8-bit Pokemon Games

[ElkinFencer10]

I've been messing around with my copy of Pokemon Green as well as various Pokemon ROM hacks floating around the community, and it's gotten me thinking about the first two generations of Pokemon again. Maybe it's nostalgia, but those are the Pokemon games I love most. I feel like they have a certain charm, and one of the most exciting things for me is always picking my starter. So I've got two questions for yall. One of them is in the poll - what's your favorite starter from those generations? The other one is a bit more open ended - if you could pick any three pokemon from the first 251 to have been the starters in Gold and Silver, what would you have picked?

Personally, I think I would have gone with Charmander, Abra, and Tyrogue.

[Reprise]

Pokemon Red and Blue (and I guess Yellow) were two of my favourite games of all time. No other Pokemon games touched them, for me. Probably because they were the originals and everything that came after, despite probably being refined and improved, just felt like 'more of the same'. Nothing will have the same impact as playing Pokemon for the first time. I've tried Gold and the remake of Gold/Silver on the DS, as well as X/Y and the remake of Ruby/Sapphire on 3DS,

I was OBSESSED with Pokemon when I got Red for Christmas. I think all I did was play Pokemon non-stop until I finished the game and even after I finished the story, I kept trying to get all 150 (which I eventually did!).

Squirtle was always my favourite. I picked him the first time I played because I thought he looked the coolest and I thought water would be cool. I still think he looks the coolest now, although Charmander gives him a run for his money.

[alienjesus]

I adore all of the games in the pokemon series, but I particularly have a soft spot for Gold and Silver. My original starter choices back in the day were Charmander and Chikorita, but nowadays I'm a Bulbasaur and Totodile kinda guy.

My favourite pokemon from the first 251 is Jumpluff but I'm not sure I'd want Hoppip as a starter - he doesn't learn an attacking move until like level 10 when he finally gets tackle!

Porygon is another favourite (obviously), and he'd be a pretty cool pokemon to begin with.

[BogusMeatFactory]

The original Pokemon games are still the best in the series, not in mechanics and quality of life, but in plot, pacing and exploration. Red/Blue/Yellow have a more open ended level of exploration, offering up incentives to explore the off beaten path, but also had a story tone that was never replicated.

The series for some reason began to fixate on the legendary Pokemon way too much and tried to beef up the story more and more to make them epic and you lose sight of what made the originals so special.

It was never about saving the world from ultimate destruction by an evil mega force. It was about being a kid who wanted to be a Pokemon trainer and the stories and characters bonds you form ad you progress.

Also... if I could pick my 3 starters for gold and silver it would be psyduck, Ditto and magikarp! Muahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

[Reprise]

It was never about saving the world from ultimate destruction by an evil mega force. It was about being a kid who wanted to be a Pokemon trainer and the stories and characters bonds you form ad you progress.

This is so true. There was just so much charm to the original game.

[Tanooki]

Charmander always has been. I never felt the types could handle it as well through the game. Maybe it's play style but they just felt more crippled against the gyms. You can get a rough start against water, but with the local pick ups it's not an issue. Even now I still keep a copy of Pokemon Red and Yellow around, even if I do still have FireRed on GBA as well.

It's just a re-run there but I agree, after a few generations in the charm of it was entirely lost. You could just have fun and explore, deal with the gyms in decent (but level capped by badge) time doing as you wish. Now it's like some led around on a leash save the world garbage you get in your usual stock JRPG along with everything about being shiny, legendary, or some bs EX conversion. I've tried to like the stuff since the 3rd generation Silver remix on the DS and I just can't. The last time I tried was Y on the 3DS and I got fed up with it as it just dragged, was on a tight leash, and took forever just to even get to the first gym making the game a tiring chore.

[ElkinFencer10]

I loved Ruby/Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl (broke the clock on Pearl maxing it out at 999:99), and X/Y, but Black/White felt a bit lackluster to me, and Sun/Moon just disappointed me (although if I'm being objective, they're probably the best games in the series, especially for newcomers).

[casterofdreams]

I loved Ruby/Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl (broke the clock on Pearl maxing it out at 999:99), and X/Y, but Black/White felt a bit lackluster to me, and Sun/Moon just disappointed me (although if I'm being objective, they're probably the best games in the series, especially for newcomers).

Black and White and its sequels were very strong for me. They shook up the Pokémon formula enough where I appreciated the series much more. The post game content of BW2 is still unmatched in terms of content.

X and Y on the other hand I finished but I really didn't enjoy it as ,inch as other entries in the series.

As for 8-bit: I can't play the original first gen anymore. No patients for it. Glitches, archaic mechanics, item management, etc. The second gen made so many improvements it's as far back as I'm willing to go. Also the remakes of the first gen, Fire Red and Leaf Green, make it redundant for me to go back. Same can be said for the second gen with its remakes but there's a charm the original games have the remakes lack. I still love those remakes however as it ranks high on my list for many other things it does right.

[PartridgeSenpai]

I loved Ruby/Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl (broke the clock on Pearl maxing it out at 999:99), and X/Y, but Black/White felt a bit lackluster to me, and Sun/Moon just disappointed me (although if I'm being objective, they're probably the best games in the series, especially for newcomers).

Black and White and its sequels were very strong for me. They shook up the Pokémon formula enough where I appreciated the series much more. The post game content of BW2 is still unmatched in terms of content.

X and Y on the other hand I finished but I really didn't enjoy it as ,inch as other entries in the series.

As for 8-bit: I can't play the original first gen anymore. No patients for it. Glitches, archaic mechanics, item management, etc. The second gen made so many improvements it's as far back as I'm willing to go. Also the remakes of the first gen, Fire Red and Leaf Green, make it redundant for me to go back. Same can be said for the second gen with its remakes but there's a charm the original games have the remakes lack. I still love those remakes however as it ranks high on my list for many other things it does right.

Absolutely agree with you. B/W will always be my favorite story-wise, just for how much it messed with the traditional formula and how it played on player expectations of how a Pokemon story would go. I thought X/Y was okay, but it really never held my attention like B/W did. My favorite mechanically is definitely S/M, as it implements a lot of quality of life stuff that the series has needed pretty badly for a long time. I even loved it enough to get a living-dex, which I have done in no other Pokemon game ever.

The first games on Gameboy are charming and hold nostalgia for me, sure, but I just don't have the patience anymore for those mechanics. I barely have patience for how HM's were handled pre S/M. Pokemon is a series that had grown complacent with its design for a very long time. I'm SO glad that Youkai Watch came around eventually because it really gave Nintendo the kick in the pants it needed to take a look at Pokemon and try something different, even if that something different is sometimes straight-up copying your competitor (Rotomdex is 100% Whisper in just about every way, for example). Youkai Watch 3 is probably the first game in that series I can actually argue is a better game than its Pokemon contemporary, so I am eagerly awaiting what Pokemon on Switch will be like to see if Nintendo keeps trying new things and upping the ante like they did in S/M.

The original Pokemon games will always have a fond place in my heart for nostalgia reasons, especially all the original Pokemon art in-game before it more or less just started copying the anime's style, but those mechanics will probably keep me from every playing the originals again Xp

[Tanooki]

I think Pokemon Yellow rides a fine line of being like gen 1.5 where it doesn't feel as wooden as Red and Blue do, but that could be just because it rides the coat tails of the original season of the cartoon too. I never really much appreciated the whole pokemon sex of male and female or the berry stuff they threw in there shortly after. I did pop a battery into a pokemon crystal a year back and still have not got around to that one but I probably should.