Pokémon Brilliant Diamond review: Almost too faithful of a remake

Our Verdict

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of skillful games, with some excellent quality of life changes. But Nintendo has applied those changes inconsistently throughout.

For

Fantabulous nostalgia trip
Great quality of life additions
Good amount of side content

Against

Inconsistent quality-of-life additions
Needed more creative risks
Not remakes of the definitive "Platinum" versions

Tom's Guide Verdict

Pokémon Bright Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of good games, with some excellent quality of life changes. Simply Nintendo has applied those changes inconsistently throughout.

Pros

+
Excellent nostalgia trip
+
Great quality of life additions
+
Good amount of side content

Cons

-
Inconsistent quality-of-life additions
-
Needed more creative risks
-
Not remakes of the definitive "Platinum" versions

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl: Specs

Platform: Nintendo Switch
Price: $sixty
Release Date: November 19, 2021
Genre: RPG

Editor'due south note: For this review, we evaluated Pokémon Brilliant Diamond primarily. Pokémon Shining Pearl offers a slightly dissimilar collection of Pokémon to grab; otherwise, the 2 games are identical.

Pokémon Vivid Diamond and Shining Pearl are about 1-to-one remakes of the original Nintendo DS games that came out dorsum in 2007. The story is rather simple. Every bit in every other mainline Pokémon game, you're a kid who gets his start Pokémon from the local professor. You so go along a journey to collect all eight badges and stop a villainous organization along the mode. Then you fight the Elite 4 and the Pokémon Champion to become the strongest trainer in the region.

The games stay on the safety side rather than taking any large creative risks. But these were good games back then, and they're withal good ones now. However, in that location are some caveats to Vivid Diamond and Shining Pearl that hold them dorsum. Read on for our full Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl review.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl review: Gameplay

If you lot've e'er played a Pokémon game earlier, the gameplay in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is pretty much the same. You send out your Pokémon critters against your opponents', and yous appoint in plough-based gainsay until y'all defeat them, or vice versa. Each Pokémon has an elemental type, such as burn down, water or grass. Each blazon also has different kinds of weaknesses. Striking an opponent'south weakness is the primal to winning each battle.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl screen shot — (Epitome credit: Nintendo)

One affair to notation is that because Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are practically one-to-1 remakes of the originals, the games don't have whatever battle organization gimmicks. Compare and contrast with the tertiary generation of games: 2003's Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Game Freak remade these in 2014 as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Those games incorporated the battle gimmick, Mega Evolutions, from Pokémon 10 and Y. The developers fifty-fifty had an entire explanation virtually how the remakes were on a separate timeline from the original games, where Mega Evolutions never existed earlier.

Information technology's a bit disappointing to see Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl developer ILCA get out out the Dynamax organisation from Pokémon Sword and Shield, even if that mechanic was divisive amidst players. Including it would take definitely helped Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl forge identities of its own.

As it stands, I call back those who played the original games might get more of a kicking out of these remakes than newcomers. Those who started playing Pokémon with the more contempo entries may consider Bright Diamond and Shining Pearl to experience a flake stripped-downward.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl review: Quality of life changes

Some of the nearly significant changes in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are their new quality of life features. These assist streamline the games considerably.

As an example, consider the removal of HMs, or Hidden Machines. In the past, these HMs taught Pokémon moves that were essential for navigation, such every bit Surf to cantankerous bodies of h2o, or Stone Smash to smash boulders in your mode. The outcome is that not all of them were useful in boxing. In particular, Stone Boom was a weak attack, but you had to continue it just in case y'all needed to utilize it exterior of battle.

Pokémon Sunday and Moon were the beginning games to remove HMs. Instead, you could simply call a random wild Pokémon to use Surf or Stone Smash for you. I'1000 glad that this feature carried over into Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as it allows for more than flexible team building.

Another welcome improver is the ability to access your PC to swap your Pokémon in and out at any time. Other recent Pokémon entries likewise offered this feature. There's no need to go all the way dorsum to the Pokémon Middle. The EXP Share feature is back, too. All of the Pokémon in your political party receive EXP, whether they battled or not.

While I felt ambivalent about EXP Share at first, I somewhen warmed up to it, as it helped me level up my weaker Pokémon chop-chop. However, it does remove some challenge from the game, and I wish there were at least an option to turn information technology off.

When y'all bring up your carte, there's text on the bottom that tells you what your side by side objective is, as well every bit a flag on your map that pinpoints where to become. While I have fond memories of playing the original Diamond and Pearl games, I definitely didn't remember everything, including where to go for each objective. As a result, I certainly appreciated this new characteristic.

The autosave feature from Pokémon Sword and Shield comes dorsum, too, but the implementation still doesn't feel skilful enough. Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl autosaves whenever yous attain objectives, such as moving to a new surface area or catching a new Pokémon. The trouble is that the game doesn't have a dissever save file for autosaves. Equally such, if yous do something you don't like and the game autosaves, then you're screwed. Thankfully, you tin plough autosave off.

Now, my biggest complaint is related to TMs, or Technical Machines. Like HMs, they teach your Pokémon new moves. HMs had unlimited use while TMs were single use. But in the fifth generation games, TMs were inverse to become unlimited utilise.

In these remakes, however, TMs have been reverted back to unmarried use items. This is more in line with the original games, but information technology'due south certainly a backwards stride. What if I wanted to teach two of my Pokémon the same TM move? Well, at present I take to cull between them whereas in the recent games I could teach both of them. It's a really baffling decision to go dorsum to this.

Pokémon Vivid Diamond/Shining Pearl review: Content

Bated from the main game itself, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl offers a plethora of side quests and mail-game content. In the Sinnoh Grand Underground, you tin create Underground Bases and decorate them with statues that affect the types of Pokémon you encounter in the optional Hideaway dungeons.

Hideaways are new additions in these remakes. These caves contain Pokémon that you unremarkably wouldn't be able to detect or take hold of above ground. More Pokémon are available in Hideaways as you progress through the game, and it's smashing to accept more than options for team building.

Yous tin can too dig upwards items to trade with various vendors throughout the Grand Underground. You can acquire things like TMs (which teach new skills) or pedestals for your statues. Multiplayer is enabled as well. You can explore the Thousand Underground with a friend, and visit their Secret Bases, too. The Thousand Underground is an incredibly fun distraction, in case yous're looking to do something other than fighting.

The mail-game content is cypher to sneeze at, either. You can catch more legendary Pokémon at new locations in Sinnoh, or even catch previous-generation legendaries at Ramanas Park. Additionally, yous can likewise conduct rematches with the Elite Four, and their Pokémon will become stronger each time (upwards to a certain bespeak), which makes for an exciting challenge.

The Battle Belfry is also a great post-game activity. Winning consecutive battles can earn you powerful TMs, as well as held items. Information technology has the strongest trainers in the game, so it's bang-up for players who want to test their skills.

However, the lack of Pokémon Platinum content is disappointing, since Platinum was the definitive version of the quaternary-gen titles. The evil arrangement in Platinum, Team Galactic, felt like a existent threat compared to the original Diamond and Pearl games, due to a revamped story. Additionally, areas like the Distortion World, which debuted in Platinum, aren't in Bright Diamond/Shining Pearl either.

Most notably, Platinum replaced the original game's Boxing Belfry with the expanded Boxing Borderland, offering even more challenges and mail-game content. Unfortunately, this is some other instance where Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl being almost one-to-one remakes really holds them dorsum from being great.

Pokémon Vivid Diamond/Shining Pearl review: Verdict

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are faithful remakes of the originals. The original Diamond and Pearl were already good, merely the new quality of life features brand it an even smoother experience. However, those same features feel inconsistent. The conclusion to non apply the definitive Pokémon Platinum game equally the foundation is puzzling, at best. This would have obviated the need for two versions of the same game, while also incorporating Platinum'due south boosted content.

Vivid Diamond and Shining Pearl are notwithstanding a fun ride, especially if y'all've played the originals. Yet, more artistic risks might have helped the game really stand out.