>>47886339Johto was always an underwhelming region that suffered from the need to shoehorn in Kanto.
Since it was an early remake, it was also limited in scope by the gen 4 engine. It's been so long since it came out that it's almost due for yet another remake (and I don't think fans would react well if it was LGPE'd or BDSP'd depending how that turns out)
People praise HGSS for being faithful, but IMO having almost the same thing as before with a fresh graphical coat of paint is boring.
The stuff they did add were very minor almost cosmetic features which while nice did nothing to shakeup the core gameplay experience.
Meanwhile I would argue that although some things were cut in ORAS the stuff that was added more than make up for it. DexNav, PSS, Super Training, and Amie are some of the best features in the franchise. It has great GBA fanservice with all the ways the original sprites were integrated into the UI. When combined with Megas, updates to the story/characters, online secret bases, soaring, and other QoL changes it creates a nostalgic but unique experience that justifies its existence. Plus Hoenn is just a great region in general, so if you want to experience some of the cut features like the Battle Frontier then Emerald still has its own unique value as a game.
tl;dr I like innovate remakes over "faithful" remakes.
I realize that's controversial, but this is an unpopular opinions thread after all.
