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It depends on whether you're talking about the games or the brand. For the games, there was some criticism at the time but it was mostly overshadowed by what Gen 2 added
>full color graphics that felt a generation ahead of RBY
>day/night cycles
>genders, breeding and eggs
>daily events
>trainers with individual names
>move descriptions so you actually knew what the fuck you were doing
>roaming legendaries
>shinies
>the end of game reveal re: Kanto
>Red
As for the brand, Pokemania was beginning to fade out and Gen 2 didn't have the insane reach that Gen 1 did. There weren't collectable marbles or gold plated cards or half a dozen spinoff games
