The Pokemon remakes thread

[Boss1991]

Rank all the remakes from best to worst! I will start

1. HGSS: the best remake. So much love and care put into it. It's not entirely perfect, but almost.
2. BDSP: a solid remake that does it's job very well. Made me fall in love with Sinnoh, which the originals didn't achieve.
3. FRLG: a remake that does its job well, but feels a little too basic overall. An ok game.
4. ORAS: the remake with the most wasted potential imo, has a lot of flaws, unfortunately.
5. LGPE: a really beautiful remake, which sadly doesn't offer enough content

 

[The Head Honchkrow]

1) HG/SS - Not only the best remakes, but my personal favourite Pokémon games. Johto has such a cosy and retro feel to it, and the remakes just further amplify it. There are some flaws (like Team Rocket being pushovers), but the brand-new content like the Pokéthlon and the Safari Zone more than make up for it, as far as I'm concerned. Also, shout-out to Voltorb Flip for being the best mini-game in the franchise.
2) FR/LG - I haven't played these ones too much, but from what I recall, they're pretty good. Some strange design choices (like all post-Gen I evos being locked til after the E4), but all-around solid games.
3) OR/AS - I've only played these once, so not much to say. Some great additions, like Soaring and the Delta Episode, but nowhere near as extensive as what HG/SS did.
4) BD/SP - Full disclosure; I haven't played these. Even so, I feel that I can identify that these remakes are far from perfect. There are some decent QoL improvements, like no longer needing HMs in your party and the Underground having more going on than the originals. However, this is completely undone by the awful decision to remove the grid-based movement, which absolutely destroys how some things are meant to function, like the Snowpoint Gym. On a surface level, I understand why it's like that, as that movement style in RPGs is quite outdated, but I don't think they really thought it through

I won't comment on LGPE, as I'm pretty indifferent to them.

 

[Sham]

HGSS>FRLG=>ORAS>Let’s Go>>>>>>>>BDSP

 

[Auraninja]

ORAS- I love Hoenn, and I love the remixed themes and revamped story
HGSS- I feel like this is what a Johto remake should have done. It's very well polished.
FRLG- I have a soft spot for these titles. Plus, I love the Sevii Islands.
BDSP- I'm not the biggest fan on Sinnoh, but these remakes did add some QoL which is appreciated.
LGPE- I still think these are good remakes. I love replaying Kanto with a more Yellow focus.

 

[Tsukisha]

I played HG/SS, AS/OR and BD/SP.

Out of the bunch, I prefer both HG/SS and AS/OR as they really feel like... well: "remakes" - thanks to the fresh atmosphere of the whole journey, upgraded towns/cities/routes, characters' remodeling, expanded Pokédex and overall improved mechanics. I do like BD/SP, but they don't feel very different compared to the original D/P/Pt.

 

[DrewHLMW]

1. HG/SS - still the best games ever made to this day
2. OR/AS - I like them
3. BD/SP - pretty good, no national dex hurts though, would have been nice if mega evolution could have came back too but alas
4. FR/LG - nostalgia is great but they're pretty much just a graphical uopgrade nowadays
5. LGPE - hate the catching mechanic

 

[janejane6178]

ORAS.
My FAVVVVV Pokemon games. Both nostalgic since I played gen 3 alot as a kid, and also part of my fav gen - The wonderful gen 6.
I love how Hoenn is heavily connected to Kalos in ORAS. Two best regions

 

[Tsukuyomi56]

1. HGSS - Excels in the huge amount of content, only niggle is the wonky level curve was not addressed.

2. ORAS - Not as much content as HGSS but I like the slight changes to the story which does not detract from the Hoenn experience.

3. BDSP- Could have done with more Platinum content but the QoL features were appreciated (notably in regards to HMs).

4. FRLG: Some confusing choices (why no post-Gen 1 evolutions/pre-evolutions before the credits roll?) but it did its job well at the time.

5. LGPE: Would have liked them better if it was not for the Go style catching mechanic.

 

[Ishiftyounot]

1. 
   
   HeartGold / SoulSilver - I adore these games, they were my first venture into Johto and I have a lot of fond memories playing HeartGold in particular! I think the region is gorgeous, I love the more rustic feel of Johto and the game reflects that beautifully with each town and route. It has flaws - the level curve is the main one, and the availability of a lot of Johto Pokemon is the other one for me (the Safari Zone alleviates but doesn't entirely fix it). But gym leader rematches, the Pokeathlon Dome and the Platinum Battle Frontier were neat additions even if I didn't fully utilise them and they set the standard for remakes for me.
2. 
   
   LeafGreen / FireRed - I am fond of the Gen III sprites, which is where most of my "nostalgia" comes from. They were my first experience of Kanto but it took me until 2020 to actually complete the game! I wasn't a huge fan of the Sevii Islands but I think they were a solid addition overall? They're just solid games, they edge out Let's Go for me because of the sprites and the fact that they kept abilities and held items (which made the game at least a little bit more fun).
3. 
   
   Let's Go Pikachu / Eevee - the catching mechanic is pretty unique and actually quite fun, although maybe that's because I haven't played in a while. I like the 3D models in this more than any other Pokemon game? I can't explain it but they just seem more rounder and colourful! The game isn't exactly difficult, and there's not too much strategy involved, but I dig it all the same. It's a nice simple game when sometimes that's all you want. I don't like forced experience share though, it does ruin things for me a smidge.
4. 
   
   Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl - I'm a Sinnoh shill so I was never going to hate this game, and I don't! It's a faster and "easier" version of the original DP games with some of the availability of Platinum. Do I wish it was a Platinum remake? Yes, I think having that foundation and building upon it with the difficulty would've been really cool! But I still like it for the same reasons I like Let's Go - it's a simple fun run through of a beloved region. I say "easier" because I hear the Elite 4 / Cynthia + the rematches are actually challenging? But I'm only just past Volkner so we'll see. Again, forced experience share sucks especially when the developers didn't balance the region around it! I'm 7 levels above Volkner's ace facing trainers with middle-stage Pokemon, it's awful.
5. 
   
   Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire - forgive me fandom for I am about to commit treason... I don't like ORAS. I don't really like Gen 6 as a whole because the 3D models feel kind-of lifeless to me (Gen 7 and 8 seemingly fixed this for me, but I couldn't tell you what changed exactly) and I could just never get into these games. I beat Sapphire about a year ago (not Alpha Sapphire) and had a blast! The Gen III sprites hold up and the game was a reasonable challenge. Maybe ORAS is a challenge too? I don't know. DexNav is cool, soaring is a feature I'm generally ambivalent about, it's just... not my thing. Blasphemy I know.

 

[RileyXY1]

I don't even consider LGPE a remake, so I'm not including it in my rankings.

1. HeartGold and SoulSilver: It's got a lot of new content like the Pokeathalon, new Safari Zone, and Gym Leader rematches. It also adds some elements from Crystal like Eusine and the Suicune sidequest. It even has small additions like the GB sounds that allow you to listen to the OG game's music. There's a lot to like about this game.
2. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire: This game brought Hoenn to the new age with great new mechanics like the DexNav and Soaring along with the expansion of the Mirage Islands gimmick and the return of the PSS, Super Training, and Pokemon Amie from XY. There's even a cool new post-game story called the Delta Episode where you can catch Deoxys. Overall I really like ORAS.
3. FireRed and LeafGreen: There's not a lot of new content here, but what it does have is nice. It lets you play through the Gen 1 games with almost all the new features introduced in Gens 2 and 3, and there's a brand new island chain to explore with a post-game story, lots of unique areas to explore, and lots of Gen 2 Pokemon to find. It also introduced the VS Seeker, a great way to easily level up your team. I really like FRLG and what it tried to do, and it's really the only way to play Gen 1 if you don't want to deal with either old, outdated, and clunky mechanics or an overly watered down and childish experience.
4. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: Can this even be considered a remake? It feels more like a remaster. There's hardly anything new aside from the Hideaways and Ramanas Park, the always on EXP share breaks the game because it still uses the old DP leveling curve, and aside from the slow movement and the overreliance on HMs it doesn't fix any of DP's problems.