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So I was thinking a while ago, which routes in the main series games do you like most/least in each region. Some of them sure are unique, in ways that can amuse or annoy some players.
My thoughts on this are:
My thoughts on this are:
Kanto - Most routes are somewhat bland here, but I have some favourites:
7 (it is very small and lets you access the two biggest cities of the region without tall grass encounters; I even feel like that with the expanding nature of cities, Saffron-Celadon could end up one thing)
9 (first time you're leaving the grasslands to access a more mountainous area, even though the Rock Tunnel that comes next is annoying)
11 (at least it has those strange grass patterns making it different from your generic Kanto route)
26 and 27 (great music, a fitting end for the main Johto journey)
As for least favourites, the only one that stands out is:
20 (optional long sea route with an annoying cave in the middle of it; only worth visiting it once, from the Cinnabar side where Seafoam Islands is easier, to get Articuno)
23 (it doesn't even exist in HGSS, and unlike 26-27 it doesn't have that epic feel as the end of the Kanto journey in the games it appears in)
Although more could qualify for being a bit too simple.
Johto
Favourites:
32 (I didn't like much before HGSS but having the Magnet Train pass through it makes it feel more immersive)
34 (Lots of new species become available, it's starting to feel more like central Johto than the introductory part, you leave a forest to get to the biggest city. and it has a secret Surf-accessible area)
36 (The three-way fork that suddenly makes everything feel closer after Sudowoodo is gone is awesome)
42 (Simple to navigate, yet unique in that you need to get past 3 Surf areas to skip the optional Mt. Mortar)
Least favourites:
37 (Small and a bit pointless as 36 could be just a little bigger and fit it in, had that Trainer with the Drowzee IIRC that would annoy you with Hypnosis and it was even referenced in his text)
41 (The area in the middle of the Whirl Islands is just a little annoying to navigate)
47 (The cliffs look awesome but getting through it is annoying)
Hoenn
Favourites:
103 (finding the eastern part and realizing how it connects upon first playing Sapphire was a nice surprise)
113 (great music and scenery, the Soot Sack mechanic is nice)
115 (I like how it is completely optional even though it can mislead you into thinking it's not so in RSE; at least ORAS has a teleport-back after Meteor Falls to prove the point. And it has a secret Surf-accessible area in which wild Swellow and some rare Barries could be found)
119 (great music, it has some annoying parts but I've spent so much time hunting for Feebas here that I ended up loving it. I also caught my first Shiny ever here)
123 (optional but has awesome music and nice scenery and layout)
Least favourites:
All the "too much water" routes. 105-109, 124-134
120 (it's that one route that has a sort-of annoying factor that 119 and 123 also do, but its music isn't as nice and it falls behind compared to them)
122 (it's not really a route; just Mt. Pyre with water. Mt. Pyre is good at least)
Sinnoh
Favourites:
205 (it feels like several different areas at the same time; you can first only get to part of it until Valley Windworks, then it has some more until Eterna Forest and the layout there is cool and there's even a rest house, after Eterna Forest there is another part that has 6-Magikarp man as well, it's similar to Hoenn's 104 but done better. and a secret area after Surf, Fuego Ironworks)
209 (nice music and layout, jovial things such as Joggers and a Pikachu fan dressed an actual Pikachu, yet at the same time it has two creepy parts; the Spiritomb area and the tower. nice for breeding too)
222 (a nice continuation of Valor Lakefront/Sunyshore City that also has a beach and seems like a tourist destination. and it comes right after the deepest part of the plot up there in Spear Pillar, a nice way to uplift your mood before it gets serious again with the last badge/getting ready for League)
224 (optional and interesting late-game, kind of hard to access as a sort-of secret area, even without the Shaymin event it's cool)
Least favourites:
210 (OK the first part might be OK until the Miltank Cafe. but then we have Psyduck blocking the road, lots of fog and some hard trainer battles (particularly in Platinum), not a fan)
212 (swamp that slows down movement, great times; thankfully it's optional)
215 (annoying layout and rain everywhere)
217 (snowstorm and snow slowing you down...)
223 (one good thing about Sinnoh is that it doesn't have many sea routes; but you just gotta get one before the League...)
Unova
Favourite:
5 (it's nice how it is somewhat small but attracts performers and lets you connect Driftveil-Nimbasa without having to go through tall grass; being the location of the first Hidden Grotto in BW2 only added to it)
9 (short and to the point; you can cross it without getting in tall grass, it has a mall and several bikers/punks adding to the feel of the nearby Tubeline Bridge, think it fits more in Black where Opelucid is more modern as well)
10 (great music, the epic feeling of being close to the end of your adventure is back!)
11 (One moment it's cool because it's straightforward, the next a Plasma Frigate appears and freezes everyhing, making it very different but still cool)
13 (sandbars are nice)
18 (it's a cool dead end with the Laboratory, the Frigate in BW2 and the whole theory about how it was connected to Desert Resort before)
22 (I just like the music a lot)
Least favourite:
6 and 7 (don't like the layout of either one)
8 (not a fan of swamps)
Wildcard:
4 (I don't like it all in BW and am so-so about it in White 2, but I like it a lot Black 2; first route that is industrialized and straightfoward in such a way while connecting the two biggest cities of the region, but then right next to it you have the good old desert)
Kalos
Favourite:
1 (I actually like how it has nothing; music is cool too)
7 (for a long straightfoward road, it sure has a lot of interest; Snorlax blocking most of it for a while, Berry Garden and later Daycare and Chateau, and at the end lies a unique cave)
8 (you think you've reached Cyllage after getting out of the cave if that map is to be trusted... wait what? you need to cross this twice, it's actually split in a mountain part and a sea part, you get a new Pokedex extension. and the music is awesome!)
10 (wild Eevee, a bit creepy with the stones but there's also a Colress mention and it is said that they give energy at least; but then you figure out that unlike the other burial grounds this one is directly tied to the main plot in a way you couldn't think of. to the point it is actually closed off during the most major event)
Least favourite:
9 (not a fan of the routes where you need to ride a rental Pokemon)
11 (don't like the layout, it's just annoying me more when I know the next thing I have to deal with is Annoying Cave)
12 (while getting Lapras to surf past that first area and connection to Azure Bay is cool, the rest is just another route with riding rental Pokemon...)
13 (strong wind, annoying mound encounters; bad lands indeed)
17 (it's called Mamoswine Road and guess what rental Pokemon you need to ride in it )
20 (this is a Lost Cave-like dungeon, not a route)
Unsure if I like or dislike them:
14 (I'll go with dislike even though part of the creepyness is cool, because it's still a swamp)
15 and 16 (strange layouts; the one has an abandoned hotel and the other is called Melancolie Path of all things...)
Alola
Favourites:
1 (I just like how there's so much of it, it covers like half of Melemele Island by itself. Compare and contrast with Kalos route 1 lol)
5 (It is interesting how it has a northern part accessible only later)
6 (I tend to like straightforward routes; it's particularly cool since it can actually connect with Heahea City later on; but it makes you think why you had to go through Route 4, that's a weaker excuse even than the thirsty guards for Rock Tunnel)
8 (straighforward, has a motel, and "Get out." Gladion)
13 (short but sweet, there are more non-trainer people than you'd expect from a route here; it's probably more of a continuation of the quite empty Tapu Village than a route of its own)
15 (nothing too important here, but trying out Sharpedo Jet for the first time here is cool)
Least favourites:
9 (it's very short lol, but not in the cool kind of way)
10 (I don't like concept on having to get past the city just to catch a bus to the top of the mountain, from which you have an optional route down... until a point where you need to catch the bus anyway. a bit pointless)
12 (I feel like Mudsdale Gallop is the most pointless ride)
14 (not a fan of broken roads and stuff, the Surf area isn't anything too cool and has those platform-like things for little reason)
16 (more pointless short Route 9-like places)
17 ("This path always seems to inspire a sense of unease." oh yes it does)
7 (it is very small and lets you access the two biggest cities of the region without tall grass encounters; I even feel like that with the expanding nature of cities, Saffron-Celadon could end up one thing)
9 (first time you're leaving the grasslands to access a more mountainous area, even though the Rock Tunnel that comes next is annoying)
11 (at least it has those strange grass patterns making it different from your generic Kanto route)
26 and 27 (great music, a fitting end for the main Johto journey)
As for least favourites, the only one that stands out is:
20 (optional long sea route with an annoying cave in the middle of it; only worth visiting it once, from the Cinnabar side where Seafoam Islands is easier, to get Articuno)
23 (it doesn't even exist in HGSS, and unlike 26-27 it doesn't have that epic feel as the end of the Kanto journey in the games it appears in)
Although more could qualify for being a bit too simple.
Johto
Favourites:
32 (I didn't like much before HGSS but having the Magnet Train pass through it makes it feel more immersive)
34 (Lots of new species become available, it's starting to feel more like central Johto than the introductory part, you leave a forest to get to the biggest city. and it has a secret Surf-accessible area)
36 (The three-way fork that suddenly makes everything feel closer after Sudowoodo is gone is awesome)
42 (Simple to navigate, yet unique in that you need to get past 3 Surf areas to skip the optional Mt. Mortar)
Least favourites:
37 (Small and a bit pointless as 36 could be just a little bigger and fit it in, had that Trainer with the Drowzee IIRC that would annoy you with Hypnosis and it was even referenced in his text)
41 (The area in the middle of the Whirl Islands is just a little annoying to navigate)
47 (The cliffs look awesome but getting through it is annoying)
Hoenn
Favourites:
103 (finding the eastern part and realizing how it connects upon first playing Sapphire was a nice surprise)
113 (great music and scenery, the Soot Sack mechanic is nice)
115 (I like how it is completely optional even though it can mislead you into thinking it's not so in RSE; at least ORAS has a teleport-back after Meteor Falls to prove the point. And it has a secret Surf-accessible area in which wild Swellow and some rare Barries could be found)
119 (great music, it has some annoying parts but I've spent so much time hunting for Feebas here that I ended up loving it. I also caught my first Shiny ever here)
123 (optional but has awesome music and nice scenery and layout)
Least favourites:
All the "too much water" routes. 105-109, 124-134
120 (it's that one route that has a sort-of annoying factor that 119 and 123 also do, but its music isn't as nice and it falls behind compared to them)
122 (it's not really a route; just Mt. Pyre with water. Mt. Pyre is good at least)
Sinnoh
Favourites:
205 (it feels like several different areas at the same time; you can first only get to part of it until Valley Windworks, then it has some more until Eterna Forest and the layout there is cool and there's even a rest house, after Eterna Forest there is another part that has 6-Magikarp man as well, it's similar to Hoenn's 104 but done better. and a secret area after Surf, Fuego Ironworks)
209 (nice music and layout, jovial things such as Joggers and a Pikachu fan dressed an actual Pikachu, yet at the same time it has two creepy parts; the Spiritomb area and the tower. nice for breeding too)
222 (a nice continuation of Valor Lakefront/Sunyshore City that also has a beach and seems like a tourist destination. and it comes right after the deepest part of the plot up there in Spear Pillar, a nice way to uplift your mood before it gets serious again with the last badge/getting ready for League)
224 (optional and interesting late-game, kind of hard to access as a sort-of secret area, even without the Shaymin event it's cool)
Least favourites:
210 (OK the first part might be OK until the Miltank Cafe. but then we have Psyduck blocking the road, lots of fog and some hard trainer battles (particularly in Platinum), not a fan)
212 (swamp that slows down movement, great times; thankfully it's optional)
215 (annoying layout and rain everywhere)
217 (snowstorm and snow slowing you down...)
223 (one good thing about Sinnoh is that it doesn't have many sea routes; but you just gotta get one before the League...)
Unova
Favourite:
5 (it's nice how it is somewhat small but attracts performers and lets you connect Driftveil-Nimbasa without having to go through tall grass; being the location of the first Hidden Grotto in BW2 only added to it)
9 (short and to the point; you can cross it without getting in tall grass, it has a mall and several bikers/punks adding to the feel of the nearby Tubeline Bridge, think it fits more in Black where Opelucid is more modern as well)
10 (great music, the epic feeling of being close to the end of your adventure is back!)
11 (One moment it's cool because it's straightforward, the next a Plasma Frigate appears and freezes everyhing, making it very different but still cool)
13 (sandbars are nice)
18 (it's a cool dead end with the Laboratory, the Frigate in BW2 and the whole theory about how it was connected to Desert Resort before)
22 (I just like the music a lot)
Least favourite:
6 and 7 (don't like the layout of either one)
8 (not a fan of swamps)
Wildcard:
4 (I don't like it all in BW and am so-so about it in White 2, but I like it a lot Black 2; first route that is industrialized and straightfoward in such a way while connecting the two biggest cities of the region, but then right next to it you have the good old desert)
Kalos
Favourite:
1 (I actually like how it has nothing; music is cool too)
7 (for a long straightfoward road, it sure has a lot of interest; Snorlax blocking most of it for a while, Berry Garden and later Daycare and Chateau, and at the end lies a unique cave)
8 (you think you've reached Cyllage after getting out of the cave if that map is to be trusted... wait what? you need to cross this twice, it's actually split in a mountain part and a sea part, you get a new Pokedex extension. and the music is awesome!)
10 (wild Eevee, a bit creepy with the stones but there's also a Colress mention and it is said that they give energy at least; but then you figure out that unlike the other burial grounds this one is directly tied to the main plot in a way you couldn't think of. to the point it is actually closed off during the most major event)
Least favourite:
9 (not a fan of the routes where you need to ride a rental Pokemon)
11 (don't like the layout, it's just annoying me more when I know the next thing I have to deal with is Annoying Cave)
12 (while getting Lapras to surf past that first area and connection to Azure Bay is cool, the rest is just another route with riding rental Pokemon...)
13 (strong wind, annoying mound encounters; bad lands indeed)
17 (it's called Mamoswine Road and guess what rental Pokemon you need to ride in it )
20 (this is a Lost Cave-like dungeon, not a route)
Unsure if I like or dislike them:
14 (I'll go with dislike even though part of the creepyness is cool, because it's still a swamp)
15 and 16 (strange layouts; the one has an abandoned hotel and the other is called Melancolie Path of all things...)
Alola
Favourites:
1 (I just like how there's so much of it, it covers like half of Melemele Island by itself. Compare and contrast with Kalos route 1 lol)
5 (It is interesting how it has a northern part accessible only later)
6 (I tend to like straightforward routes; it's particularly cool since it can actually connect with Heahea City later on; but it makes you think why you had to go through Route 4, that's a weaker excuse even than the thirsty guards for Rock Tunnel)
8 (straighforward, has a motel, and "Get out." Gladion)
13 (short but sweet, there are more non-trainer people than you'd expect from a route here; it's probably more of a continuation of the quite empty Tapu Village than a route of its own)
15 (nothing too important here, but trying out Sharpedo Jet for the first time here is cool)
Least favourites:
9 (it's very short lol, but not in the cool kind of way)
10 (I don't like concept on having to get past the city just to catch a bus to the top of the mountain, from which you have an optional route down... until a point where you need to catch the bus anyway. a bit pointless)
12 (I feel like Mudsdale Gallop is the most pointless ride)
14 (not a fan of broken roads and stuff, the Surf area isn't anything too cool and has those platform-like things for little reason)
16 (more pointless short Route 9-like places)
17 ("This path always seems to inspire a sense of unease." oh yes it does)