teams :) ), and it introduced one of my favorite Pokemon, Rayquaza!
