Top 10 Pokémon Games

For those who do not want a more extensive look into the Top 10 Pokémon games, here is the list (Notice: I will not be putting spinoffs on this list, only the main games! Also no Omega Ruby or LeafGreen and those remakes because I couldn't fit them in and they are more or less the same thing as the originals).

10. Pokémon Red/Blue

9. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire

8. Pokémon X and Y

7. Pokémon Sun and Moon

6. Pokémon Gold/Silver

5. Pokémon Diamond/Pearl

4. Pokémon Platinum

3. Pokémon Black 2/White 2

2. Pokémon Heartgold/Soulsilver

1. Pokémon Black/White

The original game, the one that started it all. Pokémon Red and Blue were the starting point for the Pokémon series, and were released in 1996. But as influential as these games have been, they have each come with a fair share of flaws.

First off, the graphics. Now, of course it was made in 1996, so the graphics are not going to be god-like. However, compared to the other Pokémon games, the graphics are awful.

And before you get mad at me, remember that I'm comparing all the Pokémon games, so compared to a game like Sun and Moon, the graphics for Red and Blue are terrible.

Another flaw is the gameplay, as it often feels fairly slow-paced. You don't have any running shoes and the game runs pretty slow overall. It's not anything too bad though, and could be because I played the game on an emulator and the original gameboy.

There is some good in the game though, for example, it kickstarted the Pokémon franchise.

Not only that, but it does provide a great deal of nostalgia to those who had played it as a child, or when it came out for the first time.

Some positives involving theme itself include a fairly decent amount of Pokémon, and a fun experience to play through. And sure, if you're a fossil, then this was your first Pokémon game so it was magical and a nostalgic time for you. Also, the rival in these games was one of the best, as he actually felt like a rival unlike a one-dimensional character (Pokémon X and Y should have taken note of that).

Nonetheless, Pokémon Red and Blue is still the worst of the 10 games listed in this article, but that does not mean that it is a terrible game in itself.

The number 9 spot goes to a Pokémon game that I forgot existed. Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire came out in 2002, and was the third installment of the Pokémon franchise.

Don't get me wrong here, the remakes of these two games was stellar. But these two games really weren't. Sure, it's not the worst Pokémon game, but it's not really all that great.

First, I will list all the bad stuff about the game. One of the bad things about this game is similar to Red/Blue, and this will apply to most of the older games, and that is the graphics. Yes, I know, I complain a lot about the graphics, but I guess they aren't all that bad, as they are newer sprites and colorful at that. So the graphics situation is moreover a 50-50 sort of thing, where 50% of it could be interpreted as bad graphics, but the other 50% could be interpreted as good graphics.

I do like the new Pokémon in this region, although they are not my favorite, I definitely feel like the new Pokémon in Ruby/Sapphire are really well designed and play well in the game.

The region itself, that being the design of the region, is one of my favorites. I love the way it looks and it makes exploring the region much more fun as there is a lot of ground to cover in the game.

Other than that, the other aspects of the game are not all that important or note-worthy, as the only other notable thing is that one of the gym leaders in the game is the protagonists father.

Story wise, the game doesn't do anything special, but the gameplay isn't boring and overall its not a bad game, but it is not the best Pokémon game.

This was one were I heavily debated with myself on whether this game was worthy of the #8 spot. Don't get me wrong, the games good for what it is, and the graphics are great, but the gameplay doesn't really hold up with the other games.

To old Pokémon players, it should come as no surprise that I put Pokémon X and Y this low on the list. But I do have to admit that this was a really hard decision, because I thoroughly enjoyed the games. However, that's not to say that I have found an incredible amount of flaws with the game.

To start off, the biggest flaw, the story and the evil team. Oh lord, the plot makes no sense at all. The team leader of Team Flare is a terrorist wanting to genocide life on Earth (or wherever Pokémon takes place). That's it, that's all he wants to do, kill everyone. The motive of the evil team is really edgy, and I hated that. But I do like the grunts and how they look, at times they could be humorous.

Another flaw in the game is the lack of new Pokémon. I get that having to make new Pokémon for every game is tedious and not always the best thing to do, but they could have added a bit more new Pokémon into the mix.

Besides that, there is also what I see as the biggest downfall of the game, and that is the characters. I literally could not have given a single care for any of my "rivals". I say "rivals" but you really only battle each of them a handful of times. You're main rival in the game, Serena or Calem, is such a one-dimensional character that their only purpose in the game is to present bland dialogue and to fight the character around 5 or so times. The other characters you encounter are Shauna, Tierno, and the kid with the weird hair (I literally forgot what his name was). All these characters are pretty bland and basic and have no substance to them.

Aside from these flaws the game itself isn't too bad. The graphics are amazing and the Pokémon battles are fun at times. Overall, the game is a good Pokémon game, but not eh best. The only thing saving it from being on the #10 spot is the graphics and the some of the new features it adds (Mega evolutions and the Fairy type).

Before I start, let me say that I love Pokémon Sun and Moon. It's one of my top five favorite Pokémon games, but the more I thought about, it just doesn't do well against all the other Pokémon games in terms of how good they are. Also, I may as well put Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon into the 7 spot because, lets be real here, these 4 games are literally the same thing.

Don't get me wrong, the All region is amazing. The region itself is great and I absolutely loved exploring the game.

There were also so many new features in the game that I loved, such as the island trials and the new All forms of Pokémon.

The characters in the game were also great and I loved them and their personalities. Building upon that, some more characters that I enjoyed were Team Skull. I loved this evil team because they did not have a generic evil team goal, like destroying the world. They were just a small nuisance and acted a thugs, and I loved that.

With all these positives, it is odd to think that I would put this game so low on the list, but I did notice that it has its fair share of flaws.

The major flaw in this game is that the first few hours of playing through the game are like a tutorial. It literally teaches you all the basics of the game, as if you did not know them already. I get that it was probably meant for new players, but when you're already knowledgeable of how Pokémon works, the game reteaching you what to do is very boring and annoying. This makes restarting the game once you're finished a horrible experience, because you would then have to go through all of the tutorials again.

Another flaw I have with the game is that it is too easy. Now, before you start calling me a boomer, hear me out. Yes I agree that it helps children play the game better, but I'm not just talking about the whole moves ordeal where it tells you what move is supper-effective and which is not. I'm talking about the battles overall. They're really easy. Compared to past games, the battles in Pokémon Sun and Moon are a walk in the park. This also goes hand in hand with my other complaint, the rival. Actually, the rival in the game is more like a friend, and you only battle him 3 times. I'm not joking, you barley battle him at all.

These are really the only flaws I have with the game, but they really bring down the value of the game, hence why it is at the #7 spot.

Highly underrated games, these two were the second installment of Pokémon games and were very enjoyable.

By now you should already now the usual spiel that I give about the older Pokémon games.

That being the game having subpar graphics as compared to the other, newer games. And how the limitations of the older gaming consoles lowered the capabilities and potential of the games.

Now that the main flaws for the game are out of the way, I would like to talk about the positives.

One aspect of the game that makes it great is the fact that you get to go through two regions, Johto and Kanto. That is amazing, and I love that they added that into the game as it makes the postgame content more interesting that any of the other games.

I also like the rival in these games as, like Gary in Red/Blue, he acts like an actual rival. It was so satisfying whenever you beat him, and that really shows how well they made the rival.

On top of that, I love the new Pokémon they added.

However, a huge flaw I have with the game are the levels. The level spike from the eight gym to elite four is really high. That makes it so you have to grind for a long, and I mean a long, time.

Other than that, the game is amazing and the only reason that it is in the #6 spot is because the other games are a bit better.

Halfway through, we got Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. These games most likely are at this spot because of my bias for them, as they were my first Pokémon games, but that does not mean that the positives of these games should go unnoticed.

First, the bad. The pacing of this game made me want to kill myself. The game moves so slow, as the animations are slow and drawn out, and leveling up Pokémon in the game is so slow as well. This is the most prevalent complaint that arises whenever people talk about Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and rightfully so. The pacing sucks, and that is a big reason as to why the game is not as great as it could have been.

Now, onto the good. The new Pokémon in the game, although in a limited amount, have amazing designs. I absolutely love the way most of the Pokémon look, such as Infernape and Lucario.

Another great thing about the game is that the evil team is pretty good. Sure, they could be better, but Team Galactic has cool goals and their theme of space is really interesting and cool.

I also like the rival in these games because he is a nice change of pace for rivals. He is the protagonists friend, but also their rival, and he is a nice mix of both. He also provides some nice comic relief at times.

Also, the game has Cynthia, so, that helps Pokémon Diamond and Pearl rise up to the #5 spot.

The sequel, I guess, to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. This game fixes most of the problems with Diamond and Pearl, which is why it is one spot higher than the two.

There's not much to say about this game other than it is a better and more improved version of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It fixes the pacing of the game, so that automatically makes it better than its prerequisites.

It fixed a lot of issues, such as the whole issue with the limited amount of fire types in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, as Platinum added much more.

Pokémon Platinum is what Diamond and Pearl should have been, but it does have some flaws of its own.

These flaws mainly boil down to move animations still being a bit slow and other small flaws. Despite this, it is still not able to break into the top 3 Pokémon games.

Oh boy, people are going to get mad at me for this. I know that most people say that Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are the best Pokémon games to this date, but I really don't see it.

Before an angry mob kills me for putting these games at the #3 spot, please hear me out. These games are amazing, but not better than the top 2 games.

Black 2 and White 2 introduces a mix of Unova Pokémon with Pokémon from other generations, and that alone makes this game great. This provides the player with a large selection of Pokémon to choose from to build a team with.

Not only that, but the game adds new parts of the Unova region to the game, and builds upon the story of N and Team Plasma.

The rival in this game is sort of a setback for the game though, as although I do like the rival quite a bit, he really just seems like a watered down version of Barry or Gary.

But that does not mean the game itself is fun to play through, it is. The pacing is good, the story is good, and the gameplay itself is good. It provided a good challenge and had a nice post game. Overall, I absolutely love Black 2 and White 2, as they were my first Gen 5 games, but that does not mean that they were the best.

Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver were to Gold and Silver as Platinum was to Diamond and Pearl. What I mean is that Heartgold and Soulsilver are better versions of Gold and Silver.

These games were amazing and nobody can tell me otherwise.

These two were literally the enhanced version of the already great games of Gold and Silver. The graphics were beautiful and the sprites were well done too.

One feature that I love about the game is the walking Pokémon, that was so cute and such an innovative yet adorable feature.

Similar to Gold and Silver, Heartgold and Soulsiver feature the same things; the revival of Team Rocket, the ability to go to Kanto once you beat the elite four, and the same characters and rival.

But there's some sort of charm to the game that makes it so good and fun to play through.

Of course, the game does have its flaws. These flaws sadly prevent it from heading into the #1 spot, and those flaws are mainly centered around the leveling up of Pokémon. It is just so slow. Also, the level spike from the eight gym leader to the elite four is huge.

But, the game does feature the final fight with Red, and that battle was intense and I loved every second of it.

Overall, Heartgold/Soulsilver is one of the best Pokémon games ever made.

The best game, in my opinion. This was the first Gen 5 game, and introduced so many new features and concepts that it is hard not to put it at the #1 spot.

To start off, I will list all the negatives.

The only real negatives I have for the game are that the post game sucks, as the level spike goes to around level 60, while your Pokémon are only around level 50 or so.

Other than that, it's all positives.

To start off with the positives, I will talk about the characters. the characters are really well done. N is such a good character and he is by far one of the best characters in Pokémon. Cheren and Bianca are also great rivals, as Cheren acts as a rival, while Bianca acts as a friend, so it seems more balanced. They also have great personalities and are not just there to fight you then leave.

Another positive is the story. The story is by far the best out of any Pokémon game. Team Plasma is also one of the best teams and their theme is superb. The story also helps change the game a bit, as it helps do new things. For example, in black and White you do not fight Alder, the supposed champion, instead you fight N, as he acts as the champion (moreover Ghetsis is the final boss, but N was the champion).

The Unova region itself is outstanding, and I loved exploring the different parts of it. The towns and cities had a lot of life to them and you could do a lot in them.

Pokémon Black and White also introduced a lot of new Pokémon. Most of the designs for the new Pokémon were cool and visually pleasing, although some designs were questionable, such as Trubbish. Other than a few exceptions, the designs for the new Pokémon were great, but not the best when compared to Diamond and Pearl, but they still held up well.

The gym leaders were fun to battle and so was the elite four.

Overall, Pokémon Black and White were the best Pokémon games to ever come out.