Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Best: The lore

With each passing game, Pokémon has taken steps to fill out its world, and no game did that more than Diamond and Pearl, which finally began to introduce actual gods to the universe. Dialga and Palkia, the game mascots and Pokémon gods of time and space, are just the tip of the spear for the lore the DS games introduce, as Arceus and Giratina act as the God and Satan equivalent of the Pokémon universe. Each of these would be better explored in Pokémon Legends: Arceus over a decade later, but Diamond and Pearl set a foundation for the entire universe.

Worst: The infamously slow battle system

It’s a meme at this point, but Diamond and Pearl’s battle system was pretty sluggish in ways that future games did manage to fix. The most notable example that’s often cited is when you one-shot a Blissey, who has the highest HP stat in the game, it can take several seconds for the HP bar to actually deplete. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl managed to update this, but the plodding nature of Diamond and Pearl’s battles has stuck with the games over the years.