Pokémon is the most successful media franchise, and for good reason. Having stood the test of time it now celebrates its 25th, on February 27th 2021.

In celebration of then, here it is, all the mainline Pokémon games, ranked.

18. X and Y

I don’t believe there are any terribly bad Pokémon games, but X and Y come close.

The switch to 3D wasn’t kind and took all the charm out of Pokémon sprites, and especially characters.

Also, this was the start of the hyper-aggressive handholding and cutscenes. Stop this.

17. Sun and Moon

Too much handholding yet again; I’ve been playing Pokémon for 20 years, let me get on with it.

The Alolan setting and Pokémon were both good fun and totems were an interesting update even if I prefer the classic gym leader style.

Much better than X/Y, but not good.

16. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

We’re out of the bad games now as US/UM were an improvement.

The end game was particularly impressive with Ultra Necrozma being one of the hardest battles in series history.

Again though, playing the games early on is a chore, far too many cut scenes.

15. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

The first, and worst, of the remakes.

These were mildly serviceable, adding more interesting mega evolutions and enhancing the mechanic.

No battle frontier was a huge disappointment though, and the games couldn’t match the joy of their GBA parents.

14. Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee

Feels odd to even include this the core mechanics are so wildly different.

The games are easy, maybe the easiest of all, but they’re still fun. The Pokémon Go-like gameplay is relaxing and completing the Pokédex is a realistic goal for all.

13. Sword and Shield

A game with so much potential, that realised some of it.

No National Dex was saved by nice DLC, but the textures and graphics are largely horrific, which is extra annoying when you get some beautiful areas.

For the next Switch game, I reckon they’ll nail it.

12. Yellow

Yellow bought suffering as kid.

This is game is iconic for that battle with Brock – Pikachu was useless, so Mankey and Nidoran found ways into our hearts.

The game doesn’t develop enough from Red/Blue, hence its lower spot on list, but it’s a fun experience nonetheless.

11. Black and White

Let down by some poor choices (a super linear map and Unova-only Pokémon) but these are growers.

The story is the up there with the best, with compelling characters such as N, and there’s enough difficulty in there to avoid it feeling like a cake walk.

10. Fire Red and Leaf Green

Hurt by too many trips to Kanto but these are very good games.

The Sevii Islands added a fresh new take to the classics with new stories and different Pokémon giving some much-needed post-game impetus.

Wireless trading pre-wifi was also cool as a kid.

9. Red and Blue

The originals, but not the best.

The mechanics of these games are fundamentally broken, which makes them more entertaining than Yellow, producing some insane Twitch Plays Pokémon moments.

Plus, sprites are so primitive which makes them evermore endearing nowadays.

8. Gold and Silver

Generation 2 took everything from Red/Blue and went mental with it.

100 brilliant new Pokémon, the iconic Whitney battle, shinies, egg Pokémon, returning to Kanto – I could go on and on.

Main gripe, wild Pokémon are too low in level, making some parts a grind.

7. Ruby and Sapphire

I don’t think I played a Pokémon game more than Sapphire. In fact, I don’t think I’ve played any game more.

The step to GBA was expertly executed with new challenges and possibilities – yes, the post-game is nonexistent, but these are bursting with enjoyment.

6. Crystal

Story-wise, the game was freshened up well with the pursuit of Suicune but this ranks high due to innovation.

This was the first game to allow you to pick a female character, introduced the Battle Tower and include animated sprites, which blew my balls off at the time.

5. Emerald

Ruby/Sapphire with a post-game?! Yes please.

Battle Frontier extended the life of the previous games and presented an intense challenge to the player, just as Crystal did.

The sprites are animated for the first time since Crystal too, which was a brilliant design choice.

4. Diamond and Pearl

We in the big boys now.

Diamond/Pearl are superb feats of gaming.

Graphically exceptional with the step up to the DS, loads of new interesting areas to explore and an actual post-game showing.

107 new Pokémon too, with some amazing designs among them.

3. Black 2 and White 2

This pair are a huge step up from their sister games.

The Pokémon blend and area exploration issues are much improved but most importantly, the story is immaculate.

It builds on Black/White with a darker experience and is the best tale in the series by far.

2. Platinum

Second place by the slimmest of margins, Platinum is another jump forward from its counterparts.

The new areas, the available Pokémon, the interesting storyline, even the graphics; these were all put on steroids, increasing replayability value.

A creative masterpiece.

1. Heart Gold and Soul Silver

The best Pokémon games of all time.

Pokémon follow you around for the most immersive experience of the series and graphically these are perfection, without losing the original gameplay charm.

I cannot recommend these enough, they’re breathtakingly fun.