Hullo! Almost two months ago I made a post here where I asked to help me choose first Pokemon game as I was completely new to franchise. And… In this two months the only thing I played was Pokemon, this series is really revelation for me xD
I started with Red version bc I wanted to have OG experience, play the most "basic" Pkmn game, etc. I was charmed. The music, the sprites, the artstyle, gameplay mechanics – it's all felt so native and homely. Yeah, 1st gen is very janky, but i just enjoyed my cozy journey through Kanto. I really liked map-design and metaprogression system with HMs. But most of all I loved, uhhh, "overall gaming experience" that 1st gen gave me. I mean, there’s so many memorable situations and moments: Snorlax roadblock, Silph co., Pokemon Tower, Rocket Hideout, Safari Zone, first Victory Road, E4 and Champion Battle (Blue's Blastoise was a monster.) and so on. After 1st gen I was veeery excited to play next games.
And my second entry, Pokemon Silver (I wanted to have Lugia and didn’t knew that u actually can catch both him and Ho-oh), just blew me away. I borrowed anbernic rg35xxsp from my friend to play through 2nd and 3rd gens, and when playing Silver I’ve had some of the best gaming time in my life, no jokes. The amount of new features introduced in successor of RBY was shocking to me. Pokegear, inventory system, day/night cycle, berries, egg hatching, how the game looked and sounded!! And all what I said about feeling of journey, map design and memorable moments can be applied to Silver as well. But the greatest thing in 2nd gen (and maybe in all series, I can’t be sure but this is hard to beat) is. Kanto. Region. As I said I was fully new to the Pokemon games, so my playthroughs are/will be completely blind. When I arrived to Kanto I thought that it will be same as gen 1, but there was so much changes to it. Kanto was interesting to explore second time! How different it become, how it rewarded you for knowing its secrets (that guy who traded Mr. Mime in Red now gives you nugget, etc.), what people have to say, old and new Gym Leaders… Oh, Blue fight. I was very happy to see him, and that "Johto boy" line genuinely made me smile. And you guys know what was waiting for me next. Who. Hands down, "Pkmn Trainer RED wants to battle!" is one of the coolest things that I ever saw. I didn’t had so much sincere joy with a game for a long time.
My 3rd gen pick was Ruby bc Groudon looked very cool! I didn’t have such emotional response with Ruby like with Silver, but quality of gameplay doesn’t allow me to put it lower than Silver. That was the first Pkmn game that made me think about actual teambuilding, and battles in 3rd gen is truly enjoyable and engaging. E4 was the hardest I've ever had at this moment, and Steven is… Steven KILLS. I battled him for like 20-30 minutes. No one got even close to this. My team gave out their maximum and barely won (love my guys). But when I began exploring postgame, I was shocked about existing of RAYQUAZA in Ruby/Sapphire. Again, I know nothing about every next gen that I play, so I saw cover arts and thoght Rayquaza was Emerald exclusive (haha). And that damn green dragon was the HARDEST catch in my life yet. I spent SIX hours, anbernic ran out of power, I charged it and continued to throw balls at Rayquaza. But when I catched him I felt that. I was pokemon trainer, guys. And will be.
So, now I'm beginning Platinum! I even bought used DS Lite specially for playing post-RSE gens. Wanted to share my thoughts and emotions about 1-3 generations and my dive into Pokemon franchise. I have very high expectations about DS era! Thanks for reading 🙂
by Zawejwek