On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate each gen?

[Diamond & Pearl]

Gen I: RBY
7.5/10. I go easy on this Gen since it's the first one created. I would have given it a 5 if it weren't the very first Gen.

Gen II: GSC
7/10. This Gen introduced many new mechanics. What I liked most was the Day/Night feature. However, Kanto's incompleteness felt off. Instead of adding the Kanto region, I would have expanded and/or refined the interesting Johto region. I really think that the Johto region would have been absolutely breathtaking if it weren't for the addition of Kanto.

Gen III: RS
4.5/10. This Gen didn't feel like an upgrade. Not even the 'improved graphics'. Other weak points:

1. a severe lack of Kanto and Johto Pokémon,
2. the GBA not being compatible with the GBC. I really wanted to transfer my beloved Gengar and Magmar...
3. the deletion of the Day/Night feature. I didn't like the weather concept,
4. as good as no post-game content,
5. the font style makes it look like a fan-made game.

Gen III: Emerald
7.5/10. Two words: Battle Frontier...

Gen IV: DPPt
9.9/10. Where shall I begin with? The Underground? The resurrection of the Day/Night feature? The flawless Sinnoh landscape? Dawn? Cynthia? Cyrus? GTS? The new Pokémon? No Pokémon Gen will beat this one. They better make worthy remakes...

Gen V: BW & BW2
6/10. The Pokémon World's cohesion has been deteriorating from Gen V onwards. Furthermore, this Gen felt very bland to me. Still, there are some Pokémon I adore such as Scolipede, Reuniclus, Darmanitan and Chandelure.

Gen VI: XY
Haven't played it. I give it a 7/10 judging from the walktrough.

Gen VII: (U)S(U)M
Haven't played it. I give it a 5/10 judging from the walktrough.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I've seen this sentiment echoed around a lot, about how some players just couldn't get into it for some reason. I think it's safe to say that Sinnoh's a pretty acquired taste!

I think what it boils down to is aesthetics vs. game design. I can see how Sinnoh would come off as uninteresting to some people, the region just doesn't really "pop" compared to other regions. However, Sinnoh's strength lies in its scale and content, it's the region that's come the closest to that BotW/Odyssey sort of mentality that some fans want the series to adopt, the people that are rating it highly usually do so based on that. As someone who's firmly in the latter, I enjoyed Sinnoh and 4th gen as a whole the most, they really did a great job of making it feel like a big adventure (or at least for its time, the kind of big adventures more modern hardware like the Switch is capable of are MUCH larger than even Sinnoh).

As far as the aesthetics, that can probably be fixed with remakes. With Game Freak spending more time on 3D graphics in recent games, they can probably make the region a LOT more visually appealing. I just hope they don't have to remove content to do it, which has sadly been a pattern throughout the 3DS era.

 

[godiego]

it's the region that's come the closest to that BotW/Odyssey sort of mentality

well that's certainly a new one.....

 

[Bolt Strike]

well that's certainly a new one.....

Comes closest. That doesn't mean it's there. It just means it's closer than any other region.

 

[Dialgafan1]

I'm rating the Generations with their debut games, third versions, sequels, and remakes in mind for each of their reviews.

EDIT: Whew! That took FOREVER to write! Well, I hope you all enjoy my reviews.

Generation I - 8/10

Not really much that I can say bad because it is the first generation of Pokémon and what got me hooked into the series. The only thing I'll say is that there wasn't much to do after defeating the Elite Four and completing your Pokédex.

Generation II - 7/10

I liked a lot of the new features that they added such as the Day/Night cycle, Breeding, Dark and Steel types, and Hold Items. Though I felt that the pacing was bad and that basic Trainers, Gym Leaders, and Elite Four were too low-leveled throughout the entire game in the designated order you fought them in and that most of the time you ended up being like around 10 to 20 levels higher, at least while in Johto. I also found Kanto, while a great addition at the time, was scaled down a little too much.

Generation III - 8/10

One of my favorite generations but I admit that it has some issues. Hoenn did rely very heavily on the use of Hidden Machine navigation for the latter half of the game. The absence of some of the features from Gold and Silver such as the Day/Night cycle was a bit upsetting and lack of Kanto and Johto Pokémon throughout R/S was a little problematic but I felt that they fixed these issues in FireRed/LeafGreen and Emerald. As for post-game, Ruby and Sapphire's was lacking but when I was a kid I ended up with 465 hours in Sapphire. Again, I felt that FireRed/LeafGreen and Emerald more than made up for it with the Sevii Islands quest (FR/LG) and the abilty to rematch Gym Leaders and challenge the Battle Frontier respectively (Emerald). I also felt that the new features that were added such as Abilities and Double Battles made Pokemon much more stragetic and what is the widely known phenomena that we all love today.

Generation IV - 9/10

Also one of my favorite Generations. I felt like they did almost everything right. While many complain about the slowness of Generation IV in Diamond and Pearl, I wasn't really bothered by it. I loved how they brought back features that were missed in Ruby and Sapphire, such as the Day/Night cycle and lack of Kanto and Johto Pokémon. They also did an excellent job expanding on the features that were introduced in Ruby and Sapphire as well. The one gripe that I have with Diamond and Pearl (which I'm sure is shared with many others) was the Sinnoh Dex. Not having some of the families with evolutions that debuted in Generation IV in there was a big letdown. The lack of Fire type Pokémon was also very disappointing. Only having the Chimchar and Ponyta families in Diamond and Pearl. Again, like with Generation III, I felt that the follow-up game that was the wonderful third version in Platinum fixed all of these issues. These problems did not stop me from enjoying Sinnoh in it's debut in Diamond and Pearl. I felt that it was a great region with good balance and a wonderful plot. The Vs. Seeker that was introduced in FireRed and LeafGreen and brought back for Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum was awesome and the ability to rebattle Gym Leaders in Platinum was the icing on the cake. The stuff to do in the post-game in Platinum was amazing. The Battle Frontier and loads more that I can go on and on describing. HeartGold and SoulSilver were also excellent and felt like a big fan service to everyone. The GB Sounds being one of those examples. The games still had the same pacing issue that was in the originals but I felt that this was rectified somewhat during the Kanto half of the game. Post-game was also fantastic.

Generation V - 8/10

Black and White were solid entries in the series. I feel that eliminating all older Pokémon from the main game and regulating them to the post-game was a very interesting approach to take. It would of been done perfectly if everything wasn't leaked beforehand, but I can't fault them in that and that isn't counted against them in this review. Seasons were a very interesting feature, I wish that it would of stayed as a mainstay for the series, it works well with the Day/Night cycle. Another big feature that I also liked was Technical Machines being infinite use. Overall, I felt that the story telling in Black and White was great and the characters were really interesting. I particularly liked N. As for Unova itself, I felt that most of the region was too linear and that there wasn't a lot of side exploration involved. It was just mainly getting from point A to B. As for Black 2 and White 2, I welcome the return of older Pokémon and I feel that Unova was expanded upon greatly with more little nooks and crannies to explore like Castelia Sewers. I liked the story in these games too but it wasn't as good as Pokémon Black and White. As for the post-game in both sets of games in the generation, I felt that it was decent, more so in Black 2 and White 2 than Black and White. After you were done exploring all of Unova in BW, I felt like there was little to do. The absence of the Vs. Seeker for Unova was a bit upsetting and hurt the replayability. Black 2 and White 2 I feel fixed this issue somewhat with Black Tower and White Treehollow. I also loved the Challenge and Easy Modes in B2W2 but sad that it was restricted. PWT was also a great addition in theory but I didn't find myself using it much at all compared to the Frontiers from the previous generations. And the Battle Subway to me almost felt non-existent.

Generation VI - 7/10

The one big problem I have with X and Y was the lack of new Pokémon. 72 didn't feel like enough. I felt like they could of done more around the lines of 90 to 110. But the one thing I'll say is that most of the new Pokémon that were introduced in the games, I really liked (Tyrantrum being my favorite Pokémon of all time now). I felt the games themselves were still good entries with the story and all that. Not my favorite story compared to Generations IV and V. And like Unova, I felt that the Kalos region was too linear, even more linear than Unova to some extent. Some of the Routes such as Routes 1, 9, 13, and 17 having no regular trainers at all was very strange and upsetting. I felt like there could of been a lot of potential for those routes otherwise. I also felt that not having the fully animated trainer sprites like in Black 2 and White 2 for most trainers was a big stepback. I wasn't a fan of the 2D artwork. The biggest feature of this generation and what it was mainly about, Mega Evolution, I felt that in the end it was a great addition. I felt that it gave many Pokémon that needed an evolution such as Mawile and Sableye, more of a use. And others that were outclassed such as Altaria and Aggron, more viability. I just wish that there was more Mega Evolutions. I remember at first being so stunned by the mechanic when they first revealed it and not liking it. I really also liked Pokémon Amie and Super Training. I loved the concept of Amie and the minigames that came with it. I spent a lot of time in there as well as Super Training. As for the replayability, I feel like this is where it begins to take a dive in the series (though my file time of 409 hours in X would make you think otherwise). The post-game wasn't as good. The Looker sidequests were kinda interesting I guess. No Vs. Seeker in Kalos was also a shame like in Unova. You were only able to go to the restaurants in Lumiose City once a day. But the Battle Chateau I feel was what saved it. While it cost a lot of money and took some time to get good leveled Pokémon, getting there was fairly easy with the Amulet Coin and I raised all of my team to Level 100. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were another great fan service though not as good as in HeartGold and SoulSilver. I felt there was too much change in some areas of the Hoenn region such as removing the Abandoned Ship for Sea Mauville as well as the big changes in Mauville City. The scaling down of areas such as the Trick House and New Mauville was also upsetting as well as the removal of female Psychics and Triathletes. The absence of some Emerald elements (others missing I can understand) similar to HeartGold and SoulSilver where they added elements from Crystal, was a huge letdown. One of the major missing features I was very upset about was the Hoenn Battle Frontier. All they left us with was a reference and don't even get me started on Junichi Masuda's comment in response to the absence of the Battle Frontier. As for the post-game, the Delta Episode felt more like a chore than anything else. But I loved Zinnia as a character and her battle theme was great (besides, anyone with a Tyrantrum is a friend of mine). Aside from some nitpickings here and there, if I had to think of ORAS as new games instead of remakes, I would think that they are fantastic games.

Generation VII - 6/10

Another big problem I have with this generation was the lack of new Pokémon. But like X and Y, I felt like most of the new Pokémon that were introduced, I really liked. Regional Variants were very interesting concepts, but I felt like they're could of been way more of them than just 18 and that they shouldn't of been restricted to just Generation I introduced Pokémon. Mega Evolutions, I felt like they should of introduced some more in this Generation. It would been nice to seen some new ones like counterparts for Mega Alakazam and Mega Gyarados in Mega Machamp and Mega Milotic. As for the Alola region, I still felt that it was linear though not as linear as Kalos but still pretty bad. I really loved that trainers had fully animated battle models instead of the 2D artwork for most trainers from Generation VI. The storytelling, I felt that it was better in Sun and Moon than X and Y, and pretty much on par to that of the other generations. Now for the major change to the games of course, the Island Challenge Trials. I felt they were executed okay and were interesting but I would of loved to have battled all of the Trial Captains during their initial Trials, similar to the Gym Leaders. The other big addition, Z-Moves, like Mega Evolutions I felt that they are a welcome addition to the series and give the game a little more strategy, nothing more to really say. Ride Pokémon were a great addition. I felt it replaced the role of Hidden Machines very nicely and it was great to not have to carry around a Pokémon to use the field skills all the time. I would love to see something similar in future generations (excluding remakes). As for Pokémon Refresh, Amie's replacement, I wish that they kept the minigames with it. Super Training I also missed and wish they kept that too. As for the replayability, I feel like this is where the game fails the most. The post-game in Sun and Moon (USUM included) was okay, I felt that it was a little bit better than Generation VI, but it was still somewhat of a chore. The post-game in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was better, I enjoyed the callbacks in Episode Rainbow Rocket. No Vs. Seeker in Alola I felt was a missed oppurtunity once again and it's a shame that the only way to train your Pokémon in Generation VII is Hau'oli City's Battle Buffet and Poké Pelago in Sun and Moon. The Gym in Malie City in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was a real nice addition and callback. But the shame with the battle areas, is that like the restaurants in Generation VI, they can only be battled once a day. I found myself training in Poni Plains most of the time. And now for one of my biggest complaints of Generation VII, no National Pokédex. I found myself extremely upset to learn that the National Dex wasn't a thing for these games. I really enjoyed being able to work on completing the National Pokédex during my playthroughs of Black, X, and Alpha Sapphire and being able to see the Dex entries for all the Pokémon and have a nice, shiny certificate showing that I completed it. It was such a missed oppurtunity. I really hope that the National Pokédex comes back in the Nintendo Switch games for the next generation.

 

[Hellomello]

I think what it boils down to is aesthetics vs. game design. I can see how Sinnoh would come off as uninteresting to some people, the region just doesn't really "pop" compared to other regions. However, Sinnoh's strength lies in its scale and content, it's the region that's come the closest to that BotW/Odyssey sort of mentality that some fans want the series to adopt, the people that are rating it highly usually do so based on that. As someone who's firmly in the latter, I enjoyed Sinnoh and 4th gen as a whole the most, they really did a great job of making it feel like a big adventure (or at least for its time, the kind of big adventures more modern hardware like the Switch is capable of are MUCH larger than even Sinnoh).

As far as the aesthetics, that can probably be fixed with remakes. With Game Freak spending more time on 3D graphics in recent games, they can probably make the region a LOT more visually appealing. I just hope they don't have to remove content to do it, which has sadly been a pattern throughout the 3DS era.

I haven't played BotW/Odyssey so I can't really comment on that, but I certainly agree with you about them having done a great job of making Sinnoh feel like a big adventure (Platinum's actually one of the few games that I can replay over and over without feeling bored, partly due to the convoluted and adventurous feel of the region). I do however think that Sinnoh does have plenty of personality, perhaps not in a "pop" sort of way, but more-so in a foreboding manner. It speaks to me with the overall vibe it gives off, rather than its' aesthetic and atmosphere alone.

I also think that the messy design, convoluted navigation, heavy HM-use, paled-out graphics, and backtracking factors into many people's distaste of the region (even though they're ironically what makes it my favorite )

 

[Hellomello]

@Dialgafan1, I definitely enjoyed your reviews. Very elaborate, and it sure helps that I agree with a lot of what you said! Welcome to the forums

 

[Dialgafan1]

@Dialgafan1, I definitely enjoyed your reviews. Very elaborate, and it sure helps that I agree with a lot of what you said! Welcome to the forums

Thank you for your kind words and welcoming! I look forward to spending time here.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I haven't played BotW/Odyssey so I can't really comment on that, but I certainly agree with you about them having done a great job of making Sinnoh feel like a big adventure (Platinum's actually one of the few games that I can replay over and over without feeling bored, partly due to the convoluted and adventurous feel of the region). I do however think that Sinnoh does have plenty of personality, perhaps not in a "pop" sort of way, but more-so in a foreboding manner. It speaks to me with the overall vibe it gives off, rather than its' aesthetic and atmosphere alone.

In terms of size and content, pretty much everything Game Freak's ever done really pales in comparison to those two games. BotW's map is literally about 50 times as big, it's incomprehensible how big the game is, doubly so if you're used to Pokemon's worlds. Odyssey's no slouch either, what it lacks in terms of sheer map size it makes up for with having tons of things to explore and do. These are games give you the feeling that you can run around and do what you want and play for weeks on end without running out of things to do. Sinnoh may not have as much in terms of size and content, but the philosophy feels similar because of the region's nonlinearity and complexity.

 

[godiego]

Comes closest. That doesn't mean it's there. It just means it's closer than any other region.

it's still light years away from what BOTW/Odyssey though, no matter how hard you wanna make it fit your narrative that it's so close to it lol.

 

[Boss1708]

I don't think Sinnoh is much bigger than Hoenn (if at all) and it is certainly not bigger than the combined Johto - Kanto region.

 

[hedgehogvampire]

Well this is going to be difficult as I do like or love all of the Pokemon games in one way or an other. But here it goes.

- Red/Blue/Yellow 7/10

• These three are certainly are classics and was a great start to the series. Pokemon Red was the first Pokemon game that I ever played. Its a bit basic but its a good start.

- Gold/Silver/Crystal 10/10

• These three are probably some of my favorite Pokemon games. I love the addition of the Dark and Steel type and there was plenty of cool looking new Pokemon too. Also I love how that there were 18 Gyms to fight. The only nitpick I have with this era of games is that when you are in the Kanto area that even though the trainers and gym leaders get tougher the wild Pokemon don't and are at a much lower level. But aside from that its nearly a purfect game.

- Ruby/Sapphire 6/10

• This was a decent series of games. It just didn't grab me the same way as the past ones did, not sure why.

- Fire Red/Leaf Green 7/10

• My feelings for this one is pretty much the same as the original ones.

- Diamond/Pearl 5/10 Platinum 7/10

• The Diamond and Pearl games grabbed my attention even less then the Ruby/Sapphire games. I just didn't think that the Pokemon designs were as good as the other games, I don't know I was just kind of indifference to this one. But for what ever reason I did think that Platinum was much better, maybe I just thought that Giratina's design was better then
  Palkia and Dialga's.

- Soul Silver/Heart Gold 10/10

• Loved the remake just as much as the original, but I do love how your Pokemon can now follow you. I wish they would bring back that feature, it was cool.

- Black and White/Black and White 2 10/10

• Next to the Gold/Silver games the Black/White ones are also my favorites too. I thought it was absolutely awesome how Black/White had a totally new set of Pokemon you can catch, also many of those Pokemon had pretty cool designs too. It was also a pretty cool looking game too. The graphics was great. And for the Black/White 2 games I thought it was cool how you started on the opposite end of the Region this time.

- X and Y 8/10

• It wasn't as good as the Black/White games but still pretty great. I love the addition of Mega Evolution and the super training. I have played this game for like 110 hours or so and I'm pretty sure like 1/3 of that time was spent doing the Super training. Also the addition of the Poke Bank was also great, I use that thing constantly. I did think it was a little weird that the Generation 6 starters didn't have Mega Forms, I mean the Mega Evolutions was introduced in their generation I would have assumed that they would have gotten those abilities too.

- Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire 9/10

• I'm not sure why but unlike the original Ruby/Sapphire games I thought the Omega/Alpha was a much more awesome game. Maybe its the updated graphics, the use of Mega Evolutions, or the fact that you can ride Latias and Latios, but for whatever reasons I completely love this one.

- Sun and Moon/Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon 8/10

• They are a cool group of games not as good as some others but still better then others. The addition of Z-moves was cool, and how they got rid of the HM moves was nice. The Alola forms was also a cool addition too, I hope we will see more different forms of different Pokemon in the future. The Island Challenge was cool, but overall I think I still prefer Gym Leaders. I did think the cutscenes were a little too long at times, its a cool story and all but I don't play Pokemon for the stories. For the Ultra games I'm not that far in Ultra Sun yet but its a little too similar to Sun/Moon.

 

[DoctorWhy]

Ooooh this is gonna be super hard.

Gen I: 4/10

I love Kanto and it holds a lot of great memories and nostalgia for me (mainly from the Indigo League anime - my first exposure to Pokemon), but damn the games have not aged well. And honestly, the amount of technical problems in Gen I, from beginning to end, is mind boggling. I don't mean just glitches. Weird typings, ass movepools (Charizard and Dragonite can't Fly in RGB, so many Pokemon don't learn a single move of their type such as Aerodactyl not learning a single Rock move by any method, Scyther doesn't learn a single Bug or Flying type move, and the list goes on). There were just so many horrible technical problems, especially with trash movesets (literally half the dex and the movepools within are just moves we now consider early game Tackle garbage) and the fact that two types only got a single Pokemon (Ghost and Dragon - neither of which had any meaningful moves of their type since they were not SE against anything in the original games and since 2 of their grand total of 4(?) moves were set damage). But hey, while the games were pretty bad, they were still a phenomena and are responsible for how huge Pokemon became. They introduced fantastic characters. Pokemon is lightning in a bottle, and we have Gen I to thank for succeeding in that regard.

Gen II: 5.5/10

An improvement? Yes. GSC are pretty good games. They slightly improved everything about the original games, introduced two of my favorite types, the Johto region has tons of nice character and culture, the music is phenomenal, and the length of the game is pretty dang solid. But unfortunately, it suffers from many huge technical issues like Gen I. Many movepools are still garbage (Check out Electrode, Heracross, and several others who often don't learn a single move of their type or if they do its either late post-game levels or a crap move). The Pokemon distribution is even worse - much like DP's Sinnoh, except maybe even worse than that. Several great Pokemon, including new Gen II mons like Houndour, Slugma, Murkrow, Larvitar, and Misdreavus are not available until post-game. Evolution stones are also locked until post-game, so good luck using any Pokemon who need a stone to evolve (which, by the way, is a decent chunk of the viable Pokemon available in Johto, especially for Fire and Grass types). And it introduced ITEM+TRADE evolutions, the objectively (you know it is) worst evolution method in the entire series. GSC are an improvement over RGBY for sure, but I'm hesitant to give it any more credit than that. Though Crystal's sprites are amazing - my favorite in the series until Gen V. And it added a few of my favorites like Espeon, Umbreon, Wooper, Scizor, Lanturn, and Skarmory.

I will be including remakes in newer generations (FRLG in III, HGSS in IV, ORAS in VI) but they will be weighted less and talked about less. The above judgments are only counting the original games. (If I were to judge Gen I and II by their remakes, they would become 7/10 and 9/10, respectively).

Gen III: 7.8/10

Here we go. Gen III. Closest to my heart, and home to several of my favorite Pokemon (favorite starter, Mudkip, also a huge huge fan of Ralts, Flygon, Absol, both pseudo-legends, the new Ghosts, and several several others), locations, music, and characters. Gen III fixed so much. Movesets were greatly improved, TM selection and availability was a little more reasonable, the music is phenomenal, the whole list of new Pokemon are fantastic, they gave much needed attention to Ghost and Dragon and other types that had been skimmed over in the last two gens, and I could go on for hours. The lack of a physical/special split, which didn't arrive until Gen IV, is my only major gripe honestly. A lot of people hate all the water routes, but I never really minded them too much. There was a lot of exploration and hidden secrets around Hoenn's ocean - secret base locations, cool items, cool trainers to battle, etc. and Diving was damn cool. Gen III is a welcome improvement, for the most part, over its predecessors, though I will admit it sits at an awkward in-between stage for Pokemon - lot of old and lot of new, it can feel middling in quality at times, but I'm on the upper end for several reasons.

Gen IV: ~8/10 (needs explaining though)

Diamond and Pearl gets a 7 at best, though there's no good excuse for its problems, so maybe even 6. But HGSS gets like 9/10, plus Platinum is a significant improvement over DP, easily enough to give it around 8/10. So I averaged them out.

Okay. So. I really hate Diamond and Pearl on several levels (though the music is awesome). Like Gen II, the Pokemon distribution is really bad. Only a single fire type Pokemon (Rapidash), besides the Fire starter Chimchar, is available in the main game. Then, they have the gall to have a "Fire type" Elite 4 member who, of course, only has 2 Fire types on his team. Several great Pokemon, like the lines who got new evolutions (Electivire, Magmortar) were not available at all until post-game. The original Sinnoh Dex was both smaller and less diverse than Hoenn's from 4 years prior. The crappy selection of Pokemon in DP is my biggest issue, but it's so central (it's Pokemon - the Pokemon available are arguably the most important part) that it pulls the whole game way down. That, and DP just feels super unfinished and unpolished. The story can be awkward and a little soulless at times, lot of disappointing Gym Leader and E4 teams, lot of great mons locked till post. It's just a mess, and I know a lot of people who quit Pokemon after DP so that doesn't help my opinion of it at all.

But oh my God. I love HGSS and Platinum. They fixed so so many of their predecessors' problems (Pokemon selection in Johto is still about as bad as before, though HGSS greatly benefits from fantastic learnset improvements and the physical special split, not to mention an improved story, new battle facilities, new minigames, following Pokemon, and other great additions) and passed with flying colors. Platinum's Pokedex additions do SO much for the game. The addition of about 50 Pokemon into the Sinnoh dex, including so many fantastic Pokemon (including all the new Pokemon in the main game) and thus improving my own team as well as the teams of Gym leaders and the E4 (Flint finally has all Fire types!) makes for a great improvement. In addition, Platinum's story is a great improvement over DP. I know nothing HUGE changed until the climax,, but the little improvements and polishing throughout the game made it an overall much better story and experience).

Also, Gen IV added great new features like the Physical/Special split (THANK GOD) and other nifty improvements too. Also, if I didn't already mention it, Gen IV music is absolutely amazing.

Gen V: 9/10.

My favorite generation overall. Best starting pair of games, best story in the series, best music next to Gen IV, mostly good Pokemon designs, good Pokemon distribution, great (though a little linear and small) region, and I actually don't hate Exp. Scaling. Plus, Gen V introduced the limitless reuse of TMs, a change about as amazing as the physical/special split. The story and characters were pretty great - certainly a step in the right direction. Sprite work is phenomenal, dynamic music is awesome, a whole region initially filled with only new Pokemon was damn impressive (and distributed quite well! especially the amazing new Bug types!). I love Gen V.

Gen VI: 7.5/10

Getting a little worn out, so this will be short. I enjoyed XY and ORAS. For what it's worth, I enjoyed Mega Evolution (though the choices of Megas were sometimes not the best). The music was nice, but that's a usual. New Pokemon were mostly great (not a fan of Diggersby though). Addition of Fairy type was refreshing (though I think it could've been done much better, both mechanically and Pokemon-distribution-wise). Kalos was a nice region, I think? Tbh, besides Lumiose, Kalos was super forgettable. Not much stood out. And the game was much too easy. But it did have great Pokemon distribution - maybe the best in the series actually. And Yveltal is probably my favorite box legend before Necrozma. The transition into 3D was impressive, and decently done I suppose. I loved ORAS, though the only major improvement was graphics and the physical/special split being in Hoenn for the first time. It didn't add nearly as much new content as HGSS did, and hardly as much as FRLG.

Gen VII: 8/10

Overall, fantastic games. Improved on Gen VI in almost every way (except for replacing the PSS with Festival Plaza, having a little less customization quality, and having more lag). I love the starters, I love the new Pokemon overall, the story is pretty good - probably 2nd place in the whole series. Pokemon distribution is good, but not quite as good as XY maybe. The difficulty is definitely better than XY. Not a fan of how USUM was practically a copy-paste of SM, outside of a new minigame and slight climax alteration which was honestly a downgrade in the end. Didn't fix SM's problems. Still slow, still hand-holdy, still laggy, still super linear and railroaded, still too many cutscenes and interruptions. But SM/USUM were still good games with great Pokemon, good characters, decent music, a decent story, and plenty of nice technical QOL improvements (PC functionality improved, menus and prompts improved, Refresh improved over Amie, and several other minor improvements that were nice to have).

 

[JFrombaugh]

Generation I - 7.5/10
As a long-time Pokemon fan who was in 5th grade at the time Pokemon The First Movie was released, I can tell you all that Generation I is where the series truly came into its own, fleshing out its characters, the "original 151" Pokemon, and the entire Pokemon universe. We saw shows of tremendous scale in the first season of the anime as well, both plot-wise (the whole Sabrina/Haunter arc) and emotionally (“Pikachu's Goodbye”). We got a good sense of the world the Pokemon live in; their Trainers, their elemental types, the Indigo League all get their moments to shine, and they’re so good we heartily await some sequel games. We start picking our favorite Pokemon, our favorite games, favorite episodes, and each moment is so great that’s it’s so very hard to choose. And as shocking as it may sound, it only gets better from here.

Generation II - 7/10
If Gen II suffers in any regard, it’s that I underestimated the greatness of Gen I. It’s astounding playing these again on Virtual Console just how perfect those early games were for their time, and how they hold up so damn well. That being the case, Gen II felt like more of the same greatness. The one thing I can say is that we saw more of the strategic elements of the series start to emerge here; from the introduction of the Dark & Steel types to stuff like Pokémon Eggs, the games began to become more deep and complex, drifting a bit from the more lighthearted excuse-plot tone it had in the first Gen. It’s a delicate balance the series would end up servicing: encouraging the pre-teen kids to think and build their own winning team to beat the Elite Four with, but still maintaining a true-to-life tone and emotional core with the audience they are aimed at.

Generation III - 8/10
What a generation. The Pokémon series really did change from humble beginnings. With the GBA & GameCube as the new hardware, we saw the games become a little more involved. Did I say "a little"? I meant a lot. RSE was where the series really drifted from its basic forms as was in Gens I & II, and became more focused on really expanding the universe. Gen III is the most action-packed generation by far so far, with not only RSE & FRLG, but also many spinoffs such as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon & Colosseum which put an entirely new spin on the universe as we see it. And Hoenn is such a beautiful region as well. I remember when I was in high school, I anxiously awaited this trend to continue into Generation IV.

Generation IV - 9.5/10
After a relatively insane Gen III, I feel like things sort of leveled out and got a bit more grounded in Gen IV. There were plenty of new games, sure, but we got a fair share of plot twists that were very down-to-earth stories, in their actual plots and just the way they flowed very leisurely. Even moments that were pretty out there like the Distortion World still focused on the characters and felt very genuine. I guess largely this was a very character driven generation - Dawn's efforts to become a top Pokémon Coordinator in the anime, we delve into Cyrus' dark and troubled past, the Pokemon inhabitants of the Mystery Dungeon and PokePark universes go mad in their own ways due to meddling from a Legendary Pokemon, and a three-part movie series involving the conflicts between Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina. Even without the change of cultures between regions yet, it feels like one generation segues into the next - Generations V-VII are noted as being more emotional, and Sinnoh as a whole felt like a balance between Gen III's universe overhaul and the more level-headed stuff of Unova. Still, I'd have to agree with the majority that, taking the games, anime, and new Pokémon I liked into account, Gen IV has a lock for best generation so far. It's stupendous.

Generation V - 6/10
So there it is. We're out of the Japan-based regions and off to Poke New York, and boy, the developers didn't waste any time doing a number on this series. While I did enjoy BW1 very much, I felt that BW2 felt pretty rushed (even compared to USUM!) & just seemed to rely more on teenage humor and the more Gen II-esque arrogant side of characters rather than be more subtle. I didn't like PokePark 2 or Gates to Infinity as much their predecessors. We saw the emergence of the dreaded Best Wishes series of the anime, which contains so many characters which are almost universally hated, one almost wonders if it was intentional. But through it all, one thing Gen V did have going for it is its emotionally grounded stories which examine our characters, and a lot of Unova gets a pass because it made me relate & sympathize with characters like N & Bianca throughout. Gen V also introduced a fair share of new Pokémon that I really like a lot, from Chandelure to Klinklang to Gigalith. At this point I feel like the developers can set up the basic premises of a new region quite well, but sequels/third versions have a bit more difficulty to them.

Generation VI - 8.5/10
A lot of people it seems didn't like Gen VI, but I felt it was a vast improvement in the modern era compared to Unova. I liked the introduction of Mega Evolutions and the Fairy-type, and although the French setting of Kalos did seem a little out of place, I still enjoyed the cast as it were, and Team Flare is one of the better-written villain teams in my mind. Gen VI also had what is probably one of the best seasons of the anime to date, with Serena and Clemont being among my favorite characters on the show to date, and Ash-Greninja being very memorable as well. Add in ORAS which expanded on just about everything that made those games great initially, and I'd say this is a much better Generation overall than many people I feel give it credit for.

Generation VII - 8/10
I have to say, I didn't really have too high hopes for this Generation at first. I felt like the developers were taking a huge risk by scrapping traditional Gyms in favor of a newly designed Trial system, and this was more or less my initial reaction upon learning that the Sun & Moon anime would actually be about Ash going to school:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Us9Pp_na3Q/T750HAScVkI/AAAAAAAABO4/t8-egObGIQY/s1600/guy-opening-door.gif

Still, I have to say that so far I lean much more towards liking Alola than not (and have even been to Hawaii myself, so I can tell they really did their homework in creating the Alola region) - although I stand by what I've been saying from Day 1, which is that remakes of DP would've been much better as a final 3DS title. However, I do feel like USUM is a pretty decent improvement from the originals, yet not similar enough to feel like an incredibly obvious cash grab like I was afraid.

I also feel like this generation as a whole manages to find new successful ways of having its cake and eating it too. And surprisingly this goes for the new anime series as well - a lot of the episodes so far feel very grounded and realistic in spending time with our characters dealing with life at school and with each other. And in the games, when Lusamine merges with Nihilego or Necrozma threatens to destroy the world, moments are played very straight, but peppered with jokes that don’t distract, but sweeten the moment.

 

[Hellomello]

@godiego; @Meta Boss, I don't think Bolt the Cat was saying that Sinnoh is bigger than the other regions, nor were they saying it literally matches the amount of content BotW/Odyssey has; they just feel that the general idea behind Sinnoh's design is to exploit the exploration aspect of the games, making it very reminiscent of the emphasis those games put on exploration. Is what I'm assuming here on point, @Bolt the Cat?

 

[godiego]

@godiego; I don't think Bolt the Cat was saying that Sinnoh is bigger than the other regions, nor were they saying it literally matches the amount of content BotW/Odyssey has; they just feel that the general idea behind Sinnoh's design is to exploit the exploration aspect of the games, making it very reminiscent of the emphasis those games put on exploration. Is what I'm assuming here on point?

i'm aware. however as i had said, even if it were the closest to BOTW/Odyssey, it's still incredibly far from those games anyways making the comparison/distinction pretty much pointless.

 

[~ Blazing White Yang]

1st Generation: 5

Spoiler

It may have laid down the raw foundation for the series as we know it, but...Imbalances, glitches, and sometimes obtuse game mechanics make it an incredibly rough experience overall.

2nd Generation: 7

Spoiler

Great job at addressing problems that the original games had, and becoming generally more stable, balanced, etc. Johto as a Region is a pretty well defined setting too, with a-lot more in the way of local history and lore than Kanto. Speaking of...That's where the negative lies. Unlike a-lot of people, the return visit to Kanto was probably the lowest point in the game to me. Too much of it was stripped down, and it has this sort of somber, empty feeling about it at times that's just kind of unpleasant...

3rd Generation: 8

Spoiler

I liked the added depth and complexity that came with things like Natures, Abilities, Double Battles, or the updated Berry mechanics. With this overhaul, the core game started to develop a more refined structure that we recognize today. As for the world, Hoenn as a Region came with more rich natural environments, and exotic, unfamiliar Pokemon than Johto. And side-quests like Secret Bases, Contests or the Battle Frontier were great ways to keep the game alive beyond the story. This is definitely one of my favorite Generations.

The main negative would have to be the Pokemon availability. Now, I like Colosseum, XD, and FRLG...But needing to have access to them + RSE and that special Link Cable for the full roster of Pokemon complicated game completion beyond necessity back then.

4th Generation: 9

Spoiler

Multiplayer exploded with the introduction of Wi-Fi, and the Battle system was just about perfected with the Physical/Special split (and that little tweak to the turn order of Double Battles...). What's more, all of the new items, moves, and Evolutions to otherwise obscure Pokemon made for what might be my favorite competitive battling scene.

Sinnoh as a Region is pretty fun to explore, with its incredible mythology and lots of little nooks and crannies off the beaten path. It's content is pretty solid, albeit largely in relation to Platinum. It's about as fun to me as Generation 3 was, if not better. With some new iterations of the Contests, Secret Bases and even Battle Frontier. I'm also big fan of the Underground, for all that hammer & pickax treasure hunting. More engaging than other methods of finding loot to me. And it's just another nice layer of stuff to do in an already big game. Sinnoh does have a few really clumsy design choices when it comes to the map and overworld, though...Fog. Snow that slows your movement to a crawl, while flurries obscure your vision. That mud that sticks you in place around Pastoria...But thankfully, this isn't all over the place...

HGSS was a much bigger highlight for me. My favorite of the remakes, and the definitive edition of GSC. The Pokegear was fine tuned, with its now limitless call list, an updated marking map, and the radio influencing your range of encounters with different music. The UI and 2nd screen utility was great, from Key Item Toggles to the Auto-Run button, or PC and Box management. The fan favorite Walking Pokemon is incredibly charming, and brings the journey to life in a way with how your team can respond to different situations or surroundings. Parts of Kanto that were missing or cut down were, for the most part, refurbished in some way. The Safari Zone was back, and had that customization tool that let you play around with the environments and obtainable species. There were returning dungeons and Gyms with altered layouts or new puzzles. The Legendary Birds came back, even though they were already available in Platinum. And other, smaller things, like the Pewter Museum of Science and Industry, or the Bike Shop, or that Pokemon Center next to Mt. Moon...Collectively, and on top of everything else, go a long way. It all makes the return to visit so much more complete.

I haven't even talked about everything, lol. Gym Leaders being added to your call list, the Pokeathlon and it's various achievements, having the Battle Tower and the rest of Sinnoh's Frontier, the Pokewalker...And even an 8-Bit Sound Convertor. Because. Why the hell not? "We got greedy with the features" they said xD This was Game Freak at its most fun.

5th Generation: 8

Spoiler

BW1 stands out largely for its memorable writing and world building. Easily my favorite cast and plot. Gameplay-wise, it didn't do a whole lot for me. Too much of what was sold alongside it was online/multiplayer centric stuff, like the XTransceiver, Entralink, Passerby Analysis or Dream World. And I did like that they fleshed out that side of the experience...But there wasn't enough offline value, which made Generations 3 and 4 fun to revisit whether you were with friends or not.

BW2 is more my speed, and a breath of fresh air. Sequels instead of 'Grey', and with a plethora of changes to make the second trip worth making. We got to see the aftermath of our first adventure in a timeskip, whole new cities, towns, dungeons and routes that added to the map, huge Dex expansion to an already solid roster, and the level of content is nearly unmatched. This was more like it.

6th Generation: 8

Spoiler

X&Y came with some great gameplay innovations and updates that pushed the series forward in meaningful ways. The Player Search System for online and multiplayer communications. Super Training as a way of making EVs more readily accessible and transparent. Pokemon being brought to life like never before with some outstanding character models. Character customization, to personalize your experience more. The Bank as a lifelong service for dedicated players with lots of Pokemon across multiple games. And then there's O-Powers, better breeding, Fairies, Megas, and so on and so forth. I could probably ramble about each of them for a good minute. I really do love what they introduced here.

The story and characters were pretty underwritten, coming off of Generation 5. All the more considering the weighty topics that it tries to bring to the table. War, overpopulation, genocide...I think they bit off more than they could chew. The ultimate message of the story is nice, but a bit heavy-handed.

The Region I love, for that elegant, Euro-inspired architecture, geography and landmarks. Kalos has some beautiful setpieces. Even with the graphics being weaker and less complete than SM, I still like how certain parts of the world look. The activities in Kalos are...Kind of underrated...? But not for no reason. There's stuff here, but it doesn't compare to the length and depth of what we had before. Battle Chateau, NPCs are typically weak or really low on party members. Even the Gym Leaders and Elite 4...Challenge Writs don't actually make anyone's team better [strategically], just higher level. Restaurants are good for experience and money, but not challenging yourself. The mini-games for Amie and Super Training are good, but not lasting. I love having Rotation and Triple Battles at the Maison, but in the end it's another Battle Tower. It's all at least serviceable, but left me wanting more.

ORAS, I'm not a fan of. At least, not as a return visit to Hoenn. The increased emphasis on story and character interaction turns the main game's progression into a slog for me to play. Missing details from Emerald strikes a killing blow to my interest thereafter. Although I did really like the DexNav, and how they updated Secret Bases.

7th Generation: 7

Spoiler

Not a fan...

Just like ORAS, the story can be intrusive with how often it interrupts you. The opening act is especially sluggish, taking a-lot longer to get you into gameplay as it merely introduces you to the world in a really mundane way...Rotom Dex only makes the adventure all the more patronizing, with tons of advice that you didn't need or ask for...A waste of the 2nd screen. Worse, it's non-optional. Unlike the various apps of the PokeNav+ or even the Poketch, you can't switch it off for something more practical like the DexNav or Player Search System. Those features and more have instead been either replaced or removed entirely. Leaving SM a-lot less fun, and less functional too.

Ultra, as a follow-up game, doesn't live up to the gold standard set by BW2. It's changes were pretty minimal despite all of the pretty advertisements and PR suggesting something otherwise.

A pretty lackluster Anniversary, and ending to the 3DS era.

On a more positive note...The 3D graphics are definitely a cut above Generation 6. Same goes for how the plot and characters are written. Alola has some of Pokemon's best world building, for sure. I loved the improved level of challenge that came with Totem Bosses, too. It's got a more realized and memorable world, at least.

 

[Esserise]

@Esserise, can you elaborate on why you thought DPP was bland? I hear this get brought up a lot, but I don't know why that is. Is it because of the region?

Hmm. Well, it's somewhat hard to put into words because it's very much a "feel" thing to me. Something about Sinnoh just feels somehow flavorless to me. I think part of it is what Stratelier mentioned - it's not that I expect every region to be a "theme park of ecosystems" per se, but there's really not much more to Sinnoh than rocks and grass, and then a snow-drenched north (in fairness, I do love the snow). The Battle Resort is a little more exotic (but only in Platinum), with its palm trees and basalt and desert sand, but that's all on an isolated island that you don't get to access until the post-game. I suppose there are some swamps in the south, but then on the other hand, there are three identical, unremarkable lakes triangulating the region. I can let Kanto slide for being bland because it came first; being basic and quintessential is kind of its whole thing (and even with that, I still would love to see a reimagined Kanto in sequels).

Feeding into this problem for Sinnoh is the lack of a coherent theme. I think most people would readily identify Sinnoh's "theme" as mythology, but how is this reflected within the region itself?

Spoiler: Size

Although Kanto doesn't directly capitalize on it through storytelling, it still presents an atmosphere in which there is a clash between 1960s-era pre-urbanization Tokyo and advanced technology like Poké Balls, the Pokédex, fossil restoration, cloning, gene-splicing, and cyberspace (Porygon and the PC).

Johto, meanwhile, looks backward, with its unique pagodas and ruins, and introduces Pokémon that aren't just Legendary in the sense of being rare, but in the sense of having historical significance. It is a more rural region than Kanto - the most advanced thing in Johto is the Radio Tower, and that's while you still have things like forest shrines and dragon shrines and 500-year-old pharmacies and family traditions of making charcoal or crafting Poké Balls from plants, none of which is really seen over in the more progressive Kanto region. Additionally, there's something of a thematic focus on the relationship between people and Pokémon, and more specifically, trying to find harmony between the two (although granted, this is more apparent in Crystal than in Gold & Silver), as we see with Silver's arc and the Suicune plot, and as alluded to by the Ruins of Alph messages.

Hoenn, Unova, Kalos, Alola... they all wear their respective themes on their sleeves. Hoenn is all about the abundance and balance of nature, and what do you have? Diverse environments, towns that adapt to their surroundings (Lavaridge, Fortree, Pacifidlog), little nooks out there in the wild where you can set up a Secret Base, berries growing all over the place which can be used for Contests, Legendary Pokémon that control the weather, and villains who want to shape the environment to benefit certain species. The ability to explore underwater as well as on land. Unova? It's all about duality and, like Johto, the relationship between people and Pokémon (but this time in a more societal, rather than personal, sense). Obviously you have the version-exclusive locations which demonstrate a contrast between nature and technology. Traditionalism and progressivism. The main Legendary Pokémon reflect this in an obvious way, and the duality is worked into the gameplay through things like the Entralink and the Key system, where you specifically need the opposite version in order to access things. The societal balance between humans and Pokémon is interrogated by Team Plasma as the main plot of the games, but it can be observed elsewhere. Both Musicals and Pokéstar Studios are products of the collision between the two worlds; people and Pokémon working together in order to create art. The "minor" Legendary trios of Unova represent the damage that humans can do to the Pokémon world, and the damage that Pokémon can do to the human world. I could go into all of this in more depth, and do the same for Kalos and Alola, but this is getting quite long already.

My point is, you look at the other regions, and they all try to manifest their respective themes in multiple, tangible ways throughout the game. But how does Sinnoh do this with mythology? Well, it tries to... there's a library which was a novel idea for the series at that time. The Champion studies mythology. There's the Solaceon Ruins, but those are just a generic brand version of the Ruins of Alph scrawled with rote aphorisms, and the town next to them has little to say about them either. They are painfully just a way to make the Unown catchable. You get a statue or a shrine here or there... a decaying old mansion... but these have all been seen before, and what does Sinnoh do with them that is new or innovative? Okay, I suppose sticking ghosts in the mansion hasn't been done before in the series exactly, but that doesn't clearly link to the mythology theme either.

Regarding the Legendaries, Shaymin is handled decently, but Darkrai and Cresselia live on nondescript islands and don't appear in any major myths, and Heatran is the least-mythological Legendary that ever mythologied. Manaphy isn't even from Sinnoh. Regigigas is alright, but it's riding on the back of Ruby & Sapphire, and actually tells us less about the Regis than the Gen 3 games did. And even though Spiritomb isn't a Legendary, it does have a myth surrounding it... in the Pokédex, and there's no reason given at all for the convoluted way in which we have to obtain it. The theme of mythology sure ain't reflected through the features, either, because the major activity features are either copied from Ruby & Sapphire or revolve around digging up rocks. What about some of the other new stuff? Poké Radar? Nope. Global Terminal? Nope. Poffins? No. Amity Square, despite being an ancient ruin? Uh-uh.

The place where Sinnoh's mythology theme most visibly comes into play is in the main plot, which would be fine... if it weren't just a scaled-up Ruby & Sapphire plot that fails to make use of the handful of actually interesting story avenues available to it, like how Cyrus is cold and logical and stoic but by necessity is also a man of faith who believes in these myths wholeheartedly unlike the rest of the region, who merely seem respectful of them if they even mention them at all. Or how people in the ancient past used to perceive Pokémon and how that was different from or comparable to now. These are ways in which they could explore the mythology theme in a unique way to give us some insight as to why Sinnoh is the land of mythology. But instead, Cyrus is a boring doomsday villain with a couple of telegraphed NPC lines explaining that he had bad parents, and also has a sad but ultimately irrelevant event-only backstory with Rotom. Meanwhile, all we learn about Pokémon in the ancient world is that they used to live separate from humans, and from one cursory observation from Cynthia we can glean that maybe people worshiped Dialga and Palkia because of their powerful signature moves (and even that detail is only in Platinum which, not to go on another tangent, is the game that you'd intuitively expect to go deeper into the myth of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina... except what happens is, the Dialga/Palkia stuff is exactly the same as it was with virtually no expansion, and Giratina is crammed into their duo while the game actively handwaves away having to come up with any actual mythology about it by having Cynthia rush in and say, "I read the myths, and found out that a third one exists!").

You know... it's not that there's not plenty to work with in the Sinnoh games along the lines of a mythology theme. It's just that the way in which this was executed feels so uncooked, even compared to what Crystal did with Suicune five years earlier. And it's this lack of any animating execution behind the region's theme, in addition to the smattering of disparate features and the dull, repetitive landscapes, that makes Sinnoh feel so lifeless to me. It feels like a place without much to see and without much to say.


EDIT: “Somewhat hard to put into words” *writes thesis paper on subject*

 

[Camille]

I've never played any of the Generation I, VI, or VII games, so I won't rate them yet.
Generation II: 5/10
This is probably my least favourite generation. While it did introduce a ton of gameplay changes, such as breeding, hold items, two new types, friendship, and more, it has a number of glaring flaws that make replaying its games not enjoyable to me. The leveling curve was simply atrocious, the storyline was paper-thin, the Apricorn Pokeballs tended to not work properly due to glitches, Kanto was an empty shell without the majority of its landmarks, the Generation II Pokemon barely got any focus (seriously, why did Falkner, Bugsy, Morty and Chuck use only Kanto Pokemon?), and the evolutionary stones in G/S weren't even available before reaching Kanto. I liked a number of Generation II Pokemon and the rival's character development, though, but otherwise, the generation was really underwhelming.
Generation III: 8.5/10
FireRed was my first Pokemon game, and it got me into the franchise. I didn't like Kanto as a region much (out of its areas, I only liked Seafoam Islands, Route 23, and Cerulean Cave), however, the Sevii Islands made up for its blandness with their unique locations like Mt. Ember, Icefall Cave, Lost Cave, and Sevault Canyon. The Hoenn region, on the other hand, was amazing, and it also introduced the largest number of Pokemon I really like the designs of, especially the legendaries. The story finally started to change for the better, even though it was a bit silly. It also introduced Abilities, Natures, the better Berry mechanics, Double Battles, and, in Emerald, Battle Frontier - what's not to love here?
Generation IV: 8.5/10
Yet another great generation. The Physical/Special split makes replaying the older games a lot less enjoyable, and I love the majority of cross-generation evolutions that breathed new life into old Pokemon. The storyline improved again, and I loved the backstory of the region and Sinnoh itself. I didn't like the Super Contests much, though, but Pokeathlon in the Johto remakes was a good minigame. Too bad they didn't fix the pacing in HG/SS, and I didn't enjoy Voltorb Flip, but they had to get rid of the slot machines, so I guess they had no choice here. The walking Pokemon feature was really cute, if overrated.
Generation V: 7.5/10
Black/White disappointed me greatly. The region's design was too linear, they removed things like Trainer rematches and Berry planting, the Gym Leaders and Elite Four had very underwhelming teams and movesets, and the new experience mechanic wasn't implemented well at all. Black City/White Forest relying heavily on multiplayer irked me,too. The storyline and most new Pokemon were good, but they couldn't make up for the games' flaws.
The idea of sequels and not a special edition was admittedly great, and I actually liked the region this time, but the storyline regressed again and the difficulty modes were implemented poorly, also you couldn't even breed Pokemon beore beating the game. I really liked Join Avenue and the PWT, though.

 

[Karamazov]

I wasn't gonna post because everybody knows how I feel about certain gens - I just won't stop pushing my unsolicited opinions on Kalos everywhere. But it's been a lot of fun reading peoples' opinions and seeing the discussions, so I'd like to join in.

Gen I: 6.5/10

Spoiler

It was a solid 7 at the time, but it aged poorly and the flaws are way more visible now. Red and Blue are especially unsalvageable for me. That said, while I would never replay these games (FRLG is the same thing, but better), they were extremely fun at the time. Replaying the remakes, I still see a lot of value in the Kanto experience. It was simple, but it was fun and had a lot of interesting ideas. It was a good start to the franchise.

FRLG was, and still is, a 7/10 for me. If I still had a GBA or a regular DS, I'd still be playing it. The Sevii Islands were simple, but they added a lot of fun to the game. I hated not being able to have Gen II+ Pokemon in my party for the main game, but I can understand Game Freak trying to preserve the feeling of the old games, and I'm glad they decided not to repeat this.

Gen II: 7/10

Spoiler

The lack of newer Pokemon representation didn't bother me that much. The franchise was still trying to learn how to balance old Pokemon with the new, and even then, many Johto Pokemon still to shine. The franchise was still finding its feet, but they managed to stand tall in the end.

Not much to say about these games. Aside from the shitty level curve in the late-game, these games were just plain better than Gen I. Just a big step above, with a more interesting region, more interesting Gym Leaders, great Pokemon, a fun and meaty post-game, and new content that made the gaming experience much more fun.

HGSS was an 8/10 - a great remake that captured the fun of the original Gen, while modernizing it, making it feel fresh, and adding more to content to enhance the experience. It'd be a 10/10 if they fixed the level curve and game the Gym Leaders better Pokemon. This should be the standard for all Pokemon remakes.

Gen III: 7.5/10

Spoiler

Hoenn's a great region. You have crazy, creative locations (a city floating in the ocean, a city in the trees) and a lot of diversity in the landscapes. It's such a fun region to explore.

I'm not going to lie, Ruby and Sapphire were a divisive experience for me. I loved the new Pokemon and the new region, but the games seemed to lack the fun of Gen II. It felt bare (which is weird, because there were tons of new features.) The lack of day and night took away a lot of immersion, the Pokedex could have used some more interesting Pokemon, Double Battles were a novel gimmick that didn't really add much, the villainous teams were dull, and it felt like this game was trying to distance itself from the classic version of Pokemon. I don't know. RS was a 6.5/10 for me.

Emerald changed all that. Facing off against two teams made for a wild and interesting story, especially when you factored in the new areas and expansions to plot. Double Battles were more common, the game had better difficulty, improvements to Gym Leader teams made the battles much more vibrant and fun, and the Battle Frontier added fun new ways of playing the game. I don't like the Battle Frontier much, myself, but it was fun to try out. 8/10, great game.

Contests were a great addition to the franchise, but could have been done better. The limit on Pokeblocks a Pokemon could eat made me hesitant to feed my Pokemon, because I didn't want to risk "ruining" them. The fact that you're just performing moves 4 times in a row made Contests a little tedious, especially towards the end. ORAS improved the sheen problem, but it made Contests too easy. Plus I can't get Ribbons for every Contest rank now? Bullshit. Covering my Pokemon in Ribbons was the best part of participating in Contests.

The remakes were able to bring the Hoenn region to life with great graphics and bright colors. Teams Magma and Aqua were fleshed out greatly, turning extremely dull characters into some of my favorites. Lore is one of the best things about the Pokemon world, and Mega Evolution added to Hoenn's history and myth, making the region all the more interesting. Secret Bases, while still shallow in the decoration department, were made so much more interesting with the new additions. Delta Episode was poorly-written, but I loved Zinnia, and getting to face Rayquaza and Deoxys felt epic.

But the games suffer from being remakes of RS and not Emerald; the plot feels bare when only facing the one team, Double Battles aren't as common, and it lacks the Battle Frontier. Coupled with Contests being easier, the lack of a Battle Frontier, the lack of trainer customization, and no worthwhile postgame, this game feels like it failed to live up to modern standards. It was better than RS, but I prefer Emerald overall. 7/10

Gen IV: 7.5/10

Spoiler

Sinnoh's interesting for its lore and myths. I loved how the legends were incorporated into the story, and how they seemed to impact the region's culture and image. Sinnoh itself was the most generic region (swamps and Snowpoint aside), and they could have done more to make the region's ties to myths more apparent. But I loved sitting in Canalave City's library and reading books, or exploring those ruins, or finding hidden locations like Fuego Ironworks. It was a fun place to explore and experience, though I'll admit that other regions could boast the same, if not more. Fuck Mt. Coronet, though. Just fuck it in every iteration.

Super Contests were a great improvement to regular Contests, I don't care if no one else agrees with me. Dressing up your Pokemon and playing a rhythm minigame made the experience much more interactive and fun.

I'm going to be honest and say Diamond and Pearl were a rough ride. Abysmal regional Dex, extremely slow gameplay, lame protagonist designs. The games just felt so clunky. But Platinum turned the worst experience to one of the best: it gave us a much better Dex and a perfect difficulty level. Team Galactic was fleshed out some, it gave me a ton of fun stuff to do, it had a better Battle Frontier than Emerald, and we got the iconic and awesome Distortion World. The region was still generic, but the gaming experience was so much fun.

Plot-wise, meh. It felt like a more cohesive version of RSE's plot, and that made Team Galactic feel more competent and threatening. Coupled with the gameplay's improved difficulty, they felt more like a threat to the world. The plot was very paint-by-numbers, but as I said, bringing in the pixies and Giratina made the adventure awesome.

Gen V: 9/10

Spoiler

My favorite region, the fantastic Pokemon, a big variety among the new Pokemon, the history, the myths, the amazing characters with top-tier character designs, Marlon, the engaging plots, the soundtrack, the Entralink. The generation felt mature and dark, but still retained the feeling of adventure and excitement previous games had. Just Gen V. It's just the best. I love it. There are way too many good things to talk about in a single post.

Linearity is a common complaint about Gen V, but I don't mind it. Mitchman once described Unova as having chunky linearity: you're railroaded into following a plot, but a lot of stuff opens up for you to explore, even when you don't have to. And since this region has so many fun locations and great Pokemon, the exploration is always worth it.

BW1 had a great story with great characters. But if I'm being honest, it was barebones: once you beat Alder, finished exploring the other half of the region and helped Looker, there wasn't much to do. Musicals were cute, but they were just so barebones and barely required any interaction. At least you had a shitton of new Pokemon to train and use, so that kept things interesting.

BW2 wasn't as strong, plot-wise, but it was a fantastic extension to BW1's story: I saw the characters I loved grow and change, and the new characters were excellent additions to the cast. Kyurem was made much more interesting, you got to explore more of the region (including many new, interesting towns, cities and landmarks), and the expanded Dex added a lot of variety and fun to the game, without overshadowing the new Pokemon. PokStar Studios is my absolute favorite sidequest, and it's so thought-out and immersive. The difficulty settings were poorly implemented, but the hardest difficulty made the gameplay absolutely fantastic.

Also, Hilbert and Hilda are the best protagonists. Nate and Rosa are fugly though, just saying.

Whatever one pair of games lacks, the other makes up for. Altogether, Gen V make up nearly everything I love about Pokemon. If BW2 had Megas and Fairies, I would never, ever play a Pokemon game beyond Gen V. Though after ORAS, I live in daily fear of Gen V remakes, because I'm sure Game Freak would fail to capture Gen V's best traits. There's no way they won't just copy BW, change a few things for the worse, throw in a few BW2 references, and call it a day.

Gen VI: 6/10

Spoiler

And then there's Maude. I already made a blog series about how much I dislike Gen VI. But I will say that XY was a low point in the series: great from a mechanical standpoint, and with some fantastic Pokemon, but a horrible drag everywhere else. We got great additions to the series (Megas, Fairies, customization), but so many things were just poorly executed and didn't do them justice.

I tried to replay these games a few times, and I can't do it. They're way too easy. I hate most of the characters. There's absolutely nothing to do, there's very little to explore, and there's almost no post-game. The games only exist for the post-game, where you can breed Pokemon, shiny hunt, and prepare for the metagame. I feel like it started the recent trend of Pokemon games being very barebones and unfulfilling.

And the Kanto pandering, dear God. Like, I didn't have a problem with Kanto references until XY overdid it. So these games retroactively ruined other games for me.

This one image right here. Somehow, it's able to summarize nearly everything wrong with Gen VI.

Gen VII: 7/10

Spoiler

The mixed bag generation. The generation of good ideas, but poor implementation. The generation with the most hype around it, and the second-most disappointment. (XY being the most disappointing.) The generation of good memes, but too much forced humor and wackiness. The generation of honoring the past, but doing a bad job of it. The generation of deceptive advertising, and the games that taught you to not expect much from Game Freak going forward. I already complained a lot about Alola in the Current Events sections over the last two years, so I'll keep things short.

Trials were just easier, lazier Gyms in SM - clearly a rush job, very same-y, and dull. But USUM fixed them up and made them a lot more interesting. While I still prefer Gyms to Trials, Trials were a great addition to the series.

We had very immersive region, to boot. It's just too bad that so much of the region can't be explored, and there's not a lot to do in Alola. This game should have let you explore and discover a lot more - Alola is perfect for that. But :/ It just :/ And then we got to Ultra Space and saw a few worlds, which were cool. But then there's Ultra Megalopolis, which is :/ At least we got Ultra Warp Ride and Mantine Surf. They're fun diversions, though they could have been fleshed out more.

The SM story was great, with great characters, but it was bogged down by cutscenes and focusing too much on Lillie. But then USUM comes along and not only goes back to the third version formula, but it actually makes the story worse. And they split the third version into two games this time, even though there's no reason to do so aside from the Solgaleo/Lunala-esque Necrozma forms. Which are barely in the game, don't add anything, and are completely upstaged by Odd-Eyes Necrozma Dragon. They were probably made to justify splitting USUM into two versions, thus allowing them to inflate sales.

This is painting a bad image of Gen VII, but I do like the gen. I love the difficulty of Gen VII. I love how the games put a lot of effort into making the game immersive and unique. I love how they tried (keyword: tried) to make Z-Crystals live up to the hype of Megas. Alolan variations, despite being blatant Kanto pandering, were some of the best parts of this generation - though that isn't saying much, since most Gen VII Pokemon were ugly, insanely slow and useless, or a combination of both.

USUM improved SM's shoddy difficulty, added a lot more content, had a great Regional Dex, and expanded on the multiverse stuff that desperately needed to be explored. The story sucked, but at least the story wasn't just about us being Lillie's babysitter. We got those optional side missions; small things that give us something to do for a while, while also making the region feel more alive. USUM was still lacking in content in the end, but it offered much more than the last few games. It was really good.

I'd summarize SM as good, but not great. USUM is really good, but not great. It brought a lot of good things to the table, and I hope the next Gens build on the foundation Gen VII has left us, while adding more to the mix.