In order which generation feels most like my little pony to you?

[Queen Sophie]

Title says it all, from most to least which gen feels like my little pony to you, it can be as simple as 1,2,3 or 1,1,2,3 if you have a tie, here’s mine,

1. G1
1. G3
I grew up with g3 toys and it’s what started to give me that Mlp feeling and when I looked into g1 it also felt like Mlp to me! I don’t know exactly what it is that makes me feel this way about them, I guess cause they look like horses, some lighthearted stuff, and the jingle

2. G3.5
Not much to say here, I saw it a little bit of ads of it and thought cool it’s my little pony

3. G2
3. G4
G2 I have very little memories of this and I only played the pc game as a kid I remember some things from it but for some reason not the ponies and when looking up Mlp history I was surprised that these existed and as for g4 maybe because they looked different from the g3 face I’m used to and then changed into something different because when I first saw g4 I was wondering why their heads were shaped kinda weird and while the stories are great it kinda didn’t feel like Mlp to me but it did sometimes a little bit

4. G5
Don’t know what to say here, other than it’s a little bit the same with g4 but feels less like mlp

5. G4.5
Pony Life felt like it’s own thing and the toys looked more like cats than horses

[Leave a Whisper]

From most to least:

G1-They're horse like. I'm horse crazy. They're full of variety and chunky and have lovely hair. They weren't afraid to experiment with species, poses, colors,  ages, and sets.

G3-Very much like G1, except less variety and number of species. Oddly enough, the breezies outnumber the unicorns. Very beautiful and has tons of beautiful color combos and far more detailed symbols.

Mishmash-The crossover ponies added more variety to what would have otherwise been 2 G1s +Mane Six. Unusual color schemes, wish they had put the eyes in the correct place. Wish they'd added some unicorns and pegasus to the crossover ponies. Pink Ranger would have benefitted from being a pegasus since Kimberly 's zord is a pterodactyl. At least one of the DnD Ponies should have been a unicorn. Hasbro’s last attempt of what a pony ought to look like I suppose. Wish they'd just used these moulds for G5. Bah!

G5-Not as horsey. The variety so far is blah blah boring. That's embarrassing for a toy brand several years into its latest incarnation. They've grown on me, starting to like them and they make good custom baits. I'm excited bout that because I'm too chicken to rehair a mane.

G2-Species is sadly lacking. It's a gazillion earth ponies, 3 unicorns,  and ponies with clip-on wings. The poses and unfinished faces threw me for a while, as they don't even look like SHS or Flutter Ponies. The one I have is cute and vibrant though. I like her.

G4-Mane Six Suxx. Everything new was mostly relegated to blind bags with a few exceptions. They look like over bred chihuahuas with those overly round heads, massive eyes, and big ears. I have some, but I'll forever resent it. It ground the spirit out of the brand with lazy, low quality greed and obnoxious, obsessive copy pasting.

[Snapdragon]

Very fun idea for a topic! It'll be interesting to see the breakdown in the age ranges too, I wonder how pony-ish G1 feels for the folks who didn't grow up with it, for example!

Here's my list -

G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G4.5
Tales
G3.5

Okay, I know this isn't fully clear - but I know that we had some in-between gens, especially in terms of the media! Let me explain. For me, G1 is the quintessential Pony, the proto-Pony if you will, because it encapsulates the best of the toyline (hand-sized, slightly squishy, hair-play, fantasy-based) and the best of the media line. The pony cartoon (MLP and Friends, the movie, specials, etc) all had very fantasy-based themes, which even included fairy tale characters coming to life! I grew up with G1, so this was very much influenced by my nostalgia, too. Yes, the toyline still had a fair amount of 'little girls aspiring to teenage/adulthood' themes, with makeup lines and accessories and such, but the general vibe (especially in the earlier years/media) was childhood fantasy. For me, I see Barbie as more of the aspirational play, the 'I want to be a grown up and wear glamorous outfits and makeup and drive to work in my convertible' type play; MLP is more fantasy, more undefined, more open-ended for what kind of play you would have as a child.


G2 lands in its place here, for me, mostly because of nostalgia. I remember walking into a Target and seeing ponies on the shelf, and thinking, wow! They're back! And even though I was 'older' then, I still got some. This was the sort of beginning of my 'collector' mindset, because I remember going online and finding G2 ponies for sale in an online shop for the very first time. They didn't have a big media presence (especially in the States), so I was able to sort of impose my own fantasy of them, which was largely carried over from G1. Their accessories would have fit well in the Dream Castle, for example.

I almost put G3 further down, but then I remembered specifically the movies, Minty's Christmas and the Runaway Rainbow, and it brought them up the rank for me. Sure, we saw a lot of pony-scooters, cars, radios, TV and phones in the toyline, which are obviously things that seemed incongruous with a fantasy setting. But the movies still had a very heavy fantasy basis, and include Minty flying in a hot air balloon up to visit Santa, and Rarity travelling through a magical forest, and befriending Breezies/fairies. The ponies themselves also have a similar hand-feel to the G1 line, moreso than G2. I'm going back and forth between the G2/G3 ranking, to be honest! The G3 toyline got disappointing near the end (Core 7 anyone?), but perhaps if I lived in Europe I would have gotten sick of G2 too, instead of seeing them as thrilling, exotic rarities.

G4 carries on the fantasy elements for me, although out of pettiness for the trainwreck-y final seasons I was tempted to put it lower. Still, the overall seasons carry on the fantasy theme well for me, and even the cringeworthy 'fan shout outs' aren't often enough to truly demote the series as a whole. The toys are lackluster, for the most part, with many of the 'best' releases being convention exclusives, foreign exclusives, or simply incredibly difficult to find (Captain Celeano springs to mind). Still, the wide variety of toys means they can't be ranked very poorly overall, even if the vast majority have cheap polypropylene tails as a cost-cutting measure by Hasbro.

G5 sort of naturally follows G4 because it shares a lot of similar elements to me; a group of friends format for the show, a mix of fantastical and modern elements, and a toyline that does its job. I'm hoping it'll impress me, of course, but so far we have many sculpted-hair-only releases... and that's not promising.

G4.5 (the Potion releases/Potion Magic cartoon) was, uh, strange, frankly! I think a lot of folks skipped over this one, and I can't blame them (I'm still not finished catching up with the series, ha), but it did offer some exciting new fantasy elements. I thought it was kind of like a Teen Titans Go take on MLP, and I can't say that I hated it ... as much as the Newborn Cuties nightmare.

Tales, well, it's a sacrilege to put it this far down here! And as much as I love the cartoon, and I have a great deal of childhood nostalgia for it, it's not extremely "pony-ish", which is what you asked. They're more like preteen/tween girls who happen to also be ponies! And there's nothing wrong with that, and I enjoyed it a lot when I was a kid! It just doesn't scream 'horse'!

G3.5, well, same reason as Tales, really. They're talking horses, but they're driving around cars. The cartoons associated with it weren't fantasy-enough to save their ranking, like it did in G3! There was a cartoon with a magical wishing dragon, as I recall; but perhaps the cars and scooters are just more pervasive in my memory!

[BubbleTea]

1. G1- This gen wins because it's arguably the most pop-culturally iconic. Especially years 1-3 which just feel so "PONY" to me. It created the idea of what mlp is and all the other gens (besides maybe g5) were created with the intention of recapturing it's success.

2. G3- Gen 3 earns second place for me because it's the first iteration of mlp that I knew of and I always assumed it was the original prior to learning about g1. I always get so nostalgic whenever I see the artwork and mcdonald's ponies which are so personally iconic to me.

3. G4- Even though it's not my favorite (I'm not ranking gens based on how much I like them ) this gen kinda forced it's way into this spot for having become a genuine pop culture phenomenon and for having such a hugely successful show. When mlp is brought up this gen is what most people online think of nowadays. The show was so successful that I doubt they'll ever stop making licensed merch of it's characters.

4. G2- I'm ngl I always forget about this gen but at least it does it's own unique thing

5. G5- Bottom spot because it follows current children's animation trends a little too closely causing it to just feel so GENERIC. It also tries too hard to live up to g4, leading it to have no real sense of identity. Maybe Hasbro understands that they're never going to have another M6 and that the M5 isn't going to happen, which is why they always bring them back for EVERY RELEASE!!! This gen also has like zero presence on store shelves which makes it kinda easy to forget about it.

[Minty_Magic]

Ohhh fun! I like seeing what makes “My Little Pony” actually map for everyone!

1.) G3
This is the generation I grew up with and my introduction to pony. The thing that really drew me into the toys was the variety and collectibility of them. I really liked their short little backcard stories. They have just enough of a snippet of personality that you could play with as a kid if you wanted, but they also left a lot of room for your own imagination. The thing I liked about the cartoons were the simple, low stakes stories. Once again, the ponies had a small glimmer of personality, but mostly they were still a blank slate for kid me to play with them as their own characters.

2.) G1
This was my introduction into the world of other gens, and the idea of actually collecting. A lot of the things I liked about G3 are present in this gen too - wide variety of toys, simple backcard stories, Tne animation was a little more high stakes, but still showcased a wide array of the ponies. Plus, they are the originals, so of course they should rank fairly high!

3.) G5
Despite some if its shortcomings, I genuinely feel like G5 is a slight return to form for the brand. This generation is FAR more media focused than I’d like MLP to be, but at least the stories are what I like from MLP - fairly low stakes and simple stories. Even though the main ponies do have very distinct personalities, I also feel like they allow for a kid to project some further personality onto them if wanted. The toys also suffer from a severe lack of characters, but they toys that are out are much better quality than a lot of recent ponies. Plus, a lot of the play sets genuinely seem fun for kids! I know I would have been allllll over the little poseable sets when I was younger.

4) G4
There is a lot I don’t like about G4 in hindsight, but I can’t deny that when it first came out it resparked my love for My Little Pony after I was kinda burnt out. FiM came out when I was in high school, and at the time I loved the more action packed, epic tone of opening episodes. Despite being aimed at kids still, it kind of felt like MLP grew up with me. I still adore the first season of the show for its unique cast of characters and simple storylines mixed in with the grander schemes. As time went on I didn’t like all of the “lore” and epic scale of the show. It just seemed kind of….goofy for My Little Pony after a certain point. The toy line also seriously was boring. Despite being around for nearly 10 years, my entire G4 brushable collection fits on a single shelf.

G2.) To be honest, this generation just never got a fair chance. They feel less like MLP to me just because of their slender bodies and really simple designs, but with G5 in the mix, that gap has been bridged a bit. I do remember having a G2 Ivy from McDonalds and playing the PC game, but other than that they just kind of lack the nostalgia that other gems hold for me. I still really love the, though!

G3.5)
I HATED these when they came out, and even though the toys have grown on me some, this was still a bad time for MLP overall. This is the generation that introduced the idea of a core cast and repeat releases and the dominance of Pinkie Pie as a mascot. To this day the look and feel of the toys, and especially the media around G3.5 just feel very juvenile. It seems like they were targeted more towards toddlers and preschoolers than young girls.

G4.5.)
Okay so I kinda dig G4.5, but they don’t feel like My Little Pony at all LOL! They seem like a spin-off of the whole brand, but that being said I really did like the overly simple chibi style of the animation. The shorts were frankly fun for what they were. I did appreciate the simplicity of this whole gen after the drama and fallout of G4 proper.

[Shaiyeh]

for me, I think I'd say

g1 - they are the OGs, after all. My first ever pony was a g1 pony. G1 was what sucked me into collecting back when I started. I was going to ID my childhood ponies, and ended up on Dream Valley and just spent hours in awe of all the beautiful ponies I never saw before. The majority of my collection today is g1.

g2 - the generation I mainly grew up with. (I'm an early 90s baby, so I had both g1 and g2. I remember when they first came out and I was over the moon to get the mcD ones, and I got two of the very first set for my birthday and xmas respectively the year they came out. They have also always reminded me the most of actual horses. Their faces look like foals or arabians, and I adore the little ears (that actually look like horse ears. I will die on the hill defending the point that g2 ears are the most horse like ears lol).

g3 - I just love them. The longer manes, shimmery bodies, super cute art, gahhh, so cute! I miss seeing them in stores. They (and g3.5) are the last gen I really actively collect.

g5 - they remind me a lot of g2! I really enjoy g5. I think I would collect them more if I had a different financial situation, because I really, really like them. I enjoy the feathered hooves, and different wing shapes a lot. Also the fact that they have slight differences in height and such.

g3.5 - CUTE. They look far from horsey, but I find them adorable.

g4.5 - Same as g4.5. I enjoy these more than g4. I never watched any of the episodes, so I can''t say how PONY they feel, though.

g4 - When they first came out, I was SUPER hyped. But I got kind of burnt out on them pretty fast. I find them cute, but it's the generation that burned me out on pony. I have a small collection of them now, I tend to pick them up when I find them, but I'm not super enthusiastic about them.
I prefer early g4 to reboot g4, but I like the dynamic poses of reboot more.
I liked the early seasons of FiM, but I got burned out on that as well.

[Moonbreeze]

Hmm,

G2 - First ponies I had and/ or knew about. Colour schemes and cute accessories. The art is gorgeous <3

G1 - Second I knew about and thought were a bit ugly I still think they're a bit goofy and clumsy looking, but also cute. There is soooo much and it's an endless pit with the nirvana ponies

G3 - Cuties, and I mainly mean pre-core 6. So much variation, although along with G2 a lack of unicorns and pegasi

G4 - One couldn't possibly evade the hype around this gen. It started of so strong with the new characters and then it got bore 7. And along with the tv series it got a bit too much for me though.

G5 - I don't like their faces. But I appreciate the variation in design. Feathered hooves, detailed horns etc.

G3.5 - The 'oh yeah, these exist' gen

G4.5 - Rinse and repeat the G3.5 quote

[Ponybookworm]

Top of the list: G1. No question!!! The collector Ponies are virtually identical to Shetland Ponies in every way except the colours, & the others take that basic Pony shape & expand on it, putting it in different poses & so on.

G3: a little smaller, with bigger eyes & larger hooves (meaning a G1 adult sleeve is the same width as a G3 adult sleeve to accommodate that big hoof), but still very Pony-like & can share accessories with their G1 friends.

G2/ Flutters/ Dabble & Scribbles: They come next as a nice stepping stone between baby G1s & adult G3s, all in the same place as they're all the same size & similar shapes. They're a bit more horse than Pony but imo they're having growing spurts so being long & lanky goes well with them age-wise. Still able to integrate them into a Pony world. And the G2 Babies are similar in size to the Teeny G1 Babies.

Newborn Cuties: These go quite well with integration into a Ponyworld, better than the next lot on the list, & Customising some as G3 Soft Newborns sizes them down nicely so they can integrate too.

G3.5 Sweetie Belle: being the smallest of the G3.5 "adults" (she's an actual child Pony), she looks most like the G3 Babies, & thus can also integrate well into a Ponyworld. I've Customised a couple of Sweetie Belles too into other Ponies of her age so she's not alone.

Other G3.5 "adults": Harder to integrate due to teeny bodies, massive heads, & massive hooves, making them look so like Chibi art I literally call them Chibi Ponies!!! They still kind of go, but it's starting to get difficult integrating them into a Ponyworld.

G4 Fashion Style: The most easy to integrate of all the G4s due to being similar in size to G1 adults. If only the CMCs had been Made in Fashion Style-compatible sizes!!!

HUGE GAP DUE TO SIZE DIFFERENTIAL

G4 Brushables: These Ponies act like young adults, but are the size of G1 Babies, meaning they have to be their own, not just race, but SPECIES of Pony (Petites, McDonalds, & Ponyville/ blind bags are another species too). Plus their shorter muzzles begin to seriously detract from all things Pony

G5: The big ones are BIGGER than Fashion Style AND bigger than G1 adults, so don't integrate to a G1-centric Ponyworld well. I only have 1 Sunny in the big ones & she literally TOWERS over the Butterscotches!!! The small ones are close in size to G4s, but their proportions are again altered. Their heads are different, their leg proportions are different, & were I to make a G4 garment, it wouldn't fit a G5 Pony, being too slack on the thinner body & legs, but too tight round the wider head. There's still a slight Pony influence to them, but yikes they're so different.

Pony Life: Sorry peeps but these ARE NOT PONIES!!! They're more like cats with Pony-esque manes & tails. This is why I only have, & will only EVER have, two of them (& if I could get a Potion Nova custom in any other form I would immediately).

[brightberry]

G1
G3
They have that chubby My Little Pony shape and distinctive pony eyes.

G4
I think the theme song and the way they move animated is very MLP to me.  The toys, not so much but they're still chubby and cute.


G2
I think they're very cute and I love them.  But, they don't make me think MLP.  More my little yearling.

G5
The hard plastic makes them feel less MLP.  I like the shows though.

[BlackCurtains]

Hmm.

G1. What I grew up with and what's iconic.

G3. They really did a good job with G3. Most of all, they looked like ponies.

G4. The toys grew on me and I think of them as normal now. I liked the show. It was crazy popular.

G2. I do love G2 and the awesome accessories. I didn't know about them until I joined the Arena though.

G5. Even though it's the current ponyline, it's still new? I only have one set of ponies. I'd like to add more Sunnys but I don't care for the articulated ones. The first movie was cute.

The in-betweeners I'm not going to rank. They are all just "there". I actually quite like G4.5.

[MJNSEIFER]

This a weird thing for me, because ultimately... they all feel like My Little Pony to me. G1 (both "friends" and "Tales"), G3, G3.5, G4 and G5 ("Make Your Mark") have that heartwarming, sentimental, nostalgic "I could have grown up with it" feeling to them, even though I grew up with none of them.

I'm not sure if G4.5/Pony Life has the feeling that I could have grown up with it, but it is definitely nostalgic, and I am very sentimental towards it (I think it might be one of my comfort shows) and it definitely feels what I view My Little Pony to be (cute, adorable, nostalgic, and as of G4 onwards - story driven*)

I think the only thing that I could put separately is Tell Your Tale in G5, I ultimately like it, and still have nostalgia for it, but it feels a few meters or so off MLP at times, but not always, but I don't mean it any hate.

Sorry if anyone disagrees with my view.

* I love the non-story driven MLP generations as well, but I personally like to view MLP as being story driven (or at least, I like to write it that way), because that is what speaks to me - I just find it nostalgic I guess, but episodic is good too (I basically like a combination, which is kind of what G4 and G4.5 does), but if I like the show, I'm fine either way.

EDIT: Once again, this is the show rather than the toyline, as I tend to think of that first, even though I fully respect that the toyline comes first, and it is all My Little Pony to me - if we are talking about the toyline, I would say that...

G1 is definitely first; imaginative, nostalgic, and feels like the best one to grow up with, IMO. Then G3, the most beautiful generation, IMO, which also shows in the toys, and not too far in looks to G1. Then G2, different, and kind of less imaginative at times (the literally have ponies with names like "Miss Teacher"), but still beautifully designed and still got that nostalgia vibe... and everything after that, I'm not too bothered about...

The Core 7 despite the controversy are okay, and I actually do have some G4 toys, but... I dunno, I kind of feel that from G4 they kind of forgot how to be a toyline show (I mean I see things in the cartoons that look like they'd be perfect toys, and... I don't think they ever are...)

[rearing_palomino164]

I only ever got into G3's, so G3's is MLP to me.

[MJNSEIFER]

I only ever got into G3's, so G3's is MLP to me.

At least you chose a beautiful generation. ^_^
(I love G3.)

[TarkanDragon]

Alright here's mine:

G1
It really feels the most like my little pony especially with how they designed the ponies that they're cute and smaller than regular horses. The mystical creatures designs were also great as it all fits in the style of a Saturday morning cartoon. The most caught my attention was Spike as I was amazed with the design as well. Also there's also some human characters (Megan, Danny, Molly) here and there which also makes it seem actually better for a fantasy world than just having only mystical creatures.

G2
Not too sure but I get the feel like it's G1 except no special creatures or even humans. The ponies have lived in a modern world environment. I'm still wasn't sure that G2 toys were different than the ones in the show. Wish that maybe it would have humans, dragons, any mystical creature, etc. to be in the show.

G3
While it does look pretty, I still feel that maybe it's a mixture of G4 and G1. I mean I don't complain about it too much because I mostly have known about 2000's aesthetics. Which pretty much feels a much more variety and yet somehow it still limits the G1 adventures and G4 as well. Well atleast there's no mistakes from G4.

G3.5
a mix of G1 and G3 though the designs were more chubbier and... Well how can I say this... Wish maybe it would give more just like G1. but it still does give feel a bit but not a bit enough.

G4
Well, this is something that I wouldn't point out but G4 tried to follow G1 but somehow it's really complicated how they intrepid humans to G4 as some kind of other dimension form. I mean overall it is popular enough that somehow it attracted everyone and almost forgot about the other gens. But G1 still happens to stand out.
The feel I get from this gen is that it's missing the stuff from other gens, sometimes does episodes based on older gens episodes which somehow it's not the same and really weak messages. And yeah... I've actually never seen Spike being the most sufferable throughout the show. I mean I like him but somehow he doesn't seem giving the exact feel like G1 spike. And obviously Spike got immediately a bit ruined with the movie and later episodes. It's like he's went though roughs. Don't get me started with the molting part because, I really disliked the molting in G4. But on the least bright side is that there's 6 more characters who happen to be in the main story... wish it would have showcased earlier seasons than just put them at the last two.

Honestly G4 does try to give the feel but really enough.

G4.5
What... the... heck?

G5
It tries to bring up G2 again except that it's really a mic of G4 and the way how it feels it's a bit like Sofia the first which I happen to watch in my past. But somehow it's like almost an arc but not a bad one like how IDW does arcs. I mean the way how it was going feels like that it should keep the arcs that is well written and yet not character ruining.
Though wish Sparky was first introduced in the movie but well I know how it came out.



This is the feels I get from the generations. And honestly the most of the gens that give me the feel definitely goes for G1 and maybe G5. Hopefully this would answer from what you asked.

[Moonbreeze]

G2
Not too sure but I get the feel like it's G1 except no special creatures or even humans. The ponies have lived in a modern world environment. I'm still wasn't sure that G2 toys were different than the ones in the show. Wish that maybe it would have humans, dragons, any mystical creature, etc. to be in the show.

Confused. G2 didn't have a show? Do you mean MLPTales? That's still G1 G2 only had a PC game and a bunch of comics.