Satoshi Tajiri has built a name for himself in the gaming world as the founder and creator of Pokémon. He is also the President and founder of the game development company Game Freak, responsible for producing the Pokémon video games.
It should be no surprise that the majority of the games he’s helped produce are in the Pokémon franchise and his best titles are part of that highly successful and incredibly lucrative body of work. Here are the ten best games Tajiri has worked on according to Metacritic.
10 Pokémon Pearl (Metascore 85)
First to make the list is Pokémon Pearl released for the Nintendo DS in 2007. Critics enjoyed the abundance of content with some predicting it would take anywhere between 100 to 200 hours to do everything possible, though some felt 30 hours to finish the main quest was a little low. The changes to the battle mechanics compared to its predecessors was considered its greatest feature by many.
While critics were largely in agreement that the single player was well polished and worth spending several months exploring, there was complaint about a lack of innovation from previous titles and a flawed multiplayer mode.
9 Pokémon Diamond (Metascore 85)
Pokémon Diamond received much of the same praise as Pokémon Pearl. The singleplayer mode was great, there were a lot of things to do including interesting mini games, and it was a solid experience that would keep gamers occupied for a long, long time.
The same criticisms also showed with this title, there was little that had changed from earlier titles, the multiplayer was a step in the right direction by offering online trading and battling but had some notable flaws. Generally if you were already a Pokémon fan it would be a great game, if you weren’t then it wasn’t going to change your mind.
8 Pokémon Moon (Metascore 87)
Critics loved the changes introduced in Pokémon Moon and felt the developers were finally shaking up a 20-year-old formula. They liked that the Alola versions made old Pokémon feel fresh again and many critics felt the world was much more immersive, the Pokémon Bank that allowed you to carry over Pokémon from former titles was also widely praised.
Some criticized the lack of difficulty and the minimal strategy required to beat the game. Other felt the game was a step in the right direction for the franchise, but apart from aesthetics little had changed to make it different from previous titles.
7 Pokémon Sun (Metascore 87)
Pokémon Sun received much of the same praise and criticism as Pokémon Moon. Critics mentioned with this title they enjoyed the loss of HM’s but criticized the removal of gyms. Again many thought it was great visually and the Alolan versions were a nice touch, but felt that underneath the colors and window dressing was the same Pokémon game since the series’ inception.
Some unique criticisms mentioned on Pokémon Sun was a lack of emphasis on the endgame, meaning once players finished the story, there was little more to do than fill the Pokémon Bank with 800 creatures.
6 Pokémon White (Metascore 87)
For many critics Pokémon White’s removal of old Pokémon to replace them with new ones was a huge gamble that paid off. The world felt much larger and there was a lot of praise for the more "adult" story and characters.
The online feature allowing players to battle each other online was also widely praised, even if it had it’s flaws. The biggest criticisms are once again the lack of any real changes from previous games. Some critics even felt that changing the old Pokémon for new was a cheap trick to make the game feel innovative and fresh without making it so.
5 Pokémon Black (Metascore 87)
Similar complaints and praises were raised with the partner title Pokémon Black. Critics who enjoyed the game felt like it was the best polished game in the series and loved the more mature storyline and themes. Some felt it was an amazing sequel to former titles and should be seen as such.
Critics opposing the game felt that there was little difference between the two titles or from previous games and wondered why there were even two separate games for sale to begin with. Another criticism was that the title didn’t offer any hints to what was coming next in the story, though there was one promised.
4 Pokémon SoulSilver (Metascore 87)
Some critics raved about Pokémon SoulSilver saying it was the polished version of the classics they’d been wanting for a long time. The changes, such as the Pokewalker, made it feel like a fresh new game that both satisfied nostalgic itches and gave justification for playing through the story again.
At the same time, some felt not enough changes were made citing the fact that many of the battles were too similar to the previous titles. As far as remakes go it was considered well done, but some wondered if it needed to be done.
3 Pokémon HeartGold (Metascore 87)
Pokémon Heart Gold unsurprisingly received much of the same praise. Some fans liked it better due to the exclusive Pokémon and that this title had more Pokémon overall to catch than SoulSilver, though no one argued that this made it better in any way.
All in all it was praised for being the most polished game of Pokémon at that time, but was criticized for not trying something new and taking the series in a different direction. Some also felt the random encounters were a little more obnoxious than usual.
2 Pokémon X (Metascore 87)
Pokémon X was praised as a modernized version of the tried and true formula of the Pokémon games. While it didn’t vary too much from the old model, it did make enough changes and tweaks that critics felt it was inherently better when compared to other titles.
Some criticisms were towards a simple storyline and lack of difficulty in spots. Others simultaneously praised the developers for trying new things like the stat rebuilding, but criticized that it relied on grinding to utilize.
1 Pokémon Y (Metascore 88)
The best game Satoshi Tajiri has worked on according to Metacritic is Pokémon Y. For some reason critics felt it was better than its partner Pokémon X. Inherently the only real differences between the two titles are version exclusive Pokémon and the variations between mega evolutions, and perhaps this is why critics enjoyed Pokémon Y more.
In any case, it shares many of the same flaws and strengths as X. It had the best graphics, the most immersion, and some of the most interesting end game content. It’s still a game about fighting creatures in a complex version of rock, paper, scissors, and the bulk of it’s gameplay is capturing new creatures and training them up by grinding like the other games in the series, but for many critics, Pokémon Y did it the best.