Over the long-ish history of the Pokémon series we’ve seen many games, series and films take place in various regions, each with its own set of Pokémon to catch. One such region that we’ve visited is the Sinnoh Region, which features in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Released in 2006 on the Nintendo DS, it was the first game in the series to make use of the new handheld console and was released to quite favourable reviews. It’s been 15 years since the initial release and these games are next in line to receive the remake treatment; it will be released as Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, for the Nintendo Switch. The release date is less than a month away, so, what do we know thus far?
With this remake, Game Freak is returning to the overhead perspective that was present in the older games and not the more modern appearance of more recent entries in the series such as Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl seem to be more of a nostalgia trip than it is a complete makeover to bring them up to the standards of the latest games. I’m actually ok with this. When it was first revealed, I was confused at the direction the team was taking with the visuals, but over time, I’ve seen how this visual style still works really well and looks really good too after some sprucing up.
Some older features from the original games will be present in the remakes too, such as the Pokétch, which was helpful for checking out your Pokémon’s mood and hunting for items. This in-game watch initially lived on the bottom screen of the DS, but in the remake, it’ll be in the top-right corner of the screen. It’s convenient enough to still be on the same screen where you’re playing without having to open up another menu to view it. Also, yes you can polish your badges again!
Another feature in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl that takes an older idea and makes it a little more palatable is how the game handles Hidden Machines or HMs. Previously, the moves obtained from HMs would take up a slot in one of your Pokémon’s movesets, meaning you might have to sacrifice a move that was good for battle for one that was good for traversal. Pokémon Sun and Moon changed up the formula a little bit by introducing Ride Pokémon, which allowed players to summon a particular one to perform a certain action such as smashing rocks or surfing across bodies of water. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be taking a similar approach by summoning a Pokémon to perform the required action using the Pokétch. It was also quite interesting to see that when this was shown off earlier this year, the Pokémon being summoned were Bidoof and its evolution, Bibarel, since players commonly kept these in their party purely because of how compatible they were with most of the HMs. It’s a nice touch since finding a compatible Pokémon and then sacrificing one of their battle moves was a hassle; this fixes that.
Trainer customisation has also been more present in the more recent games and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be continuing this trend by allowing players to dress up their trainers. There’s a new shop in Veilstone City that will sell unique outfits for trainers. This isn’t a feature that I’ve used a lot in the past few games, but I do quite like having the option available to me if I’m not too taken with my trainer’s default outfit.
Battling against gym leaders dotted all over Sinnoh is a big part of the game and each one has their gym designed in such a way that it hints at the type of Pokémon that they use. The gyms look incredible, but it’s even better to see how it forms part of the background during a battle. The remastered soundtrack also sounds a lot warmer and it’s going to be great to hear all of the songs from the original game sounding better than ever. The main antagonists from the original game, Team Galactic, will also be making a return.
Other returning features include the ability to take your Pokémon out of its ball, so it can follow you around, the Underground, which allows you to create your own Secret Base, and being able to put stickers on your Pokéball, which activates a special visual effect when the monster emerges from it. It’s going to be interesting to see just what else will be returning and what will be revamped to make the experience more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to making my way through Sinnoh again to fill up my Pokédex!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl releases on the Nintendo Switch on 19 November 2021.
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