What generation do you feel progressed the most from its beginning to its end?

[freedquaker]

Gen 5 without a doubt. 2 examples by using fighting games as an example:

1) The transition from 2D to 3D was phenomenal (for the good or bad). Tekken and Virtua Fighter feel miles ahead of Street Fighter 2.
2) The in-generation transition was also nothing short of amazing as developers were barely getting their hands on such a new outstanding technology. Simply compare Tekken 3 (one of the best fighting games of all time) to Tekken 1 (the barebones learning wheels of a fighting game despite its impressive tech).

The examples can be added. Another example would be platform games.

1) The transition from Super Mario to Crash Bandicoot 1 on psx was mind-blowing.
2) The transition from Crash Bandicoot 1 to 3 was immense, not to mention free roaming real 3d platformers such as the Spyro series.