I have never played a pokemon game (except Go). I don’t have nostalgia for pokemon, but I would like to play. I am down to start at any point (I can probably emulate for any platform I don’t own). Where would folks recommend I start?
X/Y we’re the games that brought me back into Pokémon after skipping a few generations, and the upcoming Legends A-Z takes place in the same region. Seems like a great place to start.
I'd say HeartGold/SoulSilver were the absolute peak, and the best entry point. Faithful to the spirit of the originals while feeling sufficiently modernized, and they went above and beyond with how much bonus content they packed into it.
Oh nice. Someone else suggested X/Y. Do you think HeartGold/SoulSilver are a better starting spot or about the same? I only ask since it X/Y is a little newer, so might have QoL improvements
I'd say HGSS is much more polished, and the formula hasn't changed much since anyway. Only major mechanic differences in XY would be Fairy-type and reusable TMs.
IMO, XY is pretty rough around the edges, felt a bit unfinished. There's a good foundation in there, with more time in the oven Z potentially could've been one of the best games in the series...
I will back up HeartGold/SoulSilver as well. Just a perfect modernized adaption of a classic generation, lots (and I mean lots) of content, lots of catchable Pokémon, lots of legendaries, two regions… I think they really hit it out of the park with it. I also personally enjoyed using the Pokewalker to get access to exotic Pokémon.
It’s not completely free of issues (the level curve isn’t the best and - being based on an older game - it’s much less story oriented than later titles). However, I still hold it as one of the best games they ever put out, and a great entry point.
I’m not sure I’d recommend X/Y to start as others have. I definitely enjoyed it but it was noticeably dumbed-down compared to older games. It’s not as bad as S/M (which was so trivially challenge-free I got bored), but I’m concerned that you might just not be interested. They say that game freak keep releasing games for small children despite the players growing up, so bare that in mind if you find the newer games too easy.
I’m not sure I can recommend R/B/Y to a newbie either, as without any nostalgia they will probably seem incredibly dated. Maybe FR/LG is a good place to start, I hardly played it but it seems like you get the original experience with a bit of polish. I feel it’s better to start with an older game as then if you like it you can continue through them in order rather than going back to something with less features. That said if you think it’s too old and you’re not enjoying it then just skip to something newer!
I’m not too concerned with that. If I don’t like the best in the series, then I probably won’t like any of them, but I am OK with that. A lot of folks are saying HeartGold/SoulSilver as better starting points, so I went with that. Got it emulated, so no real loss for me if I don’t like it.
From the main games I have played Red/Blue/Yellow, Gold/Silver, and Emerald. I think they are all pretty close in terms of favourite, but I’ll say Blue because it was my first and had a huge impact. I remember battling other people using a link cable at school.
I think those games all have the same problem. The battle system is too slow by today’s standards. Random encounters can get annoying (thanks, ZUBAT!). It’s not just exclusive to Pokemon. Other series of the time haven’t aged as well for the same reasons. Back then it didn’t matter though.
Pokemon Stadium deserves an honourable mention. Seeing the Pokemon animated in 3D was amazing at the time. The mini-games and the gameboy pack that connected to the N64 controller were great too.
Pokemon Snap - meh. It was the type of game you play at the demo booth while waiting for your parents to finish shopping.
Pokemon Trading Card Game - the gameboy game and the physical card game were both peak. I feel like the gameboy game was slept on by many, but I loved it.
I went searching for Pokemon Red/Blue on the Nintendo Switch Online Gameboy app and all they had was the trading card version of the game. I played it for a few minutes but couldn’t really get into it. Is it nostalgia or was there something Im missing?
There is definitely a nostalgia factor, and I was into playing the TCG with the actual cards too, so that helps. It’s been a long time so I’m not sure if it would still hold up.
I have been a bit cheeky, as I have chosen my first Pokémon game as the thumbnail for this post: Pokémon Blue for the Game Boy.
Sadly, I was very young and English was not my mother tongue, so I had no idea how it worked. Skip to several years later, and I gave it another go (this time with some extremely rudimentary knowledge of English, but more importantly with some more experience in games in general). Playing Pokémon this way was a mix of an RPG and a translation based puzzle game, but I was absolutely hooked. Even though I never got past about halfway through the game before my attention faded, I must have done that first half about 10 times in those years.
Later I got Pokémon Emerald for the GBA after my previous GBA game was finished in only a few hours: I figured a Pokémon game would give me my money’s worth. Again, I played this numerous times and had a lot of fun, but never reached the ending.
A few years ago I was feeling nostalgic, and bought a second hand copy of Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu, knowing that it was a remake of my first Pokémon game of years ago. Reviews of this version are mixed because of the Pokémon Go like catching mini game, but nostalgia goggles made this an amazing experience for me. I especially remember one whole day where I was at home with a fever, laying on my couch and playing Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu while dipping in and out of the strangest Pokémon related dreams. Even with that bumpy ride, I was eventually able to reach the end of the story and beat the elite four! I know that there is stuff to do after that, but I was happy and sold my copy again.
I have recently bought a second hand New Nintendo 3DS and have been procuring a lot of games on it in a seafaring fashion. One of those that I’m giving a go is Yo-Kai Watch. I’m only a few hours in, and right now it looks absolutely gorgeous, but I’m unsure of the combat design and the actual design of the monsters. If any of you have some other 3DS tips, please let me now, I have a seemingly unlimited budget for 3DS games right now :).
Since you have a 3DS and love Pokémon I would suggest HeartGold/SoulSilver, I will always hold those games in high regard (even though it’s maybe partly nostalgia as Gen 2 was the peak of the Pokémon craze during my childhood). But I still think Gen 2 was great and still not yet filled with complete trash designs (figuratively and literally).
Though if you plan on procuring it the seafaring fashion you’d miss out on the Pokewalker!
No, fool, Ramza is dreaming Mewt who made up Ivalice with all the other Aeons in between Blitzball seasons but that’s all inside the singularity known as Ozma.
Well, this has been a blast from the past. Haven’t set up all the drivers, or an internet connection, but with the turbo button it’s been the fastest Win98 install I’ve ever done 😆
lol yeah I use the Turbo button on RetroArch often. In example on boot. Love the turbo button. :D Its still Windows, so you have to figure out the drivers stuff. I researched a lot and recommend the drivers I mentioned in first paragraph (in Edit). And I never setup internet connection. I really don’t want Windows 98 to connect to internet.
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