>>25262797i mean, sure. difficulty in an rpg as simple as pokemon is purely artificial, but i guess what i like is how often the game tries to challenge you.
your rival is always several steps ahead of you, pokemon-wise and level wise.
the 2nd half of the gym leaders power-creep several levels above the average, assuming you don't grind wild pokemon and only fight trainers.
those long-ass stretches of trainers between major cities. at least 10-20 in most routes. sometimes more.
the HMs being un-removable made you plan around it in the long run. sacrifice a team member for an HM slave, of keep the move forever.
trying to catch legendaries when suddenly:
>the pokeball missed!that annoyingly frequent wild encounter rate.
no trainer rematches. making long-term purchase decisions vital.
those dick-punch jessie/james moments in yellow where you think you're safe.
it's kinda hard to emulate difficulty, the more complex the game structure gets.
that's why i believe when the coding was simple and the cartridge space was limited, that difficulty was an indirect result of the development process, rather than a conscious choice.
