Ranking The Main Series Pokémon Games

[Demelza]

Myself and a couple of writers over at one of the sites I work with are doing an article about the main series Pokémon games. The article includes us ranking them all from our favourite to least favourite (the ranking includes the 'third' game on its own), which got me thinking. How would you guys rank the Pokémon games?

My list looks like this:
1) Soulsilver/Heartgold
2) Black & White 2
3) Firered/Leafgreen
4) Yellow
5) Diamond & Pearl
6) Black & White
7) Platinum
8 ) Red/Blue
9) Gold/Silver
10)Crystal
11) Ruby and Sapphire
12) Emerald

It's no secret that I'm not too fond of the third generation and while I appreciate a lot of the features the games brought with them, it was never enough to stop the games being the least memorable for me, something that likely won't change until I play them again in the form of a remake. It's no secret that I love Johto, either, so there was no question that those remakes would end up the very top of my list. ♥

Black & White 2 seems like an odd choice because I wasn't all that fond of Unova, but the game did have a lot of interesting aspects to it and it did save that generation for me. I was never fond of the reboot that they went for with Black & White (mostly because I wasn't fond of a great deal of the new Pokémon), but with Black & White 2 I could set out on my adventure with a mix of old and new Pokémon.

FireRed, LeafGreen and Yellow being so high on the list likely comes as a surprise, but I'm from the generation that grew up playing Red and Blue, so I utterly adored the remakes. Yellow is likely the game from the original three I spent the most time playing though, so it had to take a place near the top because of all the happy days I spent with it.

So, my rambling aside, how would you guys rank the Pokémon games? ^^

 

[Shiny Motley]

This is pretty interesting~ |D Let's see how my list comes out as.

1. Emerald
2. Black/White
3. Ruby/Sapphire
4. FIreRed/LeafGreen
5. Diamond/Pearl
Not played and unranked: Red/Blue, Yellow, Gold/Silver, Crystal, Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Black2/White2

If anyone knows anything about me, they probably know that I really love Hoenn, if only because they were the first games I ever played and the games that brought me back to Pokemon. I especially loved Emerald's Battle Frontier and the contests introduced in R/S, and many of my favorite Pokemon also come from the region. So biased as I am, R/S/E are definitely my favorites.

I put Black and White a notch above R/S simply because I played them more recently and ended up appreciating them more as an older/more mature person. The plot, though a bit odd, was different than what I was more or less expecting from a Pokemon game, I enjoyed the new features and Pokemon that were introduced, and overall enjoyed them a lot. Nevertheless, I really liked the games, and felt they deserved a slightly better place in the rankings than R/S.

FIreRed and LeafGreen are lower only because I mostly played them for nostalgia and also so I could know what the original games might have been like. I didn't particularly find too much interesting or fun about them, but I still love them in their own way.

And almost everyone knows I don't particularly like Generation IV. Okay, some of the stuff was cool, and graphics were better than Generation III, but overall I found them pretty forgetful compared to the other games I played. ^^;

The other games, had I played them, might be smattered around the rankings, but I don't know for sure so I'll just leave them unranked for now. Kinda sad I never got to play any of the Johto games, though....

 

[Toastie]

1. Black/White
2. Ruby/Sapphire
3. Black 2/White 2
4. HeartGold/SoulSilver
5. Platinum
6. Diamond/Pearl

I've put Black and White at the top mainly because it tried to do something a little different. While it certainly had its flaws, such as being too linear, I really appreciated the completely new regional dex and involving story. I put R/S below that because it was my first experience with a main series game, and I think, in terms of region and music, it's the best. The sheer diversity of the environments is refreshing, although I'm now traumatised against crossing large bodies of water.

Black 2/White 2 were a bit of a let down in terms of story, but other than that they were great. They had so much post game stuff to do, and the PWT in particular was an amazing end to the DS main series games. HG/SS were good. I love the Japanese vibe from the region, and I've always enjoyed everything about Johto, from its Pokémon to its plot. Also, it's where I caught my first (and only) shiny in the wild. Finally, D/P/P are at the bottom because I found the region a bit bland, and I hated how a lot of the evolutions of older Pokémon weren't integrated into the regional dex, although that was fixed in Platinum.

 

[ShinyZekrom009]

1. Emerald
2. Black/White
3. Black 2/White 2
4. Ruby/Sapphire
5. HeartGold/SoulSilver
6. FireRed/LeafGreen
7. Platinum
8. Diamond/Pearl
Not Played/Unranked: Red/Blue, Gold/Silver

The reason Diamond,Pearl, and Platinum are at the bottom is, quite frankly, they were the most boring and unmemorable main series Pokemon games to me. Every time I go back to play these, I find myself nodding off. I'm not saying that it was terrible, but there wasn't enough new Pokemon that weren't all new evolutions or pre-evolutions of previous Pokemon, and a lot of the music from that generation got old not too long after playing them. Platinum was slightly better, with a bigger regional 'Dex, the Battle Frontier, and several new features, not to mention the story, which was a little better that time around. Also, getting an extra battle with Cyrus was just awesome. However, this generation was by far the one I like the least.

Now, I've never played the original Gens I and II games, but I've played the remakes, which are next on the list. The thing is, though, I was already familiar with these Pokemon through Stadium, plus I played both after playing the games in the Gen they were introduced in, so I already knew about the controls and features of the game, which didn't look too different. They were good games, they just didn't do as well as Gens III and V, for me.

Now, Ruby/Sapphire was actually not my first main series Pokemon game; Emerald was. I still played these, but after Emerald, so they weren't quite as fun. I love the games, but they also weren't quite as good as the Gen V games without the features in Emerald.

Pokemon Black and White are my favorite main series games after Emerald. It was so engaging and cool to explore Unova. For the first time, every single Pokemon in the regional 'Dex was entirely new, which I LOVED. Also, Pokemon actually constantly moving for the first time, plus my favorite story out of ALL the Pokemon games, makes this a great game. If that's not enough, these games also introduced my favorite Pokemon, which I hope is obvious enough that anyone can guess what it is.

Black 2 and White 2 were very fun to play...at first. Once I hit Castelia City, however, it became very boring. I know that now it let you use Pokemon from previous games, that it had other new locations and features...but none of it was fun. Plus, the story wasn't nearly as interesting, not to mention the fact that most of the music themes were remixes of Black and White ones, none of which I liked; the original versions were better. It just wasn't as good as Black and White, for me.

Now, Pokemon Emerald. Even putting aside the obvious bias I have for this game, being my first main series Pokemon game, I still love this game the most. I absolutely love the Hoenn region, it's so beautiful and full of nature. Also, it has the best Underwater locations, and seaweed underwater that functions as wild grass, which is pure genius! So much ocean, caves, and forests to explore, too! Plus, I loved many of the musical themes in this game. Now, Emerald is special because of the newer features, a better story, a chance to battle alongside Steven, Rayquaza, the Battle Frontier, the expanded Safari Zone with Johto Pokemon, the smaller text...just so many things I love about it; it's so much better then Ruby/Sapphire.

All in all, I generally have the generations in order, as well:
1. Gen III
2. Gen V
3. Gen II
4. Gen I
5. Gen IV

So, that's my list.

 

[kathey]

1.Soul Sliver and heart gold 2.Diamond pearl platinum 3. Pokemon w b

 

[Linkachu]

Fun topic. ^^
I guess my list would look something like this:

1) Black 2/White 2
2) HeartGold/SoulSilver
3) Platinum
4) Emerald
5) Red/Blue
6) Ruby/Sapphire
7) Black/White
8.) Diamond/Pearl
9) FireRed/LeafGreen
10) Yellow
11) Crystal
12) Gold/Silver

Ranking these made me realize that my fondness for each Pokemon game isn't necessarily based on the Pokemon included or the regions involved. It's the overall experience that matters most to me.

While their plot is weaker than Black and White, Black 2 and White 2 have an amazing amount of content and were tons of fun to playthrough (heck, I'm still playing through Black 2!). The same could be said for HeartGold and SoulSilver, Platinum, and Emerald. Platinum and Emerald were notable steps up from their predecessors and HeartGold and SoulSilver utterly saved the Johto region for me. Every addition to them was lovely but none so much as the ability to have any of your Pokemon follow you. That feature alone completely stole my heart. I truly hope that someday we see that feature return again in future games.

From here is where my rankings get more difficult. Red and Blue were my first Pokemon games and will always have a special place in my heart for that reason. I doubt I'll ever play them again, especially not with FireRed and LeafGreen handy, but it wouldn't feel right ranking them lower than FR/LG either. Then we have Ruby and Sapphire, Black and White, and Diamond and Pearl. All of them were great games in their own right and I enjoyed plaything through them at the time, but all of 'em were somewhat flawed too. R/S had an amazing region yet far too small a PokeDex. Being unable to complete the National Dex for ages really hurt them too. B/W had an excellent plot and one of the best original characters the Pokemon series has ever seen (manga and Anime series included) but also had a somewhat boring regional journey, especially the latter half of it. Last but not least, Diamond and Pearl had a beautiful region yet wonky gym placements and a very cut-up journey progression (far too many random obstacles getting in your way).

FireRed/LeafGreen and Yellow likely don't deserve to be ranked as low as I've done so but I can't bring myself to rank them higher than anything else above 'em. My only true "least favourite" games would be Crystal, Gold and Silver, but in Crystal's defense it basically saved generation 2 for me with its subtle yet welcome additions. Being able to finally play as a female character was very nice indeed. Gold and Silver I simply did not like, to the point of selling Gold to a friend. I couldn't stand the G/S/C version of Johto, loathed how mindlessly difficult it was to level your Pokemon within 'em (a flaw somewhat shared by HG/SS sadly), and very much disliked what they did to Kanto. Those were dark times indeed. </3

Overall though, the Pokemon handheld RPG series has always been consistently good and I've enjoyed all of the games (G/S aside). I doubt I could say the same for any other franchise that I play.

 

[PreuBen]

Seems interesting, so I'll give it a try.
1) Platinum
2) Diamond/ Pearl
3)Heart Gold/ Soul Silver
4)Black 2/ White 2
5) Black/ White
6) Fire Red/ Leaf Green
Not Played/ Unranked) Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

And what are your reasons? Just a list is not good enough.

 

[PreuBen]

Well, if this makes sense, Generation 4 for me is to Generation 1 is to most long time Pokémon fans. I pretty much grew up on Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum and so most of my favorite Pokémon are from Sinnoh. Heart Gold and Soul Silver get 2nd place for my favorite generation because the remake of the original Gold and Silver versions was made so well that it immediately became a favorite. Because it was considered a generation 4 game, I was able to play through the Johto and Kanto regions with some of my favorite generation 4 Pokémon. Black2 and White2 and Black and White are my 3rd favorite generations because of how different the Pokémon were. I mean, Trubbish and Vanniluxe are too cute! Plus, the story continuing into Black2 and White2 really created a great plot which made the game pretty much complete. I ranked Fire Red and Leaf Green as my least favorite generation because the whole region is pretty generic and some of the Pokémon weren't the best designed. (I'm looking at you Grimer and Muk!) But overall, Most of the Pokémon are great and the game was enjoyable. Finally, because I've never played a generation 3 game I have no comments. Well, that's all that I can say for at the moment, and as soon and X and Y come out with all of the new generation 6 Pokémon I'm sure it will find a high spot on my list somewhere.

 

[baratron]

This list is based solely on how much I enjoyed playing the games, not on how good the games were objectively. R/S has to be number one because it was the first Pokemon game I played, and I have amazing memories of playing through Sapphire as a complete n00b (and running out to buy a preowned Ruby cartridge to complete the Dex, then wiping the other player's game and playing it again). Although Emerald is objectively a better game (the story makes a lot more sense, and there is the Battle Frontier), it doesn't have the same amazing nostalgia value for me. Hoenn is my absolute favourite world.

On the other hand, in the 4th Gen, Platinum was more enjoyable for me than Pearl. I wrecked Diamond by attempting to play it in Japanese despite barely being able to read Japanese, and I was also incredibly ill at the time. Pearl was at least in English, but there weren't a huge number of memorable Pokemon for me. I absolutely loathe Sinnoh because of Mt.Coronet. That place - and the need to have at some points TWO HM slave Pokemon - reduced my enjoyment. I liked the games well enough at the time, but they pale in comparison to Black/White.

I loved Black/White because all the Pokemon were completely new, so it reminded me of being a newbie all over again. Though I got distracted by other games and only finished White last week. I haven't played Black2/White2, so I can't rank it. However, Unova is my second favourite world.

I played FireRed/LeafGreen to get all the Pokemon from Kanto. They were new to me, because Sapphire was my first game, and I enjoyed it for that. I also enjoyed some of the innovations made - the smaller font, the ability to trade wirelessly rather than needing a cable. But overall, Kanto itself was boring and linear - I think I spent way more time in the Sevii Islands than I did in Kanto. The way that the new and old content was segregated made it too obviously a remake of an old game.

I loved the Pokewalker in HeartGold/SoulSilver, and the ability to have your lead Pokemon walk behind you. I didn't like Johto as a world, I found the layout confusing/annoying, and I still haven't finished the game.

So, overall...
1) Ruby/Sapphire
2) Black/White
3) FireRed/LeafGreen
4) Emerald
5) Platinum
6) HeartGold/SoulSilver
7) Diamond/Pearl

 

[Sir Red]

1) HeartGold/SoulSilver
2) Black/White 2
3) Platinum
4) Yellow
5) Black/White
6) Gold/Silver
7) FireRed/LeafGreen
8 ) Red/Blue
9) Emerald
10) Diamond/Pearl
11) Ruby/Sapphire

I have always been quite vocal about my dislike for Generation 3, especially the Hoenn games, so these rankins should not be too surprising. Visually, the overworld just makes me weep. The Gameboy Advance is still one of my all-time favorite systems (handheld or otherwise) and to see how poorly they utilized the graphics has always made me cringe when playing the games. Also, the main Hoenn games really suffered from having pretty awful villains and rivals. Some cool geographical concepts were introduced, but they could not make up for all the fail that was abound. (Plus the internet being all up in their own butts about Hoenn does not help my opinion of it. :\)

I don't even like Gen V that much, to be honest, but it is SOOOOOO hard for me to go back and play anything Pre-Gen IV because the Physical/Special is probably my favorite mechanic ever introduced, even above the reusable TMs. The main thing about Gen V games is that they is nothing overly great or bad about them; they are there just solid games. Also, they came at a time when my super fandom has waned, though going in to Gen VI blind has added a sense of surprise and excitement to counteract things.

My favorite Pokemon game ever is HeartGold/SoulSilver. I love them so much. They are just so damned pretty to look at and you can have any Pokemon follow you and I have logged several hundred hours on my SoulSilver and dear God it is the best Pokemon game ever. D:<

 

[Pie_Guy]

Well, here's my list:

Not ranked/ Never played:red/blue,gold/silver,firered/leafgreen,ruby/saphire,emerald,X/Y

1.Heartgold/Soulsilver
2.Black/White
3.Platinum
4.Black 2/ White 2
5.Diamond/Pearl

Well im gonna work backwards on this, so diamond/pearl: no,just no i really didnt find these games that fun,dont know why its been a while since i last played them , nether the less i still really didnt like these games.

Ok Black and white 2 were OK,not my favorite (well, Im actually still kinda playing it.)

Platinum was a MAJOR improvement from Diamond and Pearl. Exept for the fact that my little brother lost it. Still i liked this game.

Black and White were amazing i really like how it implemented lots of new features into the game without ruining it .

Heartgold and Soulsilver are definitely my favorites,heck i'm still replaying them.

Unplayed: yep didn't play those couldn't tell you how i felt. I do want to really get emerald though.X and Y well, i cant get those until i get a 3DS.

 

[Mr.RMA]

I've been contemplating this for a good long while, and I think I finally have a list ready. I did my best to avoid sounding nostalgia-blind, but, there's no doubt some of that bias made its way into this list (I mean, my top choices will probably clue you in pretty quickly...). I have replayed many of the older games recently however, so, I can at least say I can accurately recall their design, gameplay and the like. So, that said, here's what I got:

1. Crystal
2. Gold/Silver
3. HeartGold/SoulSilver
4. FireRed/LeafGreen
5. Red/Blue/Yellow
6. Ruby/Sapphire
7. Black/White
8. Black2/White2
9. Diamond/Pearl

Alrighty, nows I gots to do the 'Splaining... I might get some flak for placing all of Gen II above their Gen IV remakes, but, I just couldn't bring myself to admit the remakes as superior, even with the improved graphics, added features, and beautifully remade music. Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal have been the definitive Pokemon games for me since I first popped the Gold version into my Gameboy Color, and nothing has managed to top them yet*. Perhaps it's just the charm of the primitive graphics of the day that actually looked pretty marvelous at the time, or the fact that I was firmly in the intended age demographic during their release, or that the starters of this generation are my second favorite of all time, or maybe it's the stellar gym leaders, the awesome legendaries, the return of team rocket, the badass rival, etc. etc. Most likely though, I think it's the fact that I absolutely ADORE the chiptunes of the GBC. The music of gen II was just sublime, especially considering they included remastered versions of RBY's prolific music as well, and, yes, I know they kinda butchered a few parts of the Kanto region due to hardware and/or software limitations, but their inclusion at all was a pleasant little surprise and a nice treat for beating the main game. The Gen IV remakes did everything a remake should: The graphics are great, the music is great, the inclusion of Crystal's extra storyline is great, and the Kanto region is much more complete, which is why it still ranks very highly. Still, just in this one case, it just can't beat the original.

FireRed and LeafGreen on the other hand, managed to perform such a feat, in stellar fashion. With Gen I being the first generation I had ever played, I was ecstatic to find out they were being remade for the GBA. I was definitely not disappointed when I finally got my hands on FireRed. Everything I loved about the original games was upped to the Nth degree here. In contrast to my experience with HeartGold and SoulSilver however, when I went back to play my old Blue version, I began to realize that I actually had more fun with the remakes. Gen I was phenomenal, no mistake about that, but, the remakes just outclassed them for me. Also, the inclusion of the Sevii Islands was a great touch, even if I'm somewhat iffy about how they relocated the legendary birds there.

Ruby and Sapphire (I sadly never played Emerald) were a lot of fun when I first played them, but, after I moved on to the next few generations, they kinda faded into the back of my mind for a while. Going back and playing them again however, I was almost immediately hooked again. These games had a lot of new stuff in them that really updated the franchise, and Hoenn is a really varied region to traverse, definitely one of the better regions in my opinion, though some of the elongated surfing did get to me after a while...The music was pretty good in certain areas as well, but, not so memorable in others. Kind of a mixed bag for me in that category, which was one reason why these games went right below RBY.

Moving on to the non-remade DS games was a bit more difficult. These games were undoubtedly fun to play and introduced some of my favorite Pokemon of all time, but, as a whole, they didn't leave quite as much of an impression on me as their predecessors. Nonetheless, Team Plasma's motives and the conflicting morality they brought with them, especially with N, was a refreshing change of pace in contrast to the arrogant syndicates that just wanted to reshape the world to better suit their own preferences (even if their true leader actually did behave in this sorta manner). These guys actually seemed to be operating for the good of all Pokemon, at least, in the first Black and White. Having a proper continuation to a previous game was pretty awesome as well, reminding me of the visit to Kanto in Gen II, but, as if that took up the entire game. Still, I found the rival in the sequels a little annoying, and Team Plasma no longer had that grey area mentality they once did. Colress was an interesting character, but, not quite to the extent that N was. It was close, but the first Black and White ranked a notch above their sequels for these reasons. Diamond and Pearl round out the list, but, I feel kinda bad for putting them there, because I still absolutely loved these games. It's just that Team Galactic wasn't all that fascinating of a syndicate, few of the gym leaders were really that memorable, and Sinnoh just seemed really bland in a lot of places. On the flipside, the legendaries were pretty damn awesome for the most part, the graphical update was a welcome change, and the soundtrack was very engrossing, really making me feel like I was on an adventure, something I hadn't really felt since Gen II. So, yeah, even if they rank at the bottom of the games I played, they're still freakin' brilliant.

Right, so, that's that. All the games have been fantastic in my opinion, but, these are how I would rank them. In the end, it all just comes down to what I happened to enjoy the most, really. A lot of my higher ranked games are probably, in retrospect, inferior to their successors, but, subjectively, I just happened to enjoy playing them a little more.

*Haven't played X or Y yet, so, this is still very much subject to change!

 

[BOOMmaker]

1: Platinum (Diamond and Pearl as well)
2: X and Y
3: Heartgold/Soulsilver
4: Black and White
5: FireRed/LeafGreen
6: Ruby/Sapphire
7: Red/Blue
8: Emerald
9: Crystal

(I've never played Gold/Silver or Yellow.)

 

[Doubled]

Ugh, this is so tough.

1. Black and White/X and Y

I can't decide which one I like more from the other. The main thing for both series of games was that I felt a personal connection with my team, and that I felt something other than the joy of winning a battle for either. They made you think, really, and made you question what you thought you knew about the Pokemon world. [spoilers]The endings especially influence this choice.[/spoilers]

Not only this, but they blew away your preconceived notions for a team. I thought I was going to have a full team in Black and have Hydreigon too, but instead I had Samurott, Swoobat, Whimsicott, Krookodile, and Conkeldurr, with the 6th spot being filled by Reshiram. Same with Y, which made me think I would go through the game with a team filled entirely with Gen 6 Pokemon, but I quickly grew attached to certain past generation Pokemon.

Also both get pluses for me because of Samurott and Chesnaught, who both became my favorite water and grass starter.

2. Black and White 2

This ranks so high up because it was technically the first sequel of the main series, which I really liked, though I felt like they took a step down in terms of story. However, like X and Y, it blew away my preconceived notions for a team, and I actually used Pokemon I had never used in a team before, like Magmortar and Sigilyph. Plus the music was epic and the extra scenery was just amazing.

3. Firered/Leafgreen/RBY

I find myself going back to these games the most when I want to replay something, the remakes especially because I love the feeling I get when I see the 3rd generation mechanics in a 1st gen game (especially with Charmander learning Steel Claw)~ Plus the Sevii Islands are amazing, I just wish that they were revisited and had more of a plot to them.

4. DPPt

I highly respect this series because it was the first generation to have all dual type starters and with types that work in reverse order. Plus, a lot of my favorite Pokemon came from this generation, and also my favorite evil team~

5. RSE

I like the series for its archipelago environment and its starters, as this generation, other than generation 1, is one of the few where I found myself using all of the starters in separate intervals, plus the Pokemon all look pretty amazing too, (not that they don't in other generations), whenever I play the games, I always find a Pokemon to use that I didn't use in a team the previous time I played (Like Altaria). Plus this series began the larger than life plots that I've come to enjoy of the games~

6. HGSS/GSC

Although these games rank pretty low on the tier, I still love these games so much because of the nostalgia factor and the warm feelings I get when I play it. I especially love them because its home to my first Pokemon, Cyndaquil~ I really like the music and culture in this game, especially in the remakes, which look gorgeous, and the fact that you can explore Kanto and battle Red just made it so much better. However, even after all of this, I just felt like it was lacking something... like something was missing. Oh well.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

How did I miss this topic?

1) HGSS

After all the naysayers saying that these games were never going to happen, I was quite happy when these were announced. My old copy of Silver and Crystal were long dead and I really wanted to journey through Johto again. SoulSilver absolutely did not disappoint. The games were absolutely gorgeous (lmo, only XY surpass HGSS in beauty) and the music even more so. I also love the little things they added such as Pokemon following you, the always run button, the ambient noise, good use of the DS's second screen, leaves, etc. Kanto was forced on us again, but at least HGSS had the decency to restore what GSC took from it so it wasn't a total shell of itself. My only knock on HGSS was the atrocious leveling. I guess you can't have it all, huh?

2)Black and White/Black and White 2

I chose not to separate the two because my points work for both sets of games. My favorite thing about these games is the storyline. For a Pokemon game, it was ridiculously good and pretty deep. You had great characters (this includes the gym leaders--their designs leave much to be desired, but oh well xD), a villainous team that had a really interesting premise, and randomly cool quotes from NPCs all over the place. I loved the story so much, that I just couldn't enjoy XY because as much as I tried not to compare them to BW, I failed epically. The random over-the-topness was also pretty awesome--especially in BW2. The biggest example of that is the Nimbasa City gym in BW2 where you get escorted down the runway after defeating Elesa. I also genuinely had fun traveling through Unova.

3) Platinum

I've made no secret that I really, really like Sinnoh, but that's not the only reason I liked Platinum. The story might not be as amazing as BW's, but Platinum was no slouch. We have a villainous team led by a guy who's pretty off his rocker who sets of a chain of events that culminates in one of the few geniunely creepy moments in the Pokemon series. Giratina jumping at you? Brrr... I also enjoyed Platinum because of all the mythology and culture Sinnoh brought to the table. I feel like the wifi hit its peak in Platinum and took a major nosedive in the next generation.

Honorable Mention: Emerald

I could talk about how Emerald's storyline actually made sense, but I'm not gonna lie. I love Emerald because I love Hoenn. This game makes me excited to see the remakes on the 3DS.

Overall, there has never been a Pokemon game that I've flat out disliked because well...it's Pokemon! Every single game and region brings something new to the entire mythos. I like all of the games I didn't mention more or less equally. The only one that comes close to disappointing me was XY. It's a good thing the game is so pretty and there were so many new mechanics because the storyline and bland characters would've made me lose interest as soon as I finished the game.

 

[PokeMasterFrost]

1) Emerald
My favourite Pokemon game, and region! I had loads of fun playing Emerald, it was my first GBA game. I was 8 when I started playing it, and you can't forget your childhood! I have all the Hoenn region Pokemon plushies, the three games and I can't wait for the remakes!! GameFreak, you better make them!!!
2)Gen II and the remakes
The Johto region is my second favourite region! It introdused two new types: dark and steel! And dark type is my favourite type next to electric!! You could travel thru two regions!!! Also, the remakes, they had so many events!! My favourite one is when you bring Celebi to the shrine!! You go back to the past, you realise that Giovanni is your rivals father, you battle Giovanni and the something like a splash or a radio-wave is heard.. So many mysteries! Is Giovanni dead, or did team Rocket call him? Maybe we'll never know..
3)X/Y
I have to admit, these games I realy like. Such a step up for what we were used to! Trainer customisation, 3D graphics, all new adventures, mega evo's, fairy-type..
The only thing that lacks, is more Pokemon. Kalos region introdused only 48 or something Pokemon, while other regiuons have more then 100! But overall, great games!!

 

[Psycho Monkey]

1. RSE
It's no secret that these are my favorite games of the series. The low levels of the wild Pokemon in Gen II made grinding such a chore that I had all but lost interest in Pokemon. Sapphire saved the franchise for me with its refreshing new look, biodiversity, and how it was a completely separate entity from the previous games. I know that is people's main complaint about the game, but that's what made it a fresh start in my opinion. Hoenn remains my favorite region to this day with its natural beauty that deserve to be seen in 3D for a whole new refreshing experience. Not to mention the reason I even picked up Sapphire was because Kyogre was on the cover and as a Marine Biologist that was a major squee for me. These were also the only Pokemon games that I did not have the starters spoiled from me ahead of time. Gen I they were on the covers and in the instruction booklet, Gen II I had a coloring book that had them in it, and every Gen since IV I've followed the launch. I also liked the improvements Emerald brought along for the ride, namely combining the two story lines of Ruby and Sapphire as well as the introduction of the Battle Frontier.

2. BW
Best story of any Pokemon game. In fact, I was so into the story that I only caught a mere handful of Pokemon in White because I wanted to keep moving forward to unravel Team Plasma's plot. It helped that I had already planned out my team ahead of time from the information from the Japanese release. Also, these games had the best OST in my opinion.

3. B2W2
While the story wasn't as good as its prequels, the fact that it was a continuation of the story set in motion in those games is why it ranks so high. A few things that could have helped the story would be if the past protagonist showed up at some point like Red did in GSC/HGSS. Especially with the Unova Link it would have been so easy for the protagonist to appear with whatever team (s)he beat N with after the main story.

4. HGSS
It improved on the Gen II games immeasurably. While the Wild Pokemon levels were still garbage these games added enough new features that I can over look that flaw. Safari Zone, Pokeathlon, Pokemon following you, the PokeWalker, Gym Leader rematches, the addition of the Battle Frontier, combining elements of Crystal with Gold and Silver, fleshing out the Rocket Executives, the inclusion of Giovanni (by event but still), all of the updates with Gen IV's mechanics, and seeing the Johto and Kanto regions in 3D made the experience entirely new for me and fully redeemed the Johto experience for me. Really, the only improvement I can think to make for these games is to boost the levels of the Pokemon in Cerulean Cave. I can see maintaining the low levels of all the other areas to remain faithful to the original but Cerulean Cave wasn't open back then. Being the home of Mewtwo, this place deserved to have the high leveled Pokemon it harbored in Gens I and III.

5. FRLG
I loved seeing Kanto brought back with the new game mechanics and balance that had arisen since the series began. It was a nice walk down memory lane, but I also enjoyed the expansion of the story with the Sevii Island quest to tie it in with the rest of the games, the inclusion of Johto Pokemon, and being able to rematch the Elite Four. The tutorials at the beginning were a bit much though.

6. XY
Ironic isn't it? The Gen VI games are my sixth favorite. These games did a lot of things right with all of the amazing innovations they brought, not to mention the games are now in full 3D (gets me even more excited for a potential new Hoenn game). The reason they rank so low is because the story is weaker than BW's (but that set the bar really high) and they introduced so few new Pokemon. I don't count Mega Evolutions as new Pokemon because to me a new Pokemon has a new Pokedex number. Mega Blastoise is still #009 and Mega Mewtwo X/Y is still #150. Don't get me wrong, I love these games and it has been a very long time since I've been this enthusiastic about filing up my Pokedex, they just haven't won me over the way the ones above did.

7. RBY
Gen I. The games that started it all. My first videogame. My first addiction. Good ol' Blue Version. These games sit here because without them, we wouldn't have any of the others. Also nostalgia. Lots and lots of nostalgia.

8. DPP
I'll be very honest with you. Yes, Gen IV produced Infernape, my favorite Pokemon, but that's about all it did for me. I was not at all pleased that most of the Pokedex was Evolutions/Pre-evolutions of already existing Pokemon and Legendaries. I mean really? Did we need all of those Legendaries? I actually did not pick up my copy of Pearl until the American release date for Platinum had already been announced. I also wasn't a big fan of Sinnoh either. Too much time was spent going between Mt. Corronet. Unless you made an HM slave Bibarrel a permanent part of your party, you'd have to keep switching out better Pokemon for one. I found Platinum to be a much needed step up from Pearl though, just not enough to beat out the games above it.

9.GSC
Even though they're dead last on my list and almost caused me to never play another Pokemon game again, I simply can't bring myself to hate them. I remember having so much fun with Silver when I was 12, enjoying Crystal when I was 13 and then kind of going 'meh' with both when I was 14. Perhaps it was that I had simply outgrown them or maybe I can now look back at them with fondness 10 years later.

 

[Midnight Ace]

My ranking for the main games (not counting upgrades or remakes)

1) X/Y - They may had a low count number for new Pokémon, but with the introducing of mega forms and having so much Pokémon from other regions. You could make any type of team that you could think of. X/Y also added many great things like wonder trade, friend safari, character customization and etc. Its true there are some let downs, like the champion. But overall its a awesome game that hasn't been upgrade or remade.

2) G/S - Best story hands down in Pokémon...if you don't know; Pokémon was going to end after this gen, but things didn't go as plan (which in this case, was awesome) the whole idea of becoming the best in gen 1 and now starting as new trainer in a new region, just to become the best in that region seems like the same story right?. Well this game does something I wish they would do again, you go over to the region where gen 1 took place and you become the best over there...then you battle the player from gen 1 Red... epic.

3) D/P - I've noticed some people don't like these games, but I loved them, the villain team, the rival, the new Pokémon, the elite four. This Gen has the best starters, each one looks epic and they get a second type that makes your starter be able to win against you rival starter later in the game. I just wish there was more fire types in DP, but at least its upgrade fixed that.

4) R/B - It started everything that Pokémon is today and without this gen, there would been no Pokémon. This also has many great things that should be done again... a rival who goes to the top and feels like a true rival (other gens don't really make great rivals anymore it seems) a gym leader being a bad guy (other gens the gyms leader are all good people and what not) *counting Blue as not an upgrade as it came with Red in North America*

5) B/W - I don't really remember this gen, but I do remember that I liked these games a lot. (TMs able to use over and over) I only played this gen once as I was in college. The reason I didn't played it again was I had every Pokémon that I gotten from gen 3 & 4 and transfer them to Pokémon White. If there was one thing I wish they did, it was put this game on the 3ds...each gen had its own hand held device but this one shared with gen 4 hand held.

6) R/S - Is hands down the worst main Pokémon game. It has the worst villain team/ dumbest team, has the worst rival who stops being a trainer before their starter evolves to their final stage!, also has the worst starters. Best one out those three; is the grass starter. The only good thing about these was the champion... but they take that out in its upgrade.

 

[KoL]

There will be some controversy, and I don't give a shit. Also, I've chucked the third game(s) in with the original ones here since they are nowhere near different enough to warrant their own entries for me. From worst to best, this is how I rank the games:

Red/Blue/Yellow are objectively the worst games in the series, especially if you lump the original Red/Green versions from Japan in with them. Remove the nostalgia glasses and you have a bunch of glitchy, poorly designed RPGs that were already outclassed by fellow Nintendo RPG Earthbound on release from a pure design perspective. We all know about the horrendous Psychic imbalance (I beat Yellow with a fucking Abra for god sake, screw evolution,) the glitch that made Ghost ineffective against Psychic, the Rare Candy "cheat" and the later-discovered Mew Glitch, but the original Red/Green from Japan also came with the epic howler of evolving your starter before getting your Pokedex making the game completely unwinnable. Granted, you have to start somewhere, but for all the Genwunners out there, you're a bunch of idiots for thinking these games are better than any generation that came after them.

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum I honestly hate far more than Red/Blue/Yellow but that's mainly my opinion. What isn't is the amount of pointless evolution lines that these games introduced (Burmy, Kricketot, Finneon etc.) I'm sure someone out there likes these Pokemon, but statistically someone has to. Sinnoh is completely unmemorable aside from the awful Mt. Coronet blocking access to every single location without an HM Slave or Fly in a generation before the Battle Box was around, that absolutely horrendous route leading up to Snowpoint City that slows your movement speed to an agonizing crawl and admittedly the Distortion World in Platinum attempting a saving throw on an otherwise shit region. The Sinnoh games were pretty fun at the time, but in hindsight they can all suck a cock each.

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald ended up being the complete opposite of D/P/Pt for me in that I disliked them at first but warmed to them once the later generations arrived. It still ranks very low purely because they almost made me abandon the entire Pokemon franchise at a time when what felt like a huge gap between G/S/C and... well, these games had already worn my interest in the franchise down greatly. Hoenn is an amazing region and a lot of new, memorable Pokemon arrived with the generation, but all three games felt like a step back from G/S/C with the day/night mechanic and Pokegear mechanics gone. Granted the phone thing was annoying but it made the world feel more immersive to me back when I was a kid playing Pokemon Gold, R/S/E just felt stripped down compared to the previous generation and I can't let the fact that it almost ruined the franchise for me forever slide.

HeartGold/SoulSilver really failed to capture what made Gold/Silver/Crystal so memorable for me. The remixed music I found absolutely dreadful, especially the horrendously butchered Mt. Silver/Lighthouse remix that was my favourite music track in G/S/C, the Pokegear felt more like a worthless gimmick with a far more useless and far more annoying phone (at least G/S/C's phone told you where the Pokemon swarms were once in a while...) and the games as a whole just felt like an empty shell of the games I enjoyed as a child. Bottom line, HG/SS disappointed me greatly, the improved Kanto post-game is nowhere near enough to make up for it, and neither is the GB Sounds item due to how late in the game you acquire it. Gen IV can get fucked.

Black/White/B2/W2 I feel are not different enough to be considered separate entries. Here though is where the games start to get good; Gen V did what Gen IV failed to do and made an effort to make as many of the new Pokemon lines as significant and noteworthy as possible. Granted, there's still some crap (Unfezant, Watchog, Basculin) but the good vastly outweighs it, enough that VGC11, a competitive meta where only Gen V Pokemon could be used, ended up being one of my personal favourites. The story has been mentioned and praised for going (slightly) against the norm for the Pokemon games and I do have to commend that as N and Ghetsis were far more memorable and plot-relevant than any other evil team members bar possibly Giovanni as a result. The games were certainly not perfect but I greatly enjoyed them and they were a step in the right direction for the franchise as a whole.

FireRed/LeafGreen may be surprising to see this high up when I blasted their original counterparts for sucking, but the nostalgia glasses can be a sweet thing sometimes and at a time when my interest in the Pokemon franchise was at its lowest, these two games ended up being the saving throw. Pokemon Red was the first Pokemon game I ever played back in 1999, and having the opportunity to replay that experience on the Game Boy Advance was just fantastic. Granted, yet again, it lacked many of G/S/C's mechanics, but as a remake of R/B/Y it would have felt wrong having them there anyway in this case so I was able to forgive, and as cleaned-up redos of the Gen I games, they're pretty awesome in my book, and ultimately did exactly what HG/SS failed to for me.

Gold/Silver/Crystal I've praised to the high heavens throughout and here they are. Granted, many of the things in these games seem fairly mundane by today's standards, but back when these games first came out they were incredible to me. An in-game clock that matched the time in the real world? The game knowing what day of the week it was and certain events occurring only on certain days? The Pokegear with its radio and phone? I could go on forever, but this shit was amazing at the time these games came out, especially on a handheld console game. I've already said the music was awesome, and there's nothing glaringly bad about these from an objective standpoint and as the games I personally enjoyed the most in the entire franchise, well here you are. But...

X/Y are still No.1. For several reasons, the main one being that no matter how you slice it, the current generation is always the best one and is always the one people are playing the most at any given time. Granted, that's a pretty weak reason for sticking X/Y at the top but even with that aside these two are both amazing games in their own right. Mega Evolution is an amazing new mechanic, the Fairy-type ended up fitting into the type chart brilliantly when no-one, including myself, thought adding a new type to the game would ever work, and overall it shows Game Freak does pay attention to what the playerbase wants and uses in matches. Granted the in-game story was a step down from B/W but the improvements to the gameplay and mechanics more than make up for it, and while Kalos as a region was rather mediocre in terms of memorable locations, characters and post-game content, it was obvious the focus for Gen VI was on player-versus-player more than the in-game content, and the vast improvements to the PvP experience put X/Y at the top spot.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Hmm.. Though!
Well, the list would look like this:
1) R/S/E
2) G/S/C
3) B/W
4) HG/SS
5) FR/LG
6) B2/W2 / XY
7) Yellow
8 ) D/P/Pt
9) R/G/B
Now let's do some explaining!

R/S/E~
I just love these games. It's not just the nostalgia talking through me, but every time I go to any of these games, there's this feeling I just cannot explain! Something between joy and happiness, and sadness and flash-backs. But next up are the contests. I really enjoyed them, and even though they were in DPPt, it just wasn't the same. Also, the Pokemon are one of the main reasons I adore these games. Yes, I like all of the Pokemon, but nothing can replace Poochies and Ziggys! And Treecko is my first starter, though I like all three of them. I do think they had the best designs, but that's just me. Plus, the whole improvement from Gen I and II! All-in-all, I really enjoyed these games, and I hope that the remakes are great, too!

G/S/C~
Yes, Generation II is my second. why are these games above the remakes? The whole experience! There is the feeling that you can't replace it with any other game! The music is the most nostalgic to me. Yes, HGSS have the same one, but the 8-bit one is much more... Johto-ish! Plus, you travel to two regions, something that you don't have in any other game! The gyms were low-leveled, but they were also kinda hard, too! And the Blackthorn City Gym Leader made you go to the Dragons Den when you defeat her, just so you can get the badge! I think she's jealous. Also, the starters were plain, but they were plain awesome!! Heheh, oh I'm horrible

B/W~
Yes, I like Unova. Maybe not my favorite region, but the story is hands-down the best one. N was an okay 'rival', and having two ( three) rivals was much more.. Pokedex-collecting-ish. Yes, you saw all three starters, so you didn't have to go trading and stuff! Also, the towns were amazing! Just look at Elesa's Gym! It was brilliant! And, getting Mystic Water at every Gym was also great! But let's get to the point here. Well.. I said the storyline was great, and the overall experience was amazing! Plus,Team Plasma was ridiculous! They were fighting against Pokemon abuse by.. Pokemon battles? Bravo, Plasma, bravo!


Those were the Top 3 games! :3

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Here are mine:

1. Black/White and Black 2/White 2
   Gen 5 as a whole takes the #1 spot for me. Aside from a rather vast number of Pokémon that I am immensely fond of being added in this gen, the Unova saga stands out as having the single best storyline a Pokémon game ever had - at least so far - and some of the most interesting characters, as well. Combined with the fact Unova was actually one of the better designed regions so far - at least in terms of minimal HM-slave fuckery and a vast multitude of environments - you can probably see why it takes first place for me.
   
   
2. Emerald
   And this is where you people will probably think I flipped. Ranking Emerald over all these clearly superior future installations? Well. Here's the thing. Barring Gen V as a whole, Emerald is my single most-played Pokémon game - and I feel that it has represented Hoenn the best out of the three games (so far) that took place in it. Millions of water routes or not, I am quite fond of Hoenn - and Emerald fixed pretty much everything that was utterly broken about Ruby/Sapphire in terms of plot (another reason I am thoroughly disappointed by the apparent rollback of the upcoming remakes). To give it anything but second place would be dishonest on my part (even though these days, Gen 3 games are kind of difficult to play through - Gen 4 and 5's type split and additions to move pools, especially around types I am fond of, kind of spoiled me.)
   
   
3. X/Y
   I have yet to play X/Y (and I'm unlikely to do so for quite a while) and so my opinion is thoroughly based on watching gameplay videos and reading. And what I saw was a very mixed bag. X/Y are not bad games by any stretch of the word - they look lovely, sound rather lovely (although some of the battle themes really annoy my ears and a few additions from BW/B2W2 would have been welcome - such as variations in battle musics and FREAKING VARIATIONS ON GYM THEMES!), introduce some rather... interesting changes to the metagame and a whole mess of rather nifty new features (some of which make life easier for competitive types while others are primarily cosmetic) and a few really awesome creatures... But that's when shit starts falling apart sideways. After how Gen V got the characters and the storyline so nicely, X/Y felt like an incomplete clusterfuck. The Gym Leaders and Elite Four were phenomenally unmemorable if not downright sucky (barring Ramos, and even HIS awesomeness was only implied), the entire cast of friend-rival-idiots needs to die sideways and what's more, the game seems to be suffering from the worst case of baby-tier difficulty in the entire damn series, and that's saying something. Don't get me wrong, they're still pretty damn awesome - but after Gen V they frankly feel like a disappointment. Hopefully the inevitable followup version/sequels/cactus will actually make things a bit better. (shrugs)
   
   
4. Platinum
   Platinum did to D/P what Emerald did to R/S: fixed plot holes, shuffled the 'dex around making it a touch less lame (though at the cost of forcing me to actually deal with a fscking Electivire re Emo Kid Volkner >>; ) and generally improved the game immensely (even if Gardenia's gym in D/P suited her a lot more than her gym in Platinum, if you ask me). It still suffers from many of D/P's maladies (which honestly drag Gen 4 down a fuckton), but I enjoyed it quite a bit regardless. Also the Distortion World certainly adds something to the Sinnoh plotline and the AI seems to be a tad smarter than usual. That's an improvement I cannot ignore. XP
   
   
5. HeartGold/SoulSilver
   Sure, HG/SS was probably the best remake that a Pokémon game ever got. Crystal's additional content was worked in, the Pokédex was update to include more options including newer evolutions of older creatures, A lot of old content that was left very unfinished in Gen 2 was actually built and improved on, ambient noises were added (and never seen again), following Pokémon were added (... and never seen again...) and... uh... a completely unnecessary Eeveelution sequential gauntlet followed by a forced dungeon/legendary capture were added because gog forbid a Pokémon game since Gen 3 won't be about its bloody legendaries. It looked good (barring some of the incredibly horrid redesigns a few characters got and MOTHER FUCKING LYRA AND HER DUMB HAT), it sounded good (and had a Gameboy Sound module for the good ol' nostalgia factor). But all these lovely additions don't really change the fact that on the whole, It's still Johto - which never really felt like a standalone region to me but more of as a rather meh expansion pack of Kanto (which kind of fucked Kanto over sideways as well - don't get me started about that fscking Radio Tower in Lavender or Cinnabar being blown the fuck up simply so Blue can stand around looking emo and wax philosophical about the fleeting-ness of life. Yes, yes, smell you later) - and its levels are still retardedly all over the place. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
   
   
6. Ruby/Sapphire and Diamond/Pearl
   Fun for a while, but their third versions made them entirely fucking redundant and showed just how much of a broken mess their plotlines were. I rank them around the same because while D/P introduced various Gen IV mechanics that made it kind of difficult to roll back versions... Ruby/Sapphire had the superior region by far.
   
   ... Then again D/P had Gardenia. I can't stay mad at them. >>;
   
   
7. FireRed/LeafGreen.
   Let's face it: Kanto is one of those regions one needs some massive nostalgia goggles to truly appreciate. Sure, it's a classic. It's where everything began. But it honestly just doesn't stand the test of time well enough - and really, while FR/LG are nice enough remakes/bug fixes and do rather nice things to the game - the sudden Sevii Island interlude in the middle of the game felt obnoxiously shoehorned. They're fine enough a post-game story expansion (even though they stand in the way of grabbing Mewtwo) but forcing them down your throat mid-Kanto-plot was rather pointless.
   
   
8. Gold/Silver/Crystal
   I've already complained about Johto re: HG/SS. G/S/C had all the issues and none of the fixes HG/SS introduced. Crystal is, of course, much better than G/S themselves were.
   
   
9. Red/Blue/Yellow
   "Good Old" Gen 1. The generation that I started with, the games that got me into the series as a whole... and frankly, the most broken thing on Gog's Green Earth. I've often wondered how it was that a game inspired by the hobby of bug collecting took so long to sprout decent bugs... and then I realized that with gen 1 being so gloriously FULL of bugs, they had no room for new ones. (Game Freak, however, didn't call them 'bugs' - they called them 'creatures' - presumably so when people started complaining about their games being consumed by raging blocks of flesh-devouring glitch, they could reply with "no, no, that isn't a bug, just an undocumented creature"). That's what you get when your entire QA team is little kids with butterfly nets. Childhood maladies are to be expected from the first game of a series - but as I said re: FR/LG - Kanto honestly doesn't stand the test of time as a region and R/B/Y are objectively the buggiest, most disorganized games in the series... And that is why they get my last place.

 

[voidaquariums]

Okay, I'm only gonna put my top four.

Four: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald
Face it. Everyone says 'Oh, Hoenn stinks' but I think otherwise. Think of it. It introduced Blaziken, the best fire/fighting, and *dun dun dun* MUDKIP. King of memes. Now back as a crazy mega. But in my opinion, SCEPTILE FOREVER. Got a problem with that?

Three: X/Y
Mega Evolutions, awesome starters, and Dragon-balancing fairy types. What could be better? Nostalgia. Kalos is not nostalgic enough. Sure, it makes Charizard WAAAY more epic (Y form forever!), but still, I wish there was something more... retro. RBY style. Even though Pokémon-Amie makes Yveltal look adorable.

Two: BW2
I exploded after playing this. Easy or challenge, the nice hometown, the ability to battle other-region gym leaders, this game is awesome. This takes Unova to a new level for me. Especially the ability to catch 4- Generation Pokémon. There is just something that doesn't bump it up.

One. RBY
This is the starting point of every Pokémon trainer. I especially like Yellow, with surfing Pikachu, and Pika-follower. If you play it right, it is glitch-free. I personally love the 8-bit music. Even though it's glitchy and Psychic types are invincible, RBY will always have a special place in my heart.

 

[AzureEdge]

Alright I'm gonna rank them.
1 Pokemon Emerald. A clash between 2 amazing games ruby and sapphire, plus the awesomeness of match call. Trumpets!
2 Ruby and Sapphire- Your dad is a a gym leader, the Pokemon champion has water types, Pokemon contests, and the stupidness of team aqua and magma. And did I mention Steven?
3 Diamond and Pearl - Cynthia, time and space, and the routes soundtrack. Touchscreen makes it amazing as well.
4 Black/white- It's only here because it reps NYC (it looks nothing like it does in the game) and the basis of team plasma. Ghetsis was a freaky dude.
5 HG/SS- you get to explore not only just jhoto, but kanto too! 16 badges in all!
6 X/Y- I'm still not done with the game yet but I do like the features. Gts, and wonder trade take most of my time playing.
7 Fire red/ Leaf Green- I liked this game till HG/SS came along.
8 B2/W2-Same region but with ice. And old Pokemon from other regions. Not as much as Pokemon x though.
9 Yellow- it was fun having pikachu in the party and feeding it potions. Too bad it couldn't evolve.
10 R/B- Pokemon has had a long way since then. I still love the old sprites though.