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Discussion How to I learn to like the right games?

A

AtomicZach

Koopa
All throughout my life I've had a problem where every game I have like or enjoyed I'm not supposed to like. I prefer Mario + Luigi over Paper Mario. I like Arms. I prefer the newer Paper Mario titles over the old ones. I prefer sword and shield over Black and White. I prefer Metroid Returns over Super Metroid. And now I prefer the newest Mario Strikers game over the past ones. Yet everywhere I look now Youtube tells me that everyone hates it and I'm wrong and what's wrong with Nintendo fans for enjoying it. And I'm sick of it. What can I do so I am a good video gamer? What can I do to my brain so I can enjoy something that others enjoy? What the fuck is wrong with me that everything I like is the wrong opinion? Because I hate it. I hate that I love games that other don't and I don't like games that are considered the best. I've felt miserable playing video games now because I'm always noting "I'm making someone miserable because I'm having fun" and I stop playing. How do I change so I have the right video game opinions? Even Youtube thinks I'm wrong, half of my feed is telling me that I need to hate Mario Strikers Battle League and that I need to hate it for what it does. How do I become right?
 
Who cares.

I like Fallout 76, I liked the launch version of No Mans Sky and I like Battlefield 2042. Everyone is entitled to like whatever games they like. Don't let others tell you what you are and aren't allowed to like.

You are an individual and everyone has different tastes, live your life the way it makes you happy.
 
you should like what you like and not worry too much about other people's video game opinions. maybe reflect on what you like so you can articulate your tastes to others? you're good, don't worry too much
 
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Just enjoy the things you wanna enjoy. Who cares? For every opinion you get there are 15 different ones. Time is a precious thing and it's better to do things you like instead of forcing yourself to play specific games.
 
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Don't listem to them you just like what you like and that's important as long as you have fun, it's your time so use it in what makes you happy. Also very important DON'T TRUST THE YOUTUBE ALGORYTHM
 
1) Play what you like, if you like it, that's what matters. Who cares what other people think
2) For the love of god please do not get your consensus opinions on video games from youtube
 
It's totally fine to like different things to other people. I like Sword & Shield and ARMS too.

Anyone telling you to hate something is not coming from a good place. I question the motives and intelligence of people who do that.

Be proud of the fact you can think for yourself and have your own ideas instead of just following the crowd.
 
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Please don't go with any youtube consensus. Negative videos get more traction than positive ones so creators try to capitalize on that. Just enjoy the games you enjoy and have fun. Don't let anyone else ruin that for you.
 
KC Hazel said:
Please don't go with any youtube consensus. Negative videos get more traction than positive ones so creators try to capitalize on that. Just enjoy the games you enjoy and have fun. Don't let anyone else ruin that for you.
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This is very important, last time I wanted to check more reviews about switch sports the top 10 searches where like "how nintendo destroyed wii sports fanbase" "Nintendo BOMBA sports" "why switch sports failed and what does that means for the fans"
 
Your tastes are just as valid as everyone else's, OP. Mario and Luigi and modern PM are great. Very few games are have no redeeming qualities. Like, less than 1%. You are welcome to enjoy what you enjoy so long as it's not hurting anyone, and in this case what you enjoy isn't hurting anyone at all. You enjoyment of Mario and Luigi won't make others miserable. If you expressing your enjoyment of something non-harmful makes others upset, that is entirely on them. Keep being your awesome self. I think you have great taste in games, personally.
 
I feel like people have been getting more and more negative. Just enjoy what you enjoy and don't sweat it about what others say you should or shouldn't like. I dislike quite a few games that are beloved as the best in the series but I just keep it to myself and instead of focusing on the negative I focus on the positive. I actually enjoy a game that everyone seems to hate. I do think most are focus on the demo which is bad compared to the final product with the day one patch but that's on the devs/publisher for the bad demo.
 
OP, just live by the basic philosophy that the only correct person in the world is yourself*.



*Well, I'm also always correct too. Never forget that.
 
What can I do so I am a good video gamer? What can I do to my brain so I can enjoy something that others enjoy? What the fuck is wrong with me that everything I like is the wrong opinion? Because I hate it. I hate that I love games that other don't and I don't like games that are considered the best. I've felt miserable playing video games now because I'm always noting "I'm making someone miserable because I'm having fun" and I stop playing. How do I change so I have the right video game opinions?
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Not really sure what you mean by the bolded, OP? You feel bad because you enjoying something makes someone miserable? How?

Honestly, it’s computer games, it’s cool that you like different games. I don’t think we’ll ever see a thread where everyone agrees on exactly what the best Mario, Metroid or Zelda game is. I look at ‘best games of the year’ or ‘best games ever’ or ‘best games on x platform’ lists and rarely agree with more than a fraction of them, my tastes often seem really niche in comparison.
 
Stop watching or caring about YouTubers, for one. That’s a big reason why I don’t follow any YouTube personalities (or “influencers” of any kind, anywhere, really) myself. Who cares what these other people online think? What makes them any kind of authority on gaming opinions? Nothing! Enjoy what you enjoy! I certainly understand the struggle of having unpopular gaming opinions, though. But the key really is to just not give a fuck, and (if you can) try to find others to connect with who have similar tastes instead—though that’s much easier said than done… That’s why I tend to keep to myself mostly these days when it comes to gaming, because it’s rare for me to find others who share my feelings on games. But hey, I play games for myself, not for others, so as long as I keep having fun playing games, I’m pretty much set. That’s how I see it at least.
 
Pixelknight said:
Not really sure what you mean by the bolded, OP? You feel bad because you enjoying something makes someone miserable? How?

Honestly, it’s computer games, it’s cool that you like different games. I don’t think we’ll ever see a thread where everyone agrees on exactly what the best Mario, Metroid or Zelda game is. I look at ‘best games of the year’ or ‘best games ever’ or ‘best games on x platform’ lists and rarely agree with more than a fraction of them, my tastes often seem really niche in comparison.
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It's dumb but I feel wrong that I enjoy something that seems to not be liked. I don't know why but if I know people as a whole don't like something I feel wrong for liking it.
 
Like what you like and don't worry about what other people think, fuck 'em. I like reading others opinions on games because it can be fun to see how people enjoy or dislike games from another perspective but I'll never let it make me feel bad about what I enjoy or don't.
 
xaszatm said:
It's dumb but I feel wrong that I enjoy something that seems to not be liked. I don't know why but if I know people as a whole don't like something I feel wrong for liking it.
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There are no “right” games to like. Seriously. It’s video games, it’s art, stuff resonates with people in different ways.

In addition, if it helps, I also happen to like ARMS, and I also prefer Mario & Luigi over anything in the Paper Mario franchise.
 
Your opinions are yours you get to decide what they are, if you like something you don’t need to feel bad about it or hate it because it’s different from the norm.
I mean I get it totally having video game opinions that are unusual can be frustrating on the internet but don’t change your opinions because of that, its good to have a variety of opinions when discussing topics.
Don’t hate yourself for being you
 
Echoing what many others said, but really you should just play whatever you enjoy. Life is way too short and the world is too messed up to worry about someone not valuing the art you love.

I feel your pain though. I was a fan of WiiU and loved Star Fox Zero. I thought Mighty no 9 was a fun game. I enjoyed Sword and Shield at launch. I think Yoshi's Crafted World has a wonderful soundtrack. I think the plot of Kingdom Hearts is beautiful, dense and engaging. So many people have come at me with aggressive negativity over all of those things. I'm not immune to it, though I want to be-- negativity can be a nasty force.

Not letting other's negative energy affect you should be your goal-- it shouldn't be about having right opinions. Gamers are extremely lacking in nuanced discourse-- it is more immediately satisfying and attention grabbing to be openly negative without nuance than it is to be thoughtful and empathetic about criticism.. that requires emotional maturity. Truly, you shouldn't put that much stock in opinions about art when it's coming from people who aren't engaging in good faith (ie they aren't willing to hear you out about what you enjoy about the things they dislike, they just tell you you're wrong. That's not cool at all)


I could go on, but my heart goes out to you because I've struggled with this before too. Focus on the aspects of art that make you happy, and seek them out unapologetically. If it doesn't hurt anyone, and the art brings you joy, how can that be wrong?



Edit: I wanted to add that you aren't responsible for the negative energy of others. The only thing you can really control is yourself, which is why my advice is to work on how you process negativity instead of trying to avoid the negativity by liking the "right" things
 
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You are the breath of fresh air that makes coming here interesting. Think of it like that.

Honestly if someone is seriously arguing that any game is better than another, I don't really care for that conversation. Gamers need better things to discuss that "this game bad". It's 0 IQ stuff.
 
I‘ve seen this a lot recently where people basically say that you are a mindless Nintendo fanboy when you like "obviously" bad games like Sword and Shield, Arms or Strikers. I mean if you have seen that Strikers isn‘t really content rich but still like it for whatever reason, where is the problem? Liking games or what a 60$ games is supposed to deliver is all subjective anyway, just buy what you want with your money. Don‘t listen to the internet, there are countless people who just enjoy stuff without ever being part of this pessimistic „our opinion is more worth because we collectively hate game xy“ mentality. Otherwise Pokémon games would never sell over 15 million copies every time.
 
Don't allow yourself to become a sheep, like what you want to like. The older I get the less I care about reviews and whatnot, thanks to that I now have fond memories of games and other media rated less than 60% on everyones favorite score aggregator.

The Internet is not a good place to gain confidence or build your own character and create ideas. Believe in your own path no matter what.
 
Just like what you like, theres nothing wrong with that. My most played game in 2008 was spiderman web of shadows, this was a year where games like gears 2, saints row 2, burnout paradise, and call of duty world at war came out, lol and my favorite game that year was a spiderman game that was by all accounts, not very good
 
OP everyone is gonna tell you to like what you like and to not care what others think. FUCK THAT. You have bad taste and you should feel bad about that! There is a list of objectively good video games and objectively bad video games, and you are only allowed to like the objectively good ones! If you like even one of the objectively bad ones, you need to stop playing video games forever.

I'm kidding of course. Like what you like and fuck anyone who gives you shit for it.
 
xaszatm said:
All throughout my life I've had a problem where every game I have like or enjoyed I'm not supposed to like. I prefer Mario + Luigi over Paper Mario. I like Arms. I prefer the newer Paper Mario titles over the old ones. I prefer sword and shield over Black and White. I prefer Metroid Returns over Super Metroid. And now I prefer the newest Mario Strikers game over the past ones. Yet everywhere I look now Youtube tells me that everyone hates it and I'm wrong and what's wrong with Nintendo fans for enjoying it. And I'm sick of it. What can I do so I am a good video gamer? What can I do to my brain so I can enjoy something that others enjoy? What the fuck is wrong with me that everything I like is the wrong opinion? Because I hate it. I hate that I love games that other don't and I don't like games that are considered the best. I've felt miserable playing video games now because I'm always noting "I'm making someone miserable because I'm having fun" and I stop playing. How do I change so I have the right video game opinions? Even Youtube thinks I'm wrong, half of my feed is telling me that I need to hate Mario Strikers Battle League and that I need to hate it for what it does. How do I become right?
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Stop watching youtube, and stop looking for opinions on social media.

Both youtube and social media are engineered using algorithms to drive engagement, which means they're going to always show you shitty opinions to drive you up the wall, trying to bait you into engaging with them and yelling back. This ends up having terrible effects for mental health, and more and more people are realizing that.

Enjoy whatever makes you happy. That's it. There's nothing wrong with that. There's no "right" way to be a gamer. There's no specific games you need to play to "fit in". The people you're "making miserable by having fun"? They're going to be miserable even if you don't play those games. It's not your fault, it's nothing you did and nothing you can change. It's a problem on their end, and being miserable yourself isn't going to fix it.

Play the games you like, find people that also enjoys them, and discuss the game with them; instead of chasing what other people say it's good or not. In the case of Strikers for example, there's an amazing thread full of people enjoying the game right here.

Also Arms is great, seriously. And Samus Returns is better than Super Metroid, but we're not ready for people to accept that yet.
 
Don’t fall into the herd mentality mindset, or you’ll end up not liking video games at all. Try finding people that share a similar taste as you, and engage with them instead. The OTs here on Fami are a great way to do that, it’s a very welcoming environment and I think most people here would rather celebrate gaming than nitpick at it. Also, if you can’t find a thread for a game/series you really like, you can always make either a RTTP or Community OT & you may be surprised by how many people reply and share the same love for those games that you do.

Also, quick side note: Origami King is my favourite Paper Mario game, and Sword/Shield is up there among my top Pokémon games. (Probably 3rd, after HGSS & B2W2) - also, while we are on the topic of Pokémon, I actually enjoyed BDSP. I’m really bummed that the hate train for it was so strong, because I never got to enjoy the Grand Underground with friends as much as I was hoping to.
 
Pretty rare that I agree with every single post in a thread on here, but I do in this case.

You are worried about following and fitting in with the consensus, right? Well what about the consensus of the views in this very thread?

Your tastes are your tastes, and from my perspective, they are really good tastes too!(New Paper Mario is better, it just is! Sorry ya'll.) But it doesn't matter what I think, and it really truly doesn't matter what those social media personalities think either.

You have to be true to yourself.

Trust me, you think you feel bad now, you will feel magnitudes worse trying to be someone you are not just to please others, in some hope that it might make you feel "normal" or whatever. There's literally nothing to be gained from that path except the regret that you've missed out on years that could have gone into the things you love about life instead.

Our time is short on this rock, and life is both confusing and stressful. If gaming has caused you to amplify that stress and confusion then honestly, maybe consider ditching it. There are so many other hobbies and pursuits that can be a real boon to your well being, and to many, gaming is one, but if it is actually causing you distress?

Leave it in the dust.

Your well being is worth so much more than video games. All day every day. Fuck video games.
 
I relate too much with this, but in regards to EVERYTHING. I feel you. Not sure where "enjoying media" got wires crossed with "proof that I'm stupid and bad", but at some point it DID, and it's a hell of a thing.

Just speaking from experience, this rears its head in other aspects of my life. It's a weird insecurity. I don't have an answer. If this is how you think and you start noticing this is a common thread in your thinking, it might be worth it to bring it up with a therapist.

Heck, just looking at people sharing how many hours they have in a game gives me anxiety. "A REAL PERSON wouldn't have put so many hours into x game, a SMART PERSON would be bored by now, what is wrong with me".
 
bellydrum said:
Gamers need better things to discuss that "this game bad".
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This is something I've been thinking about a fair bit. So much of gaming discourse is simply centered around what is good and what is bad, and even the more nuanced discussion tends to be about whether certain aspects of a game are good or bad. There's an obsession with review scores too, which are interpreted as the official numeric measurement of this.
 
Acknowledge you're never going to agree with everyone, and know when to "pick your battles". I could spend dozens of hours arguing with Trails/Kiseki fans why Cold Steel 3 is the best game in the series and Zero is the worst, but I know that fight is simply not worth having. If someone asks me my opinion I'll elaborate, but if someone wants to go 12 rounds I just walk away since it's not a fight I want to have. Also if you see a thread and you know it's gonna be heated or you're gonna be heated in it, best to just click "ignore thread" and move on with your day.
 
bathynomus said:
Heck, just looking at people sharing how many hours they have in a game gives me anxiety. "A REAL PERSON wouldn't have put so many hours into x game, a SMART PERSON would be bored by now, what is wrong with me".
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I actually use to have the opposite reaction to this. When I saw people with a high play count for games that I enjoyed, I would feel inadequate and didn’t play the game long enough like a “real fan” would.

But then when I got a Switch Lite it froze my play count for SSBU for some reason, which is by far my most played game. I was so frustrated and sad for the longest time, even called Nintendo Support begging them for a resolution. But I eventually realized it doesn’t matter and doesn’t reflect my appreciation for the game at all. Now when I look at others playtimes, I say “wow they must really like that game too!” instead of “wow guess they like the game more than I do…”
 
Also op, ill add, i dont like ocarina of time. I like other zelda games, but i have never enjoyed ocarina any time I have tried it. Its okay to go against the grain
 
Phendrift said:
Caught up on the series in the past decade, Ocarina is my least fav 3D Zelda for sure
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Same. I always appreciated it, and was certainly impressed by it when it came out, but i find it very tedious, and a little boring. I enjoyed majoras mask a little more. Even though they are mechanically very similar, termina was endlessly fascinating. And maybe this is controversial, but i liked twilight princess and wind waker more than both ocarina and majora….(and maybe breath of the wild) “runs away”
 
You got 100 years max until they find a way to massively extend life. Don't waste time on stuff you don't like, you probably already have to do that in your job to pay the bills.
 
I am not a fan of Sword and Shield.

I believe that ARMS is a failed IP.

I have also been massively turned off from Mario Strikers.


I also adore frequently hated games.
Like you, I prefer Mario and Luigi games, and I actually believe partners in time is the 2nd best entry in the series.

Skyward Sword is one of my favorite Zelda games.

Paper Mario Origami King is one of my favorite games period.

I don't find Metroid Other M to be that bad(I would hesitate to call it good though).

I absolutely adore Splatoon(which is definitely a minority opinion here in Famiboards).

I actually really liked Metroid Federation Force and Zelda Triforce Heroes(local Co ip makes that game so much better.

Who the hell cares what is seen as good or not? We all have opinions, and they are all equally valid.

Look at it this way, if you "need" people to like Pokémon Sword and Shield, then basically you are condemning everyone else who doesn't like the game. They are completely, 100% allowed to not like a game, and it shouldn't affect your enjoyment one bit.

Really, just do you. If you are on YouTube, try to find creators who have a similar taste as you. And if you can't find that, then create something yourself because I am willing to bet there are thousands of people with your taste of games. You could make a killing.
 
All the "life is short" posts in this thread have given me hella existential anxiety :( So forgive me if the rest of this post isn't in the best of moods lol

Anyway, I'm gonna post a somewhat different take than others:

Basically, you're always entitled to like what you like. That's been said many times here already so I don't need to repeat it lol. However, you should also let others dislike what they like as well. Why? Because not doing so will lead you to doing one, or both, of these things:

a) Cause you to get into massive, prolonged arguments with folks that take up too much time and don't help anybody
b) Cause you to become "toxic" yourself, as you start to see anyone who dislikes what you like as "haters", "sheep" or "not acting in good faith," no matter what they say or do

Expressing why you dislike something is, if done right, healthy, especially in the money and time-costly hobby known as videogames. It can let people come to terms with a disappointment in a series they love (see: Paper Mario), or let them express to others why an investment might not be worth it, or simply just let people shout into the void. Much like with everything, simply talking about it can be very useful.

Yes, lots of people dislike things 'unhealthily', but that can be said for any opinion, even the ones you share yourself. For everyone posting a shitty meme about Sword and Shield's tree graphics, there's someone saying that caring about graphics at all is inherently stupid. As such, it's much easier to simply see people who do express their dislike for things healthily as, well, people. Not haters hellbent on forcing you to "like" things you dislike, or a mass mob of pure anger. If you want to, listen to them and do think what you want with their words. If you don't want to, that's fine. Just ignore them lol
 
You do you honey, like what you like and dislike what you dislike. Sometimes the consensus can get you curious and help you discover a new game/franchise you'll love, sometimes you'll find that you don't enjoy the game and it's best to just to drop it and try something else instead of forcing it, that's it.
 
Phantom Thief said:
Like whatever the fuck you like. They’re glorified electronic toys, there’s no right or wrong to it.
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I think your message is good but disagree on reducing video games to glorified electronic toys. Maybe some are, but many games are the culmination of countless hours spent by people who are passionately striving to make a work of art that combines several other disciplines like music, visual art, narrative, game design etc to make a work that's greater than the sum of its parts. Maybe you agree, and I misread your intent, but I felt the need to respond with this perspective when I saw an art form I'm passionate about be referred to the way you did.
Plum said:
All the "life is short" posts in this thread have given me hella existential anxiety :( So forgive me if the rest of this post isn't in the best of moods lol
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Hey, sorry for contributing to this anxiety since I was one of those who mentioned that pov. When I said it, it's not meant to be dreary. I personally find that perspective comforting because, it reminds me that it's important to not spend too much time assigning value to those who aren't being respectful to my viewpoints, and spend my time doing better things instead (like playing awesome games). That said, I will try to be more sensitive in how I word this perspective in the future, since it makes sense it could cause some stress to others.
 
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As everyone said, don't let what other people think about media prevent you from enjoying it--you do you. I know my own tastes are very orthogonal to what most people like; I can be petty about why (don't) enjoy stuff. Every now and then I will try a game just because it's popular, but it's rare I find a game that really connects with me--the last exception I recall was Yakuza; it was was far more campy than I expected. The typical response to such popular games are "it's fine I guess;" my interests are simply too orthogonal to mainstream consensus and that's okay. Best not to overthink such things.

That said, I can't imagine a worse place to derive consensus from than YouTube. I don't know what it is about that site--probably algorithms engineered to generate engagement--but it's like all the frustrations of Gamer™ Discourse taken up to eleven.
 
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Who dictates what's a "right game"? Different gaming communities (eg Youtube, RPGCodex, Resetera, academic scholars, etc) are all going to very different consensus on what's a good game and what's bad. Why is Youtube the gaming authority?

xaszatm said:
It's dumb but I feel wrong that I enjoy something that seems to not be liked. I don't know why but if I know people as a whole don't like something I feel wrong for liking it.
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If you go to RPGCodex, they'll tell you almost all modern games are trash. If you go talk to Roger Ebert, he'll tell you every single game ever made is trash and a waste of time that's making humanity less cultured.

So enjoy whatever you want. There's no objectively "good" or "right" game.
 
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Nmanic said:
I think your message is good but disagree on reducing video games to glorified electronic toys. Maybe some are, but many games are the culmination of countless hours spent by people who are passionately striving to make a work of art that combines several other disciplines like music, visual art, narrative, game design etc to make a work that's greater than the sum of its parts. Maybe you agree, and I misread your intent, but I felt the need to respond with this perspective when I saw an art form I'm passionate about be referred to the way you did.
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Bit of a tangent, but I need to comment on this.

Videogames are electronic toys. The debate should not be if videogames are art or not. It should be why toys in general aren't art. It being an electronic toy doesn't mean it can't be art, but being a toy shouldn't automatically be a dismissal of its status as art.

Is Lego art? The designers that come up with the sets are masters of their craft, trying to figure out how to make the kits resemble stuff and still be fun to play with on a parts budget. Are Transformers art? The engineers that need to come up with a design that works out as a vehicle and as a robot and still keep both functional are nothing sort of wizards.

Videogames are toys. Toy design is art.
 
Honestly, every example you gave in the OP just sounds like you prefer newer games with more QOL features over older games with higher quantity of content and fan favorite-design decisions.

If you, like, genuinely want to see what people see in the other games though, I would like take a good effort to go back to them, sit down and really play them again, and read more about why fans like them. I used to be a bit similar; I shifted from being a Brawl>Melee guy to being a Melee>Brawl guy once I got into the competitive Smash scene and really dug into the games, and shifted to preferring 64 to Galaxy 2 when I read more about and understood more about 64's movement mechanics after watching a lot of speedruns. Of course I also spent dozens of hours playing both games again before reaching those conclusions. Of course, you might not come to that conclusion. I've read lots of arguments about why the gen 2 Pokemon games aren't actually that good because of level balancing, and while I acknowledge that as a truth, it doesn't make those games not my second favorite generation. But I do find understanding the perspectives of others something that enriches the hobby.
 
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