Pallet’s official nostalgia rankings · Vol. 01

The save files
that raised us.

For the ’90s kids with a Game Boy Color, a GBA SP under the blanket, and a DS that went everywhere. Ten gym-badge adventures. One deeply opinionated ranking.

Pallet editorial picks Childhood feeling over technical perfection. Entirely our call.

The hill we’re picking: Gold, Silver & Crystal take the nostalgia crown. HeartGold & SoulSilver are the reunion tour. Both deserve a save slot.

The core-memory countdown.

2 picks · Game Boy / Color

Ranked by nostalgia, highest first. Original North American release years shown. Originals and remakes get separate entries; filtered views keep their overall ranks.

  1. 01

    The nostalgia champion

    Pokémon Gold, Silver & Crystal

    Game Boy Color · 2000–2001 US · Johto + Kanto · 16 badges

    Screen / 01
    Pokémon Silver: New Bark Town, the player outside Professor Elm’s laboratory, inside a Game Boy Color frame.
    Silver · official gameplay image with Game Boy Color borderNintendo archive ↗

    A cartridge with its own clock. A world that changed after dark. Then the game handed you another whole region. For the Game Boy Color generation, this is the crown jewel: small screen, absurdly big adventure.

    The core memory

    Wait. There’s another whole map?

    Reaching Kanto after the Johto League. You thought the credits meant the end; suddenly the old roads and Gym Leaders were waiting again.

    Gym flashback Whitney’s Miltank. An entire generation learned to respect Rollout.

    Pick your first partner.

    • Chikorita spriteChikorita
    • Cyndaquil spriteCyndaquil
    • Totodile spriteTotodile

    Choose one of these three in all three versions.

    Pal’s pick: Cyndaquil. A pocket-sized campfire for the greatest road trip.

    The legendary headliners.

    • Ho-Oh
    • Lugia
    • Suicune

    Featured legends across the family; Crystal gives Suicune a bigger role.

    Game notes & screenshot credit

    Gameplay image: Nintendo’s official archive ↗. Silver · official gameplay image with Game Boy Color border. The screenshot illustrates the game; the memorable moment is described separately.

    Game references: Game overview ↗ · Additional official archive ↗. Copyright Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc. / The Pokémon Company. Editorial commentary and rank: Pallet.Club.

  2. 02

    Playground royalty

    Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow

    Game Boy · also played on Color · 1998–1999 US · Kanto · 8 badges

    Screen / 02
    Pokémon Yellow gameplay: Pikachu follows the trainer on a tree-lined path.
    Yellow · official Virtual Console gameplay captureNintendo archive ↗

    This is where the schoolyard became a strategy guide of wildly mixed quality. Link cables, a rival with an extremely personal nickname, and the feeling that absolutely anything might be hiding beyond the next route. The rough edges are part of the photograph.

    The core memory

    The quiet cave after becoming Champion.

    Finding Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave. After eight badges and the League, one last enormous question mark was still waiting in the dark.

    Gym flashback Brock: the first badge, and a very different problem depending on your starter.

    Pick your first partner.

    • Bulbasaur spriteBulbasaur
    • Charmander spriteCharmander
    • Squirtle spriteSquirtle
    • Pikachu spritePikachu

    Red / Blue: choose Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Yellow: start with Pikachu; the original trio are later gifts.

    Pal’s pick: Bulbasaur in Red / Blue. Yellow gets Pikachu by design. Respect the original deal.

    The legendary headliners.

    • Mewtwo
    • Articuno
    • Zapdos
    • Moltres

    In-game headliners. Mew was a separate event distribution, not a normal starter or wild encounter.

    Game notes & screenshot credit

    Gameplay image: Nintendo’s official archive ↗. Yellow · official Virtual Console gameplay capture. The screenshot illustrates the game; the memorable moment is described separately.

    Game references: Game overview ↗ · Additional official archive ↗. Copyright Nintendo / Creatures Inc. / GAME FREAK inc. / The Pokémon Company. Editorial commentary and rank: Pallet.Club.

Highly official. Highly debatable.

Our list. Your childhood gets a vote in the group chat.

“Official” means Pallet’s own editorial list. This is not a Nintendo or The Pokémon Company ranking, a survey, a sales chart or a measured nostalgia score. We weighted the hardware, music, playground mythology, memorable Gym Leaders and those “there’s more game?” moments.

This edition stays with the gym-badge handheld years: Game Boy through Nintendo DS. If you were born in the late ’90s, Sinnoh or Unova might be your number one. That is an excellent argument, not an error in your childhood.

Years refer to the original North American releases. Screenshot captions identify the game or version family and any Japanese promotional footage or Virtual Console capture. Legendary names are highlights, not a complete encounter checklist; version differences are noted.

Reviewed October 22, 2026. Release-history reference ↗ · Sprite archive ↗ · The list as JSON

Settle it after school. Or in the group chat.

Your first starter.
Your forever favorite.

Send this to the friend who still swears Emerald should be number one.

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