>>45042761This.
The thing is, Red/Blue pushed the original Game Boy's hardware. It was the best rpg on the platform with great graphics and sound. Gold/Silver also pushed the Game Boy Color to its limits, too. Now with enough content for two regions (johto + kanto) in one GBC cartridge.
the Game Boy Advance era was when Gamefreak started getting a bit lazy. Ruby/Sapphire graphically looked and sounded okay for the most part. Tiles and sprites were relatively simple. But then you look at the spritework of other GBA rpgs like Golden Sun. And then realize that Gamefreak didn't really tap the full potential of the GBA hardware.
As for the DS era, pokemon kept using sprites and opted NOT to use 3d models much. While some fans appreciated the retro aesthetics of sprite graphics, other DS rpgs like Final Fantasy 4 DS were capitalizing on the 3d capabilities of the DS. FF4 DS was pushing what the DS hardware could do while Gen 4 and 5 games took the easier non-3D road.
As for the 3DS era, pokemon finally has 3d models and catches up to the modern world. And falls flat on its face. The 3D models look so soulless and lifeless compared to the 3D models of other 3DS games. Such as Fire Emblem Awakening, which spent a huge budget on making great 3d models and animations. By now, the pokemon franchise has enough billion$ to fund the best looking and sounding games on the 3DS, but they didn't.
And as for the current Switch era, embarrassing. Absolutely embarassing. Pokemon now has all the power of an HD home console and Sword/Shield didn't capitalize on that. So many HD rpgs look better than SwSh, it's not even funny how Gamefreak has gotten.
