Have past mainline Pokémon games 'aged' well?

[zMiiChy-]

I enjoy the Pokemon's concept 'creature collecting' to a fair degree, but I've never found the idea of playing the older games particularly appealing.

I've played Y, Alpha Sapphire, and Moon on the 3DS, and they all felt rather iterative.
Going back even further just feels like there would be less pokemon, worse graphics, and less features.

Do the previous mainentries have enough enjoyable idosycrancies to be worthy of playing in 2019?

Spin-offs are a different story - Pokémon stadium and puzzle league are still quite fun.

 

[RochHoch]

Gen 5, baby.

Minimal handholding and they're the last games to use gorgeous spritework. Those games have aged pretty freaking well.

 

[1000% H]

The DS era, although older, is still better than the 3DS era of games.

 

[Aleh]

The individual regions and characters are unique enough to warrant playing the older games, and the developers went out of their way to keep some features exclusive to individual games to make them feel special to the point people complain about it. So yes, definitely go and play them

 

[ArchedThunder]

It's really easy for me to return to games as far back as Gen 2.

 

[CloseTalker]

Yeah, I'd say so. Black/White 2 and HeartGold/SoulSilver is still peak Pokemon to me. I fell off hard on the 3DS entries, the visuals just got so ugly with the 3DS' brand of weak 3D models. Gimme sprites all day every day.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

The DS games are still excellent today. Especially Black 2/White 2.

 

[Heromanz]

I mean the only thing that doesn't age well is the battle system because it too damn slow.

 

[Kor of Memory]

Gen 5, baby.

Minimal handholding and they're the last games to use gorgeous spritework. Those games have aged pretty freaking well.

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I agree with this.

Black and White 2 hit that sweet spot where there wasn't really a whole lot of new mechanics introduced after this gen (with the exception of the fairy type). Everything after that was random battle "enhancers" like megas and alternative forms (alolan or whatever).

Plus BW2 had an amazing variety in the game itself, to the point you could easily make several well balanced teams without reusing a single poke for a good 10 playthroughs.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

FR/LG, RSE, DPPt and SS/HG have aged very well imo.

also i think gen 4 games, to this day, have the best visual style out of all the games.

 

[Buckle]

Gen V and onward.

Gen IV is good but it and all the other games just feel so sloooooow now.

 

[Xavi]

All games but Gen 1 have aged well imo. Also Gen V is the best gen so there's absolutely worth in playing them right now or in the future.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Gold & Silver is timeless

 

[Neoxon]

The DS era aged like fine wine, especially HG/SS & Gen 5.

 

[Prophet Five]

I could play Gen4 FOREVER. Heartgold is like my number one game in the series. Gen 5.5 (BW2) is good too.

I recently replayed Gold on GBC and was just blown away by how "fast" everything was. I felt like I could play and get shit done. idk. I wouldn't say I'm nostalgic for the older games when I play newer ones but it's not hard to go back.

I'm still excited for Gen 8 regardless.

 

[spyroflame0487]

Probably Gen 4/5. I still find myself going back to them and exploring/catching pokemon to send up to newer games.

Playing Red and Silver on the Virtual Console reminded me how much of a chore older games are. With all the new features we're almost spoiled now with ease of access and quality of life improvements.

 

[Deleted member 864]

I think so, yeah.

The DS games especially.

 

[Jessie]

The DS games are beautiful, to this day. Diamond and Pearl are rough on the game speed side of things, but Black and White are super snappy and fast.

 

[topplehat]

I think they have all aged well (even my playthrough of Yellow and Crystal in the past two years were great). Probably the biggest QoL update I miss from Sun/Moon is the HM setup.

 

[ArchedThunder]

The DS era aged like fine wine, especially HG/SS & Gen 5.

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I'd argue that DP didn't age very well because of how slow they are, but Platinum mostly fixes it.

 

[Altered]

The DS games for sure

 

[Z-Beat]

The good thing about the formula basically remaining the same for so long is that the old games are rarely ever too dated to play.

 

[Zeckett]

Super easy, barely an inconvenience.

I love Gen 3 graphics and gameplay. Gen 1 and 2 are where it feels old, but I still enjoy it a lot.

 

[nsilvias]

g/s/c aged really well
r/g/b/y on the other hand have aged like milk. not even the remakes could save them

 

[Deleted member 32018]

Yes. I go back to them now and again and they are still as fun as they used to be. Obviously some of that is nostalgia but fun is fun :-)

 

[chrisPjelly]

Everything gen 2 and up are still pretty fun and playable imo

 

[Apollo]

I certainly think so. The Gen V games in particular stand out as being really great to go back to IMO.

 

[Anth0ny]

Absolutely, I go back to gen 1 and 2 all the time. No different than a top tier NES game.

Timeless

 

[Gaiaknight]

heart gold and soul silver are timeless

 

[Aleh]

g/s/c aged really well
r/g/b/y on the other hand have aged like milk. not even the remakes could save them

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Agreed. Gen 2 has beautiful 2D graphics and solid gameplay, Gen 1 on the other hand is a mess. It has its charm too but it's a mess

 

[Black_Red]

I mean the only thing that doesn't age well is the battle system because it too damn slow.

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I'd say is the part of the game that actually ages better, since, no other JRPG has been able to create a battle system that even compares to pokemon (in advanced players).
I'd say every pokemon game since gen 3 (with the introduction of abilities) is way deeper than any other JRPG

 

[Aurongel]

I don't think any of them have aged well and this is from someone who's been playing since the start. They're all just so damn slow and aren't particularly engaging in terms of their mechanics until you get into higher level play. I loved them when I was younger but if I picked them up now I'd be bored before the second gym.

 

[VPplaya]

Gen 4/5 were the peak of sprite art so those definitely hold up well. Honestly the only downside is that fairy type wasn't a thing back then

 

[Lotus]

Pokemon Black 2 sure does

 

[Jessie]

I'd argue that Emerald is better to play than ORAS. The frame rate is flawless. There's fewer loading screens. You get to take on both teams and capture both Box Legends. NPCs don't stop to talk to you every five steps. And you have the Battle Frontier.

 

[MP!]

Its been the same game for 25 years so ... yeah .. playing one today is basically the same
I'm partial to the DS games myself though

I feel they're all too slow. that's hard to play through now.

 

[Neoxon]

I'd argue that DP didn't age very well because of how slow they are, but Platinum mostly fixes it.

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True, but they still hold up pretty well, even though it's Platinum that aged better of Gen 4.

 

[Big Matty Kane]

I'm a massive fan of the series, and am always bewildered when I hear the responses that Gen V has aged well. I've been playing back through Black 2 and it is a massive grindfest, especially when you are prepping for the Elite 4. Additionally, the QOL stuff of the modern era such as removal of HMs in Gen VII and the EXP share in VI and VII (you can just turn it off if you don't like it). I almost feel like Gen V is not so underrated that is overrated because people assume all the criticism is over how people disliked the designs of the Pokemon. If you're gonna go backwards, go to HG/SS, because minus the one-time use TMs, it holds up just as well as Gen V.

If you don't have nostalgia for the series, Gen VI holds up well. It looks good (well, relatively), has the EXP share so the game can still be fun (if you want a challenge, just turn it off), has better type balance with the fairy type and more wide movepools. Plus the online is still open for trading and battling so you get the full experience.

 

[Greywaren]

Gen 4 onwards still looks and plays great.

 

[Amnixia]

Well, HG/SS are the best ones still so yeah?

 

[Chief Malik]

pokemon crystal is still the best in the series so yes, these games change but not a lot.

 

[CallMeShaft]

I replayed both Yellow and Silver when they were released on the 3DS' virtual console, and IMO, they were more enjoyable then X/Y and the little I've played of Sun/Moon.

 

[Maxina]

The gen 5 games are the pinnacle of 2d sprite art in the Pokemon franchise. Honestly most of the DS pokemon games aged well, expect Diamond/Pearl.

 

[Deleted member 31092]

Gen I on GB didn't, but the rest are all pretty much timeless.

 

[Jessie]

Gen VI didn't hold up well in 2013 lol. The frame rate, unfinished story, and game breaking bugs were the first time Game Freak really looked bad in the fans' eyes. We're seeing the result of it today.

 

[NekoNeko]

they are all very playable. even gen 1 and 2.

 

[Horohorohoro]

The late GBA (Emerald and FRLG) and the entirety of the DS games are all god-tier and where the franchise hit their peak. The spinoffs from Gens 3 and 4 were all amazing too.

 

[Saikyo]

Platinum to BlackWhite 2 hold pretty well, better than 3ds...

 

[Dany1899]

DS graphics is still amazing nowadays, I regret it was the time I played Pokémon the least.

 

[spad3]

Gen 1 - HELL THE FUCK NO
Gen 2 - Playable, but hell no
Gen 3 - Playable, but no. Too much has changed.
Gen 1 Remakes - Playable but no. Too much has changed.
Gen 4 - Absolutely, because it's the first and only time visiting this region.
Gen 2 Remakes - Absolutely, because you're getting everything that Gen 4 brought to the mix AND everything that Gen 2 brought to the mix and then some. Easily the best in the series.
Gen 5 - Absolutely, because it's the first and only time visiting this region, AND there was like zero handholding. Easily the second best in the series.
Gen 6 - Hell no, easily the most boring generation. Gorgeous game, but boring AF.
Gen 3 Remakes - Absolutely, you get everything from Gen 3 and a whole revamped map with controlled flight over the entire region?! Arguably one of the best in the series.
Gen 7 - Playable, but the forced handholding and cutscenes make it a rigorous chore. The super-linear design of each island doesn't help either.