Need an old school opinion on the NEW Pokemon games.

[Zork]

Look, most of us have played Pokemon at some point in time and I'm sure most of the people here started just like did on Red and Blue version...possibly even Yellow. I played the hell out of those games and loved them, I got a kick out of playing Pokemon Stadium on N64 with my friend and battling each other it was great times. Then Gold and Silver came out, I got the Silver Version, liked it and played through it almost but not quite as much as R/B/Y. Then for some unexplainable reason I lost interest in the games, it wasn't that I was some hardcore Poke-Kid because I was basically 12 or 13 when I played these so it wasn't really a result of "Growing out of it". I acknowledge the old games as good RPG games.

But anyway I think it may have been the gap in time between Gold/Silver to Ruby/Sapphire and there were so many other things I was interested in at the time that I just lost track. Then there was Fire Red/Leaf Green, then Emerald, and now Diamond/Peal/Platinum on DS! I've always had thoughts of trying another game but I'm not sure how well I'd like any of them because I'm still sort of attached to the original 150 more then anything and I know for sure a lot of them are missing in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and that was kind of another factor that turned me off to the newer games. However I saw the monstrous Strategy Guide for Platinum yesterday when it came out (This book is just as big as the Fallout and Oblivion Guides folks) and noticed that there were a lot more of the old school ones in there along with some pretty cool looking new ones in my opinion.

So here is the deal, are these games still good in the eyes of someone who pretty much went over the hill after the original Red/Blue/Yellow? Are these games largely unchanged or pretty different? Are a lot of the new Pokemon really stupid looking?...not that the original 150 were immune to that either but it just seems like as time went by, they thought up more stupid ones...what in the hell is a Luvdisc anyway?!

[IcKy99]

i think character design left me uninterested in everything after R/B/Y gold and silver were ok but everything after that seemed lame and uninspired

[MrPopo]

Honestly, my take on it is as such:

The gameplay hasn't changed much. They have done some rebalancing (creation of S DEF stat the most prominant) and added several things for the OCD people, like contests, shiny pokemon, and breeding. But the core is still the standard formula. Generally there's a mix of old and new pokemon, and some of the new ones are better than the old ones. Really, it depends on whether you enjoy the battle system or not, since that core hasn't changed.

[ThunderPrince]

I was familiar with R/B but I didn't get into it until G/S. about a year or so ago I got Diamond and I thought it was a piece of shit. I should sell the game or something, I absolutely refuse to own it in my collection. now remember, there is a HUGE gap between G/S and D/P so any comparisons made will have nothing to do with the games inbetween that.

-berries, fuck em.
-Geodude, when I quit playing I made it to the 5th gym and I would say 70% of the wild pokemon I fought were STILL geodude or the next most common pokemon of that area. It was disgusting. Like what, 450 pokemon or something in that game and I am still seeing geodude more than any other pokemon? I had gotten past the halfway point and I only had like 80-100 pokemon on my pokedex. fuck em.
-Too damn many pokemon. 450 is simply too many. I want to get from point A to point B and make a reliable team. But thats just it, who are these new pokemon? When you have 30 kinds of fire pokemon it doesn't really matter who you have on your team to beat the game, they aren't as special. 450 is too many, too many to catch and too many to even put out the effort of seeing. Thats right, there is more emphasis on seeing all the pokemon as opposed to catching them. Even Nintendo knew they were going overboard.
-The new pokemon are fucking atrocious. Maybe it is just because I am an old timer when it comes to this sort of thing and am instantly turned off by anything new and scary but the old pokemon were simple, cute (possibly badass *Kabutops, Mewtwo*) and most of them had some sort of endearing charm to them. The newest generation of pokemon just look fucked up and have fucked up names. Its like they lost their inspiration to make new pokemon.
-I read in an interview with the creators that they wanted to keep it simple for newbies but add new stuff to keep it fresh for veteran players. Whatever, they changed it up so much and the whole little world you run around in is filled with so much time wasting crap that it stops being interesting. Prime example are the pokemon beauty pageants. fuck em.

Personally, I think the new games suck. It feels more like a job than a game. the 250 in G/S was the perfect number. the second generation of pokemon were still appealing, but their numbers were small enough that you could manage things easily. the world was smaller so the wild pokemon you fought was more varied. even though its been years and years since I played the old games I could still go back and have a great time, you couldn't convince me to play the new games.

[lwcook]

Oddly enough, I just picked up a pokemon game for the first time in about 9 years just the other day and seem to be in the same boat as you Zork. I originally started on R/B/Y back when I was about 11 or 12. Played it religiously with friends back in my middle school days and loved every minute of it.

Fast forward to a week ago, the gf borrowed crystal from her sister and started playing, so I figured I'd see what the new games were about. Never played anything past the first gen, but it looked familiar enough.

I started playing Platinum because, like others have stated, I heard they have enough old Pokemon in the game that I wouldn't be totally lost. I have to say that despite all the new additions, it still feels pretty much the same (especially the addicting part.) There is a good amount of interface changes (mostly for the better) and things like berries and items you can give your pokemon to "hold," and yes, quite a few more side quests, but it's still the same game. The new Pokemon are alright, and as long as you know their types, the old rock-paper-scissor system will guide you through the rest.

I say give it a shot, because while the games definitely have evolved since the first generation, the progress doesn't make the game any more complex or less fun.

[schi0249]

Guess I must be the minority. Never played a Pokemon game, but I've sold many. I guessing managing a game store when Red/Blue came out made me a little old for the series.

[Zork]

Thanks for the opinions and info, I'll definitely keep this in mind whenever I decide on one of these games.

[fast]

I am a big fan of Red, even back to when it was an untranslated rom on a pos emulator. I played the actual cart through more times than I would like to think of and still consider it my favorite. Gold and Silver were fantastic steps in the series, double the world size and gave us plenty of new monsters, they are probably the pinnacle of the series. Ruby/Sapphire were not very enjoyable to me. I mean they were pokemon games yes, but they were just not as good as the others. I played Pearl on and off since it came out and never finished it, recently I started it over and have been enjoying it, but it always feels like it is missing something.

Be it, like thunderprince said, the stupid encounter rate of the same creature, or simply the lack of certain types of pokemon (I had a devil of a time finding a fire one that wasnt Ponyta when I played through it the first time). Granted it could be the asinine amount of options I have in the metagame that I do not care about.

But the core game is the same: Instead of Team Rocket, its Team Galactic. Instead of Professor Oak, its Professor Rowan. It simply follows the motif "if it aint broke dont fix it." It is surprisingly effective, subtly addictive, and while I cannot honestly say it is a must have for anyone, if you have another person playing it with you, it can be a lot of simple fun.