Pokémon is one of the biggest media franchises in the world, and 2024 marks its 28th anniversary. To celebrate that milestone, we’re taking a look back at every main series title released since Feb. 27, 1996—the Japanese launch date for the original Red and Green versions.
In total, there are 22 Pokémon games considered to be core to the franchise, starting with Red and Green in 1996 up to Scarlet and Violet in 2022. Those releases span five different Nintendo consoles and the scale of the games has shifted over the years—for better or worse. And, as a beloved series with a combined than 320 million copies sold across just those core titles, that leads to some divisive opinions on which games are the cream of the crop.
To give you the best spread of options on which Pokémon games are the best and worst of the core bunch, we took a poll across Dot Esports to average out the top and bottom three games—with some added opinions. Here’s that list, and a brief overview of why these games rank where they do.
Top three Pokémon games
Black and White 2
Generation V feels like it has an even split in the fanbase of people who love and hate the games from that timeframe but Black 2 and White 2 are viewed through a special lens as the final 2D Pokémon games before Game Freak leapt into new territory.
This game pushed the sprite-based origins of Pokémon to its limits one last time, and the plot of BW2 jumped back to Johto themes by continuing the story of its predecessor while still putting an entirely fresh spin on the Unova region that brought more Pokémon right from the start. It also helps that the post-game in BW2 is expansive too. Whether you want to finish out your Pokédex using the Habitat List, battle it out in the Pokémon World Tour, or revisit the game using Challenge Mode for a more difficult run, there is plenty to love about Gen V’s swansong.
HeartGold and SoulSilver
If you ask any Pokémon player who has played the game since the DS era or earlier what their favorite Pokémon game is, a majority of them will likely say HeartGold or SoulSilver is their pick. It hits the perfect sweet spot of remaking one of the first Pokémon titles faithfully but with enough modern spins to bring them up to speed with where the franchise was in 2009.
Outside of the nostalgia factor and the “but it has two regions” discourse, HGSS provides the full Johto experience with more depth than some modern Pokémon games have. From Newbark Town to Mt. Silver, you can play through a classic title with enhancements like an updated battle system or small touches like the GB Sounds machine that will turn the game’s music back to the original Game Boy tracks. The post-game is also improved thanks to additions like the Battle Frontier and the Pokéathlon.
Emerald
Pokémon Emerald landed at our top spot, and it’s hard to argue Hoenn’s definitive edition isn’t the peak of what Game Freak’s development has put out. Refining the solid base that Ruby and Sapphire started with and dropping more story content into the mix centered around Rayquaza was always going to be a win.
It is also arguably the most feature-dense Pokémon title of all time even without online content as it is the first introduction of the Battle Frontier and remains the largest version of the area ever featured in a game and still had Contests to back that up too. You could honestly slot Platinum into this slot for similar reasons, but you can’t miss with Emerald.
Bottom three Pokémon games
X and Y
Arguably the most controversial Pokémon game from a historical perspective, X and Y still catch a lot of flak from the community because it was the first 3D game. That automatically pins it as a transitional period for Game Freak as developers and the series’ visuals as sprite-based content were replaced with 3D models moving forward.
There is plenty to love about XY, but a somewhat disjointed story that was done better in the anime (outside of AZ), lackluster characters, a small regional Pokédex, and a post-game that offers almost nothing outside of breeding and online play torpedoed its chances to grow on most fans. The main quality people praise Gen VI for is Mega Evolutions, but even that’s a mixed bag that has now been left by the wayside.
I just want Looker back with more interesting storytelling like we got a glimpse of here…
Sun and Moon
If X and Y didn’t push Pokémon players on the fence away, Sun and Moon sure did. While Alola as a region, its lore, and some of the story content are all fantastic, it’s widely bogged down with endless cutscenes and constant handholding that puts most other games in the series to shame.
Everything feels slow and disjointed as you wander around islands that offer minimal ways to actually interact or explore the lush setting of Alola. And while there’s post-game content like the Battle Tree, the offerings fall flat compared to prior titles. The Festival Plaza can burn for being one of the worst online hubs and it also doesn’t help that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon do little to fix many these issues.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
From the minute Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were first revealed, the community knew something was off in how these Gen IV remakes were being handled. Development decisions and art style aside, the fact that The Pokémon Company settled on making faithful remakes for one of the franchise’s most poorly paced and unbalanced games remains a mystery.
HGSS and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire actually took content from the entire generation they were based on, not just the first entries, which led to improvements from third versions being bundled into the new titles. BDSP barely addresses some of the biggest problems Diamond and Pearl dealt with back in 2006, including frustrating small things like Yanma and Yanmega being completely unobtainable until the post-game.
Outside of overhauling the Underground and the ties that has to post-game Legendary encounters, BDSP does very little to justify its existence, which is why it hits this low.
Considering how passionate and combative the Pokémon community is, this list might not line up with your own personal thoughts. Do you think Legends: Arceus is the way to the future? Or maybe that Scarlet and Violet are affronts to game design? Whatever your thoughts, happy Pokémon Day!
