You can only chose one!

[Stellaluna]

As the years go on G3 becomes further and further in the distance I tend to look at it with a stronger fondness similar to G1. I absolutely loved G1 always, but also really loved G3 as it was happening. If you asked me back then which gen was my favorite I would've probably said G1 automatically - it being the OG and also less attainable back then. (I had no PayPal account and flea markets were already picked clean.) So G1 had this kind of mystical holy status to me.

Nowadays I can look back on G3's and how happy they made me during those times and view them with a much more personal fondness. They gave me access to the joys of collecting and really filled a gap in my life during a time when I was so obsessed with ponies for the first time. I had G1's from childhood but I think it was about a year or two before the G3 launch where I decided "I want to be a collector!" Ponies coming back to shelves was great timing and SO exciting for me!


So even though I ended up going with G1 as my answer, G3 comes very, very close for me.

[SnorkMaiden]

G1s, for sure.

[reanna-mator]

Honestly, though I started with G1, G4 overall gives me the strongest feelings in terms of character, the world, etc. Just wish the toys were better.

[Loa]

It's interesting that NO ONE has voted for G3.5!

[Ponybookworm]

It's interesting that NO ONE has voted for G3.5!

Everybody has a distinct reason it's not one of their faves. Mine is BORE 7

[Wardah]

For me it's G3. I don't think I had any MLPs as a kid, I was into the original LPS. Hasbro LPS came out about the same time as G3 so I started collecting  the occasional pony because they were adjacent to LPS and I had started to collect those.

[Tropical_Sunset]

G1 for sure, though G3 is close! G3 lost because not enough pegs and unis.

[FernMariposa919]

G1. It will forever and always be G1. It gives me a warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feeling. I feel like I could name 100 ponies from G1, but ask me to name five from the other generations, I'd be like, "uh...." Well, I suppose I could at least name six from G4!

[MJNSEIFER]

It's interesting that NO ONE has voted for G3.5!

Everybody has a distinct reason it's not one of their faves. Mine is BORE 7

In fairness, G3.5 is one of my favorites in places, just not my "ultimate" one.  Though toyline-wise, I can see the problem with it - little to no variety, but as an animation, I find it adorable, heart-warming and nostalgic (it's like how I love the Mane Six in G4, but I wouldn't want to collect several versions of them.)

Also, while I'm sticking with G3 as my answer, I may have made the mistake of focusing on the cartoon over the toyline again - if we were strictly talking about the toyline, then I'd place G1 as the best, despite never owning any (though the G3 toys are as beautiful as anything else in that generation and would be a close second.)
Every generation is nostalgic to me, but there's something about the G1 toys that make me feel like I should have collected them as a kid - one of my favorite online pastimes during 2012-2014 or so was looking at the G1 list on My Little Wiki and imagining what it would have been like to have grown up collecting them, as well as (I'm sure) have watched the cartoon alongside doing so (however plausible that would have been...)

[hilamb]

I love G1 and G2