Pokemon games, Was it better during the first few generations of pokemon?

[Peteron]

Honestly, everyone complaining about the new Pokemon is getting a little old. I think the first and third generations were the best, but honestly its not easy creating original designs, plus its gen 4 that is the terrible one. Unova had many great designs, just leave out the ice cream and the leaking garbage bag....

 

[Zakarath]

Spoiler: Dragonite

What so bad about dragonite? it's a freakin' dragon. Adorable and friendly as well.
I understand the rest you've listed.

I like dragonite to, but really, let's look at it's past two evolutions;

Spoiler: Dratini

Spoiler: Dragonair

Does it look anything like them at all? No, it doesn't. They completley changed the design of the Pokemon in the third form for no reason, which isn't indicative of good design. My point was that the old designs had a lot of flaws just live the new one, inconsistency between forms being one of them.

i see you point. kinda didn't look at from that stand point
in a way i don't want evolve Dragonair when i have one. but in the end it has better stats if i allow it(also it becomes a flying gain a new weakness). your point add one more reason why not to evolve one

What's weird is that they change from an Eastern Dragon into a European one...

 

[Freshman]

Its the random shapes that are fucking you up. Any pokemon in the first and some from the second only had random lines and shit all over them if it actually looked good. Like caterpie, the little pattern thing on its back works. but this pig thing up here, bunch of random stripes and little bits of different colors like above the nose. Not to mention that its basically just nailing a few old pokemon together in different colors. Or like that sky blue baby elephant thing. got all these random ass red bits for no reason.

Also, Pig dude looks alot like a chikorita with the tail and nose off the pig thing from 3rd gen (spoink?) and some ears on its head instead of a leaf.

 

[hippobu]

Pokemon games, was it better in the first few generations? NO
Pokemons, were they better in the first two generation? YES

 

[Swifteye]

The problem isn't that they've gotten worse it's more like that haven't really changed. Like the rest of Nintendo games it's sort of just in stasis being remade over and over again for no reason other than just people wanting more of it and Nintendo wanting more money. The game updates some side stuff. Changes around the mini games and to top it all off remake everything to be exactly the same but different and better looking(apparently in the Pokemon universe earth is nothing more than a collection of different shaped Japanese like islands). OH! and more Pokemon! Don't forget more Pokemon we need a 150 more every game release and never alter the plot for the focus to be something other than catch all of them and then tell people you gotta go to X at Z time in order to get that last Pokemon they will never get without cheating.

 

[ultrachicken]

It's just Pokemon getting old and Nintendo running out of ideas, the newer pokemon are just way too bizarre.
Take that piggy of a pokemon for example, that suppose to be a fire type? Sure it has the color going for it... kinda... but that's about it.
A cog, Klink, that evolve into three then four.

Spoiler: Klink

A "cell" pokemon, Solosis, which I think is completely absurd.

Spoiler: Solosis

Vanillite... an icecream cone...

Spoiler: Vanillite

And Cofagrigus from Egyptian coffins.

Spoiler: Cofagrigus

Need I say more?
Don't get me wrong I really like pokemon (Generation 1-4)... just not the lastest Generation

When I get Black or White, I most likely going to end up most of my possible time in the dream world dragging earlier generation pokemon into my game to put onto my team.

I don't see people complaining about magnemite, ditto, mewtwo, tangela, voltorb, and geodude's weird designs. Each generation has had its share of outlandish pokémon, and this one is no different.

Though I'm wondering why trubbish didn't make your list.

 

[mrdude2010]

not nostalgia, the older pokemon were more clever and the intimidating pokemon were more intimidating... also it was a relatively new idea at the time so it seemed more fresh

 

[Freshman]

And I think that anyone who'd argue the new pokemon are well designed and are good are oblivious that 90% of them are copies of other pokemon from previous generations. Which is NOT a good thing, it just means the game has become a spinoff of itself and that's just not a good thing in my head.

I really do disagree with this. Completely and utterly.

Sure, there's an obvious similarity between Zubat and Woobat. (The name is even a pun on the old one.) But the thing that Pokémon has always done right when introducing new creatures is provide them with a brand new, unique backstory and physique.

and then a snip

And I really do disagree with this. Backstory in pokemon though is limited to what it tells me in the dex. (I shouldn't have to watch TV to backstory my video game) I could re-write dex entries to come up with some totally ridiculous reason as to why this new one looks slighty different, all you need is one, maybe two sentences that will sound cool to a little kid. For instance "Blue Pikachu" is blue because it needs more melanin in its skin to protect it from UV rays. Usually discriminated against by other pikachu's, these have their own water fountains, and must sit on the back of the pokebus.

 

[Buizel91]

And I think that anyone who'd argue the new pokemon are well designed and are good are oblivious that 90% of them are copies of other pokemon from previous generations. Which is NOT a good thing, it just means the game has become a spinoff of itself and that's just not a good thing in my head.

Yeah. God forbid anybody, oh I don't know, just plain likes the designs more or anything. They're obviously just oblivious to the fact that older designs are better (since original always means better, naturally).

Then enjoy your lame spin off of something instead of asking for something original. I don't really care how you take my opinion on the matter. You can point at any design and just say "copy of pikachu" or "copy of magnamite" easily with these pokemon.

It'd be fine if a few were inspired but I'm talking like the B&W pokemon are literally copies of the older pokemon as if another company were trying to make their own pokemon game. It lacks originality and if you're okay with that then that's fine for you. But if they're gonna make a new game with "new pokemon" I'd have hoped for actual new ones and not a slight visual change.

Then tell me...what are these copied off?

Spoiler

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Spoiler

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Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Just because some are re-skinned doesn't make it bad, all games Re-skin many things...WoW for example.

I like all of the games, all the games have bad design choices in them, and saying Gen1 is "TEH BEST EVARRRRRR" is just being ignorant.

Although i admit i will always have a soft spot for Yellow and Crystal =3

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Third gen is my favorite so far; followed by fourth, if only because Platinum Cyrus is awesome.

Spoiler: Since this gives me an opening, I'll list all the things that annoy me about Pokemon White so far.

-The two rivals. Unnameable, unlike previous generations. The lesser rival is a ditz, whose first act is trashing your room. The greater rival is a copy/paste of Silver from generation II. Neither is likable or endearing as a character. This is only aggravated by the game's use. It is extremely rare to walk in/through/out of town/cave without encountering them; usually for another pokemon battle where you completely stomp them.
-This is the third generation in a row to have a fire/fight starter. The rest are single types.
-The encounter rate spike. It has gradually gotten worse over the games, but never before have I remembered it so bad. This coming just after a session where I've encountered six singular Tranquill in six steps.
-No fishing rod until after you beat the Elite Four. What's the point?
-The bizarre adherence to HMs. With TMs being infinite, there is really no reason for HMs to function differently.
-Team Plasma is proven both comically incompetent (like a 4kids Team Rocket) as well as massively hypocritical. The leader is also incredibly creepy. Nice theme music though.
-Wild double battles were a great idea, but even in the select areas they are rather rare. And why no wild triple battles?
-The gyms. Still thematic, still type specific. But the first gym has three starter type leaders. So....why not a triple battle? Why just the one superior starting type? And speaking of the first gym...
-The babying. Before the first gym, you are given the pokemon to defeat the gym leader. Then you are told exactly where to go and what to do by your rivals/professor/mom/the gym leaders themselves. It did this in the earlier games, but it didn't feel so patronizing.
-The lack of zubat means that the Team cannot continually just spam supersonic. Now they just spam Confuse Ray and Hypnosis. Nice sideways step there.
-The majority of pokemon now have later evolutionary levels. While most would finish in the early/mid 30s with the later levels for exceptionally powerful pokemon; now many will need to be in the 40's or 50's to evolve.
-The experience dropoff has been steepened, perhaps to encourage more even leveling. But it just means more playtime for your fewer useful pokemon, while the situationals will fall greatly behind.

I'm sure there's more, but they don't come to mind.

 

[The_Echo]

Well, Black and White are fucking awesome. I have no problem with any of the new Pokémon designs. Some of them look a little weird, but every generation has Pokémon that look a little weird.

The games have been getting better, the world is expanding, they're trying new things, different things. Do you wanna be stuck with Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle while they keep improving on the game? No. No you do not.

And for those of you who say they're running out of ideas... no. No they're not. Pokémon have ALWAYS been derivative of something that already exists. The only way they'll run out of ideas is when we run out of things that exist.

 

[Buizel91]

The original designs were better because they were cartoony without being ridiculous. I mean really, we need a lamp pokemon in Gen. 5? Yes there were a few stupid ones like Jinx and Mr. Mime, but the vast majority were indeed better because they were simple yet expressive. The new ones generally have no sense of personality to me, although I have a (seemingly uncommon) soft spot for Gen. 3. I mean, they brought us Milotic, Gardevour and Tyranitar. Also Blaziken.

Tyranitar is Gen 2 hehe

 

[tehsqueez]

1) I like all generations and will play each one, and subsequently get all of the legendaries possible that don't need the counterpart version of the specified generation, defeat elite four, and try to "get 'em all", because it's a fun game that continually gets better in some ways and not-so-much in others.

2) Am I the only one that doesn't really get the super-effective/weaknesses correlating to bug/dark/psychic/ghost/steel/poison.

3) They did make some interesting choices this time around, such as letting pokemon start to evolve at literally odd levels, making some evolve past level 40, putting in more than one exp. share and have version-specific non-legendary pokemon.

4) Level 3 tier pyschic with dark att.? <3 Gothitelle 4ever

 

[Zetsubou^-^]

i agree that the older games were less complex, and perhaps a little buggy, but fun. the worst thing ive seen about new games is pokemon/moves i liked earlier generally get weaker with each update.

that said, each installment has added quality of life upgrades that automatically make them better. when running was introduced i loathed the idea of spending any time walking. artwork really hasnt changed all that much when you get down to it. color, better artwork, less pixelation, moving, etc are nice but expected improvements. the lead following you in hg/ss was a nice touch.

they really need to have a cap. a maximum number of pokemon that are all viable to use. they are all available between 2 versions (preferably all in one)and are all tuned to put out respectable stats even with little or no modification. rehashing and adding weak pokemon every generation bogs down the game. they also need to rework some of their type habits and bolster move lists.

i dont care if the total number of pokemon is lowered or raised, but you need to pick a point where you can stop mindlessly rehashing similar pokemon and do more than tweak combat, appearance, and mechanics in the game. adding more plot and frills is great, but if they keep weakening older ones to keep them in line with new ones they spit out, they wont be winning back older fans.

 

[AetherWolf]

Turn off your damn nostalgia filters.
Kids these days enjoy Pokemon as much as we did back then.
And you know what?
Black and White are fine games to me.
While the Pokemon may not be the most visually appealing, they show original ideas, charm, and that the creators can take a good joke. They're meant to capture the feeling of the first generation.

Doesn't appeal to you?
That's fine, really. Just remember that Pokemon isn't targeted towards adults.

 

[chadachada123]

Personally, I feel that Diamond/Pearl/Platinum had the best interface, except for HeartGold and SoulSilver, if those count.

Black/White's interface is lacking. The controls are inconvenient in comparison to the generation before, and focus too much on WiFi that is rarely used, when the apps from D/P/Pl and the constant-open menu (with ability to keep your running shoes on all of the time AND HAVING THE A BUTTON MAPPED TO THE L BUTTON) in HG/SS are far better, in that respect.

As far as gameplay goes, most generations are pretty much the same to me. All are very fun, long-lasting, etc. I felt that Ruby/Sapphire was the weakest of all five (though I haven't completed White yet, it feels more consistent than Ruby thus far).

As far as Pokemon go, every generation has their VERY stupid Pokemon, and a lot that stand out, but objectively-speaking, Gen 5 seems to have the most stupid Pokemon while having only a small handful of incredibly awesome Pokemon. I admit though that, after playing the game for awhile, I have grown to like a fair number of the new Pokemon. Not as much as generations 1 and 2, but a fair number.

(Nothing will ever match my hatred for Jynx and Bellsprout, though. Not even Klink.)

 

[Buizel91]

not nostalgia, the older pokemon were more clever and the intimidating pokemon were more intimidating... also it was a relatively new idea at the time so it seemed more fresh

Tell this guy that he is not intimidating and he will rip your head off

 

[Snotnarok]

Snipzorz

I never said all of them, I said most of them And I never said gen 1 is the best games, I couldn't go back and play them but I also think they had the best designed creatures and I think Nintendo are fully aware of that and that's why so many of them either look/work almost identically to previous generations.

Look feel free to disagree, I personally think B&W is a load of fixes that should have happened back in the silver and gold days but is also filled with cookie cutter pokemon from previous generations. That's how I feel, if you enjoy it then awesome, keep it up and enjoy what ya bought that's great. I've never meant to say what I say is fact, sometimes I screw up how I express myself honestly but I just feel this way, don't let that get in the way of your enjoyment.

Also, I say that green hunched over one looks a bit like the one on the cover of ruby.

Though I WILL say that leaf bug thing is pretty cool, though not as cool as Ducklett.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

SNIP

It is my opinion that while gameplay elements like the battle system have made great improvements along with the graphics; the art direction of creature design has gone in a direction I don't love. Nostalgia effects me too but I must admit that I enjoyed 3rd gen much more gameplay-wise than 1st or 2nd gen.

Creature design is not what it once was.

 

[Xan Krieger]

I saw they should remake Pokemon red, blue, and yellow using the same mechnaics as Black and White. I would buy whatever system it's on in a heartbeat.