Favourite core series game?

[Esserise]

Sun and Moon's story is still my second favourite though, ahead of SwSh, because of Lillie's arc. I've played through Moon four times now and I feel emotional at the end credits every single time.

When I played through Sun again last year, I really was surprised by how much the ending still managed to affect me. I still think that the game not autosaving after beating Kukui is high madness, but I really do love that whole ending sequence, long as it may be, with the big festival in Iki Town, and you finally battling against Tapu Koko, and then Lillie's sudden departure. It really was a unique and more immersive way to tie off the story compared to previous games.

would have picked USUM more if it wasn't for that super annoying Rotom Dex, it ruined part of the experience

Really my only complaint of the games would be Rotom Dex talking way too much lol.

See this is kinda interesting to me, because while I will admit that the USUM Rotom Dex is maybe a bit too chatty, I still vastly prefer it for the fact that it actually serves a purpose beyond wasting the bottom screen on a Town Map.

In particular, one of the things I really like about USUM in comparison to older enhanced editions is how closely all of the new features are designed to elaborate on the themes of the original games. Ultra Warp Ride, Mantine Surf, Episode RR, the Battle Agency, Alola Photo Clubs, etc. all feel more thematically appropriate and cohesive to what Sun & Moon introduced than the stuff that Emerald or Platinum or even B2W2 to an extent threw at their respective walls. (In general, that's one of the ways that I think GF have become more thoughtful about their game design, because I see the same sort of cohesiveness in ORAS, LGPE, and SwSh as well.) For me, the upgraded Rotom Dex goes right along with this, as the increasing friendship between you and Rotom sort of parallels the affection mechanic of Refresh (while also giving you an extra Z-Move at max affection), and just the way that you have another noncombatant Pokémon helping you out on your adventure feels like it goes hand-in-hand with the themes of Poké Ride. Personally, I really liked how it made Rotom feel more like it was part of the team.

 

[Camille]

Platinum, it has a ton of content, the region is very large and explorable, the Dex is decent for its time, the music is memorable, the Gym Leaders, Elite Four and Team Galactic aren't complete pushovers, the Distortion World is amazing, and Cynthia is my favourite Champion.
That being said, I also really like Black 2/White 2 and HeartGold/SoulSilver, but they had the infamous linear region design and level curve issues, respectively.

 

[Emmy]

Sword & Shield.

Probably the most fun I've had with a Core series game.

 

[Daenerys]

My favorite? Hmm that's tricky because I love Silver, Sapphire and Diamond so much that I can't pick between them. Not to mention that White 2 was really great too in its own way - I especially loved the new areas added to Unova.

 

[Puddle]

My favorite? Hmm that's tricky because I love Silver, Sapphire and Diamond so much that I can't pick between them. Not to mention that White 2 was really great too in its own way - I especially loved the new areas added to Unova.

That's interesting that three of your favourites are the first entries of a generation, rather than the enhanced versions. I often end up preferring the original versions too, either because they're more sentimental to me or because the enhanced version made changes that I don't like.

Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh are kind of like the holy trinity for me when it comes to nostalgia. It's impressive that the Sinnoh games managed to leave that much of an impression on me, when I didn't actually play them myself until several years after they came out.

 

[Bahamut]

HGSS is my favorite Pokemon game because it has a lot of fun features and a good post-game.

 

[EmpoleonProd]

It was a hard choice that went from ORAS, to HGSS, to Emerald. I can't say enough about Emerald, that game has everything, such a good story, the Battle Frontier, the extended Safari Zone with all the Johto Pokemon, Johto starters after you complete the Hoenn Dex, which I managed to do as a kid thanks to owning two gameboys, a link cable, and Ruby and Sapphire, and to this day it's still only one of the few times I've ever completed a regional Pokedex. I'm still spending a lot of time playing Emerald today trying to beat the Battle Frontier playing as the Sinnoh Frontier Brain, Dahlia, and only using her team.

HGSS was a close, close 2nd because I really love the tradition and lore in the Johto region, the game was visually great for it's time and SoulSilver was the first game I ever pre-ordered so I had a lot of time on that game. Two regions, following Pokemon, even shininess being retained in the overworld for every Pokemon. You just can't beat two regions, but the game has a couple minor problems that caused me to forego it as my #1 for Emerald, namely the lack of Johto Pokemon in Johto both as wild Pokemon and their representation on gym leader/rival/Pokemon League teams.

ORAS was initially my first choice because, while inferior to Emerald in a handful of ways, this game has aged extremely well and is still very playable today, I've been replaying Alpha Sapphire but taking my time to do more of the contest content first before finishing the gym challenge and it's a refreshing game to play. There's even more lore and good story in ORAS than in Emerald in my opinion, especially with the Delta Episode. I remember the day these games came out on my 17th birthday and being that Emerald was my favorite game up to that point, I was ecstatic and feeling pretty nostalgic. Ruby was my first game so I've always had a soft spot for Hoenn and until we get a Legends: Rayquaza or something, Emerald and ORAS will have solid spots on my top 3, although Legends: Arceus might just find it's way into my top 3.

 

[Esserise]

I know I said Sword & Shield on the first page but these days I've started to feel like it's actually Sun & Moon, so I'm changing my vote.

(Quick note - I usually find it pretty hard to cement a singular, #1 favorite of anything. Nostalgia is a partial factor, but mainly it's just that as time goes on and I reflect on things, and absorb analyses and observations from others, my opinions are inclined to shift. So for the most part, instead of designating an all-time favorite of something, I tend to take a more collective view and try to appreciate what each thing involved does best.)

Anyway, to the point, I just can't shake this unique feeling that the Alola games give me. There's such a strongly unified and vibrant aesthetic vision all throughout. The range of environments and battle backgrounds, the color palettes, the tropical design trends for the interfaces and menus; it's hard to quite put into coherent words, but I see such a cute, punchy, "stickerbook" style in it. Beyond that, I really love the culture of the Alola region. Like Galar, it's clear that they put a lot of thought into how everything ties together and creates an organic cycle of influence. And of course I loved the experimentations with the 20-year-old formula. Trials and Totem Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, the story- and character-driven focus, the island-hopping structure, regional variants, breaking away from HMs in favor of Poké Ride - it all made these games feel like they were bursting with new ideas. I also thought some of the side-features like Poké Pelago and the Poké Finder were a lot of fun.

Of course Sun & Moon have their faults, and it's certainly true that Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon improve on them in several ways, but even 5 years later, my experience with Sun & Moon feels distinctly memorable in a way that I don't quite get from X & Y or Sword & Shield, even though I do love those games as well. Both of those games felt like they were going for something more slick and efficient, and I definitely think they achieve that and that such an approach has its benefits. But Sun & Moon really wear their heart on their sleeves and radiate so much color and warmth.

 

[Norzan]

Picking between Emerald and Platinum is like picking my favorite children. I pick both.

 

[KJNanika]

HeartGold & SoulSilver, considering HG is both the first Pokémon game I genuinely owned (as opposed to being on an R4 card) and the first game in the series I beat the Elite Four in.

But Black & White are also very close, but the Pokémon selection is what makes the older game win out for me