>>54549089People will get mad at this even though it's objectively true.
>Gen 9is fully open, speaks for itself
>Gen 8 is as linear as every other game, except allows complete freedom in when you approach Isle of Armor and the benefits you as a player can get from that content, thus putting it ahead. Crown Tundra too, though that doesn't have pre-Post Game levels and thus is not intended (see Gen 1 and Gen 2)
If you ignore DLC (which is a retarded cope, GF said themselves it's equivalent to the Emerald/Plat upgrades) then this would fit around Gen 3 and 4.
>Gen 1 can theoretically be played out of order for 5 of its gyms, but levels are scaled wildly if you go out of order, and the game steers you steeply in the intended order, making it an inconvenient chore to play if you deviate. This isn't good game design, it's an oversight from devs that would make it a habit to use roadblocks going forward to prevent.
Because of this, as opposed to Isle of Armors actual intended flexibility, it goes below 8.
>Gen 2same situation as Gen 1, but with even less deviation options. You can definitely go do Pryce before Jasmine or Chuck. But it means fighting trainers beyond your level, and then backtracking back and forth to then sweep the underlevelled trainers you skipped.
>Gen's 3 and 4Non-linearity has boiled down to "you can skip this route by backtracking" and "there's a couple more caves that are optional"
>5, 6 and 7Game's effectively are straight roads, with the very occasional spot to explore off to the side.
