Gaming Where to start with Pokemon?

[mashers]

I've never played a Pokemon game, and always felt as though it wasn't my kind of thing. But something is making me want to give it a try. Where is the best place to start? Is it better to start off from the very beginning, or is there a better game later on which could get me hooked before delving into the back catalogue?

 

[antiNT]

The best pokémon games are pokémon heartgold and soulsilver. The only pokémon games with 2 regions

 

[wormdood]

the correct answer is obviously fire red

 

[Bros.Life]

Oh my god! Never played pokemon? You haven't had a childhood.

But seriously, go to Crystal. Or you can pick HeartGold or SoulSilver if you want something more remastered. But Crystal has an unique storymode.

 

[wormdood]

But Crystal has an unique storymode.

having never played pokemon they will all seem unique the first time

 

[joyoshi]

I'd say all games are pretty good for beginners except XY/ORAS. If you start with one of those you'll spoil yourself with the 3d models and all the fancy graphics.

 

[antiNT]

Heartgold and soulsilver are the best to start. Don't chose X/Y

 

[Bros.Life]

having never played pokemon they will all seem unique the first time

I was comparing between HeartGold and SoulSilver. Once these have a same storyline and Crystal has a different one.

 

[Harsky]

Even though I played Red, Blue, Yellow a LOT as a kid, I think compared to the later entries, it's very unhelpful. Items to learn moves are one use only. No run button (always needs to open item menu for bike instead of assigning it to select button), no idea what ANY of the moves does because it lacks description in game.

I recommend Fire Red/Leaf Green. They are remakes of the original Generation One games but you can also have the option to transfer them to the DS games (recommend Heart Gold/Soul Silver, remakes of Generation Two) and after that, get Black/White because that's the version that can let you transfer the DS Pokemons to the 3DS version via the Pokebank so you can finally get into the 3DS Pokemon and try out the X/Y which gives you a grasp of Pokemon in 3D.

Finally comes Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, remakes of Generation 3 so in theory, you could transfer your GBA Pokemon all the way to the 3DS!

 

[ferret7463]

don't worry about which one... They all have the forced 20 minute explanation and tutorial which will bore you to death. (waiting for the day when you start a new game and your first choice can "yes, I know how to play Freakin Pokemon" and then you just start....)

 

[wormdood]

Even though I played Red, Blue, Yellow a LOT as a kid, I think compared to the later entries, it's very unhelpful. Items to learn moves are one use only. No run button (always needs to open item menu for bike instead of assigning it to select button), no idea what ANY of the moves does because it lacks description in game.

I recommend Fire Red/Leaf Green. They are remakes of the original Generation One games but you can also have the option to transfer them to the DS games (recommend Heart Gold/Soul Silver, remakes of Generation Two) and after that, get Black/White because that's the version that can let you transfer the DS Pokemons to the 3DS version via the Pokebank so you can finally get into the 3DS Pokemon and try out the X/Y which gives you a grasp of Pokemon in 3D.

Finally comes Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, remakes of Generation 3 so in theory, you could transfer your GBA Pokemon all the way to the 3DS!

. . . K.O. . . . you win!

 

[Bros.Life]

Even though I played Red, Blue, Yellow a LOT as a kid, I think compared to the later entries, it's very unhelpful. Items to learn moves are one use only. No run button (always needs to open item menu for bike instead of assigning it to select button), no idea what ANY of the moves does because it lacks description in game.

I just think the new pokemon games have a pretty easy catchability rate. I remember spending around 30 ultra balls to catch some legendary pokemons in the old games.

 

[Lacius]

People are usually going to recommend the game(s) they started with. The Pokémon games are pretty much all the same thing, so it doesn't really matter where you begin. If I were you, I would start with FireRed or LeafGreen because they're remakes of the originals and include the most iconic Pokémon. Honestly, they're not very long either.

However, if you don't care about starting with the originals, I would just play Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire because they have the latest features and are what most people are playing right now. Some of the fun of Pokémon is trading and/or battling with other people, and you're most likely to get that with the Generation VI games.

 

[DJ-Yoshiman]

As a gentlemen who also got a very late start in Pokemon (at the ripe age of 22), I would +1 the recommendation for FireRed.

 

[Osga21]

Doesn't really matter where you begin, the story does not have any continuation so you can just play whichever one you want first, XY or ORAS may be a good start

 

[MartyDreamy]

Try to start with pokemon black and white

 

[heartgold]

In this order

Firered or leaf green, emerald, platinum, black or white, black 2 or white 2, X or Y and Omega ruby or alpha sapphire.

O boy, you got a lot of catching up to do. I do suggest to play crystal and ruby or sapphire. Totally different experience even to their remakes.

 

[mashers]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to start with Fire Red. I'm interested in the pairing of the games (e.g. Fire Red/Left Green, X/Y etc). Are the games in each pairing completely different games, or just variations on the same game?

 

[yoshinatsu]

If you wanna play them (pseudo)chronologically, I'd suggest either FireRed/LeafGreen, which are great remakes of the original games (also much improved imho, and I've been playing since '99).
I wouldn't bother with the original games. They're old, buggy, clunky, and ugly.
If you wanna be impressed by starting with the pinnacle of the series, go with HeartGold/SoulSilver.

 

[Harsky]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to start with Fire Red. I'm interested in the pairing of the games (e.g. Fire Red/Left Green, X/Y etc). Are the games in each pairing completely different games, or just variations on the same game?

Same game. But each version has exclusive Pokemons that can only be found in their version and must be traded over if you want to complete the Pokedex.