>>48986237Gen II being a sequel does not change the fact it set many of those trends that were mentioned. That being said, I don't think that all of those trends were that bad. I do agree though that having the story as focused as it is was a bad design choice. My personal favorite games are FRLG, because the originals made a good design choice by not having the character get dragged along through the story or having the whole thing warp around you, and the improved aesthetics are nice. In Kanto, as well as Johto, the story happens in the background and you encounter it as you go along at your own pace. Starting in gen III, the story feels like it happens around you. You are the only one who can go into the Cave of Origin, the only one who can enter the Distortion one, the chosen one chosen by Reshiram/Zekrom, etc. Gen 5 was my favorite as a kid since White was one of my first games, but upon replaying it, it did not hold up because the exploration, as you said is terrible.
I wasn't trying to knock on gen II, I replayed Crystal recently and enjoyed it, but I don't think all of those trends started in gen III, or are even that bad.
