I think Gold was amazing back when I first played. I liked the new Pokemon designs and when I found out you can go to Kanto, my mind was blown. I did not expect so much playtime after the Elite 4. Everything in that game was an improvement to the first gen. It still had some jank, but at that time, I think it was the perfect game they could make.

But there is one thing where I think the GBA games stood out: graphics. I still love it, it's extremely timeless and just beautiful. That is still how Pokemon games should look like today. I prefer Leaf Green over Emerald because it doesn't have way too many water routes like Hoenn and as Gold and Silver, it had some nice unexpected post Elite 4 content.

Of course I'm totally biased because those were my childhood games. I tried Soul Silver maaaaany years later and got Shield for the switch, but they could not keep up with the GBA games. Maybe I will give Gen 4 and 5 a go in the future though.