Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl continue the popularity of remaking the older Pokémon generations every couple of years. The popularity started with FireRed and LeafGreen, and arguably reached its peak with HeartGold and SoulSilver. Each remake has remained very faithful towards the original games, and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are no different.
Originally released in 2006, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl have long been considered one of the top generations of Pokémon games by fans. While the original games were developed by Game Freak, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were produced by ILCA. This marks the very first time in series history that a mainline Pokémon game was created by anyone apart from Game Freak. I had been just a little skeptical over whether a new developer could still capture the Pokémon magic, and I’m pleased to say ILCA did not disappoint.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl occur in the Sinnoh region. The story follows the gamer because they earn all 8 badges and strive to defeat the Elite Four to become the Pokémon Champion. On the way you’ll encounter Team Galactic as they work to capture Pokémon to use them to produce a whole new universe. Each game is incredibly similar across the generations when it comes to the storyline, which makes it easier for new players to hop in at any time. Both games will also be identical in story, the only difference is a select handful of available Pokémon that may be obtained via do business with another game.
Along with the story, most the game is a meticulously crafted replica of the originals, which most fans ought to be pleased to hear. Not things are exactly the same though, as the game needed to be updated to satisfy modern Pokémon standards. There are several great quality of life improvements that have come into the series over the years which are present here, including team-wide experience sharing. Addititionally there is adding an autosave feature which is an absolute lifesaver. HM moves will also be used through the Poketch now, which removes the necessity to, say, have a Bidoof inside your party simply to use HMs.
Not all things in the game may be the exact same, though. The Great Underground of Sinnoh was always interesting in the original releases, but ILCA has added new locations where make targeted Pokémon searching easier. There are many underground locations where feature wild Pokémon walking around like they do in Sword and Shield, that is my preferred way to encounter wild Pokémon. The ability to have your Pokémon follow you around also returns in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, but it's not available right away. I’m not really sure why every Pokémon game doesn’t feature this. I recall experiencing it for the first time in SoulSilver and it’s baffling that not every game has your adorable (or comically large) Pokémon following you around.
The biggest alternation in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is not to do with anything in the game, however. The visual style was completely overhauled by ILCA and it is dramatically diverse from the originals, choosing a chibi-style design. The style might be different, but it's undeniably unique and looks incredible. Each city feels vibrant and distinct, and also the character animations are fantastic. I particularly love water designs, water can be hard to animate and design and ILCA knocked it from the park here. The look likewise helps make the games better for kids, who the franchise is perfect for in the first place.
Not things are idyllic in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The main most frustrating thing for me is the return of breakable TMs. The franchise has moved from breakable TMs recently, so it was odd to determine which come back here. I understand the need to be as faithful towards the originals as possible, consider the HM system was changed it might have made more sense to leave the TM system changed too. I prefer when players have the options to use TMs without concern for if they are ever able to find the TM again, it reveals more options for team and move composition combinations. Another real issue I had was the lack of backward compatibility along with other generations of Pokémon games. You can’t make trades from Pokémon Sword and Shield, and there's no Pokémon Home support until some time in 2023. Because the games use the same roster of Pokémon in the original versions, it would have been nice to gain access to harder-to-find types like fire types via Pokémon Home or at best via migration from Sword and Shield like you could between Gen 3 and Gen 4 within the original Diamond and Pearl games.
Overall, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are really faithful remakes of Diamond and Pearl, warts and all. There are some nice new additions that enhance the experience, and also the visual style is unique and quite good-looking. It’s to not recommend these to any Pokémon fan or newcomer towards the franchise. There can be a few negatives, but none of them of these take much away from the overall excellent experience.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now on Nintendo Switch.
