Best/cheap Pokemon title for Nintendo 3DS?

September 15, 2013 1:33 PM

So I have never played any of the Pokemon titles, but they seem like something I would like. The game stores around me seem to have several different titles for the Nintendo 3DS that they are selling used pretty cheaply. Which Pokemon title for the 3DS would be OK to start with, assuming I've never played any of them, with bonus points for an older one that might be cheaper? Or should I have started playing from the first title and I'll be hopelessly lost about the gameplay now?

If Pokemon is going to be beyond me as a 31-year-old woman hopelessly addicted to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, feel free to recommend alternative rabbit holes for me to fall down.

posted by fiercecupcake to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

I've never played Pokemon on 3DS but I have played it on GBC, GBA and DS, and they're really all much of a muchness. There's an intro to the gameplay as part of the setup. You're pretty safe just picking one at random. Enjoy!
posted by corvine at 1:41 PM on September 15, 2013

They're all good; they'll all assume no background, and are definitely not going to be beyond you. The games are fun and not that difficult unless you want to go crazy into breeding and battling online and EV training. HeartGold and SoulSilver are remakes of old games for the Gameboy Color and I recommend them, if only because they're more part of the zeitgeist than the newer games. Black and White are also good. As far as I know, there aren't any Pokemon games yet for the 3DS proper but X and Y are coming out soon which are.

You can also emulate the older games even on a smartphone; it's worth doing this with Red and Blue if you're ever bored.
posted by vogon_poet at 1:43 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]

I haven't played any of the 3DS titles, but oh lord have I played the GBA/DS games, and you can really hop in at any generation. They're all very similar in gameplay and feel, just the location and specific assortment of pokemans varies. My entry point was Diamond/Pearl, and HeartGold/SoulSilver are also great.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:04 PM on September 15, 2013

Pokemon's the same thing regardless of which title you play. You'll just have different Pokemon. I really enjoyed Black/White and Black 2/White 2 since those actually had more of a plot than just beat all the gym leaders then the Elite Four.
posted by astapasta24 at 5:59 PM on September 15, 2013

I just picked up Pokemon Platinum for DS at a used game shop two weeks ago. I kept an eye on prices and checked them on Amazon and Ebay before buying it locally. I was also new to playing Pokemon and I've been enjoying it a lot. There seems to be very little difference between the titles and the game is designed for 10 year olds to play, so I find it both easy and fun.
posted by faethverity at 10:02 PM on September 15, 2013

I don't play -- I don't even know if I'm using the right words -- but my son does, and he loves HeartGold and White.
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:32 AM on September 16, 2013