The good old days of attacking pixels, Pokemon

[deltainferno]

Ah... pokemon. we all played it at some time. some people think of them as 151 attacking pixels.

what do you think?

[SlappyMcGee]

I loved the game when there were 151 attacking pixels, and even just after that for a while. I haven't been impressed with any of the attacking pixels that have been created lately, though.

[Chase]

I still play through the games occasionally, even now I still play Diamond/Pearl and will be getting Platinum when it arrives on UK shores. I am up for a WiFi match any time if you're up for it. PM me for the Friend Code.

[T3chno]

Blue/Red = Amazing.
Gold/Silver = Excellent.
Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire, Ruby, Leaf Green, Fire Red = Cow pies
Diamond/Pearl = Better, a step in the right direction.

[notsteve]

Blue/Red: Awesome
Gold/Silver: Awesome
All the other ones: Totally suck

[Geti]

did you guys actually play ruby/sapphire? those games were amazing. as much as i'd love to agree "first gen rules 3rd was liek cowpies lololol" [unclear comment removed] the third generation was an amazing step forward for pokemon. the story/lack thereof was just about as lame as it had always been, so that shouldnt be taken into consideration. the artwork suddenly improved a fuckton, the berries gained importance, there were interesting puzzles and areas, everything was much more ergonomic (running, HM use, proper item layouts, better PC system, TOWN LAYOUT), and the pokemon werent bad either in the third gen. ill explore each of these points below.

art style: the third gen was much less of an eyesore than the old games. fighting pixels was still true, but the game was actually enjoyable to look at. you can guess how happy this made an artist like me; it felt like the pokemon art style was really missing something up till this point. the environments, pokemon, characters and even menus were of a cleaner, crisper style, helped to no end by the GBA's (laughably) superior hardware. one of the greatest things about this is it allows for some incredible environments. who could forget the ash-covered plains or sweeping oceans present in these games? or the detail put into the rose gardens, and berry trees?

running: this improved the flow of the game to an immense degree, and the fact that the ability is gained so early on is a great fact. the different kinds of bikes in this generation also allowed much more freedom in the environment, and some cool visual treats. this was also helped by the town layout plans (see below)

HM use: the way HMs interacted with the world was far improved, and the visual effects associated made the tedium behind cut much more bearable. HMs were still usable from the menu aswell, allowing you to cut grass if you felt the need. the amount this improved the speed of using surf, for example, was marvelous. this fact makes me cringe whenever i go back to play my old games.

puzzles and environments: remember the towers in gold, silver and crystal? they were fun, but started to feel like grinding after a bit. i did like the bellding theme tower in crystal especially, it has a serene feel, like the were going for. however, in the 3rd gen, the tower (with rayquaza up top and all sorts of crazy pokemon inside) has some speed puzzles. in pokemon! that for me, was a cool thing to behold. the jumping rails for your acro bike, crazy secret bases, soft sand on cliffs, an angry desert, ancient ruins, and braille puzzles keep the game from getting stale, and provide tasty rewards (who doesnt want to hug a snorlax doll?)

proper item layouts, and PC system: the menu suddenly became readable, and fast. rather than one confusing list of names, we have it sorted. this expanded on the advancements already made in gold and silver, and was expanded on more and more in the newer games (the bag in LG and FR are the only things i really like about those games, they bring back the most irritating thing about the early games). the PC system is also greatly improved, and much more graphical. it meshes with the interface amazingly, and is well designed in its ergonomics and aesthetics. the interface of a game affects its playablity to a massive degree, and these advancements made the 3rd generation play more smoothly than the ones before it, which enhanced the experience greatly.

berries: an interesting idea in g/s, taken much, much further. berries actually have a purpose now. if you like contests, or milotic, berries can help you. if you're into hold items, there is a greater variety now. berries have a more interesting growing system now, and are generally cooler. yay berries!

TOWN LAYOUT: this is the greatest enhancement of all. the towns and world in general feel clunky at best in the first and second gen games. the pathing through the world is nonsensical in parts (what the hell is saffron city doing there? why would you do that?!) (what, i have to go through that cave again!?) (cerulean city.), and the only thing that makes this bearable is the advent of fly. why? because it lets you almost circumvent walking through the horrendously designed game world. in the 3rd gen games, the world is intelligently designed, one town flows to the next, and because the environments are way more pretty, walking running isnt as much of a chore. this is undeniably the hugest hassle in the early games, and lo and behold they fixed it in the 3rd generation.

above you can see why i believe the 3rd gen games are superior to the original generation. i got pokemon blue when i was 8, i have a limited edition pokemon gbc, and ive played at least 1 of each generation, but the 3rd gen is still the one that sticks out for me. it made pokemon fun, and the pokemon in the games arent that bad. some of the ones in the 4th gen, i understand where you're coming from, but i also dont like the feel of at least 20% of the first gen pokemon, because they were just exploring the ideas in those games. the 2nd generation of games i enjoyed immensely, but they always felt like they could be expanded on. crystal (gen 2.5), did quite a bit, and was more fun again, but the tenfold advancement of almost every facet in ruby and sapphire make them a joy to play. if that feel could be applied to a universal pokemon game (one where you could explore all regions, catch all pokemon, be the coolest person in the land, whatever), or a full 3d pokemon game without turn based battle, it would both sell billions and capture pure awesomeness.

in closing, my opinion of what they should do next would be do away with random battles (id like to see what was attacking me, actually, and be able to flee without entering a battle first.), and if its in 3d, do away with turn based battle aswell. in 2d, turn based is fine, but in 3d (think back to final fantasy here, and then remember why you liked KH), its sour. realtime pokemon would be a welcome change, and probably make some older, hardcore-r gamers enjoy it more. they should also keep bringing the awesome variation into the moves that they have in the new generation. even if a lot of the pokemon seem underdeveloped, the moves are very, very good.
id also like to see a return of the cool environments in r/s/e. i loved acro-bike rails and secret bases, and the trick house. also, pokemon needs to see an increase in NPC interaction. you barely need to talk to anyone, in all of the games, and that doesnt capture the fun and engaging nature of pokemon very well.

thats my opinion anyway. this is how we discuss.

why dont people like the 3rd gen? :)

[乳头的早餐谷物]

(i assume you eat and love cow pies by the way, they're just labeled as "beef" rather than cow)

It means cow shit.

I also like the third generation but I'm not prepared to write a 1000 word essay expounding my position (like, wow). I probably should try and say something meaningful but I haven't played them recently.

[jackass]

I do :D

[Geti]

It means cow shit.

oh, i know. i was just making a bad pun.
also, did that hit 1k words? "o0

[乳头的早餐谷物]

also, did that hit 1k words? "o0

1206, according to Word.

[SlappyMcGee]

did you guys actually play ...

pokemon very well.

thats my opinion anyway. this is how we discuss.

why dont people like the 3rd gen? :)

Boy, that was an awful long explanation. And that's exactly the problem.

When I pick up Pokemon Blue, it doesn't matter what point I was at in the game when I put it down. I just pick it up and play. My monsters evolve at a certain level, and when they get to 100, they become unstoppable. (I had the fiercest Nidoqueen this side of the Atlantic.)

So, when is it that improving a game meant adding more complexity to it? Sure, the graphics are improved, and I definitely appreciate that. But the berries system was boring and unsatisfying, and it took some getting to get used to.

Part of the charm of the originals is the clunky town layout and the menu that was way to BLAYYYSIAN to read. This isn't real life, this is the pokemon world. English is severely hampered in the pokemon world, and people built their towns by building four houses without locks and a giant gym that didn't serve he purpose of an actual gym unless you were a lacky.

And finally, ever pokemon created for third generation is complete shit. Poorly named, even more poorly designed, but at least we can see them in full color, no?

[Condog]

I don't care if i'm too old. Pokemon is fun. The pokemon themselves are far more appealing than the actual game. I even made my own pokemon, almost a whole new dex's worth. It was awesome.

[Geti]

dont worry, this one isnt long.

i understand that the charm behind the first ones is the simplicity that hides the complexity that drives the games fun-o-meter, mostly because the hardware didnt allow the surface-impression to be anything more than simple. the third gen games are still very pick up and play, though and a lot of the simplicity is still there, in fact, some things are more simple. getting pokemans in and out of the PC is quicker and easier, pokemon still level up, evolve at a cirtain level (bar a few with crazy requirements, but whatever, there was trade-only pokemon on the first gen, and esp/umbreon in the second gen), and learn new moves.

English is still fairly hampered in even the newest games (though they do use words that make more sense.. and "noob"), and gyms are still only for the purpose of linearity, but the town layouts actually make sense. i dont think complexity being added to getting around is a good thing, i do however think complexity is a good thing when you are talking features. the complexity behind pokemon is all the leveling and stats and the sheer number of the damned things! but adding things to the interface and introducing new elements to keep things fresh is cirtainly a good idea. as are bikes that you can do tricks on, and running.

also, i disagree with you about every pokemon being complete shit. quite a few in the first and second are shit (tanglea, mr. mime, execute, stantler, snubbull), and some are awesome (nido*, charizard, haunter, espeon, misdreavus), the same can be applied to the third gen. there will always be bad and good. i personally like the art style in the 3rd gen aswell, and the legendaries are cooler.

plah, i need sleep, this is interesting though. its like a browser war but with pokemon, and im not on the winning side ^_________________^

post-post-edit: those pokemon are just pulled out of the air btw, there are more good and bad in brygsc. by the way, good to hear you played blue, it was my personal favourite.
@maestro: wow, my bad.

[SlappyMcGee]

(tanglea, mr. mime, execute, stantler, snubbull)

Two of those five are from the original games, whose case I am arguing for, and Mr. Mime and Exeggcute were amazing, in my eyes.

[Spawn of Yanni]

I played the Gameboy versions only on a couple of occasions, using a friend's GB.

I have a shitload (like, a -*shit*load-) of cards in my cupboard somewhere, along with a game mat. My brother and I used the mat and played an all-out match a couple of times, but otherwise everyone here just stuck to trading.

The whole thing must've lasted about half a year around here, although the GB games still have that nostalgia value.

[Luminaflare]

And finally, ever pokemon created for third generation is complete shit. Poorly named, even more poorly designed, but at least we can see them in full color, no?

FLAMING MONKEY!

[Chase]

The fourth gen, IE current improved a ton as well. Seperating attacks between Physical and Special (Making Gyarados useful for once with decent powered Water attacks) as well as having better status moves (Stealth Rock to name one) AND better items (Choice Specs anyone?). Now all we wait for is GSC remade on the DP engine :)

[blackbelmoral]

diamond and pearl suck because they have nothing new to offer, just more pokemon, and it is a complete ripoff of the others

[blackbelmoral]

the best were gold and silver

[T3chno]

did you guys actually play ...

pokemon very well.

thats my opinion anyway. this is how we discuss.

why dont people like the 3rd gen? :)

Boy, that was an awful long explanation. And that's exactly the problem.

When I pick up Pokemon Blue, it doesn't matter what point I was at in the game when I put it down. I just pick it up and play. My monsters evolve at a certain level, and when they get to 100, they become unstoppable. (I had the fiercest Nidoqueen this side of the Atlantic.)

So, when is it that improving a game meant adding more complexity to it? Sure, the graphics are improved, and I definitely appreciate that. But the berries system was boring and unsatisfying, and it took some getting to get used to.

Part of the charm of the originals is the clunky town layout and the menu that was way to BLAYYYSIAN to read. This isn't real life, this is the pokemon world. English is severely hampered in the pokemon world, and people built their towns by building four houses without locks and a giant gym that didn't serve he purpose of an actual gym unless you were a lacky.

And finally, ever pokemon created for third generation is complete shit. Poorly named, even more poorly designed, but at least we can see them in full color, no?

Slappy wins.

I found that all the Pokemen in Ruby/Sapphire were created in a rush, each looking fuglier as they appeared.

grti, may I remind you of thise guy who's debut was in Ruby/Sapphire:

[blackbelmoral]

best pixle ever: relicanthactually the best one was rayquaza. i like the idea, but the art was sloppy, at best

[T3chno]

The interface in the 3rd gen was great however (the PC and summary concepts).

Oh, and this guy:

[blackbelmoral]

where do you get those (good) pictures?

[deltainferno]

judging by these walls of text i have deduced four things.

1. pokemon is, was, and always will be an awesome game.

2. to be honest, B R Y were great at the time and are still great today, but mainly because of their nostalgia value.

3. the second generation in my opinion was the best generation, because nintendo finally played all the right cards, (hold items, bag pockets, breeding and the pokegear was AMAZING) and who can forget espeon/umbreon?! they are THE best pokemon to evolve dofferently, (also my favourite pokemon came from there, larvitar/tyranitar.) another reason i like this the best is probably because it was the time when i firstly got my own GBC instead of using my bro's, and it was the game when i finally understood pokemon.

4. if anyone says they havent played pokemon because they are embarrased, it is a blatant lie, because everyone has.


so pokemon will always be amazing, and i have many memories of owning pokemon, and losing pokemon... but to many of us pokemon will always be the game which stands out the most for us, because we grew up with it. and we learned from it. and we imagined what it would be like to be in a pokemon game.

~Delta_Inferno~

[deltainferno]

where do you get those (good) pictures?

I think they are getting them from: www.pokemonelite2000.com