>>26470587I'll give it a shot based on what I remember.
Gen 4 had DPPt and HGSS. DP were incredibly mediocre, though I remember loving exploring the region itself. There wasn't much Pokemon diversity though, and some of the gym leaders/e4 were utterly pathetic as a result. The music didn't really stick out to me besides Cynthia, Spear Pillar, and Dialga/Palkia's battle theme.
The starters are all usable too and come with interesting combinations. Torterra is a little slow but you can get Rock Polish so it's not that big of a deal. Infernape rolls over the entire region, and Empoleon tanks pretty much everything.
The biggest issue, imo, was the slowness. Everything felt like a slog, especially with fucking fog (why would you even think this was a good idea?). Save times didn't help either. Thankfully, Platinum and HGSS fixed this, but DP was really slow. I loved the snow section to the 7th gym but it was really tedious.
HGSS is mostly nostalgia, but it carries the same issues as before. Pokemon diversity is somewhat mitigated, but you still have Houndour appearing in Kanto for some reason. Pokemon following is a neat little gimmick, and all the extra shit lying around lets you do other things.
HGSS also had extra stuff added to it and feels like a fresh game. The music is easily some of the best in the series, imo, and Pokemon get improved movesets as well. Not bad. It still has a pacing issue though.
It's not a bad gen, but it's salvaged by Platinum and HGSS. I'd give it an 8/10.
