{"id":103642,"date":"2019-11-13T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/11\/feature_best_pokemon_games_of_all_time"},"modified":"2019-11-13T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T21:00:00","slug":"feature-best-pokemon-games-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/11\/13\/feature-best-pokemon-games-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: Best Pok\u00e9mon Games Of All Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/505ca16081ae5\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/505ca16081ae5\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<figure class=\"picture strip\"><a title=\"Best Pokemon Games\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/505ca16081ae5\/best-pokemon-games.original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/505ca16081ae5\/best-pokemon-games.900x.jpg\" alt=\"Best Pokemon Games\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>What are the best <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/pokemon\">Pok\u00e9mon<\/a><\/strong> games? Ranking such <em>awesome<\/em> games proved a lot more difficult than we first anticipated, given how many of them end up being among the best games of their particular generation.<\/p>\n<p>We deliberated for many hours here at Nintendo Life Towers to decide the order of these turn-based RPG collectathons. We then popped all of the pros and cons and nostalgia into a pot, gave it a big stir, and waited for the result to reduce to the spicy list you see below.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear, this is just the <em>mainline<\/em> entries \u2013 the games that introduced a new generation of Pok\u00e9mon to the mix, their sequels, and the ultimate versions of those games. And yes, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_lets_go_pikachu_and_lets_go_eevee\">Pok\u00e9mon: Let&#8217;s Go, Pikachu! and Let&#8217;s Go, Eevee!<\/a><\/strong> is included; after all, it <em>is<\/em> a mainline Pok\u00e9mon game in the same sense that all of the remakes are. If <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_ultra_sun_and_ultra_moon\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon<\/strong><\/a> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_ultra_sun_and_ultra_moon\">Ultra Sun and Moon<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gbc\/pokemon_crystal\">Pok\u00e9mon Crystal<\/a><\/strong>, or <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_omega_ruby_and_alpha_sapphire\">Pok\u00e9mon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire<\/a><\/strong> are fair game for the list, Let&#8217;s Go is fair game! And you&#8217;ll now find <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_sword_and_shield\">Pok\u00e9mon Sword and Shield<\/a><\/strong> slotted in there, too.<\/p>\n<p>So, read on for where each of the mainline Pok\u00e9mon games sit in our ranked order, from the less good to the very best of the best.<\/p>\n<p>If this list has made you feel all warm inside about the series, then feel free to redress the balance with this list of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/07\/feature_pokemons_dark_history_in_11_shocking_moments\">11 times the Pok\u00e9mon series was really evil<\/a>. <em>Kinda<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"list\">\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/ds\/pokemon_diamond_and_pearl\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6c2d2c2b23b1f\/pokemon-diamond-and-pearl-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Diamond &amp; Pearl (DS)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/pokemon_diamond_and_pearl\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/27893adb3a40b\/pokemon-diamond-and-pearl-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Diamond &amp; Pearl (DS)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>Nintendo<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>Game Freak<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>22nd Apr 2007 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>27th Jul 2007 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/pokemon_diamond_and_pearl\">Pok\u00e9mon Diamond &amp; Pearl<\/a><\/strong> is the first DS entry in the monster-collecting franchise, and it introduced a bunch of new features. For the first time ever, you could play over the internet and battle other trainers globally, or use DS Wireless to play locally. Other new features include increasing the times of day from three to five, a revamp of the moves system, and, of course, a brand new generation of monsters.<\/p>\n<p>So far it all sounds pretty positive, so why does it sit at the bottom of this list? Well, the general gameplay flow wasn&#8217;t really changed all that much from its predecessors, and both the visuals and audio were a little disappointing at the time. It&#8217;s still an <em>excellent<\/em> game \u2013 as all mainline Pok\u00e9mon games are \u2013 but the lack of a gameplay revamp and the underwhelming audio-visual aspect did hurt it somewhat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/3ds\/pokemon_ultra_sun_and_ultra_moon\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/3c2079ea604e9\/pokemon-ultra-sun-and-ultra-moon-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_ultra_sun_and_ultra_moon\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/a54a97dc5766f\/pokemon-ultra-sun-and-ultra-moon-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (3DS)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>17th Nov 2017 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>17th Nov 2017 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_ultra_sun_and_ultra_moon\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon<\/strong><\/a> suffer from similar issues to Diamond &amp; Pearl. This is an expanded version of the seventh generation Sun and Moon, and includes new story elements, Ultra Beasts, and new forms for the Legendary Pok\u00e9mon Necrozma. Alongside all of this is the ability to surf, take photos with your Pok\u00e9mon, and to collect Totem Stickers.<\/p>\n<p>There are definitely some nice new features there that provide more of what you love from Sun and Moon, but it&#8217;s not enough to bump it above the other mainline Pok\u00e9mon entries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/ftc-disclosure\">FTC Disclosure<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-products article-products-list\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/6693\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/6693\/100x100?v=ab1bc45a3fbfd2bafa3f984b86aeae36\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/gba\/pokemon_ruby_and_sapphire\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/0343d0b4ef71d\/pokemon-ruby-and-sapphire-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Ruby &amp; Sapphire (GBA)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gba\/pokemon_ruby_and_sapphire\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/c339d8be6c1f0\/pokemon-ruby-and-sapphire-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Ruby &amp; Sapphire (GBA)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>Nintendo<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>Game Freak<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>19th Mar 2003 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>25th Jul 2003 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gba\/pokemon_ruby_and_sapphire\">Pok\u00e9mon Ruby and Sapphire<\/a><\/strong> were the first entries in the franchise to grace the Game Boy Advance, and introduced double battles, allowing each trainer in a battle to fight with two Pok\u00e9mon, and multi battles, which saw two teams of two trainers battle each other.<\/p>\n<p>The Pok\u00e9mon themselves were also changed up a little bit, with each species now having innate abilities like being immune to certain moves. Each individual Pok\u00e9mon also had a nature, which affects the statistics of that Pok\u00e9mon directly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/3ds\/pokemon_x_and_y\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/84a087d9d506b\/pokemon-x-and-y-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon X &amp; Y (3DS)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_x_and_y\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/8ed561298a26f\/pokemon-x-and-y-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon X &amp; Y (3DS)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>Nintendo<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>Game Freak<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>12th Oct 2013 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>12th Oct 2013 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next up is <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/pokemon_x_and_y\">Pok\u00e9mon X and Y<\/a><\/strong>, the first Pok\u00e9mon pair for Nintendo 3DS. It introduced the sixth generation of Pok\u00e9mon, fully 3D visuals for the first time in a mainline Pok\u00e9mon game, and allowed you to completely customise your trainer&#8217;s appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Other exciting new additions include the ability for certain Pok\u00e9mon to Mega Evolve temporarily into a more powerful form, battles that take place in the sky with flying Pok\u00e9mon, and Horde Encounters, in which you can take on five Pok\u00e9mon at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/gameboy\/pokemon_yellow_version_special_pikachu_edition\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/06ef9ae1ddafd\/pokemon-yellow-version-special-pikachu-edition-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition (GB)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gameboy\/pokemon_yellow_version_special_pikachu_edition\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/3dc682a009f7a\/pokemon-yellow-version-special-pikachu-edition-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition (GB)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>Nintendo<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>Game Freak<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>18th Oct 1999 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>16th Jun 2000 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gameboy\/pokemon_yellow_version_special_pikachu_edition\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon Yellow<\/strong><\/a> is the ultimate version of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gameboy\/pokemon_red_and_blue\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon Red and Blue<\/strong><\/a>. You automatically started with Pikachu as your starter Pok\u00e9mon, which was given a voice and personality, and followed you around on the overworld map. Over time, your Pikachu would react to your actions, and its feelings for you would change. There was also a brand new surfing minigame in which you could surf on Pikachu&#8217;s back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"list-item\">\n<div class=\"list-hero\" data-subject=\"games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_lets_go_pikachu_and_lets_go_eevee\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/5c5d01bf9e5de\/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu-and-lets-go-eevee-artwork.900x250.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"250\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (Switch)\"><a class=\"cover\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_lets_go_pikachu_and_lets_go_eevee\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/a74f6edfbe9e9\/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu-and-lets-go-eevee-cover.cover_small.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! (Switch)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"list-hero-info\">\n<p><span>Publisher: <\/span><strong>Nintendo<\/strong> \/ <span>Developer: <\/span><strong>Game Freak<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"release\"><span>Release Date: <\/span><strong>16th Nov 2018 (<abbr title=\"United States \/ North America\">USA<\/abbr>)<\/strong> \/ <strong>16th Nov 2018 (<abbr title=\"UK \/ European\">UK\/EU<\/abbr>)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We feel like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_lets_go_pikachu_and_lets_go_eevee\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon: Let&#8217;s Go, Pikachu and Let&#8217;s Go, Eevee<\/strong>!<\/a> does enough to beat Yellow, the first attempt to create the ultimate version of Red and Blue, but isn&#8217;t quite up to the remake standards of FireRed and LeafGreen. But that&#8217;s okay \u2013 Let&#8217;s Go was designed to help ease in the brand new audience brought in by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/mobile\/pokemon_go\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/strong><\/a> to the core games ahead of the latest entry <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_sword_and_shield\"><strong>Pok\u00e9mon Sword and Shield<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s also likely that a few of the quality of life features will make it into future games too, like catch combos, being able to see the Pok\u00e9mon you can catch, and perhaps some form of motion controls.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-products article-products-list\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/7633\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/7633\/100x100?v=d351bf6f8d3066c699ad4198a2925467\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"item\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/7634\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/7634\/100x100?v=42961fa3423967cb941ccb2a8582ac6f\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the best Pok\u00e9mon games? Ranking such awesome games proved a lot more difficult than we first anticipated, given how many of them end up being among the best games of their particular generation. We deliberated for many hours here at Nintendo Life Towers to decide the order of these turn-based RPG collectathons. We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}