Pokémon video games
Ranked 2 of 3 video game series by recommenders
Turn-based monster-collecting games that people enjoy with family, friends and competitive play. Critics say recent entries are too easy and hand-held.
Turn-based monster-collecting games that people enjoy with family, friends and competitive play. Critics say recent entries are too easy and hand-held.
35 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 12
- approval share
- 66%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun to play with family and friends
“My kids enjoy it, just as my wife and I enjoyed it before them. We have fun playing the games together.”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” “the solo games are slightly worse overall, but the multiplayer VCG is in the best state it ever was”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” “I have so much fun playing competitive pokemon with my friends”
Comment from 27 Oct 2026 in “Why I Am a Programmer” Enjoyable to play
“I'm having a blast playing the Pokemon games”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026” “Pokémon is a pretty good game though.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “My Son's Math Homework Is Essentially Just Pokémon” “Pokémon ran well enough OFC.”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Show HN: Awesome J2ME” Nostalgia for older generations
“the do love fiddling around with the old Pokemon GBA games”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “2DWillNeverDie” “i also do love the grinding especially in the older games”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” “I loved gen 1 pokemon as a kid in the 90s”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Too easy and hand-held
“the newer pokemon games have so many guard rails”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” “The game has become more and more hand-held.”
Comment from 12 Jun 2026 in “U.S. kids no longer reading for pleasure” “The grinding is less of an issue than being too easy.”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” Violence and gambling concerns for kids
“generally I do see Pokemon as violent and I wouldn't let my 5 year old watch it quite yet”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “All grown-ups were once children, but only few of them remember it” “hate the whole unregulated illegal gambling part of it and how they pray on kids”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” Tired games and forced creations
“I feel the Pokemon creations themselves feel quite forced.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Thirty years on, Pokémon is still a monster hit” “too busy looking for new versions of the same tired games”
Comment from 16 Oct 2026 in “AI is mass decompiling games. That's both awesome and scary”
Other video game series people recommend
The two most recommended other video game series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo | 24 | 18 | 57% | 10 | — | — |
| Pokémon video gamesThis page | 23 | 12 | 66% | 10 | — | — |
| The Legend of Zelda | 18 | 5 | 78% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
31 of the 37 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have so much fun playing competitive pokemon with my friends”
“it's glorified cock fighting for kids”
“Pokemon battles have some amount of entertainment value.”
“too busy looking for new versions of the same tired games”
“So many easy to fix basic mistakes. Such poor craftsmanship.”
“the do love fiddling around with the old Pokemon GBA games”
“where the series really fell off a cliff”
“generally I do see Pokemon as violent and I wouldn't let my 5 year old watch it quite yet”
“maybe it's trauma from the sliding blocks in Pokemon games”
“I'm having a blast playing the Pokemon games”
“There's only a few Pokémon's and Harry potters out there.”
“The game has become more and more hand-held.”
“Most of the games out there are the types like Pokemon which are more like a drug addiction”
“You really think that hobby is adding value to their life?”
“They ruined Pokemon too, not that it was any good to begin with”
“Pokémon is a pretty good game though.”
“shows like beyblade and pokemon and Adventure Time etc.”
“I feel the Pokemon creations themselves feel quite forced.”
“the solo games are slightly worse overall, but the multiplayer VCG is in the best state it ever was”
“The grinding is less of an issue than being too easy.”
“Pokemon is one of the worst games for min maxing into a broken game.”
“I loved gen 1 pokemon as a kid in the 90s”
“the newer pokemon games have so many guard rails”
“hate the whole unregulated illegal gambling part of it and how they pray on kids”
“i also do love the grinding especially in the older games”
“beat the boss with a team composed of 6 low-level Pikachus and zero healing items”
“full of grinding, massive amounts of rng and just boring turn based combat”
“My kids enjoy it, just as my wife and I enjoyed it before them. We have fun playing the games together.”
“the graphics of the Switch games looking worse than some of the DS editions”
“much better balanced IMHO”
“Pokémon ran well enough OFC.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.