Rank the Generations

[Owlbeast]

i'm going to rank purely based on the toy lines and omit mentions of the tie-in movies and shows. i'll also probably not delve into what i thought of the playsets, as i've never had very many of them.

g1: i always have a hard time deciding between g1 and g3 as my favorite generations, it literally flips every day. i gave g1 the top spot because of the amount of variety. sea ponies, big brothers, sweetheart sisters...every day i'm discovering a new g1 pony i had no idea existed! soft hair, squishy yet durable plastic, the biggest variety of unique symbols across all generations, and they hold up incredibly well considering their age. and they absolutely have the best gimmicks! i love twinkle eyes and perfume puffs. not to mention how cute they are.

g3: my other favorite, and the generation i grew up with. i just adore the poses, the symbols, the colors, the names. g3 pony hair (when it's not a discount pony) is my favorite across all generations, so soft and the perfect length. they're the perfect size for easy displaying, too. definitely my favorite style across all the generations, in terms of that fantasy-horse look that i adore. i literally can't stop collecting g3s, send help! the only thing i'd change is giving us more unicorns. also, more pose variety for baby ponies. why in the world did we never get a baby unicorn? and of course i wish this generation hadn't went out with a whimper with core 7. i actually remember kinda loving core 7 as a kid for a time - i bought that 25th anniversary set of them all and loved how their colors went together. but it overstayed its welcome.

g4: i gave g4 a spot over g2 for purely nostalgic reasons. i'm not a g4 collector, but i did excitedly purchase the very first mane 6 brushables when they first appeared on shelves around 2010/2011. i also grabbed the cutie mark crusaders, cheerilee, and possibly had minty, i can't remember. at the time, it /felt/ like there was a lot of pony variety to come. within the first year or two of production they were producing a few toy-exclusive g4 pony characters along with some supporting characters from the show. it was awesome to see these "background" ponies come to life when i was a kid. of course, the variety sorta stopped right there. i like their chibi look, and i think the pre-movie g4 ponies have this really cute look to them that borrows from the friendship is magic show while not being a literal copy-paste of the show's style directly to toy form. but they're definitely a bit too small and compact. also, what's with the luna toys? princess luna probably has my favorite pony design ever, but in almost all of her toys she's this purple color instead of black and blue. it looks like the only brushable with accurate colors has that post-movie style to it. 

g2: i'm waiting for g2 to really "click" with me, but so far it hasn't happened. they're just a bit wonky to me. the lack of pose variety is basically on the same level as g4, but the expressions bother me more. almost every g2 pony seems to have that open-mouthed smile. however, a lot of g2 ponies do have symbols that i really like - golden light comes to mind. it's just a shame that so many of them are european exclusives and pretty expensive to get these days. a lot of them have really pretty color schemes.

g5: g5 isn't very high because of how new they are. i think hasbro is still figuring out what they really want this line to be. i'm loving the little polly pocket inspired sets they're coming out with, and the articulated ponies are lots of fun and have great accessories. but my ideal pony generation is one such as g1 and g3 - a huge variety of characters with soft, brushable hair in a variety of poses. i wouldn't say g5 is that quite yet, but i think it was also unfair of me to get my hopes up so high after g4 was decidedly not my ideal. i do like how leggy they are! i have that large brushable izzy, and her hair is amazing. so thick and nice to comb. her plastic...hmm. it's the kind of plastic where you can accidentally scratch it with your finger nail and leave a permanent mark. (yes, i unfortunately did that.) whereas g1 and g3 are much more durable. the art style of the toys is basically just taken directly from the movie with no changes. if that's what they're going for, can we have some flocked g5s? i love how fuzzy they are in the movie.

g3.5: this covers ponyville ponies as well, right? because i love ponyville, they're so cute. as for the larger g3.5s...i'm just not a fan of the faces at all. they do have nice hair, though. i do wonder how this generation would be perceived if they'd produced more ponies besides core 7.

g4.5: i don't really have any positives for these guys. weird art style and really bad hair.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

G1
G3
G2

That's it. I'm not even going to give G4 and G5 a spot. G4 did have some nice collectibles, but overall, that's the gen that rang in the decline of the brand. I'm torn on the fact that some people do rank G5 quite high - to each their own of course, if you enjoy the new gen then more power to you, but I truly hope consumers will start to send toy companies a clear message about the deteriorating quality and creativity in toys or these current standards will become the new normal I fear. I feel a little sad to see the market accept whatever is thrown at them because of the brand name and/or the success of entertainment tie-in. Rant over

[Chelly]

These are based purely on the toys themselves and not any media related to them! 

G1: I used to see people with huge MLP collections on tumblr back in 2011 and I just fell in love. They're beautiful! So many poses, color schemes and interesting gimmicks! I would browse ebay for hours looking at all the G1's I wanted to buy someday haha.

G3: These are the ponies I remember seeing in stores when I was younger! I don't think I ever had any since I was a bit 'too old' (in my mind) at the time lol. But now I have quite a few of them that I've rescued from thrift stores or cheap lots online. I really love the colors and aesthetics of these ones! They're also relatively cheap!

G2/G4: G2, I think they are precious! They all give me magical unicorn vibes haha. I was honestly shocked at how many people dislike or are indifferent to them, but they are quite different from G1 so I feel that probably has something to do with it!
G4, I know I said I was only basing this off the toys, but FiM is what got me into MLP as a whole, so I am a teensy bit biased lol. The toys aren't my favorite (How many times can you use the same pose and remake the mane 6?) but there are some really cute designs! Blossomforth, Dewdrop Dazzle, Lulu Luck etc. But I wish the toys were bigger and had different poses.

G3.5/4.5: 3.5 Look like deformed babies, I don't like them at all lol. 4.5, they look kinda like cats? The molded figures look okay, but the brushables are horrid 

G5: These are so disappointing! I loved the movie and thought it was adorable, but the toys...They look so bizarre and un-ponylike. I really hope they update the toys, as I do really like the characters 

[SunPony]

I don't think I'm rock-solid on this order but here goes. I'm going to include the visuals of the associated media/art but not the actual storylines, characterizations, etc, if that makes sense.

G1: Nostalgia, nice variety, I like the way the ponies look, great accessories, good size, etc.
G3: Again I like the way the ponies look as toys and in the art, nice variety, great size imo, but the playsets and accessories were more meh to me.
G2 and 5: I can't really decide how to rank these. I feel like G2 could have been so much better if they hadn't done so many weird gimmicks like the removable tails, weirdly long moving necks, clamp-on wings, etc. But I really like the shape of the G2 pony bodies, with the little hooves and more horse-like legs.  Which leads me to G5 - I mostly like the way the ponies look, I love their legs, although I wish their heads were "horsier."  Both of these gens, I think, would have benefited from heads that were closer to the original.  I like the larger G5 brushables, but the small ones are just sooo small and thin. I do like how the ponies look in the 3D art!
G4: Don't really like the way the ponies look as toys or in the art, not much variety of poses - although the "reboot" toys do have some great poses, and I do really love some of the color schemes/symbols.
G3.5 and Pony Life/G4.5: Do not want.

[Queen Sophie]

I did a ranking generations awhile ago mostly based on toys, media, shows, and so on!
Best to worst

1st G1: While I didn’t grow up in the 80’s I fell in love with the toys when looking up the history of mlp! So many poses, gimmicks, fun backstories, the art, comics, and so much more! The hair is the best quality ever! As a horse person it’s somehow not too, too far off from real horse hair (but obviously at the same time you can still feel the difference) Hasbro doesn’t make it like that anymore! Haha, the show wasn’t bad, I liked Rescue from Midnight Castle and the style of the ponies. I’m too focused on the toys than show and this is the generation where it’s nirvana had the most unique toy ever, the Japanese Takara ponies! While I like the fantasy type stuff I also like fashion stuff like Takara did! I would always look and check on all the shopping sites and even some Japanese ones then one day after having a bad day, I found Milky on buyyee, I only paid $700 for her and I’m just SO HAPPY to have her! I wouldn’t mind getting another Takara pony again! One of the many I love collecting ponies is the rewarding of getting a rare pony and this generation has the most rare ponies!

2nd G3: The generation I grew up with and that’s mainly with the toys since I never watched the specials as a kid and before the brony days while small, it did have its corner of the internet of fans and charm I wish I could go back to! The toys are beautiful and the art I just LOVE! It’s so gorgeous! While it didn’t have the most creative gimmicks, the glittery body, detailed cutie marks, magnet hooves, and for me nostalgia made up for it! I remember smelling the scent it came with! The shows were meh (with the exception of A Very Minty Christmas) but hey it’s not meant for me cause I’m an adult, so kiddos would love it but I’m more into the background art and the style of the ponies! It did have its own charm and I also like the comic con pony design so the fans did get a little something and while not as popular as g1 and g4, it’s more successful than bronies think (I use bronies loosely I know they aren’t all rabid fans)
More about the toys than the show, I am still waiting for the day hasbro reference g3 ponies in g5! So far a few small Easter eggs but the biggest one is our girl Minty as a toy!

2nd G4: No this isn’t a typo, to me g3 and g4 got a tie! The show is my tween/teen years watching it and loved the fantasy style of it! When I first saw g4 ponies I was like, “That’s what they look like? Their muzzles are weird that’s not how horses work!” I kept seeing people everywhere talk about it, I gave it a look and I loved it! The figurines were amazing, t shirts, and while I don’t like the basic mare muzzle, (or just a regular pony cause I’m not a fan of simple designs) I do find the alicorns beautiful! (Especially Luna!) As great and coming from a g3 fan, this the best generation ever but I can’t say the same for the toys, I don’t like them, they are cheap, boring, almost always a simple/same pose, and have no personality. The hair quality is just bad! Ahh! The small non brushables collectibles where just lazy molded recolors. While they did have more gimmicks than g3 but the execution of it wasn’t good either. The reboot of toys didn’t get any better, they were even cheaper and more weird looking! Those big round heads! The only good thing about is more poses but that’s it. While I do have some g4 ponies in my collection either because it came in a bundle online or flea market or I got it as a gift, so I don’t entirely not like them, just not my first choice. As much I as prefer toys over show, I’ll stay with show for g4! (Though didn’t appreciate the g3 bashing they did in the show and now it’s hard for me to watch it but oh well toy ponies will keep me entertained) EQG did the same sadly and even on g1 but on the topic of equestria girls the movies and specials were nice or not good but I came here for ponies which is why I don’t have any EQG dolls expect one and I can’t say much on whether it’s good or bad quality because I don’t collect human dolls!

3rd G2: Me and my sister grew up with the pc game but the funny thing is when we replayed it, I remembered the music and the cake making part but oddly not the ponies! I wish it was successful but being in America and an early 2000’s child me and my sister never had any g2 ponies except the pc game. While I find ponies like Sliver Swirl beautiful and the gem eyes I really like, I just wish the cutie marks weren’t simple, nothing wrong with having simple from time to time but it doesn’t become fun when it doesn’t have a lot. I also wondered the unicorns that came with wings, were they considered to the the first toy to have an alicorn? (I say toy because in g1 mlp tales that’s when we had our first alicorn but not in toy form) also there’s Princess Twinkle Star, while her wings magically appear but is she considered to be a pegasus? I know in the comics Wingsong was but not in toy form and I wish they made a pegasus mold.

4th G3.5: Now can’t expect much what I like to call, “a mini generation” a lot and that’s when the toys started to go down hill by getting lazier, the faces aren’t the cutest, but I’ll be honest, I prefer a g3.5 pony toy over a g4 pony toy! Not counting newborn cuties since it looks like they don’t have fun hair to mess with but hey, if the kids like it then that’s all that matters! I’m not the target audience! In the shows nothing really happens and unpopular opinion, I don’t think Twinkle Wish Star was that bad, I find it a bit more interesting than a few of the g3 specials.

5th G4.5: This ranked to be my least favorite generation, first off is the style, the bean mouth style is really not my style at all! While the show was ok to watch, it’s good if you want to watch something not so story serious and your favorite ponies just happily living their lives, but the toys are weird, still not my style the way it looks, no chins, look more like cats but they did get more creative on whose eyelashes would look different and the color gradient eyes are nice and at least from what I noticed and this might surprise a lot of people the hair quality surprisingly got better? At least in my experience I may not be seeing all of it not as good as g1-g3’s hair quality but better than g4’s from my experience! But the toys are always in the same simple pose and there are some non brushables that are down right lazy! This generation’s style was just craziness and exploding, at least with g3.5 it had same of it’s own personality and a bit of charm. But again, it’s a mini generation so can’t expect much from it.

G5: Doesn’t have a rank yet since it just started but what I think so far in the very beginning we had a good start on the movie and toys but nowadays Make Your Mark wasn’t good, Tell your Tale isn’t horrible but it’s the best either. It’s a mix of g3 and g4 content, while simple plot and conclusion but still has potential to be good if made longer, that being said since it’s only five minutes per episode so I’ll cut them some slack. Now for the toys, they haven’t been appearing a lot more lately, which makes me sad because I find the quality (especially the hair!) to be an improvement from g4! (Not counting the unicorn party thing whatever it’s called, those aren’t that good and my cat keeps knocking them down lol) Though still in the simple pose which I don’t like (with the expectation of the moveable ones) The molded hair I’m ok with but brushable hair especially a background pony I can style how I like and there doesn’t seem to be enough of them and I wish the boys would have brushables hair. Speaking of which where the heck is Hitch!? The Walmart exclusive Rockin Ranger Hitch! He never came to my Walmart and he’s not being sold anywhere else! Expect in Brazil which is interesting. So far I hope this generation picks back up.

[starscout]

G3>G1>G2>G5>G4
I might explain why I place them this way later, but for now, I've got a throbbing headache.

[Leave a Whisper]

G3>G1>G2>G5>G4
I might explain why I place them this way later, but for now, I've got a throbbing headache.

Feel better soon

[LadyAmalthea]

G1--always and forever! They are what I grew up with. Nothing like a soft, squishy, chonky pony that fits right and feels right in your hand and has the perfect quality hair for brushing and playing with.

G3--kinda fun...went through a phase where I acquired a bunch, but as I scale my collection back, I'll probably sell most of 'em because they don't hold any real nostalgia for me.

G2--they are weird. Some of the gimmicks are downright baffling. But I have one-Prince Clever Clover, who I found for 50 cents at a garage sale, and I really like him. Not seeking any more out, though.

G4--just tired of these. Same ole' characters over and over, same ole' pose. I had to inwardly groan when they were being given out as party favors at my niece's birthday that my kids went to recently...MORE of these? And of course they picked the 3 characters I despise the most...c'mon, someone at least get Applejack! (Actually, I ended up finding Applejack in my purse later, so my sister must have snuck her in there as a joke!)

G5--nope.

G3.5--nice hair, but otherwise hideous.

G4.5--nope, nope, and nope, with some more nope sauce on top.

[Kitcatepic]

What gen I like more depends on whether your referring to the toy line or the show

G1: probably has the best toy line hundreds of different characters good designs for the most part and does the best job with boy ponies (there's still way to little but its better then the other gens) the show is fun to watch but its not really anything special

G2 (show): they got rid of any hint of fantasy so I will never really like it

G2 (toys): the molds are cute and they have some pretty good designs the only reason I have not gotten into these yet is because they were not very popular some of the nicer ones can be pretty hard to find

g3: I don't really like the toys they are just g1 but less charming to me they do have cute designs but a lot of them are the same pink or very light purple and there's so many of them that have that same color I'm kinda sick of looking at it I love the pegasi the show. . . it doesn't really have a show just a lot of specials I like the style of them and I really like runaway rainbow but once again too much pink

G3.5: just no

G4: the very early g4 toy line was kinda good but all the ponies had the same boring pose but there were some cute side characters but then they started phasing the side characters out and making any release of a non mane six character very rare the quality also dropped then they redid the molds and made the heads huge but they did fix the fact that all the ponies had the same pose they also made way too many spin offs to the point that when I was younger I could not tell what the main toy line was the show was the best out of all the generations but the toys were kinda a mess

G4.5 the show is dumb the toys are ok-ish some people say they look like cats and maybe that's why I'm ok with them because I'm A cat person

G5: the toys are mediocre I don't like the fact that some of them have molded mains and tails and that for some reason they never give hitch the regular hair when they do make ponies with the normal manes and if I just judge it by what the released so far they have the same issue as g4 where they only release the main characters as toys
The movie was really good but make your mark was a mess and tell your tale was mediocre I also don't like that they are spilting the show into different shows on different platforms its a confusing mess

[starscout]

Feel better soon

Thanks! I took a 7-hour "nap," and I feel mostly better now lol

G3>G1>G2>G5>G4
I might explain why I place them this way later, but for now, I've got a throbbing headache.

G3: Definitely biased because these are the toys I grew up with, and they have a special place in my heart. Still, I love the style. They're the perfect mix between looking more chubby and horsey, like G1, but also prettied-up, doll-like and stylized. Their colors are so gorgeous and vibrant, with fun themes and designs. They're just so gorgeous and fun, and it's what I think of when I think "My Little Pony." I don't have them anymore, but I remember loving the playsets for this gen, especially the hot air balloon. I just wish G3's Core 7 era didn't start the whole rereleasing the same handful of characters over and over again thing. The characters don't have a whole lot going for them personality-wise, but I still love them just the same.

G1: I didn't have any G1 toys as a kid, but I did have several G1 DVDs, so I grew up with the G1 cartoons. I always loved the characters, and I really liked Megan. What I love most about G1 is the variety. Plenty of species, poses, gimmicks, etc. I think the playsets rival G3's neck-to-neck. Although I think G3 in general had better designs, I love the designs of the G1 ponies as well. I think that G1 had the best personalities, based on both the cartoons and the backcards.

G2: G2 is super underrated, and I think that, had this gen lasted longer and was more successful, we would have gotten much more variety. Unfortunately, we didn't, so I think the lack of variety is easily the worst drawback of G2. That, and some of the gimmicks were strange and makes customization awkward. Aaand the symbols are unfortunately too lacking. But, besides that, I absolutely love G2. The style is absolutely beautiful. Sure, maybe they had more "supermodel" proportions compared to the other early gens, but they also looked the most like actual horses. They have hooves!!! The designs of the G2 ponies we got are all absolutely gorgeous. The eye gems are a good touch, and I really like how both female and male ponies used the same mold.

G5: I think it's still too early to really definitively rank G5, but from what we've got, I do like it for the most part. I own a couple of the large brushables, and they're excellent. They're very pretty, and their hair is incredible! I wish they had a bit more detail to them such as colored hooves and fetlocks, and I'm not a huge fan of the weird sticker eyes. For the style, I think the toys are fine, nothing more and nothing less. But it works great for the movie! Though, I just really wish we had unicorns with cloven hooves and lion tails, and pegasus ponies with feathered fetlocks like in the concept art. Such a missed opportunity. There are two big drawbacks to this gen. First off, it seems that they're focusing on completely molded figures as opposed to the brushables. As I've said before, to an extent, I do blame Bronies for this (I'll get into that in the G4 section), but I also think it is because that's just what kids prefer now. There will always be a market for brushables, but it seems that more and more toys have molded hair and even clothes. And kids seem to like it. My little sister loves both G4 and G5, but she usually chooses the molded figures over the brushables. It would be unfair of me to say G5's molded figures are bad. Not at all; They're great for what they are. They come with cool little accessories and they have impressive articulation. They're just not my cup of tea. The second issue I have with G5 is the lack of characters. In this regards, I thought G4 had hit rock bottom, but G5 somehow dug a well and all we have are the same 4 (5 if they're feeling generous) ponies over and over and over and over again. Which totally sucks, especially because a lot of the ponies in the movie/shows are stunning! If we end up getting a brushable Jazz or G5 Posey, I am going to be so heartbroken! That being said, I do like the characters we have. They have fun and unique personalities and designs. I think it goes without saying, but I really love Sunny!

G4: The biggest positive about G4 is easily the show. I love Friendship is Magic. It's fun and charming. The toys, not so much. I hate the style for the toys. It works for the show, but it makes the stock art boring and the toys pretty ugly. They don't look remotely like ponies. The unicorns' horns are also so weirdly small. The fact that they all use the same mold is super lame. The "reboot" era fixed this, but they also somehow made them even uglier. Might be an unpopular opinion, but I think even the G3.5 style had more charm. I feel like G4 was also pretty lacking design-wise. This wasn't much of an issue early on with lovely characters such as Star Swirl and Feathermay (EASILY the best design imo). And I mean, they did have non-show character releases, but to a far lesser extent than before, especially compared to G1 and G3. It's also just extra disappointing when a lot of the characters that were being constantly rereleased had pretty boring designs. Not all of them, mind you, but a good half of the mane 6 are unappealing to me. Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight are cute, but I could care less about this gen's versions of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Again, they work well for the show, but not as well for the toys. Personality wise, G4's characters are very hit-or-miss. For example, I adore Rarity to death, but I cannot stand Fluttershy. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are precious, but Scootaloo is annoying to me. Finally, there's the issue with the molded figures. As I said earlier, I absolutely believe Bronies are atleast partially at fault for the increase in molded figures over brushables. This isn't coming from a place of animosity towards Bronies, but because I was there (I never considered myself a Brony but I did participate in the community some from about 2011-2013), and I definitely remember a lot of guys, who previously had no interest in MLP, complaining about how the brushables were too off-model and that they didn't know how to style doll hair. I don't blame Hasbro for listening. They're a corporation, they're going to go with whatever is profitable. As I said before, molded ponies just aren't really my thing. I don't really like the earlier molded figures, but they did get better towards the end of G4. Even I like some of them. I like the blind bags, and I LOVE Pop Mart's Natural and Leisure Afternoon series!

[Loa]

I, like SpacePinto and Taffeta, am going to be brief.

G1
G3
G2

Anything newer than this I do not spend time on.

[Moonbreeze]

G2 - they have actual knees and hooves lol. Jokes aside, my childhood gen. and I love the Kitchen playset to pieces <3 They had some great accessories and colours. I wish they were more popular in the US too (instead of only being limited to Europe).
G1 - el classico
G3 - looks close to el classico
G4 - eh, some are cute. But I really didn't like show after a while and the lack of anything outside of the mane 6 was very tedious
G5 - will save me money. I like their body and yay feathered feet. But I can not get over the flat face and to me it looks even cheaper than G4 (didn't see the show though, so no thoughts on that)
G3.5 - this was a thing
G4.5 - this was also a thing xD

*edit because I changed my mind sliiightly

[Carrehz]

G2 (show): they got rid of any hint of fantasy so I will never really like it

There isn't a G2 show - if you mean Tales, that's still G1.

[LadyMoondancer]

The unicorns' horns are also so weirdly small.

OMG yes.  I'm so mystified by that.  The adult unicorns had the same horn length as the baby unicorns.

g3:
they do have cute designs but a lot of them are the same pink or very light purple and there's so many of them that have that same color I'm kinda sick of looking at it

Yeah, I remember this being especially noticeable with the Crystal Princess line.  There were a bunch of pink-purple-white ponies in various mane / body combos.  Any of which would have been fine on their own but all together, coming out the same year, they were repetitive. (Butterfly Island was one of my favorite G3 years because it had bolder colors and more original symbols.)

[Leave a Whisper]

G1
G3
G2

That's it. I'm not even going to give G4 and G5 a spot. G4 did have some nice collectibles, but overall, that's the gen that rang in the decline of the brand. I'm torn on the fact that some people do rank G5 quite high - to each their own of course, if you enjoy the new gen then more power to you, but I truly hope consumers will start to send toy companies a clear message about the deteriorating quality and creativity in toys or these current standards will become the new normal I fear. I feel a little sad to see the market accept whatever is thrown at them because of the brand name and/or the success of entertainment tie-in. Rant over

I didn't see anyone ranking the new gen that highly, everyone seemed to have ranked it either in the middle or lower.