Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Reviews
Those who have never played Pokémon Diamond and Pearl again have the best opportunity to do so now, in the most refined version they could ever have.
Review in Greek | Read full review
The original DS Diamond and Pearl were great back in the day, and 15 years later this new coat of paint makes them just as entertaining. The improvements may not be as drastic as some may have hoped, but what's here is a solid Pokémon adventure regardless.
All in all, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are intended for new players who have never experienced Sinnoh. They who will get the most enjoyment out of these remakes, because the games are faithful to the originals to a fold. This is, unfortunately, also what hinders the game as there could've been done so much more for the fans who're dropping in for another tour of Sinnoh.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Now modernising the pair, its realised that any further development to these classics are not necessary, rather keeping its foundation intact and relying on updating its performance and visuals. This is a prime example of how to remaster and old school title, without going overboard. Essentials for old school fans, and a great starter for entry level fans.
Overall, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are incredibly faithful remakes of Diamond and Pearl, warts and all. There are some nice new additions that enhance the experience, and the visual style is unique and quite good-looking. It’s hard not to recommend these to any Pokémon fan or newcomer to the franchise. There might be a few negatives, but none of them take much away from the overall excellent experience.
Diamond and Pearl are among my favorite Pokémon games and I definitely recommend them to those who want to return to the Sinnoh Region, which shines once again and is without a doubt one of the best setting the series has seen.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are a prime example when you play it safe. You stay true to the original game and implement some innovations from previous generations. However, these are not always in favor of the gaming experience, as there is no trace of a challenge. Although the fights look good, the Chibi Art Style around it seems visually unimaginative and no longer contemporary.
Review in German | Read full review
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shiny Pearl are both great remakes of the Nintendo DS classics. With fun little additions like decorating your ball capsules with stickers given to you from just about everyone, the ability to buy new clothes so our avatar does not look the same from start to finish, and other solid cosmetic additions, this is definitely the superior version and ILCA did a fantastic job hovering over that line of respect to the originals while also giving it their own spin.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are perfect remakes in terms of fidelity. They have a good job on that respects all the original aspects and improves a few topic such as the soundtrack or the new excavation system. On the contrary, excessive fidelity can also harm, stuff in certain sections is what happens to those games
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl honor the roots of the source material and elevate it in many ways. Marking a very welcome return to top-down aesthetics, the remakes rescue some of what made Pokémon special a few years ago. Problems that can already be considered structural in the series continue to exist, but hinder them in a less glaring way than in other more recent titles. It's worth remembering Sinnoh on Nintendo Switch and trying to catch all the little monsters again.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Brilliant Diamond lacks ambition and will frustrate fans of Pokémon Platinum more than it pleases. Still, an extremely faithful classic Pokémon remake might be just what we need before Game Freak wildly changes up the formula with 2022’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearle are a remake of the DS games from 2006. The game has had a major visual upgrade and feels like new. The controls are still simple and self-explanatory. It is also wonderfully nostalgic for the old fan and it will also know how to entertain the newcomers. There is certainly no lack of fun. Diamond & Pearle only differ in a few exclusively findable Pokémon and does exactly what you can expect from a Pokémon game.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
As far as what a remake/remaster should accomplish, it's hard to view Brilliant Diamond as anything short of an absolute failure.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl return players to the Sinnoh region and are packed with nostalgia and quality of life improvements that make them the most accessible remakes yet.
When those bugs end up being the best way to prepare for the aforementioned battle tower and make up for the lack of QOL features, that’s even more silly, and sadly, does ultimately lead to these remakes not feeling nearly as Shining as they could have been, despite the amount of love and polish in other areas of the game that’ll definitely make these my preferred method of replaying Sinnoh for years to come. Still, I couldn’t help but also wish these just got the extra polish they desperately needed.
Pokémon Shiny Diamond and Shimmering Pearl has its flaws, but also its improvements. It doesn't contain much innovation, but that wasn't its intention either. It's a nostalgia trip, for better and for worse.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl do a very good job at fulfilling their primary mission: to bring the fourth generation of Pokémon to the contemporary age. They should have gone further, though, as the lack of creative freedom and clinging to the original formulae happen at the expense of adding new elements. This is not to say that this effort is not a great addition to the Nintendo Switch catalogue, far from that - what made the original games fantastic is still here and there are indeed improvements to some of the original mechanics, but the approach followed was perhaps a tad too conservative for what's expected of a Pokémon remake.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There was once a time where you would never struggle in your quest to be the ultimate Pokemon trainer. These feelings were often fueled by the fact that you were currently playing the biggest and boldest adventure so far. A lot has changed in 15 years that has this title feeling a little too lacklustre. The relentless pokemon battles try to distract you from the fact that the region map is rather small and offers very little to do outside of grinding up Pokemon levels. Diamond and Shining Pearl may have been great in their day but after the release of Sword and Shield and the prospect of what is to come with Arceus, this title just feels too dated outside of being a nostalgia trip for some, it falls far too short of what a fun pokemon adventure is these days.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have been visually enhanced and managed to be a faithful remake in terms of gameplay. Ideal to introduce new players to old style Pokémon games.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Without fondness for the original games, you might find Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond less than compelling. With it, though? You’ll be fine as long as your expectations are in check. They’re faithful remakes!