With the release of Shining Diamond & Brilliant Pearl, the Pokémon Company has provided the games with an early anniversary present. The remakes come out hot on the tail of the 15th anniversary of the video games' release in North America. After 15 years on the market, the games continue to have a hold on Pokémon fans.
Now every fan has a favorite Pokémon generation, whether they are willing to it it or not. From the resolute Gen 1'ers to the fans who just love the latest entry, it takes all kinds to make up the Pokémon fandom. Here are some of the biggest reasons that Reddit fans of Generation 4 believe their favorite is the best.
The New Pokémon Added
Every Pokémon game is judged, to some extent, by the Pokémon that are added into the world. in defense of the Bidoof, he became beloved for how useful he was.
Generation 4 contains some of the most distinctive and interesting Pokémon designs in the game, right down to the early bugs and birds. It's thanks to this variety of Pokémon to love that this generation holds a special place in so many people's hearts.
The Physical/Special Split
chaobreaker points out that Generation 4 changed a fundamental aspect of the Pokémon games, "Arguably the most important change to the traditional battle mechanics of the whole series." This came in the form of the Physical/Special Split. This allowed many more Pokémon to make better use of their abilities and stats.
Physical and special attack have been around since generation 2, as a way of differentiating the strengths and powers of Pokémon in battle. But at the time, physical and special attack would be decided by the types of the moves - psychic attacks were always special. Gen 4 changed this so that whether an attack was physical or special was based on the attack itself, changing the way the game is played forever.
The Poketch
One of the less ed aspects of the game is also one of the most unique to its time. Reddit macka7 reminds everyone that the "Poketch was awesome and still probably the best use of the touch-screen." The Poketch - Pokémon Watch - was a watch players are given which takes up the touch-screen and provides information to the players.
The Poketch had numerous features, from a step counter to keep track of egg-hatching to a simplified status screen for the player's Pokémon screen. the Poketch has been mechanically reproduced in every game since, and the incredible usefulness and integration of the Poketech into the game provides this generation with a lot of goodwill.
Sinnoh Itself
The Sinnoh region is the fourth introduced to the game series and had to do a lot of work to provide players with a new experience. Not only did Sinnoh have to provide a wide variety of regions that could logically house every type of Pokémon, but it had to also provide players with an appropriate challenge and give the feeling of adventure and exploration that players love.
Sinnoh provides a massive number of fantastic Pokémon locations to explore.
The Underground
Among the most unique and standout additions to the Pokémon universe is the introduction of the Underground area and minigames. RomeoTheCat lauds it for "Very unique gameplay, to the rest of the series even to this day."
The Underground was a vast space that players could enter after getting the right equipment, and it introduced a number of multiplayer facets to the game. From secret bases and traps to the mining/archaeology minigame which players could play to find many useful items, the Underground made a lasting impression on Pokémon fans.
The Contests and Customizations
While Generation 3 added contests - essentially dog shows for Pokémon - Gen 4 perfected them. By adding accessories and various ways for players to dress-up Pokémon, the contests were elevated from a simple side quest that most people ignored into a more memorable and exciting way to individualize their Pokémon.
Kakureboshi sums this point up rather succinctly: "You can catch the Pokémon God and dress it up." The amount of customization in Diamond & Pearl was phenomenal, ranging from these accessories to the Capsule stickers which allowed players to add different effects to the animation of their Pokémon being released from Poké Balls.
The Music
Generation 4 routinely gets high praise for its soundtrack, which features many well-known and beloved pieces throughout the journey players undergo. Zarrex provides a few concrete examples, saying "[...] the music in that game is just so good too. The Lakes, Eterna Forest, and Route 216 to name a few are fantastic."
Additionally, the game introduced one of the most iconic pieces of Pokémon music history in Cynthia's theme. As Cynthia is one of the most difficult champions in Pokémon, players heard her theme a lot. This score has been used multiple times over the years, following Cynthia and her own adventures in Platinum, Black & White, and their follow-ups Black 2 & White 2.
Nostalgia
Kidi_Kiderson states simply that "the reason [Pokémon Diamond & Pearl are] so highly praised in this community is because a lot of people started with those games." Many people use the word 'nostalgia' to hand-wave away something's popularity (not always unfairly), but there is something a little more complicated going on here.
Because Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl (not to mention HeartGold, SoulSilver, and Platinum in the same Gen) were among the best-selling DS games around according to Nintendo, there are very good chances that this installment was one of the first Pokémon games many young children played. This alone makes Gen 4 one of the best thanks to the fact that it introduced so many people to this beloved franchise.
Team Galactic
Almost every Pokemon game thus far has had a 'crime team' that acts as the antagonists throughout the story. The iconic Team Rocket provides the game with the feeling of a living world, with problems and troubles that players can and must deal with. The Evil Team Galactic provides Diamond & Pearl with one of the first truly scary teams in the series.
RomeoTheCat states this very clearly: "I like Team Galactic, they seem like they would easily be the cruelest of the crime orgs that we've faced." Team Galactic's goal is simple - destroy and rebuild the universe itself. Most frightening is how concerningly close they come to doing this with the powerful Pokémon Palkia and Dialga.
One Of The Best Starter Trios
In any entry into the franchise, the starter trio is easily the most important thing for the design team. This Pokémon will likely be the one players connect with most and spend the most time with. Gen 4 supplied players with one of the best starter trios among all of the Pokémon games with Piplup, Turtwig, and Chimchar.
Cart_King points out the best parts of their design: "All of them are highly viable for in-game teams, and none of them really struggle against the early gyms thanks to how they're set up." A major frustration with earlier Pokémon games is that the water and grass-type starters struggle in the early game grass and bug-type gyms - but Turtwig and Piplup have the tools to manage.
