Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Reviews
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.
The original Pok'mon Diamond and Pearl were strange, uneven games. The remakes file them down to something still enjoyable, but textureless.
A cheap-looking and unambitious remake of a generic Pokémon entry that seemed bereft of new ideas in 2006, let alone now.
Catching, training, and trading Pokémon remains a blast, and Sinnoh is a great region to explore
I’ve spent years — the better part of a decade, since the Ruby and Sapphire remakes on 3DS — going through the motions with new Pokémon games, trying desperately to fight through superfluous features and recapture the magic of my childhood. But the Diamond and Pearl remakes’ simple, derivative, and basic formulas helped refocus my love for a franchise almost as old as I am.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are comfortably nostalgic, with just enough modern tweaks to smooth over the rough edges.
Nintendo, Game Freak, and The Pokemon Company have made some odd decisions with pricing their products lately. Unfortunately, for many fans, these remakes were a bad omen that these trends will continue. The series has been criticized as being stagnate, and even going backward with things like Dexit. New and casual players likely won’t notice or care that the quality of the games has gone down with the last couple of releases. However, longtime fans are feeling increasingly disappointed, and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have done nothing to assuage that.
If you haven’t experienced Pokemon Diamond or Pearl yet and don’t have access to Platinum, then the Gen 4 remakes on Switch might be worth exploring. Sinnoh has its own charm to it, and completionists will likely enjoy the endgame that is Grand Underground collecting. I just hope that when the time comes to remake Black and White, whatever team handles it is a lot less conservative.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shiny Pearl are two pretty good remakes that will especially please those who did not know the originals. On the contrary, veterans may miss more news and, in particular, the changes introduced by Pokémon Platinum.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I've had an absolute blast with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and I know there's plenty more for me to see thanks to their sheer size. With changes that lean mostly toward quality of life improvements, this is a firm reminder that Pokémon games can be extraordinary and one of the most enjoyable remakes I've played in a long time.
There are some much-needed quality of life improvements, and the games are well polished and run really smoothly on the Switch. It’s hard to see newer fans finding much to appreciate here, but those that have fond memories of the original Diamond and Pearl will have a lot to love about Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
A controversial remake, which does not entirely manage to shake off the engorgements of the past.
Review in Italian | Read full review
No doubt these will sell well regardless of what I say, but if you're not already dying to play these, I would save the $60 for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, due out in January.
Overall, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are perfectly decent Pokémon games, but feel like a significant step back when compared to newer titles and the quality of previous Pokémon remakes. It relies too heavily on the Pokémon formula always providing a decent game, but doesn't bring much else to the table.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond is like a warm hug, offering nothing but smiles and enjoyment throughout. Long term fans will find the quality of life changes make it even easier, but nonetheless, it's an otherwise faithful remake and a joy from start to finish.
There remains about Pokémon Brilliant Diamond the glint of something far gone, and there is something warmly reassuring about the place.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of good games, with some excellent quality of life changes. But Nintendo has applied those changes inconsistently throughout.
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.
The new remakes of Pokémon's 2007 classics are faithful to a fault, but left us wondering why the creators have seen fit to remake them