>>33294192The games changed significantly after Gold and Silver to become more plot- and character-driven and less open and exploratory (and I think this gutted the RPG elements of the series). Now, odd mysteries are spelled out or made into spectacle, and every game tasks you with saving the world and defeating some group of lunatics that, for one reason or another, want to kill everybody. Previously, you mostly stumbled across mysteries which weren't necessarily central to the plot of the games, and you sort of incidentally toppled gangs of criminals while bumbling through a personal (and fairly solitary) quest to become a master trainer.
I'm sure the limited graphics also added to the mystery.
