Because the masses are fucking retarded.
It had amazing music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3kqLhOuzu0http://youtu.be/j0QBsx4Kh38http://youtu.be/kt-ZzBeDHQshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqV78L6a0QMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2GeWOMgxiEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX2hOoaLb4Yhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp3FtEaV7tQand thats just a few.
It had some of the best designs and pokemon in the series, along with the best sprites.
The story was actually interesting and the characters were fun, the world actually felt alive for the first time.
It had a pretty damn good post game, the sequels only improved on that.
It had options for casuals to beat the game, but there was challenge if you wanted it, and that's another thing the sequels improved on.
Idiots complain it's linear because the map is just a straight line and you cant go fight the 8th gym before the 7th gym, as if that actually matters, but there are alot of side areas that open up to you as you go through the game, and they aren't the half assed garbage side areas we often see in pokemon games.
I mean really, what is there to complain about?
