Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
- November 19, 2021
Pokémon is back with two fantastic remakes that are sure to act as comfort food for newer and older fans alike.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are Role Playing Games that take place in the Sinnoh region, with a single-player experience and good music. These remakes remain faithful to the original games, preserving the sense of scale in locations and including player-friendly conveniences, offering both new and returning players the opportunity to enjoy the classic Pokémon adventure.
Nintendo Switch
Reviews
- Adorable chibi art style and a nostalgic feel make the game comforting for long-time fans.
- Quality of life improvements, such as the Grand Underground and character customization, enhance the overall experience.
- Faithful recreation of the original games with a great soundtrack and engaging story elements.
- Lacks significant new content and features, making it feel too similar to the original games.
- Difficulty spikes, particularly with the Elite Four, can be frustrating and the overall combat is often too easy.
- Inconsistent visual quality and technical issues, including glitches and awkward character models, detract from the experience.
- graphics12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of Pokémon Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond are characterized by an adorable chibi art style that many find charming and fitting, enhanced by modern quality-of-life improvements and upgraded battle visuals. However, some critics argue that the new art style can appear awkward, particularly with more complex Pokémon designs, and that it ultimately feels like a less impactful retread of the original games. Overall, while the visuals are technically sound and evoke a nostalgic vibe, they may not fully satisfy those hoping for a more innovative graphical approach.
“The chibi art style works surprisingly well, quality of life changes brought over from recent games, remixed themes are excellent.”
“Pokemon Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, despite ignoring some of the original's issues, is a great remake that runs remarkably well and sports excellent visuals.”
“Modern quality of life improvements, adorable chibi graphics.”
“While some of the slower elements of the original games have been fixed, and the grand underground makes up for the comparatively weak Pokédex, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s new art style and a few other stumbles make this pair of games a somewhat disappointing retread of Generation 4.”
“If the remit of these remakes was to remain faithful to the original Gen 4 pair, we wish they’d also stuck to the pixel-art aesthetic.”
“The art style is a downgrade from the original, with no overworld spawns in Sinnoh, lacking Platinum features, and over-leveling being very easy.”
- music11 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising the excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall experience and improves upon the original tracks. The remastered music is described as beautiful and nostalgic, contributing to the game's engaging atmosphere and presentation. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, complementing the game's visual and gameplay improvements.
“The soundtrack is great, and overall a wonderful modernization of the originals; the environments and battle backgrounds look great.”
“Beautiful presentation of a classic game, excellent soundtrack that improves on the original, addicting but accessible core gameplay.”
“The incredible soundtrack has never sounded better, smart changes to HMs.”
“Certain songs are grating.”
“The target audience is unclear.”
“The music does not match the overall theme of the game.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the smooth and seamless experience, modern mechanics, and quality of life improvements, while others criticize the forced experience share for trivializing difficulty, inconsistent touch screen support, and a lack of postgame content. Additionally, the visuals and character models have been noted as inconsistent, and the overall combat experience is seen as too easy compared to previous titles. Despite these issues, the game retains an addictive core gameplay loop that appeals to both new and returning players.
“Upgraded battle visuals, modern mechanics and features, gameplay is smooth and seamless.”
“Beautiful presentation of a classic game, excellent soundtrack that improves on the original, addicting but accessible core gameplay.”
“Plays great. Feels great. Looks great. Minor enhancements to gameplay for more hardcore fans, big quality of life improvements since the original, enhanced underground area, full 3D polygons used, experience share streamlines a lot, stays pretty true to the original Diamond and Pearl, while including some enhancements from later titles including Platinum.”
“The forced experience share implementation can trivialize some of the difficulty and encounters in the game; the game ignores most content and mechanics from Pokémon Platinum entirely; touch screen support is bizarrely patchy and inconsistent; there are loads of bugs and glitches; the visual style is inconsistent, looking especially bad for character models and during cinematic moments.”
“Trivially easy combat drags down the gameplay; there is a lack of postgame content compared to other remakes in the series and the original games; quality of life features can be a mixed bag.”
“They’re also very clearly in the shadow of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the upcoming open-world-like Pokémon game that has fans hoping it can take the series in exciting new directions beyond 20-year-old mechanics.”
- story5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is a blend of nostalgia and modern enhancements, maintaining the original plot while incorporating quality of life improvements. While some players find the pacing, particularly in the Pokémon League, to be slow and the overall experience somewhat safe compared to previous remakes, the engaging narrative and darker themes resonate well, making the 25-hour main story enjoyable with ample post-game content.
“Like the themes of its story, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are solid and enduring – leaning on the past, with all of its triumphs and tripwires.”
“I don't regret the 25 hours I spent with the main story, and there is enough post-game content to keep me interested for a while longer.”
“Engaging story with surprisingly dark moments, good quality of life improvements, fantastic soundtrack, faithful to original releases.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues, inconsistent touch screen support, and a lack of polish in visual elements, particularly character models. Additionally, the forced experience share can diminish the challenge, while the overall gameplay experience feels unrefined and inconsistent.
“The forced experience share implementation can trivialize some of the difficulty and encounters in the game; the game ignores most content and mechanics from Pokémon Platinum entirely; touch screen support is bizarrely patchy and inconsistent; there are loads of bugs and glitches; the visual style is inconsistent, and looks especially bad for character models and during cinematic moments.”
“Nothing feels really new; there are still glitches that are game-breaking, and the game is easy until you hit the Elite Four, where you experience a sudden difficulty spike.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its cute and charming aesthetic, offering plenty of activities to engage in even after completing the main storyline. Additionally, players report that the technical performance is solid, contributing to a smooth gaming experience.
“The cute and charming aesthetic, combined with a plethora of activities to engage in, especially after rolling credits, showcases the game's strong optimization and technical performance.”
Critic Reviews
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (Nintendo Switch)
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are fine enough remakes for reliving some memories and sharing them with the next generation. But beneath the glow of nostalgia, there’s a carelessness about their build that makes them fall short of expectations.
50%Are Pokemon Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond for You?
Experience the nostalgia of the Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl games in an adventure reborn on Nintendo Switch systems.Without fondness for the original games, you might find these entries less than compelling. With it, though? You'll be fine as long as your expectations are in check.
70%Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Review
Like the themes of its story, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are solid and enduring – leaning on the past, with all of its triumphs and tripwires.
80%
