>>44006919emerald was average at the time because it didnt make many improvements since RS, but because RS was above average Emerald ended up average.
DP came out, when 3d games like mario 64 for the DS were on the same console. Yet DP stayed a 2D game. This supports my narrative.
The other games on the gameboy advance like mario and zelda were 2d.
The original ds had 3d games from top tier lines like mario and zelda. But pokemon waoted until 2013 to release a 3d game, whereas phantom hourglass was 3d in 2007.
Pokemon has been making less progress over time, compared to other games, and it is now subpar.
Compare zelda to pokemon, we have open world, great-story, graphics, sound in zelda BOTW, we have fixed camera, barebones story, subpar graphics in SwSh.
Yet zelda oracle of ages and oracle of seasons were similar quality to GSC, and a link to the past was similar to RS.
Zelda is keeping up with quality, pokemon isn't.
This is why RBY was great at the time, GSC was good at the time, RS was good at the time, emerald was average, DP was below average.
I enjoyed DP, it was fun, but it should have been better at the time, it released in 2006 after mario 64 for the DS, yet was barely any better, which is bad since the mario game released in 2004.
I'm sorry if I insulted the games you started with, but they were subpar
