>>41251444As explained here
>>41251797 Generation 5 represents a great tragedy in the history of Pokemon as a franchise.
They were very fast moving, very good looking games that subtly addressed a lot of questions and complaints that had been floating around the fanbase for some time, with older protagonists, a more nuanced narrative, Gym Leaders that take an active, on screen role in their community, and acknowledgement of continuity.
But the first two games made the critical mistake of forcing people to acknowledge change and try something new. You couldn't use older Pokemon until the back end of the game, forcing players to rely entirely upon the natives. It was a really bold and ambitious move. But people didn't like that. It was the single most prominent complaint of the time. Things like non-linearity and the shape of the region came later.
People sometimes cited Black and White for being uncreative because of similarities between Gen 5 and Gen 1 Pokemon and Hilbert's outfit to Red's. These were not creatively bankrupt decisions, they were intentional homages. Almost all of the Unova Pokemon that people hate the most are shout outs to Gen 1 monsters.
These issues and more (actual) issues (what few of them there were) were addressed in Black and White 2, which is why even people who skipped the first two games generally regard BW2 as the best Pokemon games they've ever played, with a wide selection of Pokemon available from the beginning of the game. If I recall correctly, you can collect a wild Riolu shortly after leaving home.
It was evident after Mega Evolutions were announced that a full back pedalling nostalgia campaign was in effect. What was not evident was that it would come to define the rest of the series.
I'll conclude in another post.
