What's Your Favourite and Least Favourite Thing/s About Each Generation?

[SunPony]

I'm just going to stick with the main generations here for now:
G1: Love the playsets, the variety of poses, and variety of kinds of ponies.  Don't like some of the more gimmicky gimmicks and the metal washers.
G2: Love the feathered legs/visible hooves, and some of the accessory sets are awesome. Don't love the poses or that they don't "look" like my little ponies, especially the heads.
G3: Love the size and shape of the ponies, and again the variety of poses. Don't like that they have symbols on only one side, and the severe lack of unicorns.
G4: Love the fact that the ponies in the show had different hairstyles, and boy ponies returned.  Don't like the lack of variety of poses or the extra large eyes/tiny mouth combo.
G5: Love the feathered legs/visible hooves again, and the wings on the pegasi look great.  And yeah, more boy ponies!  Don't like the skinny solid body, flattish face, and lack of poses. I just want them to MAKE A POSE.  Literally ANY additional pose. Those long legs are BEGGING TO BE POSED.

[ponyproblem]

G1:
Love the quality and variety of poses, TAF ponies and moulded designs on the MGR ponies. new to cleaning ponies and G1s are proving themselves to be the easiest.
I don't like some of the poses or molds. I think the flutter ponies faces and short necks and long legs are very ugly.

G2:
I love the colours and the playsets! I am heavily biased because I grew up with them but they are my favourite.
I wish they had pegasi and more poses. I also don't like the magic motion ponies with the long ball joint necks!

G3: I like the colours on some of them. I'm not a fan of G3 but it is very clear that they are from the early 2000s from the designs of the cutie marks and the colours. I like the vibe they have!
I don't like the stubby wings, the excessively glittery and pearlescent and pink designs. I think the eyes are too big for the faces and make them look less cute than the G1s. I wish I could like them more but I just do not like the way they look.

G4: I like that they are small and cute! Smaller ponies means I can have more space to collect more. There is more variety in the colours for the mane 6.
I wish we had more poses. I am not a fan of the reboot style, but having more poses like those on the original designs would have been really fun!

G4.5: Some of them are very sweet! I love the cadence with molded hair.
I don't like that they have pointy cat ears. They are cute in a way, but I dont really want to collect them. If I found one second hand in person for a low price I would buy it though.

G5: I love the wings! The 6" Twilight and Sunny look amazing and I can't wait until they are available in the UK!
I don't like the poses all being the same and that the only set with accurate coloured details has detachable cutie marks. They have a bobble-head look because of their skinny bodies and round heads too, which does not look good on some of them.

[Featherwurm]

Some controversial opinions here:

G1:
Love the style, variety, size, quality, nostalgia, and overall cuteness.
Hate the current trend of re-releasing everything from 'your childhood' as some sort of nostalgia bait merchandising.

G2:
Love the accessories, colors, and gimicks
Hate the limited availability and general misunderstanding of the generation (no MLP Tales isn't G2 fer goodness sake).

G3:
Love the COLORS, style, designs, and general throwback to G1 for sensibilities.
Hate that this is starting to feel like the last generation aimed at a simpler childhood (it's complicated and while there's been licensed merch for all gens, this is the last one before it really starts to feel overbearing to me.)

G3.5:
Love the hair.
Hate the design.

G4:
Love the show.
Hate the rather small, repetitive, lackluster toys that suffer increasingly bad QC.

G4.5:
Love seeing more variety in the poses and ponies.
Hate that it's all Main6 driven.

Pony Life:
Yeah, no.

G5:
Love the articulation.
Hate that the gen has moved almost entirely away from designs that look like horses, are a decent sized toy, have brush-able hair, and reflect freely imaginative (rather than license-driven) play for children.

Bonus Funkos:
Love the idea of more high-end collectables.
Hate that Funko can't produce that sort of thing to save their lives.

[sweetstuff85]

G1 -

Fave: Probably the variety of pony types and the TV specials and Movie. 

Least Fave: Fading Pink Hair/ Delicate pieces (flutter Wings) and Flocking loss/symbol sparkle loss

G3 -

Fave - The hoof heart and all the interactions they have with the playsets.

Least Fave: Lack of variety of pony types. We barely had any unicorns, babies or Pegasus ponies. The only other types I can think of are breezies or the ponies with huge wings. G3 was missing a little bit of the “magic” that G1 had in the beginning. G3 was a little more like My Little Pony Tales, (ponies in a village doing human things) they did try to change that by year 3/4 and make it more fantastical which I appreciated.

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

G1:

Favorite: The variety! So many different ponies, fun gimmicks, the balance between the three main types of ponies is great. My favorite generation!

Least favorite: Some flaws these can get largely seem like huge oversights on Hasbro's part. As sweetstuff85 just points out above, things like flutter pony wings being so fragile. Also including metal inside of ponies intended to be bath toys (the adult sea ponies) is another strange decision to me. While fading pink can be annoying, I can see why that wouldn't have been something Hasbro would have thought about at the time (though I do question their use of it more in G2 onward, surely they would have known by then?).

G2:

Favorite: The gem eyes are really cute! There's also a lot of cute color schemes in this generation!

Least favorite: There are actually a couple things that bug me with this generation I want to point out. First obviously is the fact that it ended after just one year in the US, making them very hard to find here. I wish they were easier for me to get my hands on. But besides that, the balance between pony types here was not great. Much too Earth pony centered, with only a few unicorns and no pegasi if we don't include the clip on wings some unicorns came with.

G3:

Favorite: Fun, often bright and bold colors. Pretty good variety for the majority of the generation's run. Pony type balance wasn't quite as strong as in G1, but it was a lot better than in G2's. Also this generation has my favorite pegasus wings.

Least favorite: The Core 7 era. G3 was before my time collecting but I still feel like MLP hasn't been quite as exciting as it once was once the Core 7 era began. Ever since Hasbro has really seemed to latch onto the idea of MLP needing to have a core cast and I really think it doesn't, even though it's always been the case through my time collecting.

G3.5:

Favorite: The quality of these ponies is really good, they're very well made and durable, just like the main G3 ponies. I also think it's cute how there's varying heights between different characters. It's such a small detail but it's really neat to see how some ponies are taller than others (besides the obvious like Sweetie Belle being the shortest).

Least favorite: Core 7 again. :/

G4:

Favorite: Though I do generally prefer ponies be a bit bigger, the small size of G4s makes them more space efficient. I also definitely have a soft spot for this generation simply due to it being what got me into MLP in the first space (through FiM).

Least favorite: Mane 6. While not as bad as the Core 7 era of G3 due to the Mane 6 not being practically all we got, the toyline was still over saturated with Mane 6 releases. Also the quality of these got pretty bad in the later years.

G4.5 (Pony Life):

Favorite: The hair quality seemed to increase a lot from late G4 with these. At least the 4.5s I have seem to have pretty good hair. Also I think it's cool that the necks are jointed.

Least Favorite: Still focused on the Mane 6 of course....

G5:

Favorite: The hooves are really cute! They look a little more horsey due to these, despite the still not very horse-like faces (but really ever since G3.5 they haven't looked like horses lol).

Least favorite: The poor distribution and moving away from brushables as the focus, to the point where boy brushables only have brushable tails but have molded manes. Also the body type of the G5s makes the normal sized bruhables feel even smaller than G4s somehow. I don't think they actually are (I don't own any, all my G5s so far are styling size brushables), but they feel tiny to me.

[Carrehz]

While fading pink can be annoying, I can see why that wouldn't have been something Hasbro would have thought about at the time (though I do question their use of it more in G2 onward, surely they would have known by then?).

What bugs me is that they were still using fading pink hair in G3!!! I could see them not realizing there'd be a problem by G2... but I find it hard to believe NO ONE at Hasbro had heard/read about it fading by G3! I know that anything can/will fade in sunlight and there's only so much they can do, but fading pink hair is so notorious, you'd think they'd have dropped it by 2003.

I agree with you about G5s "feeling" smaller (I don't know if they actually are, I don't own any regular G5s either). For some reason they really do look much more compact than G4s, I don't know why...

[starscout]

Huh, I coulda sworn I already replied to this thread. Well, anyways

G1

• Favorite: Definitely the wide variety. We got Earth, pegasus, unicorns, sea ponies, non-ponies, different body types, fun gimmicks, etc.
• Least Favorite: That's a toughie... can't really think of anything in particular I dislike about G1. I mean, I'm with everyone else in that I don't like that they don't exactly age gracefully, but that's sorta par for the course.

G2

• Favorite: G2 had such a great style. They managed to have a perfect balance between being horsey-like and doll-like. Plus, hoofies!!
• Least Favorite: Really don't like how boring their symbols are. Also, some of the gimmicks are weird.

G3

• Favorite: BEST GEN!!! By far my favorite thing about this generation is just how vibrant and colorful they all are. The symbols looked absolutely gorgeous, too.
• Least Favorite: Newborn cuties... Nothing. G3 is perfect.

G4

• Favorite: The show was nice. A lot of the molded figures, such as the Pop Mart ones, are cute.
• Least Favorite: The brushables were very lacking in variety. Also, that hair quality is absolutely atrocious. Also, sorry to be mean, but... they just look weird to me. 

G5

• Favorite: SUNNY, MY LOVE!!!!!  Also, I actually really like G5's style. Reminds me a lot of G2. Plus, we've got hooves again!
• Least Favorite: Similar issue with G4 in that there's a lack of variety. Also, I wish they put more details into the toys so that they look more on-model, such as giving them colored hooves, making Izzy's horn more crystal-like, or painting on Sunny's/Hitch's/Pipp's markings.

[Leave a Whisper]

@ Starscout

[SunbeamV]

G1
favourite: they're so big and squishy! they feel very satisfying to hold/play with
least favourite: i keep mine in a cabinet to protect them from extra damage and myself from mold spores/lead/arsenic (iirc someone tested some G1s and the yellow dyes have a ton of arsenic 🥲) so i feel like i dont get to actually enjoy them very much

G2
favourite: the eye gems! it makes them really stand out in a collection; they look so lively!
least favourite: i find building my collection rather difficult/frustrating sometimes because their run was so limited in north america

G3
favourite: the variety in designs & that pearly plastic they used for so many of them! it makes me very nostalgic
least favourite: seeing my own childhood ponies start to break down from age has been an extraordinarily difficult process. i recently actually cried when my g3 secret wish started to turn orange & the glitter inside the plastic started to dissolve and disappear. they make me feel very old and fragile sometimes. i know thats kind of abstract but...

G3.5
favourite: they seem like amazing quality! thick, smooth hair and very durable
least favourite: the weird potato toddler aesthetic

G4
favourite: different eye shapes!!
least favourite: 10 years was way too long to keep recycling the same 10 characters :/

G4 movie redesign
favourite: the poses were so expressive and lively!
least favourite: ough. the hair quality

G4.5
favourite: the hair quality was sooo much better. for a brief moment in time
least favourite: they look more like cats with massive overbites than horses 0_o

G5
favourite: i think they managed to find the joyful essence of mlp toys again. i'm 27 years old and i find myself wanting to play play with them!
least favourite: the quality and overall... functionality as a toyline is so bad. i've broken accessories straight out of the box just trying to put them together. their hair feels like its going to decompose and fall out by next week. the function of accessories isnt very intuitive at all- i'm a whole adult and i cant even figure out what some of these things are/how they work/attach, let alone a small child? they almost feel like theyre meant to be disposable and i think kids deserve better quality toys

[Leave a Whisper]

G1
favourite: they're so big and squishy! they feel very satisfying to hold/play with
least favourite: i keep mine in a cabinet to protect them from extra damage and myself from mold spores/lead/arsenic (iirc someone tested some G1s and the yellow dyes have a ton of arsenic 🥲) so i feel like i dont get to actually enjoy them very much

G2
favourite: the eye gems! it makes them really stand out in a collection; they look so lively!
least favourite: i find building my collection rather difficult/frustrating sometimes because their run was so limited in north america

G3
favourite: the variety in designs & that pearly plastic they used for so many of them! it makes me very nostalgic
least favourite: seeing my own childhood ponies start to break down from age has been an extraordinarily difficult process. i recently actually cried when my g3 secret wish started to turn orange & the glitter inside the plastic started to dissolve and disappear. they make me feel very old and fragile sometimes. i know thats kind of abstract but...

G3.5
favourite: they seem like amazing quality! thick, smooth hair and very durable
least favourite: the weird potato toddler aesthetic

G4
favourite: different eye shapes!!
least favourite: 10 years was way too long to keep recycling the same 10 characters :/

G4 movie redesign
favourite: the poses were so expressive and lively!
least favourite: ough. the hair quality

G4.5
favourite: the hair quality was sooo much better. for a brief moment in time
least favourite: they look more like cats with massive overbites than horses 0_o

G5
favourite: i think they managed to find the joyful essence of mlp toys again. i'm 27 years old and i find myself wanting to play play with them!
least favourite: the quality and overall... functionality as a toyline is so bad. i've broken accessories straight out of the box just trying to put them together. their hair feels like its going to decompose and fall out by next week. the function of accessories isnt very intuitive at all- i'm a whole adult and i cant even figure out what some of these things are/how they work/attach, let alone a small child? they almost feel like theyre meant to be disposable and i think kids deserve better quality toys

 

[Flitter]

G1
Awesome themes
but I prefer smaller size, and their eye sculpting isn't my fav

G2:
They look so sweet
but also a bit dull

G3:
Great variety and bright colors
but I don't like the cartoon outline style of the symbols

G4:
Cutest toys
but went weird with designs later in the line, printed on accessories

G5:
Most adorable animation style
but the toys don't reflect that at all imo and look very awkward to me

[MJNSEIFER]

Please Note: Although I acknowledge that My Little Pony is a toyline first and that I view all medias involved to be true My Little Pony, this will likely give the most focus on the cartoons, but this will not always be the case (especially with G2 for obvious reasons.)

Favorite Thing(s) About G1: The toyline has a childhood nostalgia feel to it, and looks like it would have been awesome to grow up collecting and playing with the toys (even though I did neither.)

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G1: As much as I like the G1 cartoon, I didn't really care about or even like some of the non-pony characters (Megan was alright, but they messed up slightly by having her look after the ponies in their own world at times.)  I don't really like how most of the younger ponies were just younger clones on the adults with "baby" in front of their names.

Favorite Thing(s) About G2: Sun Sparkle! (a.k.a. Sundance) - I love her design and canon character (and sorry to say this here, but I'd love to write an episode for her.)  I love the design of various G2 characters, including the rest of the core ponies.

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G2: They got pretty lazy with the names of the ponies at times (e.g. "Miss Teacher".)

Favorite Thing(s) About G3: How everything about it is is beautiful, in my opinion - the toys, the animation, the artstyle, the music, the voice acting... there's a reason I call G3 "The Beautiful Generation".

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G3: Um... that there are people who hate it?  Seriously, this is difficult, as not only is G3 my favorite generation, it's also as close to perfection that MLP has ever gotten, in my opinion.  I guess it's a shame that it only had movies and mini-movies rather than at least one season?

Favorite Thing(s) About G3.5: It had my favorite My Little Pony cartoon theme song.  "Twinkle Wish Adventure" is adorable and heartwarming, in my opinion.  The ponies in general are adorable, in my opinion.  ^_^

Least Favorite Things About G3.5: From a toyline standpoint, releasing nothing but the same seven ponies made no sense.  I like the Core 7 as characters, but it made no sense to reduce the toyline (and the show to some extent) to just them.

Favorite Thing(s) About G4: That it feels like something I could have watched as a child (though pretty much all generations feel like that, to me.)  How (at least in the earlier seasons) it feels like a combination of the previous generations with its own flair, in my personal opinion.

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G4: It got really "Lighter and Softer" around Season 4, even for a children's show, like it was afraid to put the Little Ponies in any form of danger, compared to the earlier seasons, and the earlier generations.  The Little Ponies were given weird facial expressions which took me out of the show.  The story-telling aspect became more random and contradictory during the later seasons (like it contradicted the "lore", if you like, of the earlier seasons.)

Favorite Thing(s) About G4.5: It has an adorable artstyle, in my opinion.  It does so well at having more than you might expect in what seems like a simplistic artstyle - it really makes the most of the animation it has, and gives a lot of detail for such a minimalist looking show, the episodes are short, but entertaining enough that I can never stop at just one, and the show manages to still be story driven, despite it's short episodes.  It is the animated equivalent of "Good Things Come in Small Packages".

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G4.5: It ended too soon.  I get that it was just paving the way for G5, but I would have loved Pony Life to have kept going, even during G5, even though I get that MLP doesn't work like that... at least there's fanon.

Favorite Thing(s) About G5: For both of these, it's pretty early, but... It looks beautiful, IMO.  It still feels like something I could have watched as a child, like the majority, if not all, of MLP does.  It is keeping the idea of being story driven, which I find nostalgic (I like both story driven and standalone, but the former connects to how I was as a child more.) It still feels like My Little Pony.

Least Favorite Thing(s) About G5: I don't like how tail-ribbons are further away from the pony now.  While I don't feel it's "piggybacking on G4" at all (like some do), I have mixed feelings about G5 being in the same continuity as G4, even though I don't mind ultimately that it is (it's set too far away to matter anyway, at the end of the day) - I just feel that connecting generations should be a fanon thing, i.e. the generations are connected if you want them to be (but they're not if you don't.)