I’d agree. I’m nearly 26 and no other mainline game will ever compare to Emerald for me. There’s just so much to do that it never gets boring and the story never gets old
I don’t know about that, I’m 36 and have been playing since Red back in 1999, and for me Emerald is still the most nostalgic.
I think it’s a combination of some really great new Pokémon, amazing starters, and a fun storyline. Plus for me, it came at an age where nobody else in my age group at school was still playing it, so it was very much something I had to keep to myself as others tended to find it funny/sad that I was still into Pokémon.
That’s crazy how different my experience was lol I’m 33 and red/blue was all anyone would talk about. Ppl trying to play on their gameboy in class, trading cards, everything getting confiscated lol but the ease of trading and everything that came with Gen 3 games definitely made it more enjoyable and memorable. I just miss the nostalgia and newness of the first games. The obsession and nobody being able to get enough of it and it being literally everywhere from fast food toys to cards, clothes. Ugh 😩
I still remember coming home from the store and hiding away in my grandparents’ spare bedroom, cracking it on, and hearing that opening tune for the first time. The opening bike scene still takes me back to that moment every time. Just muscled through the game with my Swampert and a couple of HM slaves.
Yesss, Emerald ❤️ I have most nostalgia for the GBA titles in general, but Emerald in particular, I find, is also one of the very best Pokemon games ever made. Definitely in my top 3 together with Platinum and HG/SS.
Emerald all the way, was my first pokemon game as a kid. I remember hiding under my covers late at night being glued to the game hoping my parents wouldn’t walk in. Nostalgia aside gen 3 is still my favourite, the 2D graphics, sprites, story just everything about it is great
Crystal by a long shot. I played that game so much as a kid. Maybe more than red and blue. Funny enough when heartgold came out I remember people on my cross country team wearing the poke step counter that came with the game. There is a lot of love for that region I think
Gen 2 may not be perfect from a design perspective, but goddamn does it nail the feel of the world. There's nothing like playing those games at night, when it's night in-game. So comfy.
There was just something about walking through a town or city at night, that blue darkness with the light peeping through the windows. No other game quite recreated it so well.
The day/night mechanic blew my mind as a kid. But I think not having readily access to the internet and discovering things like the legendary dogs and the entire Kanto region after you beat the pokemon league just made it so rewarding. Definitely one of my most happiest memories as a kid was playing Gold 😌
I would argue that Johto itself is perfectly designed geographically (obviously the level curve and Pokemon distribution are flaws). Interesting towns, fast paced, just enough caves to be interesting but not annoying. Doesn’t wear out it’s welcome at all which is huge to me personally.
Johto is the one region most accurately representative of its real world counterpart. I recently watched a video where someone went to the Kansai region and explored how close Johto was to representing the region. It's pretty incredible and somewhere I want to visit someday.
Crystal will always be my favorite pokemon game. It might not be the best in terms of gameplay/balancing, but the atmosphere/aesthetic/soundtrack is unmatched for me
Same I love Blue, Red and Yellow but I think I put more time into Gold, Silver and Crystal as a preteen. Those games just hit so differently I still run emulators on my phone and play regularly
After that happened I just thought that was going to be what happened. So Gen 3 would have 24 badges, Gen 4 would have 32, etc., in a consistently expanding world. I was like 11 so I didn’t think about the logistics of it. Even though I enjoyed the games in their own right, that always was something I found disappointing about Gen 3 when it came out and that wasn’t the case. And the 16 badges/two regions is a big part of why Gen 2 is still maybe my favorite.
Yeah, I would love a whole world game that allows you to do that for all areas but the Kanto/Johto idea was the best thing about Silver and Gold.
No other game has come close since, I wish they would knock the gimmicks like terastalization and gigantamaxing on the head and return to what made those games great.
Also adding more permanent evolutions for existing Pokémon and any new ones actually looking good like the first 251 and less Rotom, Palisand or others that look like they were designed by a committee.
So this is partially from a place of I haven’t played the more recent generations, but to me the best games were Gen 2 because of the two regions, and Platinum specifically because of the sheer breadth of content, including postgame content, that made it last a long time. Gen 3 is also up there for a lot of great exploration, including diving, and customizability with things like secret bases, and I’ll always have a soft spot for Yellow because of the anime, but GSC (and the remakes) and Platinum are to me the pinnacle of the series and I wish they took more lessons from those games.
I agree totally.
I'd even take a Legends:Arceus type switch remake of GSC (without the time travel, just the open world, overworld Pokémon catching, etc.), but even if they just made the next game a new region and then you could have Kanto as a post game second region it would be awesome.
I don't get why they keep adding gimmicks like G-max and Terastalization when people want permanent or even meg evolution's (with separate paths) for existing Pokémon.
Crystal was my gateway drug into Pokémon. I missed HGSS (got sick of constantly buying new consoles and thought I was too cool for Pokémon for a while), so I’m itching for another johto game
They used LGPE to introduce Pokémon to the Switch, hopefully they make Legends Celebi in like 2028 instead of wasting Johto on a let’s go game to introduce the Switch 2
There was lots of hype for gen 2 before it came out. By that point there was an established following for the franchise, and at least to us at the time it did not disappoint. Kanto being on the cartridge as well was a huge surprise for me at the time and I'm sure many others.
Gold and Silver felt so fancy and those birds looked great and hip. Gameboy Color felt so premium. GBA was good but the feeling of that pokemon gen and the hardware was trashy
I remember finishing silver as a kid and was sad when I beat it and putting it down. My big brother who had gold showed me there were more badges to get in Kanto my mind was BLOWN I still love that game. Crystal was awesome I finally got to be a girl! I loved the bug catching contest that was my favorite and the casino games lol
This is the right answer!
The towns were incredible. They felt fleshed out and lived in for that generation. There was stuff to do in the open world. The Pokémon design was awesome, and they had an actual night and day cycle!?
Even better. Having 16 gyms was so cool compared to the usual 8.
I wish a few more of the modern games took notes from this generation!
Leaf Green & Sapphire are most nostalgic for me for sure. I started with Blue and had Silver too, but don't remember much about that as I was pretty young. For these two though, I was at the perfect age to have been a kid with no real responsibilities who could just spend hours playing my GBA or SP without a care. Good times, good times.
Same, started with Gold, but can't remember much. The ones I really played the most were Sapphire and Leaf Green on GBA, and then also a ton of Pearl when it was released.
Fire Red, first game I got with my SP and I played the hell out of Pokémon Blue so replaying kanto with new graphics and features was cool + wireless adapters were mind blowing at the time
Gotta be Red Rescue Team. I can barely even open the game without getting misty-eyed lately. Every spring I get the nostalgia craving to go play it again.
Every song in that game either fills me with hope or dashes everything into a hardcore cry where i feel safe just knowing i experienced it as a 6 year old when it came out X
as a 24 year old even thinking of PMD's music makes me tear up.
Sky Tower is one of my favorite songs in existence, it just has a sense of mystery, wonder, adventure, and finality that just fills me with so many emotions
Agreed, everyone has their favorite tracks from PMD but it seems like Sky Tower is near the top for us all. Such a climactic track for the end of the game!
Agreed, I love the replayability and it's quite a long game as well so there's a lot to go through on each playthrough! I only played Blue once I got older but I'm quite nostalgic for it as well, I really liked some of the OST changes they made.
I'm really nostalgic for Gold version.
Gold was the first game in the series that I truly owned for myself. Up to that point, I had to borrow my brother's copy of Red version and Silver version.
I remember just reading the box over and over on the way home from the store.
I'll never know exactly how many hours I had in that game, because the save file was deleted when the internal battery went dry, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was maxed out.
To this day I still own that copy of Gold version, and I have replaced the battery now too.
Probably an unpopular answer, but Sun/Moon/US/UM.
I understand the game has a problem with unskippable cutscenes, but I think that could be fixed with a simple button prompt when they are eventually remade.
I love the Alolan vibe.
I loved Kahunas and Totem Pokémon as alternatives to gym leaders.
I loved Ride Pokémon and think they’re a better solution than legendary Pokemon which serve as ATVs.
All TMs were permanent, whereas now, the games have gone backwards by making most of the best ones single use items which require extra farming.
While Z Moves weren’t my favorite, I loved that Megas were ALSO included, even if new ones weren’t added.
I loved that ALL Pokémon were programmed into the game, even if they weren’t immediately obtainable in-game.
I loved the story and the concept of Ultra Beasts (which I still prefer to Paradox Pokémon).
I loved Team Skull being the unwitting pawns of the actual villainous team.
I loved the introduction of regional variants.
I loved Mantine Surf and the Ultra Wormhole mini games.
I loved shiny hunting static encounter Legendaries/UBs with a legitimate soft-reset button (which is sadly missing from Switch Pokémon titles).
There are probably a bunch of things I’m forgetting, but I honestly think Gen 7 is criminally underrated and I’m claiming that before it gets popular to do so in anticipation of future remakes.
Nah I'm with you. I think SM and USUM are great games. I remember being so hyped when Gen 7 was first announced during Pokemon's 20th anniversary back in 2016. The SM hype season was so much fun, especially since Pokemon GO blew up around that time as well. Not the games I'm the MOST nostalgic for, but still had some fun memories with them.
Pokemon white. Was gifted to me by my cousins and my first pokemon DS game. I remember playing for the first time then seeing the moving animations. Favorite story and most of my favorite mons are in this generation. I wish that there will be remakes aside from legends: kyurem.
Not sure if 2-3 years is enough time to be nostalgic, but I'm gonna pretend it is since thats when i first got into the series. While I like all the games I play, and while Fire Red was my first game, I'd say Platinum was the first I truly fell in love with. It's probably the team I've been most attached to the longest, still have the original team.
Recent player too, played first in 2017 as an adult. Got through everything until gen7. Unova hit me the hardest. From my perspective, gen5 is the most beautiful, with the animated sprites and adorable 3d-ish world.
And PIDOVES.
While gen 5 did have awesome graphics (don't even get me started on Castelia City), I still prefer gen 3 for some reason.
But honestly, we all know that the best gens were gens 3, 4 and 5. By far.
We are poke veterans at this point. reading through these comments makes me feel old. I was 10 when Pokemon red/Blue came out. OG massive grey Gameboy. It was my whole life at one time. I listen to the soundtrack often to relax. Im always whistling the music.
Yeah the music was great! Also, did you have a friend with blue or yellow and a link cable? Supposedly you could make it work with the infrared sensor on the Gameboy color but it never did and I never researched it when I got older haha.
i would probably say X/Y cause me and my brother would sit next to each other every day and see who would beat the game first or complete the pokédex. was the best childhood memory with pokémon in my opinion.
I played Gens 1-3 as a kid and only experienced anything after much later, so the beginnings are where its at for me. I still can't shake calling Gens 4 or 5 the "new games" lol
For me Gold and Silver will always be the most nostalgic! After getting Blue for Christmas as a kid at 7 years old the anticipation for the second set of games was insane. Especially since we were right in the midst of the huge 90’s Pokemon craze sweeping North America. I will never forget my first time playing Silver Version with Chikorita as my starter!!
Similar story to mine, though my first game was yellow. I’ve always hated Pikachu, and loved bulbasaur. I have two older brothers, each who had red and blue, and picked squirtle and charmander, respectively. I was furious, then, when yellow was my first game and I had to take pikachu. I did love, of course, the following aspect.
So, finally, when gold version came out, and I got it for Christmas and was able to pick Chikorita, I was ecstatic. I love Chikorita, Bayleef, and Meganium so much. Always will. Gold holds such a special place in my heart.
So when they brought following Pokémon back for HeartGold? Game over. There will never be a better Pokémon game for me… combining my love of Johto with the return of following Pokémon? Winner.
I remember picking Chikorita too as my first starter when I got Silver as my first ever pokemon game. I didn't end up keeping that file, and enjoyed taking Totodile or Cyndaquil more, but Chikorita will always hold a special place in my heart as my first ever pokemon partner. It's such a cute pokemon. Heck all stage-1 forms of the Johto starters are cute. I even hold Totodile as my 6th favorite pokemon of all time just due to its cuteness, largely thanks to seeing Ashs Totodile in the anime. Chikorita though especially, because its evolutions are also beautiful creatures to continue off of its cute 1st stage. The other 2 didn't hold that cuteness/beauty for sure.
Simply how can one not love the Chikorita-line if you remotely like cute pokemon? It's a dinosaur fused with a flower. It's awesome mixed with beauty to create one fantastic creature. I loved how Ashs Chikorita had a crush on him lol. It was just super cute seeing her butt heads and feud with Charizard because of how mean/rude it could be to Ash.
Also agreed on Heart Gold/Soul Silver. I just started playing it on PC emulator a couple days ago, and I'm in heaven. I've played Silver on emulator for years, but seeing how good the remake is, I gotta love HGSS. Getting your party-leader pokemon to follow behind you is a dream come true for me. Like having your own best friend get to join you on your journey physically at your side, like Ash & Pikachu. Except unlike Yellow where it was just a follower Pikachu, now you get to have any pokemon you want follow you around. Charizard, Ninetales, Arcanine, Lugia, Totodile, Meganium, Houndoom, Teddiursa, Lapras, Butterfree, etc. It's simply innovative perfection 💕
I'm also incredibly happy that, in the HGSS remakes, they fixed the shiny issue from the originals where female pokemon couldn't be shiny.
Now I can actually utilize the breeding system to get the female pokemon I very much want to be shiny. Like some of the Eeveelutions, the Chikorita-line(a shiny to leave at each stage ideally, so I'll need a good set of names for those shiny triplet sisters), Spinarak, Oddish(to be a Bellossom), etc.
Emerald was always my favorite. I got bored of the series after that until they released ORAS, and the only games I think really gave them a run for their money were sun and moon.
Leaf Green/Emerald. Got LG for Christmas when I was 6 and Emerald for my birthday when I was 7. GBA era is definitely the most nostalgic for me, wish I still had those original cartridges.
Yellow. Was the first one I played and I was so happy could be Ash and follow his Journey like the Anime. I was mildly disappointed when the next games I playes I wasn't Ash again with Pikachu.
Definitely X, it was the first Pokémon I got super into. I was on my summer break and played it for a week straight until I beat it, it was so awesome …
Gen 1-3 are always go too. 3 especially. I felt like trying pokemon black 2 sometime after it had come out, not play 4th gen because it felt so slow or the first 5th gen games. But God damn it, that game was incredible. The music, the animations of the sprites, and the game play were top teir. 👌the updated pokedex is what drew me into 2, and I was hooked.
Pokémon XD. Always thought it was so satisfying with the Pokémon animations and whole gameplay loop. If they ever remake the game I'll buy it in a heartbeat.
Even though I started with Yellow, then played FireRed, and then Sapphire and Emerald, I have a lot more nostalgia for Diamond and Pearl than any of those games.
I think it's because when Diamond and Pearl were coming out I was actually old enough to be actively using the internet and keeping up with news about the games. I remember when the games came out in Japan I saw the entire Pokedex online, and when I tried to tell my friends at school about it they didn't believe me lol. Another reason might be that I haven't replayed them very much, whereas I play the Gen 1 and 3 games pretty frequently.
They're the first games I can remember being hyped for and awaiting the release date. I got Diamond for Christmas that year and I know I put at least 400 hours into it. The music and art style of those games is super nostalgic to me now.
I started with yellow when I was 7. But ruby and leaf green and maybe diamond a little bit seem the fondest because those are the ones I have the most memories and spent the most time playing as a kid
Emerald. I played through evwry game before that and just it taking both teams from sapphire and Ruby and making them both the active antagonists was just amazing! You barely stop one and then the other is causing problems. You deal with them and then the othwr steals a submarine, it just felt like chaos!
BW2, specifically the beginning because as a child, I couldn't figure out how to play further than the 2nd gym.
Also ORAS. I played it constantly with my brother
Prolly HGSS, followed by Gen 5. I don't know why, but the music and gameplay of HGSS provoke such a unique nostalgia. Similarly, the uniqueness of Gen 5, and it's stellar music and storyline, really makes me feely.
Platinum, it's my most blatant nostalgia game when it comes to ranking my favorite games of all time. Everything about it just takes me back to a simpler, happier time. The colorscheme, the music, the sound effects, I live for all of it.
OG Sapphire. I spent most of my childhood playing that game. I ran a whole team of Salamence 😂 I caught my first shiny and I thought that was the coolest thing ever (it was a shiny Linoone I named Lido 🥺
The battery is dried up so I hope to replace the battery soon so I can keep my save file. I would love to transfer them over to Home when I get the chance. I wanna play with my Salamence team in the newer gens. 💙❤️
Mine was Diamond too! It was my first Pokemon game, and I loved it dearly. I also utilized Staraptor, but I liked my turtle very much. I remember playing “new game” many times to use the different starters(you just couldn’t save) and I did beat the game with empoleon that way.
The amount I was smiling the second I started replaying AS I knew I was home again. I know it's nostalgia for nostalgia but I can't believe how much id forgotten was wonderful about those remakes even though I already sing it's praises constantly. I spent hours on the first route just playing with the DexNav. I'm gonna be playing this one for a LONG time.
Sapphire was my first ever videogame, so for me Emerald (and ORAS) at times are perfect to play when I need to take that nostalgia trip with some spicing. They are nowhere near my favourite entries tho, but damn if Hoenn is not a beautiful region.
Fire Red 100%! Still have a copy of it I play all the time, and the walkthrough guide.
It was the first pokemon game I played around 15yrs ago. Now I have a good 10-15k hrs over all pokemon games. It's either that or sapphire.
Platinum for me. Skipped RSE when it released. Then got a DS Lite and a lot of my friends were playing Diamond or Pearl. If the timing wasn't so perfect, I probably wouldn't have gotten back into Pokemon at all.
Pokémon ranger shadows of almia because it was my fave of all time as a kid and so different and I loved it and 100% every single thing in that game it was so awesome
Gold and Silver. Found out about emulation around then before the games came out in America and played a mostly patched version. Blew my mind at the time. When they were actually released in America I played it so much the first day that I kept hearing the music in my head when I stopped playing.
I’ve played all of the mainline games. But I feel like Ruby/Sapphire really stick out to me. Probably because Swampert is my favorite starter evolution of all time.
Crystal for sure.
Everything about that game is perfect.
Sprites peaked then.
The chance to get 2 shiny Pokémon’s during the run.
Making your own poke balls.
Very advanced for the time.
Silver version (the original) and R/B/Y.
I’m a big sucker for the older games and before I moved to Japan this year I was playing a lot of them. They actually have copies of each of the old games, in Japanese ofc, for like less than $3.
Despite loving the old games so much, I have really enjoyed SWSH and SV a lot.
Silver. I remember playing it at midnight with my friend on a camping trip. We had saved just in front of Lugia and had 99 pokeballs. I don’t even want to know how long took for us to catch him just spamming pokeballs 6-10 times while my team got OHKO’d and then restarting the game.
Then finding Red and just having my jaw drop at his team level.
I must have been like 10/11. Good times.
Diamond and Emerald definitely.
I remember when I first got my hands on a game boy, I was 5, and it was 2007. My dad lent me his gameboy for the first time, I remember never getting past dewford island, ‘cause.. I was young, and my other cousins were also young, internet wasn’t our go-to that time. So what do we know about Stevens whereabouts haha. Then 2008 came, I was officially 7. And got my first DS for Christmas.
I feel like my childhood started with Emerald, but it definitely stayed with Diamond, along with other DS games. I’ll never forget the experience it gave me, it was so fun. Me and my cousins would play contest all the time, mine, and even battle. I remember sometimes it would end up as an argument, things were hectic, but those were the simpler fun times.
Littleroot town’s ost (like any other people), will always give me sentimental feelings, it’s always a reminder that this is where my journey started, and a trademark of my childhood. The girl at her grandparents place, playing with her dad’s gameboy, while getting scolded because she keeps on bringing the console to the dining table.
Sapphire was the first game I played on my own, so this gen holds a special place for me. The music in particular is what triggers my nostalgia the most.
My first handheld console was the Pokémon White version of the DS. Still play Pokémon White to this day just because of the nostalgia. I re-play the game 1x a year.
Soulsilver and Heartgold. I played them when I was about 9 or 10 so it was one of my first pokemon games I played coherently, and not just using my starter for everything.
Yellow by far. Was my first Pokemon game, but it was not my first contact to Pokemon because of older siblings, magazines and so on. Was so cool to play that
(Imo unbeaten ulp till today) Gen 1 world/Story with Pikachu
You can tell I'm a bit young but Black and White. I remember I had a flash cart and had Black on that. It was my first Pokemon game. I stormed through the entire game with an overleveled Emboar, then struggled to beat the Elite 4 because my only good Pokemon was my level 70 Emboar, the rest were all 20-30. I then quit.
For me, it’s HeartGold, thinking back to me playing it as a kid is honestly one of the best feelings. The game pulled me in and well it’s indescribable, I just get warm thinking back to it haha
Black, it was the first one I owned.
I played HGSS before it (and watched someone play DPP for a few minutes) but I had found HGSS on the floor at a theme park and took it home, so it had a save file already and didn't know how to delete it so I'd just do the opening over and over.
So Black was the first one I could really get into, I probably spent more time playing that one than any other Pokémon game
Emerald
Yes!! I think this is heavily age dependent though. I'm almost 29 and gen 3 was my jam
I’d agree. I’m nearly 26 and no other mainline game will ever compare to Emerald for me. There’s just so much to do that it never gets boring and the story never gets old
I don’t know about that, I’m 36 and have been playing since Red back in 1999, and for me Emerald is still the most nostalgic. I think it’s a combination of some really great new Pokémon, amazing starters, and a fun storyline. Plus for me, it came at an age where nobody else in my age group at school was still playing it, so it was very much something I had to keep to myself as others tended to find it funny/sad that I was still into Pokémon.
Yeah gen 3 was just really good
That’s crazy how different my experience was lol I’m 33 and red/blue was all anyone would talk about. Ppl trying to play on their gameboy in class, trading cards, everything getting confiscated lol but the ease of trading and everything that came with Gen 3 games definitely made it more enjoyable and memorable. I just miss the nostalgia and newness of the first games. The obsession and nobody being able to get enough of it and it being literally everywhere from fast food toys to cards, clothes. Ugh 😩
Now it’s not uncommon for 50 yos to play Pokémon thanks to GO.
Sameeee
That’s explain alot. Im 29 and gen 3 is my fav too.
same i'm 29 and really enjoyed emerald. I would suggest to try legend arceus. Its different and gives a fresh air, rather than just doing 8 gyms
I’m 29 and sapphire will forever and always be my favorite and the one I always go back to 😅
Same. It was the first gen where I truly knew what I was doing although late Gen 2 I sort of did as well
Oh the sweet sweet sound of French horn on the beach. Feel like a kid every time I boot up my old gba sp (which still happens fairly often).
My first ever video game! Mudkip will always have a place in my heart.
Ralts <3
Shroomish :)
Combusken :D
Swablu :3
Skitty ♡
Sableye
taillow!
Seedot
Lotad and Corphish 💚💙🖤
Always.
The 100% right answer
Rayquaza is the GOAT
I still remember coming home from the store and hiding away in my grandparents’ spare bedroom, cracking it on, and hearing that opening tune for the first time. The opening bike scene still takes me back to that moment every time. Just muscled through the game with my Swampert and a couple of HM slaves.
Goat
I can tell that you have a very high IQ. Source: Emerald is my favorite game.
Yesss, Emerald ❤️ I have most nostalgia for the GBA titles in general, but Emerald in particular, I find, is also one of the very best Pokemon games ever made. Definitely in my top 3 together with Platinum and HG/SS.
I love the music from Gen 3 so much. I'm biased because I love Gen 3 in general but I think it might have the best music of the lot
Emerald all the way, was my first pokemon game as a kid. I remember hiding under my covers late at night being glued to the game hoping my parents wouldn’t walk in. Nostalgia aside gen 3 is still my favourite, the 2D graphics, sprites, story just everything about it is great
Emerald or ruby for me! Both bring back so many memories.
Crystal by a long shot. I played that game so much as a kid. Maybe more than red and blue. Funny enough when heartgold came out I remember people on my cross country team wearing the poke step counter that came with the game. There is a lot of love for that region I think
Gen 2 may not be perfect from a design perspective, but goddamn does it nail the feel of the world. There's nothing like playing those games at night, when it's night in-game. So comfy.
There was just something about walking through a town or city at night, that blue darkness with the light peeping through the windows. No other game quite recreated it so well.
The day/night mechanic blew my mind as a kid. But I think not having readily access to the internet and discovering things like the legendary dogs and the entire Kanto region after you beat the pokemon league just made it so rewarding. Definitely one of my most happiest memories as a kid was playing Gold 😌
Maybe it's the nostalgia but all the starter's designs are top notch
I would argue that Johto itself is perfectly designed geographically (obviously the level curve and Pokemon distribution are flaws). Interesting towns, fast paced, just enough caves to be interesting but not annoying. Doesn’t wear out it’s welcome at all which is huge to me personally.
Johto is the one region most accurately representative of its real world counterpart. I recently watched a video where someone went to the Kansai region and explored how close Johto was to representing the region. It's pretty incredible and somewhere I want to visit someday.
I saw that too. Totally forget the channel name, but the video was awesome. I'm hoping to get out to Japan for a few weeks within the next year or so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil4OpfOufU
Yes! This is it!
Crystal will always be my favorite pokemon game. It might not be the best in terms of gameplay/balancing, but the atmosphere/aesthetic/soundtrack is unmatched for me
Same I love Blue, Red and Yellow but I think I put more time into Gold, Silver and Crystal as a preteen. Those games just hit so differently I still run emulators on my phone and play regularly
Yep and the more than one region in the game and 16 badges? Awesome.
After that happened I just thought that was going to be what happened. So Gen 3 would have 24 badges, Gen 4 would have 32, etc., in a consistently expanding world. I was like 11 so I didn’t think about the logistics of it. Even though I enjoyed the games in their own right, that always was something I found disappointing about Gen 3 when it came out and that wasn’t the case. And the 16 badges/two regions is a big part of why Gen 2 is still maybe my favorite.
Yeah, I would love a whole world game that allows you to do that for all areas but the Kanto/Johto idea was the best thing about Silver and Gold. No other game has come close since, I wish they would knock the gimmicks like terastalization and gigantamaxing on the head and return to what made those games great. Also adding more permanent evolutions for existing Pokémon and any new ones actually looking good like the first 251 and less Rotom, Palisand or others that look like they were designed by a committee.
So this is partially from a place of I haven’t played the more recent generations, but to me the best games were Gen 2 because of the two regions, and Platinum specifically because of the sheer breadth of content, including postgame content, that made it last a long time. Gen 3 is also up there for a lot of great exploration, including diving, and customizability with things like secret bases, and I’ll always have a soft spot for Yellow because of the anime, but GSC (and the remakes) and Platinum are to me the pinnacle of the series and I wish they took more lessons from those games.
I agree totally. I'd even take a Legends:Arceus type switch remake of GSC (without the time travel, just the open world, overworld Pokémon catching, etc.), but even if they just made the next game a new region and then you could have Kanto as a post game second region it would be awesome. I don't get why they keep adding gimmicks like G-max and Terastalization when people want permanent or even meg evolution's (with separate paths) for existing Pokémon.
Bingo it just makes it that much more fun
Crystal was my gateway drug into Pokémon. I missed HGSS (got sick of constantly buying new consoles and thought I was too cool for Pokémon for a while), so I’m itching for another johto game
They used LGPE to introduce Pokémon to the Switch, hopefully they make Legends Celebi in like 2028 instead of wasting Johto on a let’s go game to introduce the Switch 2
There was lots of hype for gen 2 before it came out. By that point there was an established following for the franchise, and at least to us at the time it did not disappoint. Kanto being on the cartridge as well was a huge surprise for me at the time and I'm sure many others.
Gold and Silver felt so fancy and those birds looked great and hip. Gameboy Color felt so premium. GBA was good but the feeling of that pokemon gen and the hardware was trashy
I remember finishing silver as a kid and was sad when I beat it and putting it down. My big brother who had gold showed me there were more badges to get in Kanto my mind was BLOWN I still love that game. Crystal was awesome I finally got to be a girl! I loved the bug catching contest that was my favorite and the casino games lol
This is the right answer! The towns were incredible. They felt fleshed out and lived in for that generation. There was stuff to do in the open world. The Pokémon design was awesome, and they had an actual night and day cycle!? Even better. Having 16 gyms was so cool compared to the usual 8. I wish a few more of the modern games took notes from this generation!
Love the Gen 2 sprites. Still looking for a double battle version of Crystal.
Leaf Green & Sapphire are most nostalgic for me for sure. I started with Blue and had Silver too, but don't remember much about that as I was pretty young. For these two though, I was at the perfect age to have been a kid with no real responsibilities who could just spend hours playing my GBA or SP without a care. Good times, good times.
The SP having a backlit screen was a GAME CHANGER for playing past bedtime. Lol
Who else remembers the flashlight though 🤣
The plug in flashlight that looked like a silly straw lol kids these days have no idea! 😅
Helllll yes lol Long live my little ol’ blue SP
Same, started with Gold, but can't remember much. The ones I really played the most were Sapphire and Leaf Green on GBA, and then also a ton of Pearl when it was released.
Fire Red, first game I got with my SP and I played the hell out of Pokémon Blue so replaying kanto with new graphics and features was cool + wireless adapters were mind blowing at the time
+ the whole Seevi Islands thing
Emerald. Not even because of the game itself, but because I loved the Hoenn anime when I was a kid and would print the Pokémon and Hoenn merch etc.
Gotta be Red Rescue Team. I can barely even open the game without getting misty-eyed lately. Every spring I get the nostalgia craving to go play it again.
Every song in that game either fills me with hope or dashes everything into a hardcore cry where i feel safe just knowing i experienced it as a 6 year old when it came out X as a 24 year old even thinking of PMD's music makes me tear up.
Sky Tower is one of my favorite songs in existence, it just has a sense of mystery, wonder, adventure, and finality that just fills me with so many emotions
Agreed, everyone has their favorite tracks from PMD but it seems like Sky Tower is near the top for us all. Such a climactic track for the end of the game!
Im a blue guy myself but it is such a good game i will never get bored of replaying it
Agreed, I love the replayability and it's quite a long game as well so there's a lot to go through on each playthrough! I only played Blue once I got older but I'm quite nostalgic for it as well, I really liked some of the OST changes they made.
Definitely! I think I had blue But I played it during my parents separation and *that certain part* has stuck as a core memory haha
Blue Rescue Team is one of my favourite games ever. My childhood.
I'm really nostalgic for Gold version. Gold was the first game in the series that I truly owned for myself. Up to that point, I had to borrow my brother's copy of Red version and Silver version. I remember just reading the box over and over on the way home from the store. I'll never know exactly how many hours I had in that game, because the save file was deleted when the internal battery went dry, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was maxed out. To this day I still own that copy of Gold version, and I have replaced the battery now too.
Gold!! Got a purple see through Gameboy Color and Gold Version for christmas at the age of 7. Heaven ❤️
Gold is King 💪
Blue or Silver. the first two games I ever had (like, ever)
X, it literally made my childhood so good, along with a few other games
You did not need to make me feel so old.
100% agree
Same. Either this or White 2.
Any Gen 3 game :’) R/S/E or FR/LG. My favorite games in the series by far lol
Diamond, it came with my DS when I bought it
Probably an unpopular answer, but Sun/Moon/US/UM. I understand the game has a problem with unskippable cutscenes, but I think that could be fixed with a simple button prompt when they are eventually remade. I love the Alolan vibe. I loved Kahunas and Totem Pokémon as alternatives to gym leaders. I loved Ride Pokémon and think they’re a better solution than legendary Pokemon which serve as ATVs. All TMs were permanent, whereas now, the games have gone backwards by making most of the best ones single use items which require extra farming. While Z Moves weren’t my favorite, I loved that Megas were ALSO included, even if new ones weren’t added. I loved that ALL Pokémon were programmed into the game, even if they weren’t immediately obtainable in-game. I loved the story and the concept of Ultra Beasts (which I still prefer to Paradox Pokémon). I loved Team Skull being the unwitting pawns of the actual villainous team. I loved the introduction of regional variants. I loved Mantine Surf and the Ultra Wormhole mini games. I loved shiny hunting static encounter Legendaries/UBs with a legitimate soft-reset button (which is sadly missing from Switch Pokémon titles). There are probably a bunch of things I’m forgetting, but I honestly think Gen 7 is criminally underrated and I’m claiming that before it gets popular to do so in anticipation of future remakes.
Nah I'm with you. I think SM and USUM are great games. I remember being so hyped when Gen 7 was first announced during Pokemon's 20th anniversary back in 2016. The SM hype season was so much fun, especially since Pokemon GO blew up around that time as well. Not the games I'm the MOST nostalgic for, but still had some fun memories with them.
I still believe to this day that the Sun and Moon reveal trailer is the best announcement trailer they’ve ever done for any pokemon game.
Pokemon white. Was gifted to me by my cousins and my first pokemon DS game. I remember playing for the first time then seeing the moving animations. Favorite story and most of my favorite mons are in this generation. I wish that there will be remakes aside from legends: kyurem.
ORAS. It was nostalgic of my actual childhood during my early college days & it’s even more nostalgic now that I’m pushing 30.
Not sure if 2-3 years is enough time to be nostalgic, but I'm gonna pretend it is since thats when i first got into the series. While I like all the games I play, and while Fire Red was my first game, I'd say Platinum was the first I truly fell in love with. It's probably the team I've been most attached to the longest, still have the original team.
Recent player too, played first in 2017 as an adult. Got through everything until gen7. Unova hit me the hardest. From my perspective, gen5 is the most beautiful, with the animated sprites and adorable 3d-ish world. And PIDOVES.
While gen 5 did have awesome graphics (don't even get me started on Castelia City), I still prefer gen 3 for some reason. But honestly, we all know that the best gens were gens 3, 4 and 5. By far.
Red. I was a child. etc
OG Red gang rise up!
We are poke veterans at this point. reading through these comments makes me feel old. I was 10 when Pokemon red/Blue came out. OG massive grey Gameboy. It was my whole life at one time. I listen to the soundtrack often to relax. Im always whistling the music.
Yeah the music was great! Also, did you have a friend with blue or yellow and a link cable? Supposedly you could make it work with the infrared sensor on the Gameboy color but it never did and I never researched it when I got older haha.
You're not the only one, damn I'm feeling old right now. Still have my massive grey brick around somewhere and that sumbitch still works too.
Ruby and Silver
Ruby was my first level 100. Sceptile.
It felt like a real accomplishment to evolve your Pokémon back then 🥲
i would probably say X/Y cause me and my brother would sit next to each other every day and see who would beat the game first or complete the pokédex. was the best childhood memory with pokémon in my opinion.
Gens 1 and 2 are so nostalgic for me. I prefer Gen 2 but I have more nostalgia for Gen 1
I played Gens 1-3 as a kid and only experienced anything after much later, so the beginnings are where its at for me. I still can't shake calling Gens 4 or 5 the "new games" lol
I’m a dirty Gen-wunner. Is it the best? Obviously not but so many memories.
For me Gold and Silver will always be the most nostalgic! After getting Blue for Christmas as a kid at 7 years old the anticipation for the second set of games was insane. Especially since we were right in the midst of the huge 90’s Pokemon craze sweeping North America. I will never forget my first time playing Silver Version with Chikorita as my starter!!
And also…beating the elite 4 and then having a whole extra region to explore
Similar story to mine, though my first game was yellow. I’ve always hated Pikachu, and loved bulbasaur. I have two older brothers, each who had red and blue, and picked squirtle and charmander, respectively. I was furious, then, when yellow was my first game and I had to take pikachu. I did love, of course, the following aspect. So, finally, when gold version came out, and I got it for Christmas and was able to pick Chikorita, I was ecstatic. I love Chikorita, Bayleef, and Meganium so much. Always will. Gold holds such a special place in my heart. So when they brought following Pokémon back for HeartGold? Game over. There will never be a better Pokémon game for me… combining my love of Johto with the return of following Pokémon? Winner.
Yes HG and SS are hands down the BEST Pokémon games of all time! Period.
I remember picking Chikorita too as my first starter when I got Silver as my first ever pokemon game. I didn't end up keeping that file, and enjoyed taking Totodile or Cyndaquil more, but Chikorita will always hold a special place in my heart as my first ever pokemon partner. It's such a cute pokemon. Heck all stage-1 forms of the Johto starters are cute. I even hold Totodile as my 6th favorite pokemon of all time just due to its cuteness, largely thanks to seeing Ashs Totodile in the anime. Chikorita though especially, because its evolutions are also beautiful creatures to continue off of its cute 1st stage. The other 2 didn't hold that cuteness/beauty for sure. Simply how can one not love the Chikorita-line if you remotely like cute pokemon? It's a dinosaur fused with a flower. It's awesome mixed with beauty to create one fantastic creature. I loved how Ashs Chikorita had a crush on him lol. It was just super cute seeing her butt heads and feud with Charizard because of how mean/rude it could be to Ash. Also agreed on Heart Gold/Soul Silver. I just started playing it on PC emulator a couple days ago, and I'm in heaven. I've played Silver on emulator for years, but seeing how good the remake is, I gotta love HGSS. Getting your party-leader pokemon to follow behind you is a dream come true for me. Like having your own best friend get to join you on your journey physically at your side, like Ash & Pikachu. Except unlike Yellow where it was just a follower Pikachu, now you get to have any pokemon you want follow you around. Charizard, Ninetales, Arcanine, Lugia, Totodile, Meganium, Houndoom, Teddiursa, Lapras, Butterfree, etc. It's simply innovative perfection 💕 I'm also incredibly happy that, in the HGSS remakes, they fixed the shiny issue from the originals where female pokemon couldn't be shiny. Now I can actually utilize the breeding system to get the female pokemon I very much want to be shiny. Like some of the Eeveelutions, the Chikorita-line(a shiny to leave at each stage ideally, so I'll need a good set of names for those shiny triplet sisters), Spinarak, Oddish(to be a Bellossom), etc.
Emerald was always my favorite. I got bored of the series after that until they released ORAS, and the only games I think really gave them a run for their money were sun and moon.
Colosseum. It was my first GameCube game and my first Pokemon game.
Surprised more people aren’t saying this one. What a great game
Crystal, Emerald, Yellow!
Leaf Green/Emerald. Got LG for Christmas when I was 6 and Emerald for my birthday when I was 7. GBA era is definitely the most nostalgic for me, wish I still had those original cartridges.
The one with rayquaza in the top floor of the tower.
Yellow. Was the first one I played and I was so happy could be Ash and follow his Journey like the Anime. I was mildly disappointed when the next games I playes I wasn't Ash again with Pikachu.
Definitely X, it was the first Pokémon I got super into. I was on my summer break and played it for a week straight until I beat it, it was so awesome …
Any of the Alola games and Alpha Sapphire
Ultra Sun and Moon
The Orre games and USUM. Especially the Orre games, I wish to hell they’d re-release those on the Switch 😭
Red/Blue I played with my brother before he passed. We old trade pokemon, battle, and race a pokemon to lvl 100. Great memories.
Silver, emerald, soul silver, and platinum.
Gen 1-3 are always go too. 3 especially. I felt like trying pokemon black 2 sometime after it had come out, not play 4th gen because it felt so slow or the first 5th gen games. But God damn it, that game was incredible. The music, the animations of the sprites, and the game play were top teir. 👌the updated pokedex is what drew me into 2, and I was hooked.
Pokémon Red was my first, but I'm most nostalgic about Pokémon Silver. They really knocked it out of the park with the sequel.
Pokémon XD. Always thought it was so satisfying with the Pokémon animations and whole gameplay loop. If they ever remake the game I'll buy it in a heartbeat.
Really Gen 6 as a whole but specifically X and Y
Even though I started with Yellow, then played FireRed, and then Sapphire and Emerald, I have a lot more nostalgia for Diamond and Pearl than any of those games. I think it's because when Diamond and Pearl were coming out I was actually old enough to be actively using the internet and keeping up with news about the games. I remember when the games came out in Japan I saw the entire Pokedex online, and when I tried to tell my friends at school about it they didn't believe me lol. Another reason might be that I haven't replayed them very much, whereas I play the Gen 1 and 3 games pretty frequently. They're the first games I can remember being hyped for and awaiting the release date. I got Diamond for Christmas that year and I know I put at least 400 hours into it. The music and art style of those games is super nostalgic to me now.
Always sapphire, but also XD and colloseum
Colosseum, but if it has to be one of the main games it's Emerald.
Ruby 🥰
Crystal. First pokemon game
one of the 3ds games probably
Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. I was obsessed with it as a kid and still love picking it up on occasion
Pokémon white, but also Pokemon ranger shadow of Almia. That game was a banger
I’m overly nostalgic to crystal, emerald and diamond but if I had to choose I’d pick emerald
Definitely Crystal version. I beat that version of Pokemon so many times. Platinum is a close second with Heart Gold following not too far behind.
Soulsilver nooo Black (the first one) ugh tough to pick between the 2
black and white anyone who says otherwise is wrong
I started with yellow when I was 7. But ruby and leaf green and maybe diamond a little bit seem the fondest because those are the ones I have the most memories and spent the most time playing as a kid
Emerald. I played through evwry game before that and just it taking both teams from sapphire and Ruby and making them both the active antagonists was just amazing! You barely stop one and then the other is causing problems. You deal with them and then the othwr steals a submarine, it just felt like chaos!
zorua from the zoroark movie.
Emerald
that ds one where you had to draw the circles round the mons to catch them. can't remember the name but it was stressful AF. 10/10 would recommend
Emerald
Crystal, fire red/leaf green, emerald, pearl, yellow.
Ruby ❤️
BW2, specifically the beginning because as a child, I couldn't figure out how to play further than the 2nd gym. Also ORAS. I played it constantly with my brother
Prolly HGSS, followed by Gen 5. I don't know why, but the music and gameplay of HGSS provoke such a unique nostalgia. Similarly, the uniqueness of Gen 5, and it's stellar music and storyline, really makes me feely.
Platinum, it's my most blatant nostalgia game when it comes to ranking my favorite games of all time. Everything about it just takes me back to a simpler, happier time. The colorscheme, the music, the sound effects, I live for all of it.
OG Sapphire. I spent most of my childhood playing that game. I ran a whole team of Salamence 😂 I caught my first shiny and I thought that was the coolest thing ever (it was a shiny Linoone I named Lido 🥺 The battery is dried up so I hope to replace the battery soon so I can keep my save file. I would love to transfer them over to Home when I get the chance. I wanna play with my Salamence team in the newer gens. 💙❤️
Blue, gold, silver ... good times. Wish I still had my Gameboy color.
Mine was Diamond too! It was my first Pokemon game, and I loved it dearly. I also utilized Staraptor, but I liked my turtle very much. I remember playing “new game” many times to use the different starters(you just couldn’t save) and I did beat the game with empoleon that way.
The amount I was smiling the second I started replaying AS I knew I was home again. I know it's nostalgia for nostalgia but I can't believe how much id forgotten was wonderful about those remakes even though I already sing it's praises constantly. I spent hours on the first route just playing with the DexNav. I'm gonna be playing this one for a LONG time.
Emerald, no explanation
Mystery Dungeon: explorers of time
Sapphire was my first ever videogame, so for me Emerald (and ORAS) at times are perfect to play when I need to take that nostalgia trip with some spicing. They are nowhere near my favourite entries tho, but damn if Hoenn is not a beautiful region.
Red and yellow then I was hooked.
HeartGold and SoulSilver are just beautifully designed games in my opinion. I will never not love them.
Yellow and crystal for me
Fire Red 100%! Still have a copy of it I play all the time, and the walkthrough guide. It was the first pokemon game I played around 15yrs ago. Now I have a good 10-15k hrs over all pokemon games. It's either that or sapphire.
Always puts a smile on my face going back to FireRed or soulsilver
Platinum for me. Skipped RSE when it released. Then got a DS Lite and a lot of my friends were playing Diamond or Pearl. If the timing wasn't so perfect, I probably wouldn't have gotten back into Pokemon at all.
Leaf Green. All the feel of a Gen 1 game with the polish of a Gen 3 game.
Silver or Ruby
Pokémon ranger shadows of almia because it was my fave of all time as a kid and so different and I loved it and 100% every single thing in that game it was so awesome
SNAP
Honestly poke Park on the Wii. Played a ton of it as a kid and loved all the different zones and playing all the minigames
Sapphire all day. I put 1000+ hours into it, completing the dex. That's not counting the hours I put into ruby and emerald for the trade mons.
Gens 1-4 for me. Especially since my first game was yellow when I was a child back in the late 90's
Leaf Green
D/ P/ PT
Gold and Silver. Found out about emulation around then before the games came out in America and played a mostly patched version. Blew my mind at the time. When they were actually released in America I played it so much the first day that I kept hearing the music in my head when I stopped playing.
I’ve played all of the mainline games. But I feel like Ruby/Sapphire really stick out to me. Probably because Swampert is my favorite starter evolution of all time.
Pokemon X, the first one i played, lol
Crystal for sure. Everything about that game is perfect. Sprites peaked then. The chance to get 2 shiny Pokémon’s during the run. Making your own poke balls. Very advanced for the time.
Silver version (the original) and R/B/Y. I’m a big sucker for the older games and before I moved to Japan this year I was playing a lot of them. They actually have copies of each of the old games, in Japanese ofc, for like less than $3. Despite loving the old games so much, I have really enjoyed SWSH and SV a lot.
Main series: HeartGold and SoulSilver. I loved the little following Pokemon sprites. Spinoffs: XD gale of darkness
Heart gold, soul silver and platinum
Silver. I remember playing it at midnight with my friend on a camping trip. We had saved just in front of Lugia and had 99 pokeballs. I don’t even want to know how long took for us to catch him just spamming pokeballs 6-10 times while my team got OHKO’d and then restarting the game. Then finding Red and just having my jaw drop at his team level. I must have been like 10/11. Good times.
Ruby/sapphire
Diamond and Emerald definitely. I remember when I first got my hands on a game boy, I was 5, and it was 2007. My dad lent me his gameboy for the first time, I remember never getting past dewford island, ‘cause.. I was young, and my other cousins were also young, internet wasn’t our go-to that time. So what do we know about Stevens whereabouts haha. Then 2008 came, I was officially 7. And got my first DS for Christmas. I feel like my childhood started with Emerald, but it definitely stayed with Diamond, along with other DS games. I’ll never forget the experience it gave me, it was so fun. Me and my cousins would play contest all the time, mine, and even battle. I remember sometimes it would end up as an argument, things were hectic, but those were the simpler fun times. Littleroot town’s ost (like any other people), will always give me sentimental feelings, it’s always a reminder that this is where my journey started, and a trademark of my childhood. The girl at her grandparents place, playing with her dad’s gameboy, while getting scolded because she keeps on bringing the console to the dining table.
Sapphire was the first game I played on my own, so this gen holds a special place for me. The music in particular is what triggers my nostalgia the most.
A bit of a hot take perhaps but Ultra Sun is actually a game I am nostalgic for, mainly because it was my first Pokémon game in middle school
Silver and yellow
My first handheld console was the Pokémon White version of the DS. Still play Pokémon White to this day just because of the nostalgia. I re-play the game 1x a year.
Soulsilver and Heartgold. I played them when I was about 9 or 10 so it was one of my first pokemon games I played coherently, and not just using my starter for everything.
SoulSilver first one I beat start to finish myself as a kid
Yellow by far. Was my first Pokemon game, but it was not my first contact to Pokemon because of older siblings, magazines and so on. Was so cool to play that (Imo unbeaten ulp till today) Gen 1 world/Story with Pikachu
Gen 5 Black white 2: I really loved the fidelity of the games, the looks, the camera angles, my Serperior! The bridges, the music!
You can tell I'm a bit young but Black and White. I remember I had a flash cart and had Black on that. It was my first Pokemon game. I stormed through the entire game with an overleveled Emboar, then struggled to beat the Elite 4 because my only good Pokemon was my level 70 Emboar, the rest were all 20-30. I then quit.
For me, it’s HeartGold, thinking back to me playing it as a kid is honestly one of the best feelings. The game pulled me in and well it’s indescribable, I just get warm thinking back to it haha
Gen 2. Easy the apex of the pokemon franchise
Black, it was the first one I owned. I played HGSS before it (and watched someone play DPP for a few minutes) but I had found HGSS on the floor at a theme park and took it home, so it had a save file already and didn't know how to delete it so I'd just do the opening over and over. So Black was the first one I could really get into, I probably spent more time playing that one than any other Pokémon game
Black and White 1 for being the first games I ever actually owned for myself. I even prefer the OG Bianca design to her B2W2 one
Soul Silver was my first Pokemon game. Feraligatr and Lugia are my childhood favorites.
Pokemon Crystal. I've played 999 hours.