Ask Lemmy

Any pokemon game after gen 2.

I started in 1999 with red. It was a childhood-defining experience. I spent all summer with my nose in that game boy. Keep in mind I had to use a loupe mounted in a glasses frame and had to hold the screen an inch from my eye, so the ergonomics weren't ideal, but the experience was compelling enough for me to bear through it. Then I got gold in the summer of 2001, I think, and was blown away. It was an upgrade in every way. I personally think the series peaked with gen 2. To be absolutely clear I am not a "gen-wunner" or whatever the word is. I just think the combination of the game itself and the zeitgeist it created for those first few years came together to make something unrepeatable.

Gold and Silver came out while Pokemon was still everywhere, but by the time gen 3 released, the craze had ebbed. Yes it was still popular but it was no longer in everyone's mouth. I was also in the latter half of high school, and most of my friends were no longer into it. I bought the game, so it's not like I thought I was too old, but it just didn't feel the same. They removed the day-night cycle and the calendar functionality. It felt like a downgrade.

I've tried several times since to rekindle that feeling I got in 1999. The closest was with Pokemon Go in 2016. For a few weeks it felt like the late 90s again,, with everyone and their dog talking about Pokemon. I actually beat Pokemon Let's Go, but I think the nostalgia is what kept me going. Tried with the first Legends game and just couldn't stay interested. Ditto with Brilliant Diamond.

There has to be a word for not wanting something but wanting to want it. That's how I feel. (Of course the nice thing about being a conlanger is I can make the word myself 😁)

sdC CB qGr qGrbfrp
0     sdC-0   CB-0   qGr-0  qGrbfr-p
[1sg] yearn-A want-A play-A video_game-3D
I miss wanting to play that video game.

1sg = 1st person singular (0 means it's dropped)
-A = authoritative verbal mood (-0 means a null morpheme that isn't pronounced)
-3D = 3rd person distal noun suffix ('that video game')