hi evryone!

so i just bought a DSi online because i wanted to play some old games i remeber again. about 6-7 years ago maybe, when i was probably 8 years old i had a pokemon game and i think it was called pearl? i think i finished it. however i sold my DS and all games 6-7 years ago and havent touched anything since.

i know want to play pokemon t bring back some nostalgia but as ive been out of the loop for years i don't know any of the games and not sure which one to buy. i will probably not continue the series just looking for a single game to occupy me for a bit. which one do you think is most suitable for me?

If you just have a DSi, then you'll probably just want to get the one of the games for that system, Black or White. Many people argue that this generation is the best, so you'll probably have a good time!

@pkmnfrk: do the other ones work on a dsi? or re black and white the only ones?

The Gen 4 games (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, Soul Silver) will, but Gen 6+ (X, Y, etc) will not, since they're for 3DS. I forget if the DSi has a GBA slot; if it does then you could play the Gen 3 games (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, LeafGreen, FireRed).

If you're interested in recapturing your nostalgia exactly, then you should go for Platinum, which is the "best of remix" of Diamond and Pearl (which you played previously). But, Black or White are still my recommendations.

I would go with pkmnfrk's the recommendation of the Gen 5 games but it's worth noting that they themselves received special editions in the form of Black 2 and White 2. I have not played them myself but generally speaking Pokemon special editions are better than their original counterparts.

so out of black, white, black 2, white 2, diamond, pearl, heart gold, soul silver, which one would you recommend as easier and more fun one? also what are the main differences between the games? (sorry for being such a noob i've only ever played one of them!)

I would probably go Heart Gold or Soul Silver.

Differences between the games are that they are set in different regions (so completely different maps) and different Pokemon appear in them. They add new Pokemon with every game that isn't a remake.

alright thank you.

sorry for asking so many questions but have you played both heartgold and soulsilver? and if so which one did you like better and for what reasons?

Heartgold and Soulsilver are great games, but they're also notoriously expensive these days. If you can get a decent deal then I'd go for that. They're functionally identical save for a few unique Pokémon - personally I prefer Lugia to Ho-oh so I'd lean Soulsilver, but it's not a big enough difference to worry about.

I would also recommend Black & White, but I would say if you want a slightly more story-driven experience go for those whereas if you're after the "classic" experience with minimal real story outside of "go get all the badges and be the best trainer" then HG/SS are still some of my personal favourites. I think Black 2 & White 2 are super good, but they're also kinda weird in structure because they're more "full sequels" than the traditional updated editions, and they shift up the progression slightly from the original Black & White. You'd be okay with any of them, though, so if you're unsure I'd just see what you can find at a good price and go with that.

Black 2 and White 2 are not like Platinum or Emerald, they are full on sequels with different plots and one should play Black or White before playing Black 2 or White 2.

The differences between the two are minimal. Do you like phoenixes or dragon birds more? Other than that, they're basically the same.

Heart Gold and Soul Silver were amazing! Black and White 1 and 2 are good too.

Man, you're talking about bringing nostalgia back and you're first Pokémon was Pearl? Christ...I'm useless beyond Gold/Silver.

Heart Gold/Soul Silver were my favorite core Pokemon games ever until the quality of life improvements in X/Y and Sun/Moon. I can't go back to not having the global EXP share, but if you haven't played those, HG and SS are amazing. I'm always disappointed that none of the games since Gen 2 featured a return to previous regions.

@dancer1234: Just be careful if you go looking for used Pokemon carts online, OP. There are tons of pretty convincing counterfeits floating around. There're factories set up in places like Singapore to crank them out by the bucket load. I always look for something that looks like it's been played and handled, and know what the labels for your region should look like, and that the carts with IR support should be translucent to a light. There's a Reddit post with a good guide on what to look for, with a few pictures. By in person if you can.

For what it's worth, I recommend Platinum, Soul Silver, or White, in that order.

hmmm that's lucky you said that. i was about to buy one i found cheap but then read this and hesitated. would someone be able to tell me if this looks real or not? i am now thinking it is fake.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2016-New-Pokemon-Heart-Gold-Soul-Silver-Version-for-Nintendo-3DS-NSDI-NDS-NDSL-/272437559826?var=&hash=item3f6e8b4212:m:m1jUSGGYysAREaHrHtrEIEA

update: i ende up buying a second hand version of pokemon platinum :)

@dancer1234: Yeah those were definitely fake. Coming from Hong Kong, claiming they were "new" but showing loose carts, and having "more than 10 available" were the big tipoffs. Pictures are not always reliable to go off, unfortunately, because they can upload whatever they want.