Hoenn and Kanto appealled to me, I can see why FRLG had to recreate the original RBY and couldn't do much except update graphics and the computer interface and yes because they stuck close to the original plot with not many changes (such as Moltres not being encountered at the end of Victory Road) and the added extras of the islands including encountering johto pokemon.
As for Hoenn the map was original, it didn't have to live up to a generational legend of a game and it didn't need to be remastered to appeal to a younger generation and to the original generation that played its predecessor. The pokemon was original, even if the fire pokemon was limited in wild encounters. I've owned all RSE and FrLg and I like playing both games, both of them have their quirks, pros and cons. I must admit I've restarted my hoenn game more times than FrLg, the hoenn region holds my record of the quickest time to complete story mode (at 16hrs, obviously without cheats)
As for Hoenn the map was original, it didn't have to live up to a generational legend of a game and it didn't need to be remastered to appeal to a younger generation and to the original generation that played its predecessor. The pokemon was original, even if the fire pokemon was limited in wild encounters. I've owned all RSE and FrLg and I like playing both games, both of them have their quirks, pros and cons. I must admit I've restarted my hoenn game more times than FrLg, the hoenn region holds my record of the quickest time to complete story mode (at 16hrs, obviously without cheats)