Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl (Diamond/Pearl Remakes)

Gabumon said:
Not interested in getting this product myself because the thought of giving Nintendo/Gamefreak money for continuing to produce lifeless games on autopilot turns my stomach, but I watched one of my friends play this game for a short while.

For some reason, what I remember the most is the "animation" of the character getting in and out of bed. It made me feel uncomfortable in an uncanny valley-kind of way. To explain: You know how in old 2d sprite games they would often make beds exist on two layers, with the basic framework being on the lower layer and the blanket being on a layer above that so the player could walk between them and essentially be "under the blanket"? They recreated this effect in 3d and it's just about the cheapest-looking nonsense I've seen in a while. You walk against the bed and just kind of morph into it. It is extremely silly.

In fact, the whole game is giving me that offset vibe. Characters are rendered with comparatively higher fidelity than in the old games, but they still move and act as if they're in a sprite-based, grid-locked game. It's just unsettling to see two bobbleheads collide, with neither of them reacting to the impact and a textbox just displaying "*thud*" as if something noteworthy had happened. You could get away with this in a low-res sprite game because the level of abstraction was higher and you were able to substitute the parts you weren't seeing on screen with your imagination. But in this game, it just looks cheap and fake. Couldn't even be assed to make a basic knockback animation.

So to summarize: Forget Giratina or whatever, the true eldritch horrors of this world are beds. Don't give Nintendo your money, stick to the originals. I'm sure you can find a way to still play those.
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Personally I'm not buying Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl because the National Dex is still not implemented in them, so there are plenty of Pokémon that I would still not be able to transport from Sun, Moon, UltraSun, and UltraMoon to those games, so it doesn't feel right to give Nintendo, Game Freak, or the Pokémon Company 60 dollars of my money. The only way the chances would ever not be 0% would be if they added the National Dex too, and even then some things including those things you mentioned are also problems so I still might not get it even if that happens. They just figured out five years ago how to make character designs not unappealingly cutesy in Sun and Moon and then they walked back on that too.
 
Even Sword and Shield had results of looking like they were developed by people who were accustomed to sprites and didn't know how 3D or animation blending or slopes worked. Remember the turntable Zamamagenta? Or how characters both look ahead and then turn at 90 degrees to face each other at the same time and then stand so stiffly and awkwardly close, which made more sense in a sprite game? The fights and animations also looking quite lifeless, lacking physical contact, treating the models like moveable sprites. It's not really surprising to see that being displayed here.
 
Never getting this game.
Pokemon games are currently just cheap half-assed corporate products that get sold for more than they're worth
That are still bought only for their brand recognition
This series will never truly consistently improve unless some competition comes along
Everything has been said, all of which Gamefreak will never listen to
Buy indie monster catching games people, they're cheaper and better, find a new brand to love
 
I don't buy their games, but the toys are such a guilty pleasure of mine. They outnumber my Mario toys currently just because there's so many Pokemon I like and I need a physical iteration of them of some sort.

I do think Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games are exceptions since they have an excellent price::entertainment ratio compared to other Pokemon games where you have to trade and or attend these stupid events they STILL keep doing and such to get all Pokemon you want, thanks to the bullshit arbitrary version splits as well as being unable to get all starters as well without trades. Mystery Dungeon games? You can get all Pokemon you want in one copy. Sure, there's some crap hoops you have to jump through sometimes, like beating these dungeons that reduce your level to 1, especially Joyous Tower from Mystery Dungeon Red & Blue, or you're required to use Wonder Mail to have certain Pokemon appear and be recruitable, but at least they're obtainable without needing other versions.
 
I Argue About Politics said:
thanks to the bullshit arbitrary version splits
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yeah like back then they probably had a purpose of being trading related but now im sure theyre just there to inconvenience people and get people to buy the same game twice, for 120 dollars, which apparently keeps workng out so they keep making separate versions anyways........ with double packs which are still 120 dollars you dont even get it any cheaper as you would buying each copy separately what a deal. what a deal . with the games people largely found disappointing no less! i just kinda feel sorry for people who got the double packs tbh


ive heard many things about bdsp before release and it really sounds like they wanted to be SO faithful to the game that it just hurts the remake. its just the original with models instead of sprites and possibly worse music? might as well just, Play the original
the other remakes all did much more changes too and implemented new quality of life stuff from the generations around that time but i guess something broke this time. gotta be super duper faithful!!!
and then have to add the , Title Screen in the Day 1 Patch,

(great opinions by me , someone whos never actually played a real poekmon game (and its not like i have good options on switch anyways) but i think i can make a decently informed opinion)
 
Honestly, I'm skipping on this one. There are 6 main gripes I have with this game.

1. No Platinum content. Pokemon like Eevee, Ralts, Magmar, etc. are locked behind the postgame or grand underground. This means that we have to suffer with the letdown that is the original Sinnoh dex. I for one, have never experienced Platinum myself, but they should've at least put it into the postgame like ORAS did with the Delta Episode.

2. No more dressing up your Pokemon with accessories. I know several players probably don't care less about this, but I loved this feature in the original games. It let me express my feminine side and was similar to various dress-up games on flash. There was lots of accessories to collect, and if you won the lottery, you could get more backgrounds too. I really miss this feature, and not seeing it return makes me sad.

3. TMs break like they did prior to G5. This means that you have to use them wisely again, which I never liked doing.

4. I already have Pearl on my 3DS. Even though I never finished it, I don't want the same old story, but with a new coat of paint.

5. The artstyle makes this game look cheap and cash-grabby. Link's Awakening looked fine using this artstyle because it fit the world and looked professional. This looks like a cheaply made third party product. Additionally, I don't like that the game zooms in on characters at times and switches between graphical styles for battling and contests. It just doesn't look natural.

6. They released the game in an unfinished state that could only be fixed with an update. Some players are reporting unfinished music, no title screen, and other nuisances if you don't update the game. Some people don't have internet connections, so this means they're stuck with incomplete cartridges and they can't do anything about them.

The other thing is that, one, I haven't completed the main story of New Pokemon Snap yet. I want to finish that game before I decide to get the game or not. The problem is that the photographers in that game give you so many requests…that it feels like they're preaching you to 100% the game. (which I almost never accomplish.) Two, I'm more interested in MPSS than this game. I want it for Christmas so that I can play on the old boards and main Birdo and play the old minigames and not rely on how charged my Joy-Cons are. Who cares if BDSP has quality of life changes and other things? I'd rather play my other Pokemon games than something I experienced already on the original hardware with little to no new content.
 
One thing that strikes me about modern pokemon games (specifically the ones on Switch) is how complacent they are. PKMN games on the Game Boy and DS, and to a lesser extent the 3DS, always had a substantial amount of content and detail put into them, in terms of customization (the games are especially RPGs with hundreds of options as to how to build one's party), and actual content. In the most extreme example, the gen II games managed to squeeze 100 new pokemon, as well as entirety of two regions onto tech from 1989. That is in addition to day-night mechanics, held items, eggs, steel + dark types, all of which expanded on the original gameplay. Pokemon Gold / Silver very well may be some of the most feature-packed games on 8-bit console, without a sacrifice in quality. At this point, pokemon pushed what handheld games could be and how the technology could be used.

In comparison, however, the newer games are both less polished and less ambitious. It's sad to say that a game from 2000 has more content than one from 2019. The pokemon games now are yearly releases - instead of providing content, polish, or both, they often twidle their thumbs while watching sales rise. Gen 1-V were the peak of pokemon, but even VI and VII had strong aspects. It's only when the switch came around when pokemon lagged behind - expectations were higher, and yet, as pokemon failed to adapt, quality was lower.
 
Having spent a bit of time, now, getting into Brilliant Diamond, I can say that my overall thought is that the game is... okay.

I genuinely don't have issues with these games. They're fine for what they are. The art style took a fair bit of getting used to, but, after spending some time with it, I barely notice it. I don't particularly like it, but I don't dislike it. There's a... blurring effect on the edge of the screen, at least sometimes. I've noticed it at Lake Verity and the Eterna Forest. I'm not entirely sure if it's location specific or not, but that's the only complaint I have with the art/graphics.

One thing that I've genuinely liked is the changes to the Underground. They're not extensive, and it's still primarily a little diversion, but I do appreciate the inclusion of the caves where you can encounter wild Pokémon, particularly Pokémon you wouldn't otherwise be able to encounter until later in the game. For the folks who are returning to these games after having played the original, that small change adds the hook that the games need to at least keep your attention. It's nice to be able to get, say, Skorupi or Murkrow before the second gym without needing to resort to trading.

Perhaps I'm biased in that regard, though, because I tend to think a lot about the folks - well, really, the kids - playing these games without access to Wi-Fi. It's certainly much rarer in this day and age, but there are still enough communities out there with spotty Internet infrastructure that I dislike games built on the assumption everyone has access to a strong, stable Internet connection and which lock content behind it, and I appreciate games that add more options and flexibility for folks without requiring an Internet connection.

That's a tangent, though. On the whole, as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, these games are fine. In a vacuum, they're a fun experience that holds up without much in the way of glaring flaws. I wouldn't wish them into un-existence or anything. I might even buy a copy for my niece and nephews, since they explicitly want more Switch games because they seem to prefer it to to the DS. I'm glad that these games exist for the folks who are playing them and experiencing Sinnoh for the first time (the QoL changes that do exist, like the removal of HMs and the new EXP Share and the "boxes from anywhere" system are nice for those folks) or who strongly wish to re-experience Sinnoh today, and I don't have any major issues with them on their own.

As remakes, however, I'll note that they are extremely disappointing. I'll at least credit ICLA and TPC and whoever else with not advertising these are more than they are, and presenting them clearly as faithful remakes, but that doesn't change the fact that they could be much more than they are. I would certainly have liked to see more done with this game. Reimagining of areas and expansion of the stories, as happened with the Sea Mauville-New Mauville-Mauville City and the many characters associated with them in ORAS, an overhaul of Team Galactic to make them more interesting like Aqua and Magma got in ORAS, potentially expansion of post-game content like FRLG had with the Sevii Islands, all of that could have and should have been a part of these games. Gamefreak - though they may be less directly involved on this game than the others - have repeatedly stated, in the context of discussing remakes - the challenge of balancing preserving people's memories and nostalgia for old games while also offering something fresh and new. It's not as though they or their partners are unaware that there's merit and value in creating a new experience, expanding on and reimagining what has been done before, keeping its core, but adding more heart and soul and making something fresh, so it's a shame to see the Diamond and Pearl remakes be less than all they could be.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are fine. The Diamond and Pearl remakes are not, They're much less than they could have been. We know that this is a series that can innovate, that can build new experiences that incorporate and incentivize exploration and the creation of those moments of "wow! My persistence paid off! I've discovered this weird underwater area with a braille puzzle that, oh, is kicking off an entire chain of sidequests!", that may not push the boundaries of what you'd expect in an RPG, but has often pushed the boundaries of the technology available to it and of expectations for the series. It's a shame these remakes don't do any of that.

Still, they're good enough for what they are. I don't lament their apparently strong sales figures in the UK. I won't lament it if they have strong sales overall, when all is said and done. If there are a lot of folks who enjoy what they're getting and are having a good experience with it, so long as they're not being outright deceived or treated unethically, alright, then good for them. I'm glad they have that experience. Remakes of this variety aren't the experience I'm looking for, and, if they stay on this track, I'll evaluate them on a case-by-case basis, perhaps getting a future Black and White remake or perhaps not, but definitely passing up on an X & Y remake done in this same "faithful remake" style. That can join that Let's Go titles as future experiences that, hey, if other people enjoy, good for them, but which I'll pass by.

In the meanwhile, I'll continue to be optimistic for Pokémon Legends Arceus, which certainly looks like it's trying something different and experimenting more than the series has since... basically Sun and Moon. It looks promising. We'll see if it delivers.
 
Doomhiker said:
One thing that strikes me about modern pokemon games (specifically the ones on Switch) is how complacent they are. PKMN games on the Game Boy and DS, and to a lesser extent the 3DS, always had a substantial amount of content and detail put into them, in terms of customization (the games are especially RPGs with hundreds of options as to how to build one's party), and actual content. In the most extreme example, the gen II games managed to squeeze 100 new pokemon, as well as entirety of two regions onto tech from 1989. That is in addition to day-night mechanics, held items, eggs, steel + dark types, all of which expanded on the original gameplay. Pokemon Gold / Silver very well may be some of the most feature-packed games on 8-bit console, without a sacrifice in quality. At this point, pokemon pushed what handheld games could be and how the technology could be used.

In comparison, however, the newer games are both less polished and less ambitious. It's sad to say that a game from 2000 has more content than one from 2019. The pokemon games now are yearly releases - instead of providing content, polish, or both, they often twidle their thumbs while watching sales rise. Gen 1-V were the peak of pokemon, but even VI and VII had strong aspects. It's only when the switch came around when pokemon lagged behind - expectations were higher, and yet, as pokemon failed to adapt, quality was lower.
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Sword and Shield had close to as many changes to their formula actually as Gold and Silver. The thing was that unlike Gold and Silver many of these changes were for the negative, like taking away the National Dex and any suspense of Wild Battles because you can just run into the Pokémon you want to battle.
 
Gray Discord said:
any suspense of Wild Battles because you can just run into the Pokémon you want to battle.
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Random encounters are shit and deserve to be gone forever.
 
So basically if you never played the originals these are fine, if you have you can skip. Good to know.
 
Mcmadness said:
So basically if you never played the originals these are fine, if you have you can skip. Good to know.
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Even then it doesn't feel quite right to give Nintendo your $60 when the National Dex still isn't there. If you're interested in the originals just play them instead.
 
Most of the national dex isn't even available barring trade from other games. It sucks, and people have been wanting for years to have a Pokémon game where every single Pokemon is obtainable without needing trade or other versions (me included), but that's how Pokémon is sooo profitable and has pretty crap business practices.
 
I Argue About Politics said:
Most of the national dex isn't even available barring trade from other games. It sucks, and people have been wanting for years to have a Pokémon game where every single Pokemon is obtainable without needing trade or other versions (me included), but that's how Pokémon is sooo profitable and has pretty crap business practices.
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Personally what bothers me more is that there are plenty of Pokémon you can't transport by trading from Gen 7. That's what the nail in the grave is for Gen 8 for me. Just that you can't use some Pokémon no matter what.
 
Gray Discord said:
Even then it doesn't feel quite right to give Nintendo your $60 when the National Dex still isn't there. If you're interested in the originals just play them instead.
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I mean, it's not gonna make a difference in that regard considering neither version is "complete" now.
 
Not to brag...oh, who am I kidding, I totally am and I'm not ashamed of it...but check out my progress in Shining Pearl thus far:

FHJlAKSUYAYNzye
 
Me when I legitimately enjoy each and every mainline Pokemon title regardless of quality and a few missing features that were present in earlier games that I don't care much about:

Me when I ask for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond for Christmas because I still don't have a Pokemon game on the switch yet and I feel like trying a nuzlocke of this one:

The entire Pokemon community when I say this to them:

Me when I'm banned from the internet:

I did play the originals but never finished them
 
I would like to thank Tyler (Jirachi) and Mell (Manaphy) for helping my team get this far into the Pokémon League.
 
Ray Trace said:
Random encounters are shit and deserve to be gone forever.
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Nah, I can see where they're coming from. While I do think being able to encounter whatever you want within the over-world is overall a very good QoL change, there's something being lost in removing random encounters entirely. When you see them roaming you know exactly what you're going to get right away, which will lead to more people passing up Pokémon entirely at first glance; that had already been an issue, of course, but it's been made worse as a result of this change. Nuzlockes and other runs of that kind have had their dynamic changed as a result of it, too.

Pokémon works best when it's capitalizing off the element of discovery. More memorable set-pieces that people universally like about it come from discovering new places because they looked for them. (I say "universally liked" because I know the story is sometimes liked but that's often hit or miss in the fandom). Removing random encounters is removing a small bit of that discovery. On its own it wouldn't be an issue, except that the games in general have been heading in a more railroaded direction and not offering new optional side places to discover.

Personally, I do think the net gain makes the change good (it's nice to not have to run into the same thing over and over again now due to pure luck), but it's contributing to the lack of... newer Pokémon games feeling like an adventure now. This is also reflected in the design philosophy of these remakes, which are pretty much exactly the same as the older games minus Platinum content.
 
Ugh, I had a video I made based on Shining Pearl on TikTok that I wanted to post on YouTube for here (since this site doesn't support TikTok) but I'm afraid YT will nail me for the fact that it uses the "spin me right round" song. It's of a Skorupi constantly running in circles around me in the Grand Underground and I thought it was hilarious.
 
GaleemCrusher said:
Ugh, I had a video I made based on Shining Pearl on TikTok that I wanted to post on YouTube for here (since this site doesn't support TikTok) but I'm afraid YT will nail me for the fact that it uses the "spin me right round" song. It's of a Skorupi constantly running in circles around me in the Grand Underground and I thought it was hilarious.
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Don't think YT would take the video down, they'd demonetize it at most
 
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