Comment on a status update by Snivy101
HeartGold is still one of my favorite games of all time, both in the Pokemon series and with gaming in general. I was never a big fan of D/P/Pt (though I never got a chance to play Platinum, I heard it was much superior to Diamond and Pearl), but Gen II Pokemon in general are amazing.
Soul Silver is my all time favorite game. It took some great games and managed to make them sooooo much better. I'm actually about to replay them soon. But I enjoyed Diamond and Pearl, and I enjoyed Platinum even more, but I still think HGSS are far more superior games, in my opinion that is.
The art direction in HGSS is stunning, and probably the best any Pokemon game has looked (in terms of sprites, that is), which definitely helps sell the game experience for me. With the prospect of getting a D/P/Pt remake in the future, I'm looking forward to seeing how much they will improve the experience. For me, those games always just fell short - I think it definitely had to do with the limited selection of Pokemon available.
The thing about HGSS, is that they took an already solid entry into the series, and just made everything 10 times more glorious. The sprite work, the music, allowing Pokemon to follow you around - everything just meshed together really well.
The thing about HGSS, is that they took an already solid entry into the series, and just made everything 10 times more glorious. The sprite work, the music, allowing Pokemon to follow you around - everything just meshed together really well.
Absolutely! HGSS honestly did a better job revamping the original games than any other remakes (even ORAS). Of course it's not better technically than ORAS, I just think the artstyle made the best improvement in its remade visuals.
You're so right. I could not love those games more. Best games in my opinion.
You're so right. I could not love those games more. Best games in my opinion.
The funny thing is, is that I never played the original G/S/C (blasphemy, I know). I had a friend who had it, which I played occasionally - my first technical Pokemon game was Yellow, but my first real playthrough of a Pokemon game (where I could comprehend and actually enjoy the experience) was Ruby. So my love for HG/SS isn't related to nostalgia value even. Storywise, I feel the games are lackluster compared to future titles and even its predecessor, but the experience is just so genuine. It's as if GameFreak said "You like Pokemon? Here - have an authentic Pokemon experience". R/B/G/Y (and by extension, Fr/Lg) may have setup the mechanics for Pokemon, but G/S/C (and HG/SS) perfected them.
To this day, I find it hard to play through older Pokemon games, just because it's hard to get myself invested in them. But I have always found it easy to go back and play HG/SS. I don't know what it is about them, but it's just so...lovely. My only complaint with the game is how they force you to wait for many of the 4th gen evolutions (like Togekiss) until the post game, but even then I still love the experience.
To this day, I find it hard to play through older Pokemon games, just because it's hard to get myself invested in them. But I have always found it easy to go back and play HG/SS. I don't know what it is about them, but it's just so...lovely. My only complaint with the game is how they force you to wait for many of the 4th gen evolutions (like Togekiss) until the post game, but even then I still love the experience.
Yeah thinking about the story of the games, I do kind of like them, given their story is a sequel to RBY, though it's not at all one of the best stories. My favorite story in a Pokemon game would be either BW, B2W2, or Sun and Moon. But you're so right, the games do give you such a great "Pokemon" experience. They really are just fun games to play.
Some games are easier for my to play though than others. With the rerelease of RBY on the 3DS virtual console, I played through Yellow and really enjoyed it despite its mechanics being very dated. It's hard for me to go back to Gen 3 games and Gen 4 games with that exception of HGSS. I would enjoy playing through Platinum's end-of-game and postgame, but it just seems like a huge drag to get there for me. I never have replayed any of the 5th Gen games so I can't say anything about them. I did get a free copy of Pokemon X about a year or so after X and Y had originally come out, and it really wasn't very enjoyable for me after playing Y.
But yeah back to HGSS, I can definitely agree with that evolution issue. I don't like that much either. My only other issues with it are minor. For example, I hated that TMs were temporary until Gen 5. It makes you be a lot more careful about using them which can be good, but it's annoying to have to go hunting for some of those better TMs after you've already used the one you get in the Overworld (like Dragon Pulse, Earthquake, and Drain Punch)
Some games are easier for my to play though than others. With the rerelease of RBY on the 3DS virtual console, I played through Yellow and really enjoyed it despite its mechanics being very dated. It's hard for me to go back to Gen 3 games and Gen 4 games with that exception of HGSS. I would enjoy playing through Platinum's end-of-game and postgame, but it just seems like a huge drag to get there for me. I never have replayed any of the 5th Gen games so I can't say anything about them. I did get a free copy of Pokemon X about a year or so after X and Y had originally come out, and it really wasn't very enjoyable for me after playing Y.
But yeah back to HGSS, I can definitely agree with that evolution issue. I don't like that much either. My only other issues with it are minor. For example, I hated that TMs were temporary until Gen 5. It makes you be a lot more careful about using them which can be good, but it's annoying to have to go hunting for some of those better TMs after you've already used the one you get in the Overworld (like Dragon Pulse, Earthquake, and Drain Punch)
Sometimes, it's important just to stick to the basics when it comes to a story. That doesn't mean keep it bland, but focusing on gameplay and new mechanics should definitely be the utmost priority for a series like Pokemon - however, I really hope that in Gen 8 (with Pokemon being released for the Switch), we get a darker story like that of Pokemon Colosseum or XD: Gale of Darkness. It's a shame GameFreak never continued that side-series, because it had so much potential.
I find it intriguing to go back to Gen 1 and 2, seeing how much the mechanics have changed in the past decade. Big and small changes alike have transformed the metagame substantially. I can understand finding X and Y being hard to get back into - they are for me as well. The game feels too circular with having Lumiose City being the main hub, and with a barebone story only loosely holding it together, it sort of fell flat on its face. In earlier games that didn't have a story, the environment and routes were always changing - there was very little forced backtracking. X/Y had you always roaming around Lumiose City (which if we're being honest, the camera is just horrible to navigate with).
We've been so spoiled with reusable TMs since Gen 5, it's so difficult to try and manage them in previous gens now. But it does act as an artificial difficulty, which is neat in a way.
I find it intriguing to go back to Gen 1 and 2, seeing how much the mechanics have changed in the past decade. Big and small changes alike have transformed the metagame substantially. I can understand finding X and Y being hard to get back into - they are for me as well. The game feels too circular with having Lumiose City being the main hub, and with a barebone story only loosely holding it together, it sort of fell flat on its face. In earlier games that didn't have a story, the environment and routes were always changing - there was very little forced backtracking. X/Y had you always roaming around Lumiose City (which if we're being honest, the camera is just horrible to navigate with).
We've been so spoiled with reusable TMs since Gen 5, it's so difficult to try and manage them in previous gens now. But it does act as an artificial difficulty, which is neat in a way.
Yeah that is important. HGSS didn't have the most amazing story, but the reason I liked it more than Sun and Moon was because it "perfected" or at least compared to the other games in my opinion the gameplay and mechanics for the most part. EXP and difficulty are also good in it, while Moon was kind of all over the place. But yeah I would like to see the darker story as well. Or even something that's just different.
There is one thing that I like to see in the story and that's either proper or less integration of the Mascot Legendaries in the story. I didn't love Diamond and Pearl's story, but I didn't not like it either. What I admired is the use of legendaries in the story. The creation of a new world was weird, but it made sense to do that with the Space or Time Pokemon. And I also admired that the three Legendaries, Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie were actually important parts of that story, being kidnapped to create the "Red Chain" to trap and hold the Mascot Legendary.
And what I enjoyed most about Sun and Moon's story was that Solgaleo and Lunala weren't really sought by the evil teams to accomplish their goals. I guess as Cosmog they kind of were. But the story was much more tailored toward the Ultra Beasts.
Yeah X and Y's story was bland to me, Lumiose City did, like you said, have a crap camera, and honestly, it was way too easy, even when I didn't use the EXP share. Gen 6 in general, it had a lot of good stuff, but the games themselves weren't good for me.
There is one thing that I like to see in the story and that's either proper or less integration of the Mascot Legendaries in the story. I didn't love Diamond and Pearl's story, but I didn't not like it either. What I admired is the use of legendaries in the story. The creation of a new world was weird, but it made sense to do that with the Space or Time Pokemon. And I also admired that the three Legendaries, Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie were actually important parts of that story, being kidnapped to create the "Red Chain" to trap and hold the Mascot Legendary.
And what I enjoyed most about Sun and Moon's story was that Solgaleo and Lunala weren't really sought by the evil teams to accomplish their goals. I guess as Cosmog they kind of were. But the story was much more tailored toward the Ultra Beasts.
Yeah X and Y's story was bland to me, Lumiose City did, like you said, have a crap camera, and honestly, it was way too easy, even when I didn't use the EXP share. Gen 6 in general, it had a lot of good stuff, but the games themselves weren't good for me.
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