#10. Pokemon Crystal (GBC)
Crystal is the ultimate form of what is arguably the best Pokemon generation yet- it took upon everything that Pokemon Gold and Silver did, and it made it better and bigger. Like Yellow was to Red and Blue, Crystal represented a final, extended ‘director’s cut’ of Pokemon Gold and Silver before it. The adventure in Crystal largely played out similarly to Gold and Silver- you still started in Johto, you still faced off with the most villainous rival the series has had till date, you still tried to prevent the return of Team Rocket, you still went to Kanto, you still faced off against Red at the end.
But Crystal added to all of that, with a new sidestory that put emphasis on Suicune (in a move that would echo future installments’ emphasis on legendary Pokemon), new and modified questlines that made the Gold/Silver experience seem that much more authentic, the ability to play as a girl (a first for the series), the addition of the Battle Frontier, the first concession to competitive players that the series ever made (and a facility that would become a returning fixture in every future Pokemon game from then on in some variant), and more.
At the time it was released, Crystal was the ultimate Pokemon game- in a lot of ways, it is still unparalleled and unbeaten by even many of the newer entries. But it was also a largely redundant release. Unlike Yellow, or other future third installments that would follow it, Crystal really didn’t do much that would justify its existence. It was there, and it was great. But if you, say, went for Gold and Silver instead of Crystal, you wouldn’t miss out on much- not something you can say for, well, pretty much any other game in the franchise.
