Not all is calm within the Sinnoh region, though, you'll often encounter Team Galactic during your journey to gather all eight gym badges and they're almost always up to no good. Their leader, Cyrus, really wants to exploit the powers of legendary Pokémon to rebuild the universe in the image with him at the center of it. They're far from probably the most interesting antagonistic force we've seen in a Pokémon game, however i found they've always radiated a campy Saturday morning cartoon vibe that's quite entertaining. It's an interesting enough plot that mainly can serve as set dressing for the gameplay, however the environmental story telling is how the stories of Sinnoh are actually told.
One of the greatest areas of playing a new Pokémon game is picking and choosing whom you wish to bring along with you on your journey to the very best, and Sinnoh has a great selection of potential party members. In the excellent selection of starters to now series staples like Garchomp and Lucario, it feels like you can never make a bad decision. This is further reinforced through the new HM system, where using HMs simply calls on a Pokémon in the wild or in your PC, meaning you'll no longer need to dedicate a party slot to the likes of Bidoof so you can use Cut and Rock Smash. It's a simple, yet welcome change that adds a little extra flexibility to teambuilding.
The core gameplay loop is mainly unchanged here, you move from town to town, battling trainers, catching Pokémon, dealing with gyms, and thwarting Team Galactic's plans once the need arises. While it is a tried-and-true formula, it feels refreshing to return to a format that people haven't seen for some time, long time. While Gamefreak happen to be attempting to push the series forward with new ideas, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl almost feel like comfort food, instantly familiar to long time fans while still holding appeal for series newcomers. Aside from the introduction of Ramanas Park, the post-game is also relatively untouched, which inturn means that these versions lack the Battle Frontier, and is without every other content only at Platinum, which is a weird choice considering past remakes always included stuff from those third games.
Difficulty has always been a weird point for Pokémon since it is almost never consistent. I've always seen the DS era of Pokémon as quite challenging as compared to the easier recent entries. I regularly struggled with Diamond and Pearl as a kid, however i found Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl to be a cakewalk. I had no trouble right until the end of the game, that is without doubt because of the party wide EXP Share that's always on. I'm all for accessibility for players who need it, but it would've been nice so that you can disable or at best revert the EXP Share to its original functionality.
biggest new inclusions in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and they are inextricably linked whenever you reach post-game. In early stages in your journey, you'll unlock the opportunity to visit The Grand Underground; a vast network of tunnels underneath Sinnoh, where you can setup your own secret base, mine, and catch Pokémon. Mining sees you engaging in the same mini game as the originals, slowly tapping away in the screen to unearth valuable items and Spheres you can use to trade for TMs and other hard to get goodies. The Pokémon you will find are almost always rarer than you'll find on the surface, and that i quickly got hooked on visiting each room from the Grand Underground to see things i could catch. When you mine, there are also statues of certain Pokémon, and placing these statues inside your base will raise the chances of other Pokémon of the same type appearing. It is a consistently rewarding and streamlined process that kept me coming back, after which I unlocked Ramanas Park.
Unlocking Ramanas Park is done by filling all entries in the Sinnoh Regional Pokédex and serves as a method for you to definitely catch legendary Pokémon from different regions. Once unlocked, you can mine for Mysterious Shards within the Grand Underground, which can then be traded for slates. These once use slates are used to trigger encounters with one of these legendary Pokémon of the past making to have an immediately satisfying and addictive post-game loop of going through the Grand Underground, returning to Ramanas Park, catching popular, rinse and repeat. It's this back and forth that seems like an all natural extension of The Underground within the original game, and it captures that same magic that I felt like a kid, which I think is a remarkable achievement.
All the little exclusive things you remember from generation 4 are here as well. The Pokétch could be brought up by tapping R, which has all of the same tools and widgets as you remember. Pastoria City Marsh, the Contest Hall in Hearthome City, and the ability to make Poffins for the Pokémon are here in full force, giving you lots of optional happy to build relationships should you so wish. One small new thing included in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are Ball Capsules. Ball Capsules allow you to place stickers on your Pokéballs, with little effects going off while you throw your partners into battle. It is a quite simple and cute system which has quite a deep degree of customization into it and it is a welcome accessory for make your experience that tiny bit more personal. Needless to say, Sinnoh was but still is filled with content to build relationships and can without doubt keep you playing all night on end if you wish to experience everything that is available.
The most large-scale change, of course, is available in the type of the visual overhaul Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl bring to the Switch. I'll admit which i wasn't sold on the skill style at first, and to be honest, I don't know things i was expecting out of it. Weight loss trailers and footage started being released, I heated up to it quickly, and after playing the sport for roughly 20 hours on the OLED, I'm happy with how it turned out. This new art tyle really captures the initial chibi aesthetics of Diamond and Pearl, mixed with high definition and mostly detailed Pokémon models present in other recent entries. Exploring the world is a joy – from the always bustling Jubilife City to the quiet and quaint Floarama Town, almost always there is new things nearby, and I always anticipated seeing how my favorite towns had translated towards the Switch.
The real standout for me, was actually the battle arenas. When outdoor and exploring routes, it truly feels like you're battling it out within the wild as Mount Coronet hangs overhead. Team Galactic battles occur in a suitably space-like arena full of hazy purples and blacks that lend their encounters an otherworldly feel. The very best that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have to offer in connection with this are undoubtedly the gym battles, however i won't spoil anything here, since they are best experienced blind. Enhance the excellent soundtrack, and also the end result is really a remake that captures the essence and aesthetics of the originals, using the type of polish and presentation you'd expect from a first party Nintendo game. Not everything is perfect, though. Some Pokémon fair much better than others in the transition to this kind of art style, and some of the battle animations can look pretty underwhelming at points.
