Board 8 > I have never played a Pokemon game - thinking of changing that...

(+) Yeah! (+)

So yeah, I've never played a Pokemon game. I've played Pokemon Puzzle League, buuuuuut that doesn't count. It seems like just about everyone who plays these games likes 'em, so I figure I should give it a shot. Any recommendations on where I should start? Are the newer ones a good starting point, or should I go back a bit and try out an older game?

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Live action Hungry Hungry Hippos though, now that was a sport. ~Aeon Azuran

R/B/Y all day every day!

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"THIS is how you make Nintendo win another generation. Good job, Sony and Microsoft, you're idiots." - Vlado

Black and White, the newest games, are a great way to start. They're excellent, and are loaded with features.

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Okay, I rolled a 14. What's that mean? Hsu
That you're a cheater. This is a 12-sided die. Chan

It's a little dated by now, but I can't recommend anything but FireRed as the first one. Maybe it's the nostalgia in me.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Heartgold.

The newer ones improve on the old game mechanics, and they keep shifting the power balance on which pokemon and types are great. So if you start a new one, the older one will most likely feel dated.

Personally, I'd go with either RBY and continue onwards, or get BW and BW 2 (later this month)...

Actually, now that I think about it, FR/LG is a good place to start too, since you can transfer your pokes to the next gen. RBY and GSC can't transfer their poke to gen 3 onwards. If you care about that, that is.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
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I would do Fire Red/Leaf Green -> Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald -> HeartGold/SoulSilver -> Diamond/Pearl/Platinum -> Black/White

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Depends on what you're gonna do, which is hard to know before you start. If you're just playing one, I'd go with Black or White. If you're thinking of playing multiple, I'd start with one of the older ones....or better, the remakes.

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SAKURA KNIGHTS, ASSEMBLE!

As for side games...

Pokemon Stadium is great, and I like Pokemon Snap (railway camera shooter). I also like Pokemon Conquest (RTS) and the Pokemon Ranger (uhh... action I guess) series. The Mystery Dungeon ones have a lot of fans, but I personally loathe every last Roguelike games.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

Yeah, I would suggest FR/LG, then Emerald, then HG/SS, then Platinum, and finally B/W and B/W2.

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ph33r teh masta~!

Get Black/White.

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I'd honestly go in order.

R/B/Y > G/S/C > Emerald(Superior to Ruby/Sapphire in every way) > D/P/P > B/W



Granted the remakes are pretty solid. Wasn't feeling FR/LG but I love HG/SS

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oh hey its that popo guy!

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Married to my Sugar mama, CrimsonOcean. Oct. 10, 2007
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Oh, and in case you were wondering...

Gen 1: Red + Blue, and Yellow

Gen 2: Gold + Silver, and Crystal

Gen 3: Ruby + Sapphire, Fire Red Leaf Green (remake of Red and Blue), and Emerald

Gen 4: Diamond + Pearl, HeartGold + SoulSilver (Remake of Gold and Silver), and Platinum

Gen 5: Black + White, and Black + White 2

Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, and Platinum basically remix the original pairing of the generation, and improve them. Generally preferable to original versions.

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My Little Phineas and Ferb: Summer is Magic!
Aww, I lost to SuperNiceDog, Winner of the Rivalry Rumble Guru Contest

From: Pokalicious | #010

Yeah, I would suggest FR/LG, then Emerald, then HG/SS, then Platinum, and finally B/W and B/W2.

This is probably the best order for a new player. As great as they were for their time, the oldest Pokemon games (R/B/Y) had some glaring flaws, and the best Poke's were pretty obvious. Just grab a Psychic type of your choice (which should be Alakazam, but hey, to each their own) and devastate.

Each game mentioned at least somewhat holds true to modern mechanics, I believe, like Physical/Special rules and such. Gen 3 at least tried at this, anyway. Besides that, another reason to go in this order is that you're technically still experiencing each generation: 1 -> 3 -> 2 -> 4 -> 5, and they're definitely the best way to experience each generation.

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Xbox GT/PSN name: TatteredUniform
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Fire Red or Leaf Green to start

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Tom Bombadil posted...

Depends on what you're gonna do, which is hard to know before you start. If you're just playing one, I'd go with Black or White. If you're thinking of playing multiple, I'd start with one of the older ones....or better, the remakes.

That, that, that

If you aren't sure about the series as a whole and are probably only going to play one make it Black/White

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Fennec... :3
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From: Tom Bombadil | #008

Depends on what you're gonna do, which is hard to know before you start. If you're just playing one, I'd go with Black or White. If you're thinking of playing multiple, I'd start with one of the older ones....or better, the remakes.

Yeah, also that.

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Xbox GT/PSN name: TatteredUniform
http://www.scuffletown.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/tRBE1.gif

Also expecting a playthrough topic...I've never seen someone play through a Pokemon game blind.

It'll be like "Wow Professors are old men THIS IS AMAZING!"

You should play Black/White first to see if you like it. Then you can move backwards and watch the features decrease. And skip R/S/E >.>

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"Coinflip is sacred."

Remakes or black/white is the only correct way to go. Black/white was for all intents and purposes a mini reboot of the series even. Though I'm still convinced that the third version will be on the 3ds with content of both halves of the mini series there.

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The King Wang.
Listen up Urinal Cake. I already have something that tells me if I'm too drunk when I pee on it: My friends. - Colbert.

As Tom said, if you want to just play one, then Black/White or Black2/White2

If you plan on playing through the series

FireRed /LeafGreen -> Emerald -> Heart Gold/Soul Silver -> Platinum -> Black/White

Though you can skip emerald too and not miss much

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What Komm said, minus the skipping of Emerald, which I really dig. Definitely don't start with the first two generations though; they're really outdated. The remakes for them are the bomb, though.

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K | H | A | Q | Q | A | H | K
"we're about 50 years behind the rest of western society." -icon on B8

Just start with Black and White. They're all pretty much the same anyway, and B/W has the most refined game mechanics and roster.

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SuperNiceDog took my lunch money.

If you've got a taste for retro gaming, I think you'd enjoy RBY and GSC a lot - especially the latter, which has held up much better. It's still a terrific game, and it's surprisingly nice to look at too.

RBY is definitely more dated in many respects. The AI is downright braindead at times, Psychic-types are overpowered, and the graphics - while solid for their time - are practically avant-garde in today's day and age. Depending on your sense of humor, though, the visual style might be a good thing; I know it is for me! On the bright side, the soundtrack is still excellent, and the gameplay is very fun. Compared to the rest of the series, it feels pretty offbeat and low-budget, and it's fascinating how such a lovably unpolished game became an ultra-slick, blockbuster franchise.

All things considered, I do think RBY is a great starting point; it's an interesting piece of history, if nothing else. If you really don't dig retro gaming, though, HeartGold/SoulSilver is probably the apex of the series, and I'd go with that.

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From: superange128 | #007

I would do Fire Red/Leaf Green -> Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald -> HeartGold/SoulSilver -> Diamond/Pearl/Platinum -> Black/White

From: Tom Bombadil | #008

Depends on what you're gonna do, which is hard to know before you start. If you're just playing one, I'd go with Black or White. If you're thinking of playing multiple, I'd start with one of the older ones....or better, the remakes.

These.

From: TheCodeisBosco | #025

HeartGold/SoulSilver is probably the apex of the series

But this is also true. So if you're just going with one, I'd either go with B/W for the newest ones, or HG/SS for the best experience.

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SuperNiceDog: Guru winner

really, it's not "your first pokemon game" unless you play one with only the original 151 pokemon.

Red/Blue or FireRed/LeafGreen are your only options here.

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SuperNiceDog shoots the lights out

Yeah, I would suggest FR/LG, then Emerald, then HG/SS, then Platinum, and finally B/W and B/W2.

This is a really good order, yeah. I might switch Platinum and HGSS there but it doesn't make a huge difference.

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"The courtroom is the garden of holy judgment. Those with lechery in their hearts should leave this sanctuary at once!" ~Franziska von Karma

If you just want to play one, pick up Black/White. If you want to go through all gens, go FR/LG -> HGSS -> Emerald -> Platinum -> BW -> BW2 (when that releases).

From: WalrusJump | #027

really, it's not "your first pokemon game" unless you play one with only the original 151 pokemon.

This is the stupidest quote ever. Whatever he plays first is his first, even if it's not your first.

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"The people who play Final Fantasy 7 actually have lives and dont NEED polls" ~MajinUltima
SuperNiceDog: Bracket: Good, Taste: Bad

Just play more Pokemon Puzzle League, that game is too awesome to put down

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Johan Santana: Pitcher of the New York Mets First No-Hitter

From: swirIdude | #029

This is the stupidest quote ever. Whatever he plays first is his first, even if it's not your first.

are you sperg enough to take every sentence anyone says literally and not have the capacity to read between the lines at all?

my point is that someone who's completely new to the world of pokemon would enjoy playing a game with the cute little guys he already knows of (Pikachu, Charizard, Bulbasaur) rather than one with a bunch of completely foreign creatures like B/W would be.

suggesting B/W as someone's first pokemon game, even with any mechanics changes, is something I would only expect board 8 to do.

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SuperNiceDog shoots the lights out

No harm in playing the originals unless you really don't get into old games

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SuperNiceDog - 1, pjbasis - 0

Did you watch the Anime? If so, do Red. The nostalgia is everything.

If not, do Black/White because there's so many Pokemon you'll never get bored and it's amazing.


If you don't wanna buy anything, every Pokemon game from the Gameboy/Gamboy Advance/Nintendo DS generation is easily emulated for free.

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

I really don't know where a good place to start is, but good on you for trying the series.

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Ace Detective in Sir Chris' Police
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R/B/Y really hasn't aged well, though it's definitely still worth a play.

FR/LG D/P/P or HGSS are probably a good place to start.

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http://img.imgcake.com/1284175205700jpghe.jpg

If we're suggesting anime-watching nostalgia, isn't Yellow the way to go? Or are its balance problems just that bad overall?

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K | H | A | Q | Q | A | H | K
"we're about 50 years behind the rest of western society." -icon on B8

Noooooo you should cherish that uniqueness. You are a better person for not having been subjected to that filth!

That's how I feel about a lot of things.

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K | H | A | Q | Q | A | H | K
"we're about 50 years behind the rest of western society." -icon on B8

There are much better series for you to play. Invest your time more wisely.

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Blitzball fan? Try Captain Tsubasa II (in English) for NES!
Game reviews/articles by me: http://betweenlifeandgames.com

I mean if you absolutely HAVE to play one of them, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire is the finest wine available!

It's still white wine though. Walmart quality.

Christ... I was checking in on this topic a bit last night, didn't expect close to 50 replies the next morning. Just goes to show how much a good number o' people love the game. I went through and read everything though and appreciate the feedback.

I have no problem playing the old games. So if I do start from the very beginning, it sounds like I should go with Yellow - that combines Red and Blue, correct? If so, looks like I could pick that up on eBay for a not-outrageous price. Or go for the ROM, of course.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming!

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Live action Hungry Hungry Hippos though, now that was a sport. ~Aeon Azuran

Nah, if you're playing the very first games it should be red/blue.

That said, you can get all three starters in Yellow so that's something.

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XIII_rocks, the cream of XIII fanboyism.

That said, the order Angelo posted is the best. R/B has "charming" glitches and issues but that is what they are. The GBA remakes are a far...cleaner, better product overall.

And play Emerald and Platinum, they're both blatantly superior to R/S and D/P respectively

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XIII_rocks, the cream of XIII fanboyism.

FireRed /LeafGreen -> Emerald -> Heart Gold/Soul Silver -> Platinum -> Black/White for sure.

I wouldn't want to replay rby and gsc, especially when the remakes fix a lot of things while keeping all the fun.

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I'm but a simple companion in the pack of gurus whereof SuperNiceDog is the pack leader!

These orders are just about perfect. I'm glad so many people agree on them. I'd switch Platinum around to before HG/SS, though, but yeah.

And play Emerald and Platinum, they're both blatantly superior to R/S and D/P respectively

Incredibly so.

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K | H | A | Q | Q | A | H | K
"we're about 50 years behind the rest of western society." -icon on B8

Holy crap guys, way to completely bombard him.

Just play the first one, easy 'nuff. If you dont like it, dont play the rest.

*bombards the TC*

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K | H | A | Q | Q | A | H | K
"we're about 50 years behind the rest of western society." -icon on B8

In reading everything, I overlooked that FR/LG were remakes of the originals - I thought they were completely different games. Agreed, that sounds like the place to start. Thanks everyone - resume bombardment!

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Live action Hungry Hungry Hippos though, now that was a sport. ~Aeon Azuran

Everyone has already said it.


Gen 1 remake -> Gen 3 -> Gen 2 remake -> Gen 4 -> Gen 5


Oh and naturally make a playthrough topic so we can live vicariously through your first taste of a pokemon game. A sweetness that you only taste once.

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Fire Red/LG is a good start. They took the original games and polished the mechanics, took out the glitches, and made the graphics very pretty.

Then I would move on to The Gen 2 remakes or Gen 3.

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