Which old gen had the best series of sprites?

[Sheep]

I really loved the sprites in the old games, and a lot of them had so much character. I miss them!

Which old gen do you think had the best sprites, in your opinion? Did you have any favorites from them?

 

[Rock_Salazar]

Gens 2 and 5. This will be a rare occurrence of me praising gen 2 but its sprites were perfect for that early iconic look of Pokémon. Not to mention that some sprites would change depending on the game you're playing. It manages to capture the watercolor look of gen 2 which I really wished came back. And of course, gen 5 sprites are the best looking. Mostly because they're animated, but also because they still look really good. Better than some Pokémon looking in 3D today.

 

[Megan]

I like the sprites from every generation for what they were at the time. Imo, the best Pokemon sprites are definitely gen 5, though.

 

[Devalue]

Found the Generation 5 ones a little too animated. Prefers the Generation 4 sprites. Cannot think of any particular sprites as examples, unfortunately. Spent the least time in those generations.

 

[icycatelf]

Between Gen. 4 (specifically HGSS) and Gen. 2 for me, though the latter may be due to nostalgia.

 

[LeadRain]

They were at their peak in gen 5, I'd say.

 

[Corveone]

Hard to tell why, but I love the Gen 2 art style.

 

[Janp]

I have a soft spot for Gen II sprites. They are such an improvement pver Gen I sprites and have such a personality. But I also like Gen V sprites, because they feel like the last gen of sprites with a soul.

 

[Reginald Cosmic]

I feel like the obvious answer of Gen 5 is going to receive tons of love here, so I'm glad to see Gen 2 getting some for its sprites. I've only ever beaten Pokémon Crystal because of Phanpy, Teddiursa, and Skarmory in the same game, but it's really cool that there's a set of sprites for Pokémon Gold and another set of sprites for Silver. That said, I recently wanted to give G/S a shot with a very different team, and I kind of found it overwhelming to choose between the two sets of sprites.

That said, I gotta go to bat for Gen 3 sprites because they're the only ones not directly mentioned yet. Except for Gen 1. Gen 1 tried its best. I do prefer Gen 3's sprites over Pokémon Crystal's sprites (lack of animations in R/S and FR/LG aside). It's just how I think retro Pokémon games should look even though Gen 5 is probably way more pleasant to look at.

Both generations 2 and 3 offered a huge step up to the graphics, but there's something really cool about Gen 2 sprites even as someone who didn't fully play and appreciate Gen 2 until he was a teenager.