Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal are the best games in the franchise
Listen, ive really grown to enjoy these games as of late. I find their simplicity to be fascinating and has led them to endure the test of time. Those simple pokemon sprites are also some of my favorite from a visual aspect.
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I believe there's such a thing as a cutoff for minimum quality of life improvements for a Pokemon game to be playable. Which is why I have never regarded Gen 1 games very highly. Until recently, I thought Gen 2 just barely made the cut.
However, recently I went back to revisit an old savefile of Crystal after playing through Scarlet Violet twice. I wanted to check what pokemon and gym badges I had, and man was it a chore. Perhaps my mind would change if I attempted a new playthrough, but just revisiting it as I did left me with the impression that Gen 2 has not aged very well since I last played it.
Currently, I would say my cutoff has been moved up to Gen 3. Primarily because of the improvements in art, pokemon storage system, map navigation, and menus.
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I don't think gen 2 is the best of the franchise, but they are very strong entries. Understandable considering they were potentially going to be the franchise's swan song before it took off in the West as well. The developers packed so much into them, even squeezing in Kanto when it was initially feared the Game Boy cartridges could not even accommodate Johto.
HGSS continued this spirit, cramming so many features and extras into the games, updating them while still remaining true to the spirit of the originals. They are easily the best Pokémon remakes we have ever gotten and I pray that spirit returns to the franchise in time for the gen 5 remakes.
I would not fault anyone, particularly younger fans, for preferring the remakes, but I think gen 2 shows so much about the franchise in its early days and would recommend everyone at least give them a try if they haven't already.
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While I really liked gen 2 I really wished HGSS actually fixed Johto's problems. I still liked HGSS and Johto is one of my top 3 regions. Other than all of that, gen 2 might be one of the best if not the best.
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I'm the exact same way as a Gen 2/GSC fan. Gen 2 took the messy chaotic hype of Gen 1, and took it into a defined direction that would set the path for the rest of the series in the long term. We got iconic features like Special Defence, the day-night cycle to make the world feel real, held items that redefined battling, balance changes like fixing Wrap and trapping moves and freeze to be balanced as well as adding Steel and Dark to balance out Psychic, breeding and shinies that are still some of the most used features today, giving names to trainers and letting them rematch you by calling you on your watch that also had a map and radio, putting box legendaries on the first time and giving them lore as another enduring tradition, proper box management with the Move Pokemon without Mail feature, and a return to Kanto to top it all off. As a sequel to Gen 1 at the time, Gen 2 delivered beautifully in full colour and really makes you feel like time is passing in the world as you live in it as well as how the passage of time has affected Kanto as well. The games were very ambitious with Crystal even having mobile adapter support in Japan as the first wireless games, and even with its flaws in game balance, the legacy of GSC is one that feels real in how it can be seen in the series even today.
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I'm the exact same way as a Gen 2/GSC fan. Gen 2 took the messy chaotic hype of Gen 1, and took it into a defined direction that would set the path for the rest of the series in the long term. We got iconic features like Special Defence, the day-night cycle to make the world feel real, held items that redefined battling, balance changes like fixing Wrap and trapping moves and freeze to be balanced as well as adding Steel and Dark to balance out Psychic, breeding and shinies that are still some of the most used features today, giving names to trainers and letting them rematch you by calling you on your watch that also had a map and radio, putting box legendaries on the first time and giving them lore as another enduring tradition, proper box management with the Move Pokemon without Mail feature, and a return to Kanto to top it all off. As a sequel to Gen 1 at the time, Gen 2 delivered beautifully in full colour and really makes you feel like time is passing in the world as you live in it as well as how the passage of time has affected Kanto as well. The games were very ambitious with Crystal even having mobile adapter support in Japan as the first wireless games, and even with its flaws in game balance, the legacy of GSC is one that feels real in how it can be seen in the series even today.
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