I’m a huge Pokémon nut. I grew up with anime, cards, games (red/blue/yellow) and never really outgrew it. So I’m pretty happy that the hype came around again, and a new generation of fans is in the making. The fact that stores are taking extra security measures for it, however, sucks. Pokémon should be about collecting and having fun with the Pokémon you find, train, and battle with. Just like the remakes that dropped this Friday – I remember picking up Pearl and Diamond with my little brother before we drove off on a family holiday; we had a charged DS and a new Pokémon game. Fast forward to 2021, and the games got remade so that I could relive another part of my childhood. Did it hold up?
For those unfamiliar with the storyline of Diamond & Pearl, I’ll do a quick introduction on the games and then dive into the gameplay and changes. So, if you don’t care about the story in Pokémon, scroll ahead to the next heading. Yes, I’m looking at you random internet person, who cares about EVs, IVs, breeding/shiny hunting, shoo.
Story
Diamond and Pearl are set in the fictional region of Sinnoh, an island based on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. Sinnoh is not directly connected to any other Pokémon region. Large, snow-covered mountains characterize it; Mt. Coronet, a mountain range, divides Sinnoh in half. Unlike previous regions, Sinnoh has a “northern” feel because it is the first region with snow-covered routes. Sinnoh is also characterized by its waterways with three main lakes, Verity, Acuity, and Valor, forming a triangle. However, unlike the Hoenn region, which is mostly water routes, only 30 percent of Sinnoh’s landscape comprises waterways (so not a ‘too much water, 77/100). Underneath Sinnoh’s surface is the Sinnoh Underground, which is a large maze of caves and tunnels.
The games chronicle the adventures of a new Pokémon trainer who strives to become the Pokémon League Champion by collecting and training Pokémon. Like most games in the series, (Brilliant) Diamond and (Shining) Pearl feature eight Pokémon Gyms led by Gym Leaders, professional trainers whose expertise lies in a particular Pokémon type. Gym Leaders serve as bosses and reward skilled trainers with Gym Badges, the key to the advancement of the plot. As with all core games, the protagonist must also thwart the schemes of a crime syndicate, in this case, Team Galactic, who plan to use Pokémon to create a new universe just for themselves while destroying the current one. Who said Pokémon was a kids game?
Gameplay
Every Pokemon game is a role-playing video game with adventure elements. The basic mechanics of the games are essentially the same as their predecessors. As with all Pokémon games for handheld and home consoles, the gameplay is in a third-person overhead perspective and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures their party, items, or gameplay settings. Players begin the game with no Pokémon or Poké Balls but are given the choice of three Pokémon as a part of the storyline. Once Poké Balls are obtained, the player can capture more Pokémon. Players can use their Pokémon to deal damage to other Pokémon in battle.
Whenever the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon fight; during the battle, the player may use a move, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or flee, fleeing is not an option during battles against trainers. All Pokémon have hit points (HP); whenever a Pokémon’s HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle unless revived at a Pokémon Center or with an item. If the Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon by causing it to faint, it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it will level up; most Pokémon evolve into a new species of Pokémon whenever they reach a certain level. Pokémon’s stats also increase every time it levels up, and they will also learn new moves at certain levels. If a Pokémon is prevented from evolving, it will learn new moves faster.
Old coats?
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will feel like an old coat you found in the attic for returning players. Comfy but also reassuring. The most significant change is the fresh coat of chibi paint to the two beloved Pokémon games from the Nintendo DS era. Some might hate it; I’m not one of them. I like the new art style and prefer this style much more than the Sword & Shield overworld style. I grew up with gen one until gen eight and played every game so far, so I preferred the handheld style instead of ‘full body’ protagonists.
While much has stayed the same — many sections boast a one-to-one recreation of the earlier games, and minigames like the beauty contests will return — the game will bring plenty of gameplay changes. And lots of these updates are quality-of-life improvements. These changes, although minor, can seriously influence the way people will play the games. These include details like whether or not the entire team gets experience from battling, which can make a difference in the game’s overall difficulty. So let’s do a quick round-up of the new features and discuss them!
New features:
- AutoSave
- This game has an auto-save feature. Now, each time you enter or leave a route or building, the game will automatically save and show a “Now saving …” message in the upper-right corner. Of course, you can still manually save in the menu and if you’d like, and you can turn auto-saving off in case you’re worried about saving where you don’t intend to. Since I have two kids, I prefer the auto-save function, especially when trying to ‘help’ dad with his game.
- Type Differences
- After you beat a Pokémon for the first time, the attack menu screen will show how effective each type is on it. So if you’re picking an attack, it’ll say if it’s “effective,” “super effective,” and so on. Sword and Shield did the same, and I applaud this since there are so many types nowadays (and dual types) that it helps with remembering what works on what (OR DOES IT LUCARIO – Lucario is my Miltank in this game).
- PC Time
- Now, like in more recent games, you can swap your Pokémon in and out of your PC at any point. There’s no need to go all the way to a Pokémon Center to change who’s in your party. The same goes for adding Pokémon to your party when you catch it (but you are already carrying six). Making room for a specific Pokémon or egg is much easier this way.
- HM’s
- Poor Bidoof/Bibarel – no more HM slave duty for you! Even though Bibarel is a pretty decent Pokémon with some rather lovely stopping power, it didn’t cut my final team. I’m currently working my way towards the infamous Gible cave to add a Garchomp to my team, but it beats switching out Pokémon and teaching them moves you don’t want to. The Poketech (Pokemon Watch, compare it with a smartwatch) has been upgraded with a new feature, making it possible to use wild Pokémon to help you with moves like Rock Smash, Cut, Fly, etc. This way, you don’t need HM slaves – although the Pokémon Company and Game Freak used the joke to include wild Bidoofs everywhere.
- Experience Share
- All Pokémon in your party get experience points (EXP), regardless of whether they battled or not. In the older games, you had to get a nifty mind control device that you equipped on the Pokémon you wanted to share the experience points with. Nintendo made it a mandatory function in the newest mainline games, which challenges you to use more diverse Pokémon. When you grind a bit too much in the Underground (see below), you can easily over level your Pokémon. I don’t mind the exp share since I don’t grind in the underground and like to switch my team around – but an option to turn it off would have been excellent. It makes the game easier for newcomers, which is probably the thought behind it.
- Where to now!
- Your map now has a flag showing you where your next destination is, as well as clear, written directions like “Travel South on Cycling Road” when you pause your game. The written tips are helpful, especially when you need to look for someone specific within a town. Diamond and Pearl were notorious for backtracking and repeating certain cities, so it’s a pretty nifty feature.
The Grand Underground!
The Grand Underground is an evolution of the Underground feature from Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. It has been expanded to a larger area, segmented into six different places accessed through various points in Sinnoh, based on your geography. It is accessed by the Explorer Kit that you receive in Eterna City. Like previously, you can interact with other players locally, but now with the online feature and also on your own. However, there are numerous changes. A new feature implemented into the Grand Underground is the Diglett feature. Throughout the Underground, you will see various Diglett and Dugtrio at junctions and corners. They will retreat before you can get to them but leave some energy; 1 Point for Diglett and 3 points for Dugtrio. If you collect 40 points in one session, then you will get a small bonus. For 4 minutes, you will have a slightly increased chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon in the Underground, 1 in 2048 compared to 1 in 4096, and the chances of getting a Gorgeous Box from digging is higher.
Another new feature in the Underground is the Pokémon Hideaways. There are different biomes in each of the areas of the Underground, and you can find wild Pokémon throughout the areas. Many Pokémon are exclusive to these Pokémon hideaways, and more Pokémon appear at various points of your progression, with the National Pokédex being the feature that adds the most. Whenever you enter one of the Hideaways, there is a slight chance of a “Rare Spawn” appearing. Rare Spawns are Pokémon not in the Sinnoh Pokédex and can appear at any time. Each Pokémon also has a chance of having one of their Egg Moves when you catch them in the Underground. These biomes are gorgeous and probably the main reason you should visit the underground as quickly as possible. Don’t stay for the grinding and Pokémon, though – since you can easily break your playthrough with over-leveled Pokémon or rare Pokémon that can’t be obtained until much later.
The Missing Link
There are some notable gaps in which features were updated for the Switch and which stayed true to the original Diamond and Pearl. For starters, the Technical Machines (TMs) that teach your Pokémon attacks are single-use again. This is in line with the original Diamond and Pearl, but not with more recent games on the Switch. Luckily you often get more than one of each TM, or they can be easily obtained in the department store (and are not as expensive as they were).
In addition to this, the remakes don’t add any additional non-playable characters that heal your Pokémon. Many more recent games often include characters outside the Pokémon Center that can heal your Pokémon, but they didn’t add any in these games. So depending on how prepared you are to take on a cave, route, or building full of Team Galactic grunts, you might find yourself running back and forth from the Pokémon Center to keep your Pokémon in good shape (like it should be).
I certainly hope that they add The Distortion World, the best addition in a third Pokémon game in a generation, which was an entirely new concept within the Pokémon games. Following the legend of Giratina living in another dimension, the game had you enter the Distortion World to complete the game further. Once you reach the Spear Pillar to beat Team Galactic, who are trying to awaken Dialga & Palkia, you will go into the Distortion World. You can only go to the Distortion World a couple of times, so relish the opportunity. The remakes of Sapphire and Ruby did include some of the elements of Emerald and the genius Delta episode.
Conclusion
The remakes of Diamond and Pearl are safe but with a lot of quality-of-life upgrades. You either love or hate the art style, but that’s a personal thing. The overworld looks vibrant, and I love walking around with a Pokémon around me (even though my Skorupi can’t keep up with the bike). Team Galaxy has a great story and offers a look into an often overlooked and neglected generation. People tend to drool over gen two, and I drool over gen three (team Mudkip), but Nintendo proves that the Pokémon game is still going strong. The price point might be a bit high, and I would have loved a remake of Pokémon Platinum instead of the dividing games like they did (again), but hey, whatever makes the big bucks, no? The Grand Underground is an excellent addition for those who look for more content than just battling trainers and clearing gyms, with enough to uncover to spend way more time than you had planned. Finally, if you’re looking for a way into the Pokémon franchise, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are great additions. Look at which Pokémon you prefer, and trade the ones you don’t have with your friends (or strangers online). That way, you can both be the very best there ever was (just bring back the Platinum content, okay?).
