Gen 3 (R/S/E) complaint/bashing thread

[Lotos]

Warning: Opinions ahead!  Abandon all hope all ye who enter!

To keep my other topic on topic.

My complaints:

The graphics only looked good when there was that preview screen (one of the first ones if I recall correctly) on the beach, or on the water with a reflection.  Looking at it now, the graphics look a little too dark (or maybe I'm used to playing it on a non-backlit screen?).  The best two towns that were visually appealing were Mossdeep and Sootopolis.  Verdanturf Town (whose name I will still call "Vandurf") is an example of why the towns sucked.

The Pokemon?  134 new ones.  Most look rushed/out of place with the previous gens.  I have to admit some, like Tropius and Wailmer, were pretty creative (meaning they didn't use reuse an animal species).  I liked the idea of the pairings: Plusle & Minun, Illumise & Volbeat, and Latio & Latias.  Pokemon like
[spoiler=Pokemon bashing]
Poochyena + evo
Makuhita + evo
Whismur + evos
Shroomish + evo
Snorunt + evo (Froslass barely redeemed it)
Baltoy + evo
the fossils
the Regi's
[/spoiler]
are specific examples of the ones I hate.  I kept some off because of originality, but I am  definitely missing Pokmon off that list.

I guess I can pardon the following, as they needed to fill the token slots:
[spoiler=Pokemon pity]
Taillow (Pidgey, Hoothoot)
Electrike + evo (Pikachu, Mareep)
Gulpin + evo (Grimer)*
Ralts + evos (Abra;  Gallade redeemed this with the gender evolution option.)*

The sad thing is, the starred ones didn't even get a second gen counterpart, but yet their first gen counterparts are readily catchable.
[/spoiler]

I admit, after listening to the music again, it wasn't all that bad.  I dislike the bike and the route music.  The surf theme was a classic though.

The heroes?  I admit, Brandon couldn't top Ash or (the original) Gold, but still better than Lucas.  If it wasn't for Lyra, I would say that May was probably the worst female lead.

I'll edit more in

[Mystic]

Gen 3 kicked ass.

Bye.

[Kayo]

Gen 3 kicked ass.

Bye.

Yes, in a way it did. However I do dislike the bike and route music as well. I dislike a lot of bike music, which is why I like to change routes to reset the music after getting on the bike. A lot of the music is pretty good though, namely the Surf music. All the water routes there too, make that music pretty commonly heard near the end of the game.

Some of the pokemon, as Lotos said, looked rushed. There were a lot of cool new ones like Latios and Latias, however. I have nothing against the Regis, and I would like Lotos to explain why he hated them so much before I respect his opinion there. But whismur + evos just sucked. They were strange, and pointless. Exploud isn't even good in battles, at all. Hariyama was also pretty weird. I have trouble seeing what's so great about a fat, blubbery fighting pokemon.

Some of the towns are pretty cool. Mossdeep and Sootopolis did look nice. So did Slateport, but maybe I just like the music. Actually, it was a decent port town with an open-air market that could have been improved but was still pleasant-looking. Fortree and Pacifidlog were nice ideas, and I'm impressed by their jump in originality there. Never before, or since, have they made a town on top of jungle trees or floating in water. A little cheesy, but interesting nonetheless.

Also May wasn't that great.

Other than that, 3rd gen was awesome. Playing through was fun, in fact I loved the Emerald Battle Frontier, and hope that some of the interesting places there will return eventually. Music is a yes, like I said I liked a lot of the music from those games. Also dive was far better than whirlpool or defog. Not in battle, but I mean in the field. Underwater was a very good, original new idea for the series. A town only reachable from going underwater seems a little far-fetched though. How are the townspeople supposed to get there? They're pretty isolated, considering it isn't possible to bring suitcases underwater, or on a flying pokemon considering the absence of airplanes, but I'm going off the subject here.

Yeah I'll add more.

[Zero]

Gen 3 was good.

It just sucks ass compared to the rest.

[Neerb]

Gen 3 was good.

It just sucks ass compared to the rest.

Exactly. Sapphire and Ruby were the Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks of the Pokemon series.

[RX-78-2]

Why's everyone hating on May? She's the best female lead by far; way better than Misty--that's for sure. She has a great personality. In fact, she actually had a personality--unlike Misty. Now, it might sound like I'm hating on Misty, but I'm not. She's still cool, it's just that May is better. Dawn comes in second place, but that's beside the point.

I loved the Pokémon of Hoenn. Personally, I think that this was the generation in which the developers started really getting creative with some of the Pokémon. Good examples are Sableye, Baltoy, Claydol, Beldum and its evolutions, Nosepass, Ralts and its evolutions, Deoxys, and Jirachi.

Geographically, the region was interesting as well. I think the towns were great. Some really good ones were already mentioned in previous posts. Diving underwater was awesome and the lava in the game added a nice touch as well.

The music--as always (for me, at least)--was awesome; it's a Pokémon game. Emerald in particular had a spectacularly epic opening theme.

The storyline was even pretty good. I can't compare it to Johto's (as I've never finished a Johto game), but I found the environmental and rival crime team aspects of it to be especially intriguing. The addition of contests as side quests was great too, as well as the interesting puzzles concerning the legendaries. In addition, the Battle Frontier was a great post-game challenge; creative, fun, and it actually required skill.

The only complaints I have about Generation III are these:

• Too many legendaries/Too much to go through to catch them all
• Needed more interaction/development with characters like Wally and your rival (including the addition of some/more post-game stuff)
• Some of the Frontier Brains could be a little less "cheap," but I guess that just comes with the challenge
• It should take less of some of the Battle Frontier activities (i.e. a smaller winning streak or non-streak method) to get to the Frontier Brains, but again, it might just be part of the challenge

[Kayo]

I feel like addressing these, leaving comments in bold.

The only complaints I have about Generation III are these:

• Too many legendaries/Too much to go through to catch them all Not really, especially compared to D/P. We had a trio, a roaming, the main uber in the game (Groudon/Kyogre) plus one extra (Rayquaza). Really wasn't that bad IMO.
• Needed more interaction/development with characters like Wally and your rival (including the addition of some/more post-game stuff)You do get to battle Wally in Victory Road once after each Hall of Fame entry, but the rival is gone after their starter evolves once. I wish he/she could have been kept post-hall-of-fame for rematches, while her pokemon are all evolved and high-leveled. But no. I was sad at how quickly you get rid of him/her. I mean really, the only game you don't see your rival's starter's third form, if I'm not mistaken.
• Some of the Frontier Brains could be a little less "cheap," but I guess that just comes with the challenge Precisely. Though I think Norman in the battle factory is cheap. His rental pokemon always seem to be more powerful than the ones you're allowed to rent. That's cheap.
• It should take less of some of the Battle Frontier activities (i.e. a smaller winning streak or non-streak method) to get to the Frontier Brains, but again, it might just be part of the challenge It is part of the challenge, but the second match (to get the gold symbol) always seemed to take too long to get to. This is true for the Platinum battle frontier, though not quite as difficult as back in Emerald.

[RX-78-2]

I feel like addressing these, leaving comments in bold.

Not really, especially compared to D/P. We had a trio, a roaming, the main uber in the game (Groudon/Kyogre) plus one extra (Rayquaza). Really wasn't that bad IMO.

You do get to battle Wally in Victory Road once after each Hall of Fame entry, but the rival is gone after their starter evolves once. I wish he/she could have been kept post-hall-of-fame for rematches, while her pokemon are all evolved and high-leveled. But no. I was sad at how quickly you get rid of him/her. I mean really, the only game you don't see your rival's starter's third form, if I'm not mistaken.

Precisely. Though I think Norman in the battle factory is cheap. His rental pokemon always seem to be more powerful than the ones you're allowed to rent. That's cheap.

It is part of the challenge, but the second match (to get the gold symbol) always seemed to take too long to get to. This is true for the Platinum battle frontier, though not quite as difficult as back in Emerald.

I agree with most of what you said, but there were a lot of legendaries--especially compared to the previous regions. Kanto had five. Johto had six. Hoenn nearly doubled that with ten (Regice, Regirock, Registeel, Latios, Latias, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Deoxys, and Jirachi). I think that that's a lot.

Of course, having many legendaries isn't a bad thing. I probably "mis-communicated" that. I meant to say that it's just a bit annoying to catch all of them, especially the roamers. That doesn't mean that there should be 30 legendaries though. In my opinion, fifteen is about the maximum there should be in a region.

Also, for the Wally thing, I know that you can keep battling him, but that's it. He just says the same thing all of the time. I'd just like for him to give you a call or something and/or roam around and have stories to tell. Believe it or not, I actually like it when those random Trainers in HG/SS call you. They only have like three things to say each, but there are many Trainers to call you. It's just fun and--in a way--interesting to hear what they're up to. I'd just like that to happen with Wally and the rival.

[DededeCloneChris]

The birds, the dogs, the Regis, and the three beings of emotion aren't considered Legendary Pokemon. They're all Guardian Pokemon.

[JrDude]

They are known as "The Legendary Birds" and "The Legendary Beasts," though I never heard a name for the Regis or Emo(tion) ones, I'm sure they're "Legendary" things too.

[DededeCloneChris]

They are known as "The Legendary Birds" and "The Legendary Beasts," though I never heard a name for the Regis or Emo(tion) ones, I'm sure they're "Legendary" things too.

Explain why you can use them in places like the Battle Frontier, then.

[JrDude]

Explain why you can use them in places like the Battle Frontier, then.

Regigigas and Cresselia were obviously meant to be legendaries, Heatran too I think, but since it has a gender it seems less legendary, but with an epic move Magma Storm that takes a long ass time to obtain, seems legendary worthy to me. And those mentioned in this post are allowed in the Battle Frontier and such.

[The Riddler]

I don't feel I need a reason. I just didn't like Gen 3.
Of the Gen 3 Pokemon I actually like:
Wailmer/Wailord
Wingull/Pelipper
Corphish
Ninjask/Shedinja
Swablu/Altaria
Seedot
Lotad
Carvanha/Sharpedo
Mudkip/Marshtomp
Duskull
Zigzagoon
Poochyena

If I didn't specifically name them, I really wasn't too fond of them. In most cases I like the first in the line, but their evolutions kill it for me. Plusle and Minun were a gimmick and tried to bank on Pikachu, I hated that. I didn't like any of the legendaries, I didn't like the starters except Mudkip, and most of the rest just feel rushed.

I feel like addressing these, leaving comments in bold.

You can't use Gen 4 as a comparison to Gen 3. It came out later. The legendary problem got worse with Gen 4, yes, but it was bad in 3.

The birds, the dogs, the Regis, and the three beings of emotion aren't considered Legendary Pokemon. They're all Guardian Pokemon.

You're joking, right?

They are known as "The Legendary Birds" and "The Legendary Beasts," though I never heard a name for the Regis or Emo(tion) ones, I'm sure they're "Legendary" things too.

The Legendary Golems and the Lake Trio.

[DededeCloneChris]

Regigigas and Cresselia were obviously meant to be legendaries, Heatran too I think, but since it has a gender it seems less legendary, but with an epic move Magma Storm that takes a long ass time to obtain, seems legendary worthy to me. And those mentioned in this post are allowed in the Battle Frontier and such.

Well, the three you mentioned are legendaries...

Dammit, I need to look this further. I forgot some key details. :(

[Rius]

I like Gen III second least of the generations, but it wasn't because of the Pokemon or music or anything; it just felt more limited.  Asides from battle, gameplay mechanics mostly took a step back from Gen II. I understand there were technical reasons for this, namely the loss of the day/night system, but I still felt a bit shortchanged. Emerald, however, did add the Battle Frontier, which I thought was a great addition to the series. And I give Gen III major credit in one area: it was the first set of Pokemon games to make a decent attempt of adding a plot. Gens I & II featured plots along the lines of "become the best, stop Team Rocket when they try to ******* for monetary gain". The increased emphasis on Magma and Aqua (and later Galactic) was a major improvement to the games; Emerald, Platinum, and the Gen II remakes did this fantastically well. I hope that Gen V goes even further with it.

Oh yeah, and Gen III introduced my favorite Pokemon, Milotic, so that's a plus. I would say my generation preferences are IV>II>III>I.