With eight generations of Pokemon games to choose from, many former fans may wonder which game is the best to play in order to return to the Game Freak series. In 1996, the Pokémon franchise debuted for the first time with Pokémon Red and Green in Japan, and two years later it was released worldwide with the iconic RPG Pokémon Red and Blue Kanto. Decades after its launch, Pokémon now extends to eight regions of major games and remakes. As a result, fans who abandoned the series in the past now have a lot of games they can play in order to return to the Pokémon franchise.
In Pokémon Red and Blue, the players were tasked with finding and meeting 151 original Pokemon in the Kanto Pokedex. Eight generations later, the Nintendo franchise now boasts 905 Pokemon that can be caught. Although most Pokemon games still adhere to the traditional Pokemon League plot structure established in Kanto, over the years there have also been major changes in the series that will surprise former players who stopped playing in previous generations. For example, Pokémon Legends: Arceus 2022 turned the Sinno region of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl into Hisui, a map with a semi-open world, which even had a free-aiming fishing mechanic.
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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 9th generation are launching in November this year and it looks like they will undergo the most radical changes in the series to date. According to early marketing materials, the new region will be the first whole Pokemon game with an open world, and will even have a story campaign that can be played in any order. Pokemon players who want to return to the franchise before the new generation arrives should immerse themselves in the Pokémon Sword and Shield game, as it includes many features that will help old fans get used to it. Below is a breakdown of why Gen 8 role-playing games in the Galar region are the best Pokemon fans that past games must play in order to return to the series.
Pokémon Sword & Shield is the perfect game to prepare for Gen 9
When the eighth generation was first announced, some fans criticized the region’s role-playing games Pokémon Sword and Shield Galar due to the fact that Game Freak cut out the national pokedex. At that time, games for the Nintendo Switch were also considered an insufficiently significant leap in quality compared to Sun and Moon 2016. However, Gen 8 is very well suited for beginners and regular fans who have not played Pokémon for many years. The Galar “Wild Territory” feature gives players a taste of the new modern direction of Game Freak with an open world, not too much different from previous classic games.
Dynamax Raids online multiplayer game in Pokémon Sword and Shield is also a great transition to the new Gen 9 Scarlet and Violet cooperative mode and will prepare trainers to team up with other players. Although the Dynamax Pokémon Sword and Shield mechanics are not as good as Mega Evolution, they provide exciting battles and are not too different from the beloved Pokémon X and Y feature. However, the real star of Gen 8 games is the Pokémon Sword and Shield expansion pass, which gives the Galar region role-playing games one of the best post-game materials of the series in recent decades.
Pokémon Sword & Shield Isle Of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC can catch up with Players
For the first time in the history of the Pokémon franchise, Game Freak created an expansion pass instead of making a third edition of Gen 8. Although the lack of a national Pokédex was initially disappointing, the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC allow stragglers to catch a wide selection of popular Pokemon of each generation. Pokémon Crown Tundra Dynamax Adventure mode even gives returning fans a chance to catch most of the franchise’s legendary Pokemon, such as Mutu and Lugia.
Although Sword and Shield is not every Pokemon fan’s favorite game, 8th generation role-playing games and their DLC have become the easiest entry point for former fans to return to the Game Freak series. With an affordable connection to the Pokémon Home storage app, Pokémon Sword and Shield allows older Pokemon players to quickly restore their live Pokédex collection and catch up with other trainers. Since many of its features are also transitions to the 9th generation, Galar region role—playing games are ideal games for fans to return to the modern Pokémon series.
