Now that the Pokémon franchise has been on this endless annual release schedule that does everything but foster creativity, there has been an inconsistent level of quality between releases.
Some titles are as great as they've ever been, while some really need some help. Today, we're going to be going over five of the best things that have happened to the franchise in the past decade, along with five of the worst. Let's get into it.
10 Best: Following Pokémon
HeartGold and SoulSilver's decision to allow one of your Pokémon to follow you in the overworld was absolutely amazing to see. It allowed you to interact with your Pokémon on a deeper level than you ever had before.
They followed you, gave a myriad of different responses when you talked to them, and made the world feel a bit more alive. It's a shame that the first time we got this feature back is on the first worst spot on our list.
9 Worst: Let's Go!
The Let's Go! series of games weren't very good. They had some nice features (like the aforementioned following Pokémon making a return), but overall they weren't at all what main series fans were looking for from the series.
They were an unnecessary trip back to Kanto that no one needed, featured Pokémon Go-style catching mechanics, and are still the easiest games in series history due to partner Pokémon and some changed mechanics. The Let's Go! games have a place in the series, but shouldn't have been the introduction to the Switch for the main series. However, like we said before, they do add some nice additions.
8 Best: Overworld Pokémon
The Let's Go! titles introduced the concept of wild Pokémon appearing in the overworld, rather than through random encounters. This mechanic also came back to Sword and Shield, which is awesome, because it's a great idea to allow players to see Pokémon and decide what they want to catch.
While overworld shinies were removed from Sword and Shield for some sort of baffling reason, the overall mechanic is still there, and that's great to see. Hopefully, this will continue into future entries in the series.
7 Worst: New Postgame Content
The postgame of Pokémon games have continued to shrink over the years. As of now, we usually get an extra epsiode or two, followed up by a Battle Tower, or Tree. And that's it.
While Sun and Moon tried to dress up the Battle Tree with returning characters, overall we no longer have a Battle Frontier, we no longer have Diamond and Pearl's entire postgame island, we certainly don't have a second region. We have a single tower. The postgame content in Pokémon has been subpar for years now, so seeing that change would be really nice.
6 Best: Two Regions At Once
Pokémon Gold, Silver, HeartGold and Soulsilver gave players the chance to explore Johto and Kanto within a single game, and wow, that was awesome. Two regions, double the gyms, double the story, this was such a treat.
Considering that the last time we got to explore these regions at the same time was in 2010 means that we haven't gotten this feature back since then. You don't even need to give us a Battle Tower if this is our other option. Hopefully, we get another chance to explore two regions sometime soon.
5 Worst: Cutting The National Dex
Due to the growing scope of the Pokédex and some somewhat questionable decision-making, Game Freak decided that it was best to not include the entire National Dex in Pokémon Sword and Shield, and not allow the transfer of any Pokémon outside of the 400 regional creatures into the game.
While this was clearly upsetting, it also set off months of fan protests for Sword and Shield that affected the game's sales so negatively that they were forced to declare them the fastest-selling Switch games in the console's history. That's so sad, Alexa play Bede's Battle Theme.
4 Best: Generation Five
Black and White and their sequels were the final 2D titles in the Pokémon franchise, and boy, did that era go out on a bang. The games are absolutely stunning, offer moving sprites in battle, an overworld that changes with the seasons, full 3D cutscenes, some of the best music in the entire series, all on the DS hardware.
These games also featured some of the most complex and interesting stories in the Pokémon franchise to date. Black, White, Black 2 and White 2 offer one of the richest Pokémon experiences to date, and the games are from two generations of hardware ago.
3 Worst: Hand Holding
Sun and Moon were fun games with a really interesting story, sure, but good lord did they hold your hand. The games told you where to go every five seconds, and never let you explore on your own.
Let's Go! followed the same style. Luckily, Sword and Shield let up on this quite a bit, but the way that the previously mentioned games are structured, it makes them horrible to come back to. A good story in Pokémon isn't a problem. But when it's shoved in your face every five seconds, it's an issue.
2 Best: Character Customization
The ability to freely customize your player character in newer Pokémon titles is such a blessing. This allows you to connect with your character to a deeper degree, and lets you express yourself however you'd like to.
They tend to eliminate this option or drastically reduce it in remakes, but let's hope they keep it for our eventual (please soon) Diamond and Pearl remakes.
1 Worst: The Annual Release Cycle
The annual release cycle that Game Freak has stuck to for years is starting to show. The developers really need to be given a break. If Sword and Shield had been allowed another year of development time, the whole Dexit controversy would have likely never happened. The developers could have come up with even more fun and new ideas like the Wild Area.
Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire could have actually been good games. Pokémon games are all still generally great, but if the developers aren't given a break soon, the quality could significantly start to dip.