From the jazzy Galactic Eterna Building theme to the classic battle theme, almost every song is improved upon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.Īlthough Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are near 1:1 recreations of Diamond & Pearl in many ways, there were a few brand new features added. Each new arrangement of the classic soundtrack is recognizable, but with a twist. The game’s music is my favorite aspect of its overall presentation. New music and the ability to watch Pokémon dance around in 3D really adds a lot to the rhythm-based diversion. Pokémon Contests also return in this game, and they are one of the biggest beneficiaries of the improved presentation. For a remake as faithful as this one, the more nostalgic art style is a strong choice. The remake went with a chibi, 3D art style that feels cute and nostalgic compared to the more realistic art style used in Pokémon remakes like Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. While I have mixed feelings on some of the quality of life changes in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, one of its shining (ha) areas is the presentation. Pokémon games don’t need to be difficult to be fun, but Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is a cakewalk to the point that battles can become dull. After that, I started seeking out battles less, in hopes of adding a bit more challenge to my playthrough, and I still boasted higher-level Pokémon than each member of the Elite Four at the end of the game.
By the fifth gym, despite making no effort to grind, my Pokémon were all 5-10 levels higher than any Trainer I fought, including Gym Leaders. Share makes Pokémon work like most party-based RPGs, but the implementation is clunky here. Unlike the original games, in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl every Pokémon in your party gains experience for every enemy Pokémon you defeat, regardless of whether or not they participated in the battle. The last major quality of life feature is a controversial one: the Exp. Despite this, I still felt less inclined to use TMs when I knew they weren’t reusable, which is one of the few things that does feel dated in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.īrilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are some of the cutest Pokémon games yet. The developers seem to acknowledge the frustration of single-use TMs, as many of their sources provide multiple copies when they only provided one in the original. TMs, which are used to teach your Pokémon moves, are again single-use instead of reusable like in modern Pokémon games.
There is one notable missing quality-of-life change that baffled me during my time with the game. These features ensure that Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl play like a modern Pokémon game despite their adherence to the source material.
The quality of life features are largely what players have come to expect from the series, such as auto-saving, the ability to change your party from almost any location, and your Pokémon not needing HM moves to traverse the world. Pokémon’s simple-to-grasp but surprisingly deep mechanics and the core gameplay of catching, training, and battling with Pokémon has aged well, especially with the quality of life features ILCA added in these remakes. Routes are less linear and there are more opportunities to stray from the beaten path compared to more recent entries in the series.ĭespite their adherence to the original 15-year-old games, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl manage to avoid feeling dated. There are few scripted story moments and more of a focus on exploration. Unlike more modern Pokémon games, the story in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is more of a background element. On your way, you’ll battle your rival, catch and raise Pokémon, and take out the dastardly Team Galactic, who want to selfishly use Pokémon for world domination. You play as a young boy or girl adventuring on their own for the first time to defeat each Gym Leader and become a Pokémon Champion. From the story to the towns, routes, and Gyms, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl recreate the bulk of the content from the original games to a T.īrilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl provide the typical Pokémon story. What approach did this new studio take to these much-anticipated remakes? For better or for worse, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are highly faithful remakes of the source material with some added quality of life features and a very nice fresh coat of paint. Instead, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl was taken on by a little-known studio, ILCA.
Despite high expectations, this is the first Pokémon remake that wasn’t developed by Game Freak. Fourth generation Pokémon games are some of the most beloved in the series, having modernized the gameplay with combat features like the Physical/Special split and social features like online play. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl have big shoes to fill.
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