Nintendo Life Ranks All Pokemon Games

Hmm, I can't agree on the placement of Red/Blue/Yellow, they were the originals and the trendsetters, though the top pick is my fav.

USUM is way too low imo, I guess it's a little redundunt with S/M already being there but it's far from the worst in the series. Is there a reason to have Gold/Silver higher than Crystal?

I see G/S and remakes on top and I knew this is legit

I would swap 4 with 3 and then the top 3 would be perfect.

Black 2 and White 2 below the top 5 is what tier, especially below FRLG.

Also LOOOOOL @ RB above BW. This is a grave injustice.

X/Y beating Ruby/Saphire and Diamond/Pearl is the most wrong I've ever seen anyone ever be

1- SL/HG
2-B&W2
3- Emerald
~ meh.

My brother would love the top 2. Pokemon Gold is one of his favorite games ever and he adored Heart Gold on the DS. I personally jumped off after Ruby, but I'm eager to play the new Pokemon game next year.

Lol, that list is stupid. The top 5 has Crystal, Gold and Silver, and HGSS. What the heck is the point? And how is Crystal worse than Gold and Silver?

There are so many wrong things there lmao

Black and White needs to be higher, and I really don't think DP deserves last even if I assume the reasoning is that battles are slow.

Also HGSS, and GSC in top 5?

SCB360 said:

Hmm, I can't agree on the placement of Red/Blue/Yellow, they were the originals and the trendsetters, though the top pick is my fav.

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Despite being the original games, they had a lot of problems and were pretty easy to break. It's part of why it's hard to go back and play them as opposed to playing the remakes or even LGEP.

Ruby/Sapphire that far down is criminal.

As long as you have HGSS, Platinum and BW2 in the top 3 in any order, that list is correct.

Wow I never thought someone would make a list that so closely matches my opinions on the games. Yellow is too low, Red/Blue are too high (how is Yellow seriously below RB?), and I'm not sure I revile DP that much, I'd probably give last place to USUM.

Hot take: it's all the same damn game.

Outside 3 Johto games in the top 5, fine list.

...

Wait, reading the entries on GSC, there's no explanation for why Gold and Silver are higher than Crystal. Bizarre.

I haven't played anything in the top 8, haha. I guess it has to do with playing the originals as a kid, then feeling like I was too mature and should be playing GTA instead, and then having occasional waves of nostalgia

Doesn't really make sense to put 3 Gold/Silver versions in the top 5.

Wow, someone must really like Gen 2, lol.

X/Y was robbed, easily best gen post gen 1 imo.

Pokémon Yellow is the ultimate version of Pokémon Red and Blue.

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13. Pokemon Yellow
9. Pokemon Red/Blue

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4 and 5...

Gen 5 are too low.

Phantom Thief said:

What a shitty take

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I'm kidding.

But they all do blend together for me.

I would have Black/White a lot higher, FRLG a bit lower and Diamond/Pearl above Ruby/Sapphire.
The gen 2 remakes being top is where I would put them.

Phantom Thief said:

Vanilla RuSa and DP were very bad, we only remember them better because of Emerald and Platinum, an advantage XY don't have.

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They were definitely improved by Emerald and Platinum, but I still think X/Y is easily the worst. It's insultingly slow paced (true, DP had a similar issue), the performance is hilariously bad, and it introduced both the least and the worst new Pokemon of any gen.

domthybomb said:

Ruby/Sapphire that far down is criminal.

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Ruby and Sapphire were destroyed by Emerald, which is higher on the list

Diamond and Pearl on the bottom where they should be

I LOVE list threads :D

Here is where I'd rank everything

Pokemon Gold/Silver
Pokemon Crystal
Pokemon Platinum
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Pokemon Yellow
Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire
Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen
Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu! And Eevee
Pokemon X/Y
Pokemon Red/Blue
Pokemon Sun/Moon
Pokemon Black/White
Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire
Pokemon UltraSun/UltraMoon
Pokemon Black 2/White 2

At the very least, I'm really glad that their general consensus is that Gen 2 is the best gen :)
But I can't hate on Diamond/Pearl at all, they were amazing.

While I'm not a massive fan of X/Y's story, It has the best selection when it comes to Pokémon in its Regional Pokédex and did wonders for making PvP accessible with the changes it made to the breeding mechanics, so I don't think I could ever not have it in the T5. G/S/C are really flawed when it comes to level scaling once you get past the 3rd Gym I don't think I could justify their place in the T5 (HGSS didn't really fix it either, but it there were so many other good things about those games I'm willing to overlook that).

FR/LG is my favorite so I'm glad it made top 5.

I'll never understand the undying love for gen 2. I mean, it was fine, but 3 of the top 5 being gen 2 seems a bit crazy.

I also really really enjoyed X/Y, so I'm sad it's so low.

Diamond/Pearls are trash, and deserve to be last. They need a re imagining so badly.

This list is great. I agree with everything.

Top 3 is ok. Emerald is too low. Sun / Moon and X/Y should be last in this chart.

Odeko said:

They were definitely improved by Emerald and Platinum, but I still think X/Y is easily the worst. It's insultingly slow paced, the performance is hilariously bad, and it introduced both the least and the worst new Pokemon of any gen.

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I agree with the bottom 4, X and Y was terribly paced, but Ultra S/M wanting you to replay through all of that forced story was MUCH worse than just doing X and Y again, R/S and D/P were blown out of the water, never to be played again by their 3rd version.

I don't get how crystal is lower than gold and silver, and I don't know why there are 3 versions of gold/silver/crystal on the top 5.

If it's a trio, list it as a trio, or list the latest release as better, since it often adds a feature.

I read what they had to say about the games, and they explicitly say Crystal was the definitive version of Gold and Silver, and the same with Yellow and the others. But then they're still lower. Like, what

Phantom Thief said:

Vanilla RuSa and DP were very bad, we only remember them better because of Emerald and Platinum, an advantage XY don't have.

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What was so bad about Ruby and Sapphire?
I get the issues with Diamond and Pearl though. Except I think they are still better than XY because they had nice post-game content, and side content that XY completely lacked such as Contests or the Underground, on top of a much more fully realized region.

Good list even though I'm in the minority of people who think x and y are very solid.

B/W2 is the best in the biz. Can't be mad at HG/SS being at the top, but it being immediately followed by regular-ass G/S is bizarre.

Pokemon Yellow lower than Blue lol.

It's clear whoever made this list just looked at a list of all the main Pokemon titles and placed them randomly.

First and last are correct. Pretty good list all around.

Sun and Moon beating Black and White? Get that out of here.

Phantom Thief said:

Vanilla RuSa and DP were very bad, we only remember them better because of Emerald and Platinum, an advantage XY don't have.

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RS and DP are 90% the same games Emerald and Platinum are. This makes no sense.

My own list:

Crystal
Yellow
Emerald
Platinum
Fire Red
An actual dumpster fire
Everything Else.

Top 5 seems like it's based mainly off of nostalgia to be honest.

Mid 6 has the best games in the series, barring Red and Blue.

Bottom 6 seems about right, would replace X/Y with Red and Blue though.

I've read all of their descriptions and the rationales that went into the ordering of this list seems incredibly dumb.

Camjo-Z said:

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Lol that is indeed a weird quote to use for a lower positioned game, I agree that Yellow is worse though. I find Jessie and James are poorly paced in the story and Pikachu doesn't feel good until the second gym

Lord Azrael said:

RS and DP are 90% the same games Emerald and Platinum are. This makes no sense.

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Platinum is very different from Diamond and Pearl in some important ways.

For one, the game actually runs at a tolerable pace.

Vanilla RuSa were fine though.