this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023

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Are the original Pokemon games worth a visit? (self.retro_gaming)

submitted 1 year ago by jgrim to c/retro_gaming

45 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I didn't have a Gameboy until I was... too late.

Are the original Pokemon games worth visiting for the first time? I know there is some nostalgic reasoning to play them, but should I try it as someone who hasn't ever played one?

Have any of you done this?

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[–] kratoz29@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Have you played newest entries?

They are hard to play because they lack a lot of QOL stuff and one big motivation to play them is nostalgia.

If you are open minded and want to visit them for the history go ahead, if you think you could invest your time in something better then don't.

I finished Pokémon Yellow recently but for me it was easier because I played Pokémon Red in its day, and this time I used a Miyoo Mini which has some perks on its own, like fast forward, rewind, save states and fast shutdown and quick resume (basically all good things emulators have but on the go) I could say I abused of FF except to listen its great OST, also there are the GBA remakes which improve them a lot... so there are my two cents 😀

[–] TheAndrewBrown@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

As someone powered by nostalgia that’s about halfway through Red, it’s definitely rough. I’d personally recommend playing one of the remakes (Fire Red/Leaf Green, Heart Gold/Soul Silver, or Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) if you’re interested in the earlier games but want something that’s a little friendlier to a modern gamer.

The Let’s Go games are also the same story (generally) as the Gen 1 games and more modern. It’s also available on the Switch, which is nice since it can be hard to find some of the older games (for not a ridiculous price).

[–] kratoz29@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The Lets Go games are also the same story (generally) as the Gen 1 games and more modern. It's also available on the Switch

Doesn't it changes too much the gameplay?

[–] TheAndrewBrown@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The wild Pokémon work very differently and they replaced HMs but otherwise it’s fairly similar to the other modern games.

[–] kratoz29@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh I see, it was part of their reinvention to fix random encounters I guess.

[–] TheAndrewBrown@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

A lot of it was to capitalize on Pokémon Go’s success (the catching mechanic is nearly identical), but also people had been asking that wild Pokémon be visible in the over world for years

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ll probably just play something else then. Not looking for new even if it’s new old.

[–] TheAndrewBrown@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

For what it’s worth, Fire Red and Leaf Green are still early GameBoy Advance so they’re still pretty old.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

They sound like my only option if I’m interested in trying it out then.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have the Miyoo Mini+. I was planning to try it out on there. What are the QOL things?

[–] kratoz29@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the original games you can't run, the battle system is not as polished as the newer entries, your inventory is way limited, to the point you won't be able to pick up things unless you get rid of stuff first, and even your PC is limited so you need to ration stuff, those are some that come at the top of my mind.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

Okay, that makes sense why you say QOL is missing then. haha

[–] Aia@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I definitely recommend playing Fire Red and/or Leaf Green for a gen 1 remake. They have a lot of QoL improvements and are essentially the same game, without all the bugs etc.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ll have to check which system those are on. I’m getting the vibe that Gen 1 aren’t great and to avoid them.

[–] Aia@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Gen1 is VERY dated. Fr/Lg are on gameboy advance

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

I forgot how old I am

[–] FullOfBallooons@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

If you want to see the original games solely out of curiosity’s sake, I say go for it. If you’re looking to actually enjoy the games, you might like the GBA remakes more.

[–] paultimate14@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Those are probably the best for a beginner to emulate.

Gen 1 is a bit rough. Graphics, QoL, bugs, etc. Easy to emulate and tremendous fun to play as someone who already knows the series well, but probably not a great introduction.

Gen 2 is better, but similar.

Gen 4 is complicated to emulate because of the DS. If you have a good setup for emulating DS games already they might be worth your time.

Gen 5 I would say is the best except it also has the DS complications. It doesn't use the second screen quite as much as Gen 4 though. And it's also my favorite as an experienced player.

Gen 6 and 7 are similar to 4, just with the added power requirements of the 3DS. Luckily the 3D isn't needed. If you have a 3DS, I'd say 5>7>6>4.

Most of the Switch games are vastly different experiences. SwSh are probably not worth your time. Arceus and Let's Go are borderline spin-offs. SV are worth playing, but still very different from most of the rest of the games.

Special shout-out to BDSP though. It gets a lot of hate, but I found them better than the originals and solidly mid for the series. They don't need a 2nd screen, touch, or most of the other hardware gimmicks that are a pain to emulate. I don't like the art style, but the graphical fidelity and QoL makes it much more playable for a beginner than the GB and GBA games imo.

[–] jgrim 2 points 1 year ago

I have a Miyoo Mini+, SteamDeck, & Anbernic RG350V. I do not enjoy emulating DS games. This makes me want to just skip the experience. Make it like Pogs and say it’s just something I missed out on.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So don’t play it if I want to have fun, got it. Hahaha. Sounds like the GBA versions are way better but still not great?

[–] paultimate14@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The originals are fun in a meta sense. They were great for their time. If you were watching the anime, playing the card game, and talking with your friends at school. Yellow introducing color was fantastic. But if you're used to modern games, they are a mess to go back to. The inventory system is a nightmare to work with. Speedrunnerd do not have a glitchless category because it is impossible to play the game without encountering a big or glitch. The games don't do a great job of teaching you. Very often what the game tells you is happening is not what's actually happening in the code because of bugs. The balancing is also a complete mess. They're fun to go back to if you are aware of how the games work and you can use the knowledge of glitches to your advantage, but it can be frustrating to go in blind.

I would say FireRed and LeafGreen are the best entry points to emulate if you don't have a DS/3DS. They fixed most of those issues, and they look and sound better. Ruby Sapphire and Emerald are okay too, but I find they can be a tedious slog. Gen 3 Pokemon are purposefully weaker to fight power creep, so battles feel like wet noodle fights. The map also seems designed to slow you down as much as possible. They aren't terrible, I just think FRLG are more fun.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

I will try FireRed out. I just bought it on eBay. It'll arrive Monday. Thanks a lot!

[–] hashslingingslasher@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’ve had trouble getting back into them even with the nostalgia I have. They’re pretty tedious and there’s a ton of grinding. If you’re into that, it might be worth it but I can’t do it anymore lol

[–] jgrim 2 points 1 year ago

The more I learn about these games, the less I want to play them. Maybe they were good at that time but not so much now.

[–] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bro just play Pokémon crystal 1000x times with gba emulator and the fast forward and you will never get tired. Of course they are worth it, original hardware or emu, at least try them, you can always quit them if you get bored.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

I’ll check it out. I like GBA the most. I still have one and the Micro, even though I cannot see the screen.

[–] finkrat@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yes but you need to expect a very unpolished game with interesting graphics, lack of balance and lots of bugs hiding behind the scenes.

In return, you get a very fast-paced, uncomplicated catcher RPG with a great soundtrack, memorable characters, really fun mechanics, a nicely-sized world for the console's capabilities, and a lot of history.

If you buy a physical cartridge, get the battery changed in it before getting started, that was how the game was saved and you'll lose your save with a dead battery.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the tip. Everyone else made me feel like it isn’t a great choice to play. I should skip to something newer.

[–] Saturdaycat@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably not unless you had nostalgia for it. It's pretty basic. I played it a lot as a child, but what mystified me was the artwork (back then) and the immersive portability. I do not think that's a selling point in this day and age

[–] jgrim 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I never had a chance to play them but my friends did. I have FOMO from not ever playing it.

[–] Saturdaycat@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well if fomo is making you want to play it, use an emulator because moving around is soooo slow ! :) But the music rocks and it's nice. Idk I didn't play many Pokemon games but as a kid I was obsessed with red blue and yellow. For some reason I didn't enjoy crystal that much and I liked emerald kind of, but then I stopped playing Pokemon games pretty much after that

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Now I understand why people were saying with fast forward. I’m wondering more and more why so many people loved it.

[–] Saturdaycat@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well at the time of it being around, handheld was novel. Before pokemon was tamagotchi for me. So pokemon was hugely expansive. It was just a different time

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I had a giga pet. It was the only choice and it was novel. Now it’s nostalgic.

[–] Saturdaycat@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Then just imagine for kids back then pokemon to be like tamagotchi/digimon with a story and collection haha! That's basically what it was, and the artwork was so fascinating for what they had to work with back then. It felt so whimsical and alien with the designs back in those graphics.

Before yellow, red and blue just had this otherworldly look and feel to it. And the pokemon universe was brand new, so it felt so mysterious.

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

I’ll never get that. It’s too lat to heal my FOMO. :(

[–] DosDude@retrolemmy.com 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Honestly, not really. If you want to play the original you should try FireRed or Leaf Green instead. Or if you want more Pokémon SoulSilver and Heart Gold because the original Kanto region is also included there when you finish the game

They are the remakes of gen1 and 2 on the Gba. Objectively better games in my opinion

[–] jgrim 1 points 1 year ago

Okay cool. I recently got a GB Pocket; I never had one as a kid. I wanted to try some stuff out that I missed on it. It sounds like the Pokemon games are better on GBA+. So I either need to get a GPA bigger than my micro or emulate them.

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