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What I meant by the words in the title:
"Original" = The original pair of games in each Generation. Examples include Red/Blue, Ruby/Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl
"Updated" = Some people call this the "third" version. Examples include Yellow, Emerald, and Platinum
In most Generations, there is a game that is basically an upgraded version of the the original games that was released earlier. For example, Ruby and Sapphire was released back in 2002 or 2003. Later on, Emerald was released two years after the originals. In almost every aspect, the updated games are the definitive versions, which essentially made the originals less lucrative because the updated games have more features. As an example, Pokemon Emerald has the Battle Frontier, which is basically a better version of Ruby and Sapphire's Battle Tower. Moreover, the story is a mix of the two games, so in many ways it's definitive. Another thing is the "updated" version of the games have Move Tutors, which expands the movepools of current favourites.
When it comes to the "updated" games that are released later, the issue is that there has to be a reason for people to purchase the games. This basically means that they will inevitably contain more features than the originals, which means that compared to the original games, the "updated" versions are considered the more definitive experience. This is very good for those who joined in late because certain problems that was found in earlier games were ironed out, such as glitches. On the other hand, those who already have the original(s) would have to purchase the game again to benefit from the new features. As a result, there is no reason to get the originals once the updated game was released.
Let's look at some cases on how things were handled in past Generations.
In Generation 1 for non-Japan territories, the originals were Pokemon Red and Blue, whereas the updated game was Pokemon Yellow. The plot for Yellow is almost the same as Red and Blue, save for the influences from the anime that made it a vastly different experience. As an example, Yellow allowed you to get all 3 starter Pokemon, although it also forced you to use Pikachu for your journey. It also has the interference of Jessie and James occasionally. Not only that, some Pokemon cannot be obtained normally, which amusingly includes the Pokemon Jessie and James had (Meowth, Koffing and Ekans). Therefore, there is reason for players to still get the originals, such as probably if they don't like using Pikachu as a forced party member. I am not clear on the relationship between Red/Green (originals) and Blue (updated), so I won't comment on that.
Generation 4 introduced Pokemon Diamond and Pearl as the original games, and then later on, Pokemon Platinum was released as the updated version. In terms of how much of an upgrade it is, it's as straightforward as you can get: expanded story, Move Tutors, Battle Frontier and updated mechanics. As an example on the latter, surfing is significantly faster in Platinum, which is a welcomed change. Another thing that Platinum introduced is the concept of Pokemon forms exclusive to that version. Because of this, Giratina's Origin Forme and Rotom's appliance forms are exclusive to this game and HeartGold and SoulSilver, locking out Diamond and Pearl from those features. I guess Diamond and Pearl has 70% Hypnosis and some exclusive Pokemon, but in terms of Generation 4's competitive battles, Pokemon Platinum is the standard.
For Generation 5, GameFreak did something unprecedented: they didn't release a centralised version that is basically an updated Black/White! Instead of Pokemon Gray like some people were speculating, they went with Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, which is a continuation of events from the originals. As a result, there is no retelling of the original events, which made sense since some elements are different in both versions. Of course, the updated versions have more features, so either games are the definitive versions, but it didn't completely made the originals obsolete. Those who want to go through the original story could start with those, along with those who are willing to go through the adventure using completely new Pokemon (at that time).
Generation 6 is the outlier in terms of updated versions. It didn't get a "Z" version like we thought we would, instead skipping it entirely.The updated versions winded up as the remakes of Ruby and Sapphire, ironically enough. Although both sets of games are very different, the fact that Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire come with Move Tutors and more Mega Evolutions made it a better version for competitive purposes due to having more options available, especially Mega Evolutions. However, the fact that X and Y are still different from the Ruby and Sapphire remakes save it from being obsolete from the remakes. To make this clear: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire did not replace X and Y.
In these cases, we can see that the updated versions are pretty much better versions of the originals, so there is no big reason to get the originals, except maybe Generation 6. I feel that the only way to make the originals worthwhile is to make the originals cheaper than their upgraded counterparts, especially if the upgraded versions are the same, but better.
Thanks for reading.
"Original" = The original pair of games in each Generation. Examples include Red/Blue, Ruby/Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl
"Updated" = Some people call this the "third" version. Examples include Yellow, Emerald, and Platinum
In most Generations, there is a game that is basically an upgraded version of the the original games that was released earlier. For example, Ruby and Sapphire was released back in 2002 or 2003. Later on, Emerald was released two years after the originals. In almost every aspect, the updated games are the definitive versions, which essentially made the originals less lucrative because the updated games have more features. As an example, Pokemon Emerald has the Battle Frontier, which is basically a better version of Ruby and Sapphire's Battle Tower. Moreover, the story is a mix of the two games, so in many ways it's definitive. Another thing is the "updated" version of the games have Move Tutors, which expands the movepools of current favourites.
When it comes to the "updated" games that are released later, the issue is that there has to be a reason for people to purchase the games. This basically means that they will inevitably contain more features than the originals, which means that compared to the original games, the "updated" versions are considered the more definitive experience. This is very good for those who joined in late because certain problems that was found in earlier games were ironed out, such as glitches. On the other hand, those who already have the original(s) would have to purchase the game again to benefit from the new features. As a result, there is no reason to get the originals once the updated game was released.
Let's look at some cases on how things were handled in past Generations.
In Generation 1 for non-Japan territories, the originals were Pokemon Red and Blue, whereas the updated game was Pokemon Yellow. The plot for Yellow is almost the same as Red and Blue, save for the influences from the anime that made it a vastly different experience. As an example, Yellow allowed you to get all 3 starter Pokemon, although it also forced you to use Pikachu for your journey. It also has the interference of Jessie and James occasionally. Not only that, some Pokemon cannot be obtained normally, which amusingly includes the Pokemon Jessie and James had (Meowth, Koffing and Ekans). Therefore, there is reason for players to still get the originals, such as probably if they don't like using Pikachu as a forced party member. I am not clear on the relationship between Red/Green (originals) and Blue (updated), so I won't comment on that.
Generation 4 introduced Pokemon Diamond and Pearl as the original games, and then later on, Pokemon Platinum was released as the updated version. In terms of how much of an upgrade it is, it's as straightforward as you can get: expanded story, Move Tutors, Battle Frontier and updated mechanics. As an example on the latter, surfing is significantly faster in Platinum, which is a welcomed change. Another thing that Platinum introduced is the concept of Pokemon forms exclusive to that version. Because of this, Giratina's Origin Forme and Rotom's appliance forms are exclusive to this game and HeartGold and SoulSilver, locking out Diamond and Pearl from those features. I guess Diamond and Pearl has 70% Hypnosis and some exclusive Pokemon, but in terms of Generation 4's competitive battles, Pokemon Platinum is the standard.
For Generation 5, GameFreak did something unprecedented: they didn't release a centralised version that is basically an updated Black/White! Instead of Pokemon Gray like some people were speculating, they went with Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, which is a continuation of events from the originals. As a result, there is no retelling of the original events, which made sense since some elements are different in both versions. Of course, the updated versions have more features, so either games are the definitive versions, but it didn't completely made the originals obsolete. Those who want to go through the original story could start with those, along with those who are willing to go through the adventure using completely new Pokemon (at that time).
Generation 6 is the outlier in terms of updated versions. It didn't get a "Z" version like we thought we would, instead skipping it entirely.
In these cases, we can see that the updated versions are pretty much better versions of the originals, so there is no big reason to get the originals, except maybe Generation 6. I feel that the only way to make the originals worthwhile is to make the originals cheaper than their upgraded counterparts, especially if the upgraded versions are the same, but better.
Thanks for reading.
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