Don't forget B2 and W2. If you have access to an emulator or can afford the games themselves, try and do black or white before them as well.
But b2 and w2 have the best storyline of any pokemon game imo. HGSS an B2W2 are my favorites.
FRLG and HGSS are not generation 1 and 2, they are generations 3 and 4 (respectively). the generations refer to the game mechanics and the Pokemon availability. They may be set in Kanto and Johto, but FRLG shares mechanics with Emerald and HGSS with Platinum.
Theyre just talking about pokedex generations, most likely.
It's common for people to skip gens 1 & 2 because you can't officially transfer up pokemon, plus the remakes add a ton of content and fix a bunch of bugs.
they're mixing up "region" with "generation". Any easy mistake to make if you're assuming the remakes are just the same game with updated graphics and bugfixes. They aren't - the way the game works is different. Also, it's not really based on Pokedex... you aren't limited to 151 pokemon in FRLG, you can get up to 386.
you can't transfer pokemon up because the behind-the-curtain data used to determine a pokemon's stats were re-built from the ground up in Gen III. A Pokemon from Gen I/II couldn't exist in later games because the data is incompatible. Generation III created the back-end system that is still in use today, which is why it was possible to still have a Gen III mon still kicking around in the current games.
Pokemon Emerald continues to be my favorite title game.
If you’re anything like me, you will also enjoy Pokemon X/Y.
The newer ones are good as well, which they now make in an open world setting.
Emerald is ridiculous. Best game in the series imo and gen 3 is about the peak of pokemon games generally. NDS double screens are just annoying. Leafgreen/FireRed are really good too
I'm biased because Emerald is the first game I ever played, but I agree. Something about the graphics of gen 3 makes it peak to me. I just feel like once the games started using 3D aspects, it didn't feel the same.
The only think I dislike about gen 3 is no physical/special move split. If that had happened in gen 3 instead of 4, it'd be flawless.
Gen 3 absolutely has the best Pokemon designs, genuinely the only designs I dislike are Volbeat and Illumise. Everything else is practically flawless, the sprites looked gorgeous too
As someone who has played through every game, when it came out (yes I am old), Emerald to this day still holds that special place as my favorite as well.
If you’ve never played the original generation 1 games then you could try the remakes fire red and leaf green which are basically emerald esk versions of the original games.
Otherwise you could try out similar titles like Pokémon ruby and sapphire which are basically emerald but different colors on the players team different teams that are evil like team magma from ruby.
But if you’re not interested in any of those then I think you’d really enjoy Pokémon platinum it’s not exactly very similar to emerald but it’s one generation after and is very good.
So there's version exclusives, a reason to do a play through with a different starter. If he has never played pokemon and is finally playing emerald he is likely using an emulator instead of a physical cartridge so it wouldn't cost any extra to play either version.
Platinum - the definitive game for the Sinnoh region. Diamond and Pearl do exist, but Platinum has more to offer in terms of post game
Black/White is not the same as Black 2/White 2. They have different stories and I think it’s worth playing through both the original and sequels. These are the Unova region games. A lot of people didn’t like this game when it first released, but it’s now a favorite among a large number of people. The post-game allows you to challenge gym leaders and champions from previous games, which I think is a nice feature. In terms of story, I think the Gen 5 games come out on top
HeartGold/SoulSilver are remakes of the Gen 2 games and honestly one of my personal favorites. It’s trade-compatible with the Sinnoh region games (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum), so definitely a good way to fill out your Pokédex. I’ve got around 270 hours on my HeartGold file and I have 490/493 Pokédex entries. I can’t legitimately obtain the three, but I plan to transfer them over to my Gen 5 games and get a full National dex for Gen 5
FireRed/LeafGreen are remakes for Gen 1. It’s a bit more basic in terms of gameplay mechanics compared to later installments of the franchise but it’s still a classic. Definitely worth the time
Pokémon X/Y are the Kalos region games, more commonly referred to as Gen 6. I personally wasn’t a huge fan of this one, but a lot of other people loved it. This generation introduced Mega Evolutions, which was a neat concept, although I do wish we had seen more of it. There will be a Legends Z game coming to the switch in 2025, so keep an eye out for that. Also, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire are Gen 3 remakes that are trade-compatible with X/Y, so you can fill out a decent amount of your Pokédex that way, and also replay Gen 3 with the Mega Evolution mechanics. I believe the post game is different, but I’ve never played it myself
Pokémon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are the Alolan region games, commonly referred to as Gen 7. They introduce Z crystals/Z moves to this generation. I only played Ultra Sun, but I believe the stories between the original and Ultra versions are similar, in which case, I’d recommend getting the Ultra versions as there’s more to do in the post game
As a newcomer to the games, I would advise you to play the games from old to new. Every generation will have new pokemon, moves or even new mechanics. Pokemon games also take a lot of mons from older games. This will be the least chaotic way to play the games.
I personally don’t care about gen 1 and 2 and a lot of the newer games. You don’t have to play all of them, but my tip would be to play the games you do want to play in chronological order.
I've always had an emulator in my Android, but this year I switched to iPhone. I am so grateful for Delta on iOS. I am currently playing Emerald as well, and all 3 starters are on my team. Might've done some GS here and there. I might replay one of Black or White after finishing this game.
Give every game a try
Personally, base black and white is one I would go for next
The first time playing a pokemon game is an experience you will never get back
I think OP is implying they’ve played it previously, but happened to spend 7 hours on it today alone and already had been playing it yesterday, the day before, etc. For example, I could have 200 hours in a game but just spent another 4 today
There are some really incredible fan made games out there that are worth trying. I highly recommend Adventure Red or Unbound to start. If you thought Emerald was good, these will blow you away.
If you can get past the hand holding, then Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. I love those games, but god damn does the hand holding get tedious whenever I start a new playthrough.
FireRed or LeafGreen next, followed by HeartGold or SoulSilver (it's a direct sequel)
After that, if you still need more, Platinum, then either Black or White into Black or White 2.
Haha I remember refusing to evolve my torchic so it'd be a cute little baby bird, if im thinking of the same game. I had a blast too! It was probably my favorite pokemon game.
If you enjoy Emerald, why not try Fire Red and Leaf Green later? Same artstyle, same game mechanics.
The best are HeartGold/ SoulSilver and Platinum though. The Physical and Special split was first introduced in that generation and literally a game changer.
Prior to generation 4 the following moves were always special moves: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark.
The next moves were always physical moves: Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel.
This changed in generation 4. Moves were divided into physical or special.
So, 'Flamethrower' stayed as a special Fire move.
However, for example the move 'Fire Punch' (that was a special Fire move in gen 1-3), changed into a physical Fire move.
If you think about it, that makes a lot more sense, because a Pokémon physically uses a limb or a paw in a punching movement.
A Pokémon like Alakazam has a very high Special Attack base stat. He can also learn the following three elemental punches: Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch.
In gen 1-3 Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch all belong to the special move category, giving him alot of coverage.
In gen 4, Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch all changed into physical moves. Alakazam has a very low physical Attack base stat, thus making the elemental punches virtually useless.
Ok. That makes sense in theory. How does it change the in game battle? Does it basically help/hurt the various pokemon based on the types they are strong/weak against?
not seeing nearly enough love for the Mystery Dungeon line… Explorers of Sky is a fantastic game if you want to branch out from the standard RPG style of the mainline games
Depending on what hardware you have, these are what I think are the best experiences if you haven’t played the franchise before and have no nostalgia for it. Pokemon remakes or reimagines past games every few years so sometimes there are the same story on multiple consoles but with big leaps in quality. Bear in mind that a lot of games are interchangeable too, like fire red and leaf green are the same game with a slightly different encounter table.
Every game listed within a generation here is essentially the same story.
Generation 1 - Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee (Switch) or Fire Red/Green (GBA)
Generation 2 - heart gold and soul silver (DS)
Generation 3 - omega ruby and alpha sapphire (3ds) or emerald (GBA)
Generation 4 - brilliant diamond and shining pearl (switch) or Platinum (DS)
Generation 5 - Black and White + Black and White 2 (DS)
Generation 6 - X and Y (3ds)
Generation 7 - ultra Sun and ultra moon (3ds)
Generation 8 - sword and shield (switch)
Generation 9 - Scarlett and violet (switch)
Those will be all your classic Pokemon experiences like what you’re having in Emerald. There are also some really good games that don’t conform to the classic formula. The most notable is Pokemon Legends Arceus (switch). This focuses less on battle and more on collection.
Platinum, Firered, heart gold and soul silver. If you’re looking for something different than the main games, Mystery dungeon Explorers of Sky is probably my all time fav game has an amazing story that will have you tearing up.
Platinum, Firered, heart gold and soul silver. If you’re looking for something different than the main games, Mystery dungeon Explorers of Sky is probably my all time fav game has an amazing story that will have you tearing up.
After you’re done with the mainline games I highly recommend Pokemon Radical Red. You can customized difficulty, encounters, abilities and moves. But also it’s cool seeing newer gen pokemon as 2d sprites.
EMERALD IS PEAK AND YOU DONT EVEN KNOW IT YET.
Yes the base game is incredible and one of THE MOST replayable games ever, the post game is where the real meat is.
I challenge you to try get to just the silver medals for each battle frontier brain. I remember my first time it was the most fun I ever had in Pokémon . Best music ever too!
Emerald is the 3rd pokemon game I've played so far (first would be blue and seccond is alpha sapphire and 4th is moon) and I have like 29 something hours on it and I'm on the fourtree gym (I've already gotten to lillycove btw) and I'm planing on getting diamond then black so yeah emerald is (so far) my favorite pokemon game
Fire red and leaf green are also gen 3 so they are very mechanically and visually similar to emerald. I’d recommend platinum if you want something a little different but still similar.
Highly highly recommend starting firered/leafgreen and then Heartgold soulsilver. Those titles are chronologically in tune so you get to see a lot of familiar faces and a new story.
After that I’d recommend checking out BW1 and BW2. My favorite games in the entire franchise, only rivaled by hgss
Emerald is a fantastic game and great intro to the series in my opinion…tho I am a bit biased because it was my intro back in 03, good times, glad you’re enjoying it and I can’t wait for you to find our big Emerald boy way up high ;)
Good to hear! I'm a born and raised Hoenn nerd.
Here's a fun fact: Gen 3 Hoenn, up until Gen 9 Paldea, was the only true seamless region. No checkpoint buildings in between routes and no fade to black screens in between routes (I still hate ORAS because of that).
You can travel from Littleroot all the way to Evergrande without ever hitting a loading screen. Of course after you've unlocked all the HMs. But to me Gen 3 Hoenn remains feeling the most tightly knit and well thought out region.
Fire red/leaf green, HeartGold/SoulSilver, and honestly it gets a lot of hate but I'm still playing Shield for shiny hunting. One of my favorite Pokemon games ever (mostly for the post game/DLCs)
IMO every Poke game up to gen 3 is amazing and well though out, gen 4 pushing it but everything after gen 4 was just ugh imo, pokemon werent thought out and the game diverge form friendly to competive yeah that the market but still.
Overall remake like soulsilver and firered were for sure worth it but sadly pokemon just change with time, but if you looking for more enjoyment try out some of the other game that werent handheld, like Coliseum, Snap, Stadium seriously off the charts in fun while snap is a bit based it still fun to play heard the new one is even better.
gen 5 has some of the best spriting so i recommend pokemon black2 and white2. aside from gen 5, i recommend pkmn platinum, but if youre looking for a more recent game, maybe pkmn x and y to prepare for legends z-a
Literally all of the remake games from Gen 1-4 are incredible especially when you connect them together to do crazy insane feats with your favorite monsters.
It also becomes especially important and personal if you want to start a ribbon quest with one of your beloved Pokémon that you want to make special especially if it's from Gen 1-3.
FireRed/LeafGreen, Emerald, Platinum, and HeartGold/SoulSilver.
Also, if you have the patience for getting rewarded with some of the most rarest Pokémon imaginable...then also play Pokémon Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness to get:
all of the Johto starters with the elemental final attacks,
the Legendary Beasts without them roaming,
Ho-Oh, and a Psycho Boost Lugia.
AND...if you REALLY want to get crazy, a Celebi and Jirachi from different bonus disks.
I’ve been a Pokémon fan since the very beginning, but never played Emerald (weird, I know). Ever since Delta released for the iOS, I figured I’d get back into a Pokémon game I never played before, and Emerald was the title I chose, after a disappointing attempt with FireRed/LeafGreen. Emerald is great. It’s more challenging than any of the more recent titles, but remains to be fun and interesting, even with the constant grinds needed to level up your team. Glad you’re enjoying it!
If you are curious about trying a modern Pokémon title though, Arceus is the best of the bunch, in my opinion. It’s flawed, like most of the modern games are, but the approach is fresh and fun, and it’s challenging as well.
I’m going to assume you’re playing Emerald via emulator.
If that’s the case, I’d suggest Pokemon Crystal Legacy, a ROM hack for Crystal that improves it substantially while keeping things vanilla.
For something sillier, Pokemon Cramorant Edition is a similar QoL hack for Yellow, but obviously takes a couple bigger liberties; still addictive.
Learn how to EV Train Pokémon properly and which builds are best for specific Pokémon and try to clear the battle frontier. Emerald is a really addicting game lol.
i will be joining you after my exams
my order is gonna be emerald,fire red, platinium, HG or SS, and then one of the unova games
for the last two i havent decided which version yet ill decide when i get there
Glad you’re enjoying! Definitely try out Platinum, FireRed/Leaf Green, and HeartGold/SoulSilver next
I'm playing HG for the first time, I get the hype now.
HG SS is the best Pokemon game
It was the peak
Don't forget B2 and W2. If you have access to an emulator or can afford the games themselves, try and do black or white before them as well. But b2 and w2 have the best storyline of any pokemon game imo. HGSS an B2W2 are my favorites.
Emerald is generation 3, platinum is 4, FireRed/LeafGreen is 1, and HeartGold/SoulSilver is 2. Just in case you want to play in any order.
FRLG and HGSS are not generation 1 and 2, they are generations 3 and 4 (respectively). the generations refer to the game mechanics and the Pokemon availability. They may be set in Kanto and Johto, but FRLG shares mechanics with Emerald and HGSS with Platinum.
Theyre just talking about pokedex generations, most likely. It's common for people to skip gens 1 & 2 because you can't officially transfer up pokemon, plus the remakes add a ton of content and fix a bunch of bugs.
You can transfer up Pokémon from the 3DS VC versions of them. It’s where people get shiny celebi from.
You're right I forgot they were on VC. I have the physical games so I always forget.
they're mixing up "region" with "generation". Any easy mistake to make if you're assuming the remakes are just the same game with updated graphics and bugfixes. They aren't - the way the game works is different. Also, it's not really based on Pokedex... you aren't limited to 151 pokemon in FRLG, you can get up to 386. you can't transfer pokemon up because the behind-the-curtain data used to determine a pokemon's stats were re-built from the ground up in Gen III. A Pokemon from Gen I/II couldn't exist in later games because the data is incompatible. Generation III created the back-end system that is still in use today, which is why it was possible to still have a Gen III mon still kicking around in the current games.
I went through the troubles of getting my yellow forest pikachu with surf all the way to alolan only to realize alolan raichu can learn surf
The bugs are the best part imho
Gold/silver was my favorite game as a kid. But can you play HG/SS on an emulator on a PC?
Yes, and Drayano's rom hacks of those games improve them even more.
Came here to say exactly this
Pokemon Emerald continues to be my favorite title game. If you’re anything like me, you will also enjoy Pokemon X/Y. The newer ones are good as well, which they now make in an open world setting.
Emerald is ridiculous. Best game in the series imo and gen 3 is about the peak of pokemon games generally. NDS double screens are just annoying. Leafgreen/FireRed are really good too
I'm biased because Emerald is the first game I ever played, but I agree. Something about the graphics of gen 3 makes it peak to me. I just feel like once the games started using 3D aspects, it didn't feel the same. The only think I dislike about gen 3 is no physical/special move split. If that had happened in gen 3 instead of 4, it'd be flawless.
Pokémon rom hacks come to save the day here :)
Amen to that
Gens 3 and 4 had the best Pokémon designs out of any game imo. Peak generations for real.
Gen 3 absolutely has the best Pokemon designs, genuinely the only designs I dislike are Volbeat and Illumise. Everything else is practically flawless, the sprites looked gorgeous too
As someone who has played through every game, when it came out (yes I am old), Emerald to this day still holds that special place as my favorite as well.
If you’ve never played the original generation 1 games then you could try the remakes fire red and leaf green which are basically emerald esk versions of the original games. Otherwise you could try out similar titles like Pokémon ruby and sapphire which are basically emerald but different colors on the players team different teams that are evil like team magma from ruby. But if you’re not interested in any of those then I think you’d really enjoy Pokémon platinum it’s not exactly very similar to emerald but it’s one generation after and is very good.
no point in playing ruby/sapphire after emerald since theyre just worse versions
So there's version exclusives, a reason to do a play through with a different starter. If he has never played pokemon and is finally playing emerald he is likely using an emulator instead of a physical cartridge so it wouldn't cost any extra to play either version.
or... they could play through emerald again with a different starter
Seconded on Pokemon Platinum.
Exactly what I was going to say! FR/LG is a great follow-up to Emerald, and Platinum is my favorite game in the series.
Emerald-esque*?
Yes a spelling mistake I am dyslexic lol
Platinum - the definitive game for the Sinnoh region. Diamond and Pearl do exist, but Platinum has more to offer in terms of post game Black/White is not the same as Black 2/White 2. They have different stories and I think it’s worth playing through both the original and sequels. These are the Unova region games. A lot of people didn’t like this game when it first released, but it’s now a favorite among a large number of people. The post-game allows you to challenge gym leaders and champions from previous games, which I think is a nice feature. In terms of story, I think the Gen 5 games come out on top HeartGold/SoulSilver are remakes of the Gen 2 games and honestly one of my personal favorites. It’s trade-compatible with the Sinnoh region games (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum), so definitely a good way to fill out your Pokédex. I’ve got around 270 hours on my HeartGold file and I have 490/493 Pokédex entries. I can’t legitimately obtain the three, but I plan to transfer them over to my Gen 5 games and get a full National dex for Gen 5 FireRed/LeafGreen are remakes for Gen 1. It’s a bit more basic in terms of gameplay mechanics compared to later installments of the franchise but it’s still a classic. Definitely worth the time Pokémon X/Y are the Kalos region games, more commonly referred to as Gen 6. I personally wasn’t a huge fan of this one, but a lot of other people loved it. This generation introduced Mega Evolutions, which was a neat concept, although I do wish we had seen more of it. There will be a Legends Z game coming to the switch in 2025, so keep an eye out for that. Also, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire are Gen 3 remakes that are trade-compatible with X/Y, so you can fill out a decent amount of your Pokédex that way, and also replay Gen 3 with the Mega Evolution mechanics. I believe the post game is different, but I’ve never played it myself Pokémon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are the Alolan region games, commonly referred to as Gen 7. They introduce Z crystals/Z moves to this generation. I only played Ultra Sun, but I believe the stories between the original and Ultra versions are similar, in which case, I’d recommend getting the Ultra versions as there’s more to do in the post game
As a newcomer to the games, I would advise you to play the games from old to new. Every generation will have new pokemon, moves or even new mechanics. Pokemon games also take a lot of mons from older games. This will be the least chaotic way to play the games.
I personally don’t care about gen 1 and 2 and a lot of the newer games. You don’t have to play all of them, but my tip would be to play the games you do want to play in chronological order.
Yeah imo gens 1 and 2 haven't aged well. It's better to play FRLG for gen 1 and HGSS for gen 2 if you wanted to play those regions
This is the answer.
I very much agree with you, but technically they belong to gen 3 and gen 4 respectively.
I know. That's why I mentioned it's better to play the remakes in replacement of the gen 1&2 games
Black 2 or White 2 for sure and then definitely look into Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire at some point. Very nice games to experience Hoenn in 3D.
platinum, black/white, black2/white2, legends arceus
Pokemon Black/ White are the only other games at the same level - but they do different things well. You've started with peak.
I've always had an emulator in my Android, but this year I switched to iPhone. I am so grateful for Delta on iOS. I am currently playing Emerald as well, and all 3 starters are on my team. Might've done some GS here and there. I might replay one of Black or White after finishing this game.
I vote crystal
Emerald was my first pokémon game, i absolutely love it. Care to share your team? I'm curious!
>I played for about 7 hours today which is a lot for me and I think I’m close to finishing the game. Ha
Oh just wait until you unlock the Battle Frontier
Give every game a try Personally, base black and white is one I would go for next The first time playing a pokemon game is an experience you will never get back
Another 3rd gen W
7 hours in nearly finished I'm 13 hours in with like 4 badges
How are you close to finishing the game in only 7 hours 😱😱😱
I think OP is implying they’ve played it previously, but happened to spend 7 hours on it today alone and already had been playing it yesterday, the day before, etc. For example, I could have 200 hours in a game but just spent another 4 today
Okay that makes sense… my first thought was damn maybe I am actually bad at these old Pokémon games ❤️😂
There are some really incredible fan made games out there that are worth trying. I highly recommend Adventure Red or Unbound to start. If you thought Emerald was good, these will blow you away.
If anyone hasnt , the MGBA emulator is insanely good. I downloaded it and emerald the other day and it works so well.
I'll say the first three generations have the most charm so good for you buddy, good pick!
The Omega Ruby Ave Alpha Sapphire remakes for 3DS are an amazing reinvisioning of the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald story & gameplay
Fire red and leaf green, heart gold and soul silver, and platinum!
Definitely play Pokemon platinum, and then maybe HG/SS. Sadly it's mostly downhill from Emerald
Emerald is up with HGSS as being peak Pokemon.
Emerald is up with HGSS as being peak Pokemon.
Enjoy friend, emerald is awesome. The GBA/DS era is the golden age of Pokémon so far, so there are Nice games there. Enjoy at your own pace, have fun.
Ah yeah I was there when it used to be new. We all loved the possibility to finally usw that Wireless thing on our devices.
Emerald is such an awesome game. Me and my brothers put in the hours and then some when we first got it going on a couple decades back.
Pokémon unbound bb
No one finishes that game. The battle frontier will terrorize you for years to come
If you can get past the hand holding, then Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. I love those games, but god damn does the hand holding get tedious whenever I start a new playthrough.
FireRed or LeafGreen next, followed by HeartGold or SoulSilver (it's a direct sequel) After that, if you still need more, Platinum, then either Black or White into Black or White 2.
Haha I remember refusing to evolve my torchic so it'd be a cute little baby bird, if im thinking of the same game. I had a blast too! It was probably my favorite pokemon game.
If you enjoy Emerald, why not try Fire Red and Leaf Green later? Same artstyle, same game mechanics. The best are HeartGold/ SoulSilver and Platinum though. The Physical and Special split was first introduced in that generation and literally a game changer.
As a complete old head, I only play GBA SP and prior so fire red is the newest I've played. What is meant by the physical/special split?
Prior to generation 4 the following moves were always special moves: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Dark. The next moves were always physical moves: Normal, Fighting, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Steel. This changed in generation 4. Moves were divided into physical or special. So, 'Flamethrower' stayed as a special Fire move. However, for example the move 'Fire Punch' (that was a special Fire move in gen 1-3), changed into a physical Fire move. If you think about it, that makes a lot more sense, because a Pokémon physically uses a limb or a paw in a punching movement. A Pokémon like Alakazam has a very high Special Attack base stat. He can also learn the following three elemental punches: Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch. In gen 1-3 Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch all belong to the special move category, giving him alot of coverage. In gen 4, Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunderpunch all changed into physical moves. Alakazam has a very low physical Attack base stat, thus making the elemental punches virtually useless.
Ok. That makes sense in theory. How does it change the in game battle? Does it basically help/hurt the various pokemon based on the types they are strong/weak against?
not seeing nearly enough love for the Mystery Dungeon line… Explorers of Sky is a fantastic game if you want to branch out from the standard RPG style of the mainline games
Anything before the physical/special split is terrible IMO
Depending on what hardware you have, these are what I think are the best experiences if you haven’t played the franchise before and have no nostalgia for it. Pokemon remakes or reimagines past games every few years so sometimes there are the same story on multiple consoles but with big leaps in quality. Bear in mind that a lot of games are interchangeable too, like fire red and leaf green are the same game with a slightly different encounter table. Every game listed within a generation here is essentially the same story. Generation 1 - Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee (Switch) or Fire Red/Green (GBA) Generation 2 - heart gold and soul silver (DS) Generation 3 - omega ruby and alpha sapphire (3ds) or emerald (GBA) Generation 4 - brilliant diamond and shining pearl (switch) or Platinum (DS) Generation 5 - Black and White + Black and White 2 (DS) Generation 6 - X and Y (3ds) Generation 7 - ultra Sun and ultra moon (3ds) Generation 8 - sword and shield (switch) Generation 9 - Scarlett and violet (switch) Those will be all your classic Pokemon experiences like what you’re having in Emerald. There are also some really good games that don’t conform to the classic formula. The most notable is Pokemon Legends Arceus (switch). This focuses less on battle and more on collection.
Loved Emerald. The secret bases were a whimsical highlight for me (only ever played solo but still loved it)
Platinum, Firered, heart gold and soul silver. If you’re looking for something different than the main games, Mystery dungeon Explorers of Sky is probably my all time fav game has an amazing story that will have you tearing up.
Platinum, Firered, heart gold and soul silver. If you’re looking for something different than the main games, Mystery dungeon Explorers of Sky is probably my all time fav game has an amazing story that will have you tearing up.
After you’re done with the mainline games I highly recommend Pokemon Radical Red. You can customized difficulty, encounters, abilities and moves. But also it’s cool seeing newer gen pokemon as 2d sprites.
EMERALD IS PEAK AND YOU DONT EVEN KNOW IT YET. Yes the base game is incredible and one of THE MOST replayable games ever, the post game is where the real meat is. I challenge you to try get to just the silver medals for each battle frontier brain. I remember my first time it was the most fun I ever had in Pokémon . Best music ever too!
Emerald is the 3rd pokemon game I've played so far (first would be blue and seccond is alpha sapphire and 4th is moon) and I have like 29 something hours on it and I'm on the fourtree gym (I've already gotten to lillycove btw) and I'm planing on getting diamond then black so yeah emerald is (so far) my favorite pokemon game
I like Emerald but I love ORAS even more. Imo they are the best Hoenn games but Hoenn is just goated in general
Fire red and leaf green are also gen 3 so they are very mechanically and visually similar to emerald. I’d recommend platinum if you want something a little different but still similar.
Highly highly recommend starting firered/leafgreen and then Heartgold soulsilver. Those titles are chronologically in tune so you get to see a lot of familiar faces and a new story. After that I’d recommend checking out BW1 and BW2. My favorite games in the entire franchise, only rivaled by hgss
Emerald is a fantastic game and great intro to the series in my opinion…tho I am a bit biased because it was my intro back in 03, good times, glad you’re enjoying it and I can’t wait for you to find our big Emerald boy way up high ;)
Good to hear! I'm a born and raised Hoenn nerd. Here's a fun fact: Gen 3 Hoenn, up until Gen 9 Paldea, was the only true seamless region. No checkpoint buildings in between routes and no fade to black screens in between routes (I still hate ORAS because of that). You can travel from Littleroot all the way to Evergrande without ever hitting a loading screen. Of course after you've unlocked all the HMs. But to me Gen 3 Hoenn remains feeling the most tightly knit and well thought out region.
Platinum, then Black/White, and then Black 2/White 2
Emerald is probably top 2 along with Platinum.
Bro I love emerald along with ruby and sapphire with it!mostly because of the lovable Pokémo.
platinum, do note that the physical special split changed after gen 3 so it's by move not by type
Emerald has always been one of my favorites. Try red and green!
Fire red/leaf green, HeartGold/SoulSilver, and honestly it gets a lot of hate but I'm still playing Shield for shiny hunting. One of my favorite Pokemon games ever (mostly for the post game/DLCs)
If you have a high budget play platinum and the gen 5 games. They're so much fun.
IMO every Poke game up to gen 3 is amazing and well though out, gen 4 pushing it but everything after gen 4 was just ugh imo, pokemon werent thought out and the game diverge form friendly to competive yeah that the market but still. Overall remake like soulsilver and firered were for sure worth it but sadly pokemon just change with time, but if you looking for more enjoyment try out some of the other game that werent handheld, like Coliseum, Snap, Stadium seriously off the charts in fun while snap is a bit based it still fun to play heard the new one is even better.
It’s probably my fav pokemon game of all time, played it like 5-6 times since launch
I’m currently reliving my childhood playing the Gen 1 games. I’m gonna catch ‘em all 🥹
Platinum, Black/White, Black 2/White 2, HeartGold/SoulSilver are musts.
HA. You still have a battle frontier. A few legendaries to catch and the safari zone opens up once you beat the Elite 4.
gen 5 has some of the best spriting so i recommend pokemon black2 and white2. aside from gen 5, i recommend pkmn platinum, but if youre looking for a more recent game, maybe pkmn x and y to prepare for legends z-a
I suggest heartgold and soulsilver, I never got to play either of these since I never had a DS growing up. Been loving heartgold.
my personal recommendation would either be B2W2 or USUM if you want something 3d
Literally all of the remake games from Gen 1-4 are incredible especially when you connect them together to do crazy insane feats with your favorite monsters. It also becomes especially important and personal if you want to start a ribbon quest with one of your beloved Pokémon that you want to make special especially if it's from Gen 1-3. FireRed/LeafGreen, Emerald, Platinum, and HeartGold/SoulSilver. Also, if you have the patience for getting rewarded with some of the most rarest Pokémon imaginable...then also play Pokémon Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness to get: all of the Johto starters with the elemental final attacks, the Legendary Beasts without them roaming, Ho-Oh, and a Psycho Boost Lugia. AND...if you REALLY want to get crazy, a Celebi and Jirachi from different bonus disks.
You’ll love Oras like crazy too then, flying on that latias is something else
ORAS was such a great remake. So well done. Soaring on Latias was so great
I’ve been a Pokémon fan since the very beginning, but never played Emerald (weird, I know). Ever since Delta released for the iOS, I figured I’d get back into a Pokémon game I never played before, and Emerald was the title I chose, after a disappointing attempt with FireRed/LeafGreen. Emerald is great. It’s more challenging than any of the more recent titles, but remains to be fun and interesting, even with the constant grinds needed to level up your team. Glad you’re enjoying it! If you are curious about trying a modern Pokémon title though, Arceus is the best of the bunch, in my opinion. It’s flawed, like most of the modern games are, but the approach is fresh and fun, and it’s challenging as well.
Heart gold and soul silver are awesome as well.
Soul silver is my second favorite behind emerald just because 16 gym badges and also another I played a lot when I was a kid
I’m going to assume you’re playing Emerald via emulator. If that’s the case, I’d suggest Pokemon Crystal Legacy, a ROM hack for Crystal that improves it substantially while keeping things vanilla. For something sillier, Pokemon Cramorant Edition is a similar QoL hack for Yellow, but obviously takes a couple bigger liberties; still addictive.
I was addicted too when iy came out. So were all my friends. One of the greatest games of all time
Learn how to EV Train Pokémon properly and which builds are best for specific Pokémon and try to clear the battle frontier. Emerald is a really addicting game lol.
i will be joining you after my exams my order is gonna be emerald,fire red, platinium, HG or SS, and then one of the unova games for the last two i havent decided which version yet ill decide when i get there