Favorite Johto City?

[Slowy]

Like with any other region, my choice(s) would depend on the factor(s) discussed.
-Favorite in terms of activity: Goldenrod City, which has a department store (only one other area in these games has another one), the lottery (though I never won), and the haircut services.
-Favorite in terms of environment: I think it would be either Azalea Town or New Bark Town. Each of these two had that rural setting that I've always loved. Azalea especially has that setting (it seems to have the feel of a village). New Bark, on the other hand, is not too far off from being on the same level and is the in-game hometown for Johto. I'll go with Azalea.
-Favorite in terms of surrounding scenery: Cianwood and Olivine are on opposite sides of the ocean; in fact, each of these two is pretty much touching the ocean. I wouldn't mind taking a minimum-cost (or free) trip to either of these two areas to look at the vast waters.
-Favorite in terms of miscellaneous: Violet City features a tradition-driven aura attached to it; that is another feature I love.
-Favorite overall: I'll pick Azalea for the above reasons.

Those are my choices for each category.

 

[nahranej]

Ecruteak - for the reasons mentioned above. I really love the Johto mythology. But Azaela Town is also great - very peaceful and calm and slow. I don't really like Mahogany and Blackthorn. They're too... northern, too distant from the rest. Too cold and harsh, maybe.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

What I find ironic is that the very first Dragon type Gym we ever had was so close to a caves full of Ice Pokemon and also Dragon Den must have been pretty close to the Cave.

 

[YgTrece]

I know Goldenrod City is really popular...but imo it was really plain and uninteresting to me. The cities of Ecruteak, Mahogany, and Violet with their rich heritage and lore are far more compelling.

 

[T.W.I.]

I gotta say Ecruteak. I feel the GSC games focus most of their theme around this city (heritage and style). However Azalea is a close second. The music there reminds me of a hot summer and playing this game for hours into the night. I would say Blackthorn, but I find it kinda bland style wise. They could have added some more dragonesque statues/art arund the city. I just found it very generic until actually going inside the gym/den.

 

[Arcos]

I like Goldenrod City and New Bark Town. I chose New Bark Town because it was the first town/city I was ever in, in a Pokemon Game. Crystal was my first game. So New Bark town is a sentimental city to me. I also like Goldenrod city because there was so much stuff to do there and I liked the music in it. Ecruteak is also cool because you get to meet the 3 Legendary Dogs, the first Legendary Pokemon I saw when I was a kid.

 

[Primal Crusader V]

Call me unconventional, but I thought Mahogany Town was the most interesting city there. Consider the fact that it was once a hideout for ninjas. The only sort of "clue" that could relate to that would be Team Rocket's hideout under the little shop. And on the plus side, the Lake of Rage was awesome.

What I hated about it? The guy standing at the edge of town who practically commands you to go "sightseeing" before you're able to travel past him. But eh, game limits.

 

[FLAMEBOY]

Call me unconventional, but I thought Mahogany Town was the most interesting city there. Consider the fact that it was once a hideout for ninjas. The only sort of "clue" that could relate to that would be Team Rocket's hideout under the little shop. And on the plus side, the Lake of Rage was awesome.

What I hated about it? The guy standing at the edge of town who practically commands you to go "sightseeing" before you're able to travel past him. But eh, game limits.

HAHA THAT GUY! Brought back so many memories. When I was younger I didn't realise I needed to go to the Lake of Rage, or that team rocket were doing tolls... I kept just going in and out of the house -.-

 

[YgTrece]

I actually liked Mahogany Town...the Rocket Base was cool and Pryce's gym was one of my favourites.

Plus it was close to the Lake of Rage, which is awesome!

 

[vespiqueen]

Ecruteak was my favorite for the cultural vibe you got while being there.

I usually love the bigger cities in the games but Goldenrod kind of falls bland in comparison to most of the cities from the other games.

 

[SkyTheAbsol]

Though I loved all of Johto, Cianwood was probably my favorite. Smaller town, peaceful music, practically the entire place is on a beach, and direct access to the route leading up to the Safari Zone - two thumbs up.

 

[Mega Altaria]

I had liked Goldenrod City due to its urban setting. It had the Department Store.

 

[zapto369]

Gotta be Ecruteak City for me. Even in the original GSC, I loved the music in the city (including inside the Kimino Girls studio) and the introduction of some interesting characters, like Eusine. Also the lore with the Burned and Tin Towers were cool and well as their connections to Ho-oh and the legendary beasts. But mostly the music lols.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I think I like Ecruteak City the most. Its theme was pretty nice and its 2 towers kind of made the city stand out a little more than the others for me.

 

[Colgate]

Well, my favorite town is Chainwood city. Love that town.

 

[Sprinter1988]

Ecruteak because while Goldenrod was the Big City, Ecruteak was the one where most things happen - Kimono Girls (I love the Eeveelutions!) Burned Tower, Ho-Oh and, of course, Morty's Gym of ghosts which was so cool, even though I was bit annoyed that he used two Haunters instead of one Haunter and one Misdreavus.

 

[Zoruagible]

Goldenrod. There was more stuff to do there and it has the Game Corner. Plus it was the best place to hatch eggs

 

[Locormus]

Most of the Johto cities are pretty boring to me. I also find most of them to look far too similar to each other. The only one that really stands out is Goldenrod since it is the largest which means it has the most content (for what it was worth for its time). I also thought Goldenrod had the best music in these games (though I didn't like the remake version at all), it also has the Radio Tower and underground paths which I like. Because of those things, it is my favorite.

How do the cities and towns look the same?

- Newbark Town: Set on the outskirts of the region, close to a foreign region and backtracking through it is actually required in order to complete the game.
- Cherrygrove City: The "generic second town" is actually a quaint "city" where people come that have settled and want a bit of piece and quiet.
- Violet City: Rural town, with an education-resource and what comes closest to a monestary in the PokéWorld.
- Azalea Town: Very secluded between forest and caves. One of the few places where Pokemon room the Streets and where they are valued.
- Goldenrod City: Very "in"-town with citylife buzzing, but also with a darker hint in the underground alleys.
- Ecruteak City: A very spiritual city, where tradition is held high. Good for family life of all ages.
- Olivine City: A city, marked by the port bringing in all kinds of seamen and people from all over the world that enjoy the fresh salty seawind.
- Cianwood City: A city set between cliffs and the sea, secluded from the rest of the region by the ocean and whirlpools.
- Mahogany Town: A quiet rural town where nothing happens on a day to day basis and life remains the same, but still gets plenty of fishermen that go up to Lake of Rage.
- Blackthorn City: A city where trainers in seeking of raw power come to train in the middle of the mountains.

So, how do these look far too similar to each other? It's also meant to be a single region. Back in the day, that meant that there had to be at least some overlying theme, which in this case wasn't as extravagant or diverse as it is nowadays. I personally feel that the Kalos region is bland as heck and that there's not really a theme to it and that it's very unnatural, with one area signifying spring (the starting town), the west signifying summer, the north signifying autumn and the eastern cities immitating winter. It's just weird how they decided on that.

As for my favorite, that's Mahogany. It's such a lovely understated town, but everytime I play the games I love the moment where I arrive there. Ecruteak and Blackthorn are close favorites though.

 

[Lorde]

Ecruteak because while Goldenrod was the Big City, Ecruteak was the one where most things happen - Kimono Girls (I love the Eeveelutions!) Burned Tower, Ho-Oh and, of course, Morty's Gym of ghosts which was so cool, even though I was bit annoyed that he used two Haunters instead of one Haunter and one Misdreavus.

I liked the history aspect of Ecruteak City as well as its parallel to Kyoto, but I found it pretty bland in these games, especially in G/S. I mean at least the Burned Tower was redesigned in Crystal and the city's houses got windows, but Gold and Silver's version of the city looked stale in my view.

 

[IceMountain]

Mahogany Town is my personal favorite.

I loved that it was close to the Lake of Rage, and also loved the ninja lore associated with the town.

The natural habitat...Mt. Mortar to the east, Lake of Rage and vast forests to the north, quiet winding road to the west...made for a peaceful town that left much to the imagination.