redwoodalchan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-05-09 02:33 pm
redwoodalchan) wrote2013-05-09 02:33 pm
Entry tags:
I hate nostalgia whoring so much!!
This has been bugging me for awhile, and now I feel it's about time I vented.
I've seen members of the Pokemon fandom do some pretty obnoxious things in my time, but if you really want to get in my bad graces there is no quicker way than by playing the nostalgia card and going off on one about how Generation I is the best and totally superior to the other generations in every way, and how Generation V and all them suck for not being just like Generation I. Like, it's one thing to have a favorite generation, or like the Kanto region or pokemon or people the best, but it's quite another to act like the Kanto games are objectively better than the others and to measure everything on a scale of how much like the Kanto games they are. I've seen some arguments for why the first-gen games were the best, and I've yet to find a single one that didn't either a) consist largely of arguments that only that particular fan and others who thought exactly like him/her was likely to care about; or b) boil down to "because they were there first" (or both)!
And it's seriously getting to the point that I've begun to hate things from the first two generations or so for no other reason than that they get so ridiculously glorified. I basically despise Giovanni, Blue, Charizard, and Mewtwo now, for no other reason than that the nostalgia whores hold them up as the best thing ever and bash everyone who came after with tons of unfair comparisons (yes, how dare villains actually have depth, or rivals actually be friendly, or a fire-type actually have something to make up for its weakness to rock rather than a double weakness against it!). No, Giovanni is not a better villain than Cyrus or N (or Ghetsis)! No, Blue is not a better rival than Barry, Bianca, Cheren, or Hugh! No, Charizard is not a cooler pokemon than Blaziken or Emboar! And no, Mewtwo is not automatically a better legendary than Giratina, Zekrom, or Kyurem!
This is not to say that I don't appreciate the first generation of games for themselves. I get that the first generation of Pokemon games were very, very good for what they were. And I know how nostalgia for the old games feels. I still remember the first time my first-grade friend showed me what a battle in Pokemon Blue looked like. I remember my delight at opening my first Pokemon Yellow game, and all the hours I spent playing the first three generations' worth of games. But I don't think they're objectively better than the games that came after because if it weren't for some of the changes made in the newest editions of Pokemon from gens IV and V (like better villains, and something that actually resembles a coherent storyline) I never would have become a fan as an adult. Judging by some of these nostalgia whores' comments, though, I should apparently be ashamed of myself as a bad older fan and fashion lemming because I like the newer stuff and haven't enshrined my older gen games as the best thing ever.
And that, I think, is what's so bad about this whole business. If it were just a bunch of older fans reminiscing about how much they loved the first generation that would be one thing, but what gets me riled up is that they constantly make unfair comparisons between the newer generations and the older generations, uncritically glorifying the first game despite its many flaws and denigrating later ones as though Pokemon were nothing but a big nostalgia trip for them. The ones who argue that "they should have stopped at 150" or "they should have stopped at Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald" are the worst. Come on, guys! The whole reason why the Pokemon games were created in the first place is to make money for their creators! There's no way they were actually going to keep the games in stasis while other franchises grew and changed, or cut off their franchise prematurely, just to entertain your nostalgic fantasies!
So, yeah! Enough with the nostalgia whoring already! The first generation is not objectively better than the later ones, so just shut up and enjoy the damn games!
I've seen members of the Pokemon fandom do some pretty obnoxious things in my time, but if you really want to get in my bad graces there is no quicker way than by playing the nostalgia card and going off on one about how Generation I is the best and totally superior to the other generations in every way, and how Generation V and all them suck for not being just like Generation I. Like, it's one thing to have a favorite generation, or like the Kanto region or pokemon or people the best, but it's quite another to act like the Kanto games are objectively better than the others and to measure everything on a scale of how much like the Kanto games they are. I've seen some arguments for why the first-gen games were the best, and I've yet to find a single one that didn't either a) consist largely of arguments that only that particular fan and others who thought exactly like him/her was likely to care about; or b) boil down to "because they were there first" (or both)!
And it's seriously getting to the point that I've begun to hate things from the first two generations or so for no other reason than that they get so ridiculously glorified. I basically despise Giovanni, Blue, Charizard, and Mewtwo now, for no other reason than that the nostalgia whores hold them up as the best thing ever and bash everyone who came after with tons of unfair comparisons (yes, how dare villains actually have depth, or rivals actually be friendly, or a fire-type actually have something to make up for its weakness to rock rather than a double weakness against it!). No, Giovanni is not a better villain than Cyrus or N (or Ghetsis)! No, Blue is not a better rival than Barry, Bianca, Cheren, or Hugh! No, Charizard is not a cooler pokemon than Blaziken or Emboar! And no, Mewtwo is not automatically a better legendary than Giratina, Zekrom, or Kyurem!
This is not to say that I don't appreciate the first generation of games for themselves. I get that the first generation of Pokemon games were very, very good for what they were. And I know how nostalgia for the old games feels. I still remember the first time my first-grade friend showed me what a battle in Pokemon Blue looked like. I remember my delight at opening my first Pokemon Yellow game, and all the hours I spent playing the first three generations' worth of games. But I don't think they're objectively better than the games that came after because if it weren't for some of the changes made in the newest editions of Pokemon from gens IV and V (like better villains, and something that actually resembles a coherent storyline) I never would have become a fan as an adult. Judging by some of these nostalgia whores' comments, though, I should apparently be ashamed of myself as a bad older fan and fashion lemming because I like the newer stuff and haven't enshrined my older gen games as the best thing ever.
And that, I think, is what's so bad about this whole business. If it were just a bunch of older fans reminiscing about how much they loved the first generation that would be one thing, but what gets me riled up is that they constantly make unfair comparisons between the newer generations and the older generations, uncritically glorifying the first game despite its many flaws and denigrating later ones as though Pokemon were nothing but a big nostalgia trip for them. The ones who argue that "they should have stopped at 150" or "they should have stopped at Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald" are the worst. Come on, guys! The whole reason why the Pokemon games were created in the first place is to make money for their creators! There's no way they were actually going to keep the games in stasis while other franchises grew and changed, or cut off their franchise prematurely, just to entertain your nostalgic fantasies!
So, yeah! Enough with the nostalgia whoring already! The first generation is not objectively better than the later ones, so just shut up and enjoy the damn games!