Pokémon is experiencing a resurgence. The recent Pokémon Legends: Arceus game won over both new and old fans alike. It was a departure from the series’ regular gameplay, but still managed to keep its heart. And it’s a pretty good jumping off point for new players.
It’s not the only good place to jump off, though. Pokémon has so many entries, both mainline and spin-off. There’s plenty of good places for players to become Pokémon Masters for the first time. That being said, there’s also some tougher entries that new fans may want to avoid until they get a feel for the world of Pokémon.
Beginner Friendly:
Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee! And Let’s Go, Pikachu!
Pokémon Go has been a massive success for Nintendo having grossed over five billion dollars since its launch in 2016. It was inevitable for mainline Pokémon titles to incorporate Go in some capacity. And in 2018 they finally brought elements of Pokemon Go into the game franchise with the successful Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee.
The games are remakes of the generation 1 titles but the catching in the game has been simplified to match Pokémon Go’s. It contains expressive animations and a lot of charm that will delight younger players. Certain features, were popular enough, like Pokémon on the world map, that they continued to be used in other titles like Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Pokémon HeartGold And SoulSilver
When it comes to the sheer amount of content a new player could want, nothing comes close to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. The original Generation 2 games were a straight update of Gen 1 and managed to iron out the previous generation’s issues. In addition, the remake got to fix some problems with the original Gold and Silver and its high-level Pokémon.
The originals are still the only games in the main franchise to feature two entire regions to explore. On the gameboy, corners did have to be cut for unique NPCs and features to make space. In the remake, these things could be fleshed out. The villains were made into more unique characters and exciting features like Pokémon following the player were introduced
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl
The Generation IV titles were originally some of the tougher in the series. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl changed this. The game was an incredibly faithful remake in most areas. It did not consider how some changes the franchise made as a whole would affect balance, however.
A long standing feature of the Pokémon series is the EXP Share. When this item debuted, it was an optional item that split experience gained between the lead Pokémon and the one equipped with EXP share. In later games it was updated to be always on and split experience among the entire party. The gen 4 games were simply not designed for this, and as such formerly difficult battles can be easy for newcomers in BDSP.
Pokémon Sword And Shield
The Switch represents a new beginning for classic games. Tons of Classic Nintendo franchises found homes on Switch, and Pokémon was no exception. Pokémon Sword and Shield were the first HD and mainline console Pokémon games. As such, the game has streamlined itself for casuals.
The story has been minimized. Complex mechanics like Hidden Abilities have been made to apply to all Pokémon and the EXP share is turned on automatically and cannot be turned off. Combining all of that with Galar’s ton of new Pokémon and features like the Wild Area makes it an exciting first stop.
Pokémon FireRed And LeafGreen
There are players who may be turned off from Pokémon Let’s Go and desire a more traditional experience. For those players, Gen 3's Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are the way to go. These were the first remakes made for Pokémon and still some of the most successful, fixing the quirks and glitches of the original games.
Also, they introduced additional features that have remained standard after the originals are included. This includes genders, breeding, and abilities and the game even features a unique recap mechanic that lets the player know what they did previously on boot up. It may not have 3D graphics, but it’s one of the most refined Pokémon games.
Experts Only:
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers Of Time/Darkness
Pokémon spin-offs, while great games, usually tone down the series’ gameplay for more casual fare. But when it comes to RPG spin-offs, fans can look to the Mystery Dungeon series for a challenge. The MD series has worked with franchises like Final Fantasy, but is most well known for Pokémon. It’s also known for being a grueling classic dungeon crawl.
Of these games, Explorers of Time and Darkness are the toughest. Like other Mystery Dungeon titles, the gameplay consists of moving around a procedurally generated real-time dungeon. Every player and enemy moves simultaneously, and the game stuffs levels with powerful enemies and gives few strong Pokémon in early game. A fan who is new to RPGs would want to avoid this one.
Pokémon Red and Blue
The generation 1 titles have been remade twice. The reason for that is simply that the old games are difficult to return to. It’s not simply because they’re older and archaic, but the original games had several balancing problems; for instance, Ghosts were not super effective against psychics.
A lot of trainers used impossible Pokémon and the game was rife with difficulty spikes. The game was also quite glitchy. It’s also lacking a lot of Pokémon staples like abilities from later generations. While it started it all, only the most hardcore fans should return back to this era.
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 Challenge Mode
Pokémon Black and White, while great games, are squarely in the middle of the road when it comes to difficulty. Their sequels, however, are about the same. At least, that’s true by default. Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 were the only mainline games to include a difficulty setting, and “Challenge Mode” is certainly worth its name.
“Challenge Mode” would raise the levels of all trainer Pokémon. This meant a lot more grinding and training was necessary to make it through Pokémon battles. Much like the previous entry, the balance of Unova’s Pokémon wasn’t really suited for this. Casual fans aren’t prepared for the stat manipulation necessary to turn Unova’s Pokémon into real winners.
Pokémon Emerald
Pokémon Emerald was the third game in generation 3, which was the only region to have version-exclusive evil teams. For this third entry, both teams appeared, meaning there were more battles than in the previous ones. The gym leaders and other trainers have also been switched around to keep players on their toes. What makes it difficult for beginners, however, is its extra features.
Contests and Battle Frontier were introduced in this Gen and becoming a Pokémon master requires interactions with these elements. The Battle Frontier’s random nature can make it a nightmare to prepare for and catching them all is difficult in this game due to some being locked in an old Gamecube game. This makes it difficult to recommend to first-timers despite its improvement on its predecessors.
Pokémon Platinum
By the time of the Nintendo DS, Pokémon has been around for a few generations. This let the developers really go all in with difficulty. Unlike Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon Platinum should be avoided by newbies. It features some of the most complex challenges in the series.
Completing the elite four is tough for some of even the most seasoned Pokémon fans. The trainers utilize more strategy and full heal items during their battles. Getting items to train Pokémon with are locked behind side modes. Most famous is the Champion Cynthia, who’s Garchomp and Milotic are famously destructive and would definitely scare any casuals away from finishing the game.