>>50203081Hard to say, I've spent the last two years replaying older titles to refresh my perspective on them.
I can say BW2 shocked me in quality once I was able to really familiarize myself with that game. The first time I played it on release I just sped through it and put it down after beating the main game.
I can give some brief conclusions about some of the games I've replayed
>HGSSVery enjoyable, especially with a Pokewalker, some of the meme Johto criticisms have a grain of truth to them, but overall a great time
>BW1Average. Has decent exploration and the other things I look for, but the limit of only Unovamons really hurts the encounter tables
>BW2Amazing, spectacular. Every area has interesting routes and Pokemon. Many optional areas and secrets. Peak of the series
>XYStill has some of the og Pokemon magic, definitely very flawed, but the encounter tables and region dex have never been surpassed in sheer quantity. I ended up liking it a lot despite its flaws
>FRLGSolid in almost every way. Good routes, good mons, and I fucking love the Sevii Isles
>USUMIt really is a handholdy, hallway, cutscene sim most of the time, but the amount of activities in the postgame are worth it. Definitely a replacement for regular SM
>EmeraldSolid in almost every way, with a few small annoyances, like the item limit in the Bag. Has a sense of wonder and adventure I've felt in no other game, but I understand that's probably bias
Basically, I fuckin love Pokemon and understand them better now
