33 years old and just discovered Pokemon - Where to Start?

[noiseredux]

the only one I ever played was Yellow. I enjoyed it.

[Soldier Blue]

Pokemon Silver!

[fastbilly1]

Dogman, I normally would agree, since red is my favorite. But the extra bits in HG/SS do not over complicated that much, and it is far easier to buy a non bootleg DS game than a GBA one - especially pokemon.

[marlowe221]

Dogman, I normally would agree, since red is my favorite. But the extra bits in HG/SS do not over complicated that much, and it is far easier to buy a non bootleg DS game than a GBA one - especially pokemon.

There are bootlegs??? What's wrong with them, do they not play properly?


Otherwise, thank you to all who have responded, and especially to Alien Jesus whose response really ought to be stickied all by itself.

I knew that there were "generations" of Pokemon games but, as an outsider, it can be difficult to tell which games are which, which games are paired with which, which games are re-makes versus new games, etc.

One other question - is there any benefit to playing them in order? Some overarching story to the entire series? Or is it more like Dragon Quest where each game/generation is self-contained story-wise?

At the moment I am tempted to start with one of the DS titles (Platinum or B/W) if story is not an issue.

[Fragems]

Basically each game is it's own thing. There isn't really a ton of story to them either usually just go gym to gym collecting badges so you can get to the League at the end which is basically is a gauntlet with 5 or so gym leader style trainers in a row. Along the way there are some dungeon style areas with mini stories going on as well as usually an evil faction(team rocket, magma etc.).

Basically the only thing you miss out on is some of the games have exclusive pokemon(was there way of promoting trading with friends) and usually there are some slight variations uin the story in the later releases. For instance Ruby/Sapphire each have a different enemy faction(team magma/aqua) and the featured legendary monster is different as well.

The only game that has a real sequel is Pokemon Black/White, but I'm not really sure if it continues a story line.

[Soldier Blue]

I have a bootleg of Pokemon Heartgold if you want it. Just be very very careful when buying Nintendo DS Pokemon games on ebay. Do not but unless you can see the serial number on the back of the cart match up with front.

Just remember that Pokemon Heartgold came in a black cart (not grey) as well as Pokemon black. Also, there will be a "tm" next to the Nintendo logo on the front. They seem to very crafty making the bootlegs nowdays.

[Ziggy]

There are bootlegs??? What's wrong with them, do they not play properly?

Yes, there's a TON of fake GBA carts out there. And yes, they don't work properly. I've read that the fake Pokemon carts have trouble with saves. Either they don't save, or they drop saves, something like that. Definitely make sure you know you're buying a legit copy. And if you're not sure, make sure the seller has a good return policy. If you get a copy and you're not sure if it's fake or not, you can always ask on the forums here.

[marlowe221]

Oh wow, I had no idea that bootlegs were such a big problem.

I was definitely planning on buying used, for cost reasons. It seems that will be more challenging than usual!

[prfsnl_gmr]

I was definitely planning on buying used, for cost reasons. It seems that will be more challenging than usual!

If you insist on playing opne of the GBA games, definitely buy local if at all possible. That system is horrible for bootlegs. (I accidentally bought a bootleg copy of a Strawberry Shortcake game for my daughter...Who bootlegs that?!)

The only Pokemon game I have played is Blue, and I played it many years ago. It was a lot of fun, but I have never felt compelled to delve any deeper into the series.

[marlowe221]

I would probably be more likely to go with Amazon sellers anyway, I think the return policy is better.