Sword and Shield is one of Nintendo’s newer generations, releasing on Nov. 15, 2019. It has a more open world concept than the games that came before, meaning a player can explore the world more, rather than go from room to room. The catching Pokemon aspect was interesting as players could wait for a Pokémon to appear and walk right up to it/chase it instead of running around in tall grass. Leveling up is super easy, it’s not hard at all to make your whole team the same level and while the gym leaders have really nice designs, they somewhat feel lifeless sometimes and are easy to beat. Both of the villains in the games don’t feel like good antagonists and are both villains in previous games. I think there was no effort put into them and that they were just the quickest thing Nintendo could put out. The tournament aspect gives the game a new feel to it and feels like a new spin on the gyms. Sword and Shield is a good game if someone is trying to get into Pokémon for the first time, it’s easy enough, it’s easily accessible on the Nintendo Switch, easy to understand and the soundtrack is pretty good. It’s also a good, laid back game, not for die hard Pokémon fans who want more of a challenge or a complex story.

Sword and Shield: 6.5/10 

Scarlet and Violet is the newest Pokémon game, released Nov. 18, 2022. It’s another open world game and has really cool side activities to do such as cooking with your Pokémon, cleaning them and interacting with them in a way that none of the other games have done before. While some of the gym leaders’ theme songs aren’t the best, that doesn’t mean the rest of the soundtrack is terrible. In fact, it’s the opposite. Scarlet and Violet’s soundtrack is one of the best in the franchise and is so versatile. It is something that players can get pumped up to or wind down with, but overall just feels like an awesome Pokémon soundtrack. Lots of the character designs are really pretty and some of the gym leaders break gender roles, like Rika and Grusha. While it doesn’t sound like a big deal, it’s a big step forward for Nintendo and representation. There are so many good things about Scarlet and Violet but lots of people decide to not even give it a chance because of all the bugs. The bugs are visible if someone is actively looking for them, but they aren’t that bad. These games are available on the switch and are worth the bugs.

Scarlet and Violet: 7.5/10 

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire came out in Nov. 2014, being released on the Nintendo 3DS. It was a huge hit as it was a remake of the beloved “Ruby and Sapphire” Pokémon games that came out in the early 2000s. The game had new features such as mini games you could play with your Pokémon to up their love for you and their special statistics. The remakes feel like a good version of the originals because they stay true to them while also implementing some new features in a way that doesn’t make them feel like a completely different game. The gym leaders look amazing in the new art style and although they look new, they still have the original feel to them. The only bad thing about these games is that sometimes they can be a little glitchy or the 3D-ness of it can kind of ruin how they look. Especially on a 3DS, the characters look pretty small and with the 3D aspect, it can make them look even smaller and more pixelated.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire: 8/10

Black and White on the DS is an all time fan favorite. It brings a sense of nostalgia to a lot of the newer fans and is deemed one of the best Pokémon games ever. It came out March 6, 2011, and featured one of the best soundtracks in the whole Pokémon franchise. The new characters and new gym leaders quickly got a good reputation. The gym leaders’ theme songs and the twist with the villain really got fans hooked. N, the villain in Black and White, was really well written in a way that makes players feel like they need to defeat him but also feel bad for him. He is a good character overall, with an amazing theme song, fun final battle and the game wouldn’t be the same without him. The graphics are super pretty in all colors and in a more advanced 8-bit style, the color palette for the different towns and routes are wonderful. The only complaint the game gets is how hard it is and how a lot of the players didn’t like how the only Pokémon that were available were Pokémon from this generation, instead of being able to catch Pokémon from previous generations like in the older games.

Black and White: 8.5/10

Pokémon Go is a mobile app that took the whole world by storm in July of 2016. It was a great way to connect with friends, family and locals. The story was okay, but the fun part was walking around and catching Pokémon. It was an awesome way to get exercise while also playing a video game. Its popularity slowly started to die down as it got repetitive and too many people were catching Pokémon. Another reason why it began to die down was because people started going to closed off areas or dangerous areas to try to catch some Pokémon. Most of the people did it because of social media, but it was still dangerous. It’s still a good game, although it can get boring sometimes, its pros can outweigh its cons.

Pokémon Go: 8.8/10

Diamond and Pearl came out Sept. 28, 2006 on the DS and is a very beloved game in the Pokémon community. It gives players nostalgia and the art style is very cute, again with the 8-bit art style. The legendaries in this game are some of the most well known and recognizable, and the story of Diamond and Pearl is really well done. There are good antagonists and the rivals feel genuine. Although the starter Pokémon are cute and iconic, they were the only Pokémon that fans liked in this generation. There were barely any new Pokémon, just over 100, and some of their designs were sub par. It feels like Nintendo didn’t try but to make up for it, the good Pokémon designs became iconic and the soundtrack was absolutely amazing. Every route, town and special place had amazing theme songs and made players feel like theey were really there.

Diamond and Pearl: 9/10

Legends: Arceus is also a newer Pokémon game, as it came out in January of 2022. It’s another game with an open world map and is the first prequel in the Pokémon franchise. The new characters are really charming and fun to interact with, and some of the characters are ancestors of the characters in Diamond and Pearl. The concept is really interesting and cool to view and brought a whole new genre to Pokémon. The soundtrack is not bad, it has a traditional feel to it which is a nice change of pace but it also just sounds like any other generic Pokémon host. So overall, the soundtrack is nothing special but some people like it way more than others. The story is really good and it’s completely different from any of the other Pokémon game stories. It feels original and honestly makes the game so worth buying. It’s refreshing. The game went in a completely different direction than the other games because of  the new way of catching Pokémon, meeting the ancestors, the new feature of aggressive Pokémon trying to attack the players which is a good realistic take on Pokémon. The game is super fun and a really great game for new and old fans alike.

Legends: Arceus: 9.2/10 

Black and White 2 was released on June 23, 2012 for the DS and was an amazing sequel. It takes place two years after everything that happened in the first games and fans loved it. It provided closure to a lot of characters that fans were very interested in such as the previous game’s villain, N, and many other characters. A lot of people were fans of the region’s new Pokémon Champion, Iris. Iris has a really fun battle and a good theme song. Everything about the story flows really well and doesn’t feel forced. The only bad part is the pokedex and how the new Pokémon from these sequels are kind of lazy. Overall, an awesome sequel.

Black and White 2: 9.5/10

Heartgold and Soulsilver came out Sept. 12, 2009 on the DS and is a game every Pokémon fan should play. It took everything good about the original Gold and SIlver games and made it even better. The graphics are great, the gameplay is awesome and the battles are somewhat hard but not overwhelming. The gym leaders are all the same but somehow better. Nintendo changed the soundtrack slightly by improving the already amazing soundtrack. There was a new feature they added so the first Pokémon in a players party could follow them around and players could talk to their Pokémons and that instantly became a fan favorite thing. The beloved rivals that were already good in the original came to life in the remakes and are even more put together and complex than the first. The night and day mode was a game changer in the originals and became even more relevant when the remakes came out with new Pokémon that could either only be evolved or caught during certain parts of the day. Heartgold and Soulsilver even took it a step further and made it so the real time would match up with the game so players could feel like they were truly playing the game. The Safari Zone, Pal Park and Pokewalker are all places players could visit in the original and Heartgold and Soulsilver made it almost identical but somehow even better with graphics and soundtrack. There are almost no complaints about these games, the only slightly bad thing about them is the multiplayer play is not as good as the other games but that only really applies to players who like to play online.

Heartgold and Soulsilver: 9.7/10

Ruby and Sapphire was released Nov. 21, 2002 on the Gameboy Advance and is arguably the best Pokémon game of all time. Everything about it is perfect. The soundtrack is so nostalgic in a bittersweet yet motivating way that makes players remember their childhood while also feeling like they could keep playing the game forever. The theme songs for the Elite 4 are really good and make fans feel excited and pumped for the battle. Ruby and Sapphire gives the players two rivals, May or Brendan (depending on which character the player chooses) and Wally. Wally is debatably one of the best rivals in the whole franchise. At first he is really shy and not secure with his Pokémon battling/catching but after the player helps him, he vows that he will get better at battling and someday beat you in a battle. He gets stronger throughout the game and before the player reaches the Elite Four, Wally blocks the way and demands a battle. He develops as a character because he becomes more bold and more confident in his Pokémon and even though it is inevitable that he loses, he’s still happy that he was able to have a full on battle with you and he even cheers you on. The bad guys of the game are somewhat silly, but in a good way. They have good theme songs but the grunts feel like silly cartoon villains that are just following orders and it’s somewhat lighthearted. The main villains (the leaders of the groups) are more serious and feel like real villains. They do evil things and make the player feel a sense of justice that they have to stop them. The story with the antagonists is good and feels fast paced but also compelling so the player doesn’t feel rushed. The after-story is really good, too and although it might be confusing at first, it’s super interesting after the viewer begins to understand what’s going on. The towns in the game are super cute and there’s one town where there’s a Pokémon beauty contest which is basically just a fun side story to dress up Pokémon and have them compete with each other in a cute way. Overall, this game has so much more to it than just its story and soundtrack, there are so many little things that cannot fit onto a paper and the only way to truly understand is to play it, and it is so worth it.

Ruby and Sapphire: 10/10