Top 3 generations? And best side game. This is for pokemon.
1. Gen V. It’s hard to explain all the reason i love black and white so much.i know that only having new pokemon was a controversial move, but i loved it. it genuinely made me feel like i was playing yellow for the first time all over again, it was nothing but new discoveries and new friends to make.
The story is also wonderful. Everybody loves N for good reason, but i also really liked cheren and bianca, going on an adventure with 2 friends and running into them a lot. I like the contrast of truth and ideals and the take on reconstructing pokemon core concept. ghetsis is a wonderfully nasty piece of work, too.
b2w2 i actually think is an even better game mechanically even if the story is a little weaker. but i loooove what they did with kyurem. the theory before the game came out was that kyurem was the empty shell left from when the original dragon split apart and i’m so glad that ended up being canon. And colress is nice, i have a friend who thinks he’s the best. overall, i keep coming back to gen V for a reason, it’s just some really, really good games.
2. Gen IV. Okay, diamond and pearl? they were messy on a lot of fronts. platinum? fixed every issue and then some. i love the sinnoh region so much. there’s such a quiet beauty to the places you visit, and the music is wonderful too. i really like the graphics too, i’m no artist but something about how moody the colors are really relaxes and comforts me. This was the region, btw, that made misdreavus my favorite
I love all the myths and backstory, too. Cyrus is my favorite villain because of the grand nature of his scheme, and the lake guardians and creation trio have some of my favorite lore of the entire series. Barry’s also great, just as an aside. it also introduced the physical/special split that has made pokemon so much more versatile
HGSS still have all the issues that plagued the original, like terrible pokemon placement and the worst level curve, but it improves the music and it has that same wonderful aesthetic for its graphics. and, while it’s been said before, walking pokemon. it was done perfectly in this game and proceeding games have either failed to match it or haven’t even bothered to try. it is the single best feature in any pokemon game.
3. Gen III. the jump from gen II to gen III is still the most dramatic of any generation shift. even as a kid, i remembered being astounded at how many changes occurred playing ruby after crystal. The game looks so good, the quality of life changes were amazing, the gameplay is quick and crisp (i remember just playing with the box system as a kid, loving all the little individualized sprites for the pokemon and how easy it was compared to before). i still think the game holds up well, it still looks gorgeous. My mental image of the way moves look still comes from gen III, and i think i’ve played through ruby more times than any other pokemon game. and you know what? people meme on the trumpets, but i LOVE the music of hoenn. those horns gave the region its identity and the fact that oras removed them is one of its many sins.
i also appreciate frlg, even though they have their own issues. being locked into 151 is definitely dumb, but the game is still a lot of fun, and i appreciate that they added a lot of extra content compared to the originals. still way better than let’s go, i’ll tell you that much.
honorable mention: Gen VI. X and Y are a mixed bag in many ways but i do think they’re the best games from a pure gameplay perspective. The sheer variety of pokemon to catch and fight gives you so many options for customizability, it’s another game you can come back to a lot (because you’re definitely not coming back for the story)
don’t talk to me about oras it’s complicated.
Best side game: Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky. This post is already way too long so i’ll be quick, but Sky just had it all. the story was at its strongest here, the sprites were still around that added so much personality. The characters were all wonderful, aided by the special episodes, the gameplay was at the best point, and the music was great. None of the mystery dungeon games that have released since have come close to hitting the notes that Sky did.
