5. Generation 1 (Red, Blue, and Yellow)
It really does pain me to put any of the generations in the last spot, because they're all really freaking great games, but I found Generation 1 to be the least fun. It's not really the fault of the games, it's more about how the games have held up over time. Lots of features that I take for granted, such as separate pockets in the item bag for Pokeballs, TMs and HMs, and key items, being able to launch the bicycle by pressing SELECT, and using Cut by just going up to a tree and pressing A, weren't introduced until at least Generation 2, so I found that it took me a while to get through Blue Version because I had to go into the item bag every time I wanted to use the bicycle, and I had to look through my Pokemon every time I wanted to use an HM move. Like I said, it's really too bad, because these groundbreaking games launched the entire Pokemon series and revolutionized video games.
4. Generation 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald)
A lot of the people I talked to highly praised this generation, the first one introduced on the Game Boy Advance, but I don't really see it. The game play is decent, the new Pokemon are pretty cool, but I don't know. The games just come off a little bland and boring to me, which is weird considering the story-line involves capturing ancient Pokemon to alter the face of the planet itself. But once you beat the Elite Four, there's really nothing else to do. It's rather anticlimactic, at least for Ruby and Sapphire. Emerald is a little better because it introduces the Battle Frontier and the opportunity to catch some previously unseen Pokemon from previous generations, but it's not enough to lift Generation 3 to a higher spot on the list.
3. Generation 4 (Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum)
After the initial shock of the 3D graphics wore off, I realized that these games are actually quite amazing. The game play is easy to figure out and works quite fluidly, at least for me. The story-line, while quite far-fetched, isn't something you can stop thinking about easily. Who wouldn't be interested in a stoic man with spiky turquoise hair capturing legendary Pokemon who created time and space in order to create a whole new reality? What really sets this generation apart is the sheer amount of legendary Pokemon available. If you want to make use of the Action Replay (which isn't cheating so much as enhancing the game experience), you can catch approximately 11 legendary Pokemon, and I'm talking some seriously sick Pokemon. You can catch Giratina, the Pokemon creator of antimatter, or Dialga, the creator of time, or Arceus, the creator of the universe. The overblown plot and the sheer epicness of the legendary Pokemon make for a pretty mind-blowing experience.
2. Generation 5 (Black and White)\
On the surface, these games seem pretty crappy. They're really hard, primarily for one reason: there are no Pokemon from previous generations available until you beat the Elite 4. Combine that with the fact that there was no comprehensive Pokedex including the new Pokemon (which were all pretty nightmarish and just plain screwed up) released until well after the games came out, and that makes for a game experience that is reminiscent of the feelings one had when playing the first Pokemon games. However, the story-line of this generation is outstanding beyond belief. You have a villainous team like all other generations. The team, Team Plasma, is led by the young and mysterious N, and they seek to create separate worlds for Pokemon and humans in order to liberate Pokemon from human control. Basically, if PETA was inserted into a Pokemon game, they would be Team Plasma. However SPOILER ALERT, N is revealed to be more of an antihero, and the identity of the real main antagonist isn't revealed until the very end in a pretty surprising plot twist. It's compelling, surprising, and downright enthralling. When you add in the beautifully updated graphics, you sometimes feel as though you're watching a movie that you can't take your eyes off of instead of playing a game.
1. Generation 2 (Gold, Silver, and Crystal)
It's very hard to explain why these games are probably the greatest video games of all time, and certainly the best of the Pokemon games. The game-play is very simple, and introduces some perks that have since become staples of the Pokemon series, such as breeding, keeping track of time, and being able to use key items by pressing SELECT. The plot-line simply brings back Team Rocket from Generation 1, and they aren't interested in altering the planet, creating new worlds, or entering new dimensions. They just want to force Pokemon to evolve and get some goddam money, plain and simple. The graphics aren't flashy or fancy, but they get the job done. And the endgame content. Oh, how I love it. Imagine my surprise the very first time I played these games, around the age of 7, when after defeating the Elite 4 for the first time, I discovered that the game allows you to travel back to Kanto, the region of Generation 1, and battle the gym leaders from the previous generation, with some minor changes to the leaders, as well as the landscape and some new updates to create a continuous story-line from Generation 1. And once you beat all the Kanto leaders, you get access to Mount Silver and the nastiest, hardest video game boss I've encountered, Red (who is the protagonist from Generation 1). The thing about this generation is that it's relatively easy to get through, by which I mean the gym leaders and Elite 4 are easy to beat, but the game itself is immensely difficult to conquer. Red has six Pokemon, all of them level 73 or above, and they are extremely difficult to inflict damage on without your own high-level Pokemon. These games are a phenomenon separate from the other games, and it's very hard for me to imagine that any generations to be released in the future will be any better. No other Pokemon games have changed and affected me the way Generation 2 has, and that's why they claim the top spot.
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