Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Pokemon Shining Pearl Double Pack

 Switch
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 120 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 120
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 120
  3. Negative: 43 out of 120
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  1. HiimKai
    Dec 5, 2021
    9
    I was excited to play this game after playing the original 15 years ago as a kid. For me, it did live up to the hype as it the remake was faithful to the original. The story and music is still the best in the series in my opinion. Being able to enjoy it again on the latest gen of a handheld nintendo device is awesome.

    Im currently enjoying the postgame content with the addition of    I was excited to play this game after playing the original 15 years ago as a kid. For me, it did live up to the hype as it the remake was faithful to the original. The story and music is still the best in the series in my opinion. Being able to enjoy it again on the latest gen of a handheld nintendo device is awesome.

    Im currently enjoying the postgame content with the addition of Ramanas Park and the competitive rematches with gym leaders and the Pokemon league. I also enjoyed the countless hours in the Grand Underground with the mining and hunting for National Dex pokemon. I can’t really complain about the missing content of Platinum because I never got the chance to play it. I supposed the only downside is the Pokemon series continues to have little animation variance in battles and voice acting, which isn’t a big deal to me but it would be nice to have. Overall, I enjoyed the game and the nostalgia factor, this game can be enjoyed by newcomers and old-time fans alike.    … Expand
  2. CasualG1
    Nov 22, 2021
    9
    Many detractors out there unfairly criticize this game, but really and after many hours of play, I conclude that it is a faithful remake that maintains all the essence of its original games.
  3. Skwunjo
    Nov 23, 2021
    10
    This game gets a 10/10 for being a faithful remake with some of the best in-battle graphics Pokemon has to offer. It's very faithful to the original games with major quality of life improvements. Underground has been overhauled but my only complaint is secret bases have no furniture now. It is clear that ILCA put time and effort into this game, and it's impressive as it's their first bigThis game gets a 10/10 for being a faithful remake with some of the best in-battle graphics Pokemon has to offer. It's very faithful to the original games with major quality of life improvements. Underground has been overhauled but my only complaint is secret bases have no furniture now. It is clear that ILCA put time and effort into this game, and it's impressive as it's their first big game project as they've only helped with games on the side. The music is extremely good. If someone says the game is buggy, it's because they pirated the game and weren't able to get the update. Ignore the 0ratings for they're review bombing this game and have severe cases of autism. You'll see that they mostly have the two sinnoh remakes as the only game they're scoring sometimes next to Persona or SMTV getting a 10/10. This is due to an extreme case of mental illness and they've ruined the entire SMT franchise as a whole so just ignore them.… Expand
  4. PixelatedOdyssy
    Dec 7, 2021
    9
    I love this game, I grew up playing the original on the DS and this hits the nostalgia hard. Putting that aside, these are still good games.
    Are they perfect? no
    Are they fun and true to the original? yes the good: I feel like most of the people giving bad reviews expected as drastic of a change as we saw with sword and shield, which this game was never supposed to be. It has tons of    I love this game, I grew up playing the original on the DS and this hits the nostalgia hard. Putting that aside, these are still good games.
    Are they perfect? no
    Are they fun and true to the original? yes

    the good: I feel like most of the people giving bad reviews expected as drastic of a change as we saw with sword and shield, which this game was never supposed to be. It has tons of extra pre and post game content, quality of life changes, and everything you loved from the originals. This game was not marketed as or meant to be something more than a remake that's faithful to the original. There are new legendries, extra battles, easier shiny hunting, the new XP sharing system, and the game is more challenging than the originals at a lot of points. Basically if you like pokemon or liked the original games you will like this game.

    the bad: the price, $60 or $120 for both, is steep. I think $30 would be a much more fair price for one game. There were people who experienced soft locks and bugs, I was not one of those people. Since the 1.1.2 patch, all of those issues have been fixed. I know a lot of people wish they could turn off the new leveling system, I think that should be an option as well, but I also don't mind the XP sharing system. They added a penalty for time skips, so if you change your clock time manually then all timed events (trees, berries, timed pokemon, etc) will freeze for 24 hours. I hate this penalty, as they kept in the annoying timed events like trees taking six hour to find pokemon and berries taking hours of time to grow; they should've found a middle ground. They kept the original battle tower and shop, I think this is bad because the grind to level up pokemon post game takes a long time - I like how easy it was in sword to get XP or rare candies to level up and try new teams, this is a quality of life thing that should've been added. I also think they should've kept the sword and shield shiny hunting and IV hunting methods, the new additions are good, but not preferred imo.

    the mixed: some people complain that there are glitches you can exploit to duplicate pokemon and items, I personally think these are fun and since they only effect your offline play that they do not hinder the game or other people at all. There are also glitches that let you get timed event pokemon early, since this only effects offline play, I don't see it as an issue and it lets you play the game at your own pace. The post game grind feels like its too much, in order to get legendries you need to do a lot of tedious farming, this could've been optimized better.

    Overall. the games are what they were marketed to be, a new coat of paint with a few quality of life features added. This game is far better, especially after the patch, (although its annoying they didn't fix the issues beforehand) than the user score suggests. Its worth playing.    … Expand
  5. GenkiYokota
    Jan 27, 2022
    10
    Unlike ORAZ, this remake has a more reliable and conservative approach.
    Which is not all bad, in fact, it makes the game more nostalgic.
  6. iSimeon
    Nov 24, 2021
    4
    "...Not so Brilliant or Shiny...not even close..."

    Warning: Physical copy of game is not full game because it's on patch 1.10 and with patch 1.1.1 comes everything else that was promised and showcased but it's not on cartridge. Anyway... Game will not put you in amazing Pokemon experience ... not even close. Visuals are not bad (as some say) if you can go past the chibi style.    "...Not so Brilliant or Shiny...not even close..."

    Warning: Physical copy of game is not full game because it's on patch 1.10 and with patch 1.1.1 comes everything else that was promised and showcased but it's not on cartridge.

    Anyway...
    Game will not put you in amazing Pokemon experience ... not even close.
    Visuals are not bad (as some say) if you can go past the chibi style. That's the decision that they choose and I'm ok with it.

    But! Game is lacking to provide you enjoyable experience. In fact it gets so boring after few hours that you are put on place where you have to force yourself just to play to complete the game that you bought. Quickly you come to realisation how much you are generally overpowered despite what choice you make. Which eliminates almost every possible challenge that this game could provide.
    After a short while you will start to avoid every unnecessary encounter just to continue breezing through game and even with that being done, you are still way to powerful compared to NPC trainers.

    Even more, if you add that there are literally not fighting animations, it get's even worse. Only reason why there are positive reviews is because it's Pokemon...

    Pros:
    - it's Pokemon

    Cons:
    - gameplay
    - cash grab

    Visuals: 7/10 (if you don't mind chibi style)
    Animations: 0/10 (there is none in fighting)
    Sound: 7/10 (since 1.1.1 patch)
    Controls: 6/10 (moving through options, running, riding bike with analog sticks is pain)
    Gameplay: 3/10 (gameplay is generally boring because there is no challenge at all)
    Value: 3/10 (this is not worth 60$, it's closer to 15$)
    Replayability: 2/10 (if you decide to take Elite 4 over and over again, otherwise 0)

    Conclusion:
    It's Pokemon game and if you are fan or like the genre feel free to try it out but be sure that you buy used physical copy (there are lots of them being sold right now for 30-40$) so that you can sell it afterwards. Why? Because you sure will want to. Even with that price you will feel ripped off.
    So get used physical copy, sell it after you see yourself and save some money to buy Arceus.    … Expand
  7. Calabasaloka
    Nov 25, 2021
    0
    Pura mierda, como todos los juegos de Pokémon desde los Let's Go. Desde la sexta generación eran simplemente malos, antes aún, tenían algunos problemas (rejugando blanco y negro, son peores de lo que recordaba). Pero desde que pokemon llegó a switch esto es un desproposito, se ríen el cara de la gente y se cagan en una obra que nació como un proyecto verdaderamente apasionado. Pokemon estáPura mierda, como todos los juegos de Pokémon desde los Let's Go. Desde la sexta generación eran simplemente malos, antes aún, tenían algunos problemas (rejugando blanco y negro, son peores de lo que recordaba). Pero desde que pokemon llegó a switch esto es un desproposito, se ríen el cara de la gente y se cagan en una obra que nació como un proyecto verdaderamente apasionado. Pokemon está muerto, y Gamefreak no lo va a resucitar. Hay dos opciones: O Gamefreak, por dignidad, asume su incomptencia y deja la franquicia en manos de buenos diseñadores, o simplemente asuman los seguidores de estos juegos que Sol y Luna fueron los últimos juegos de Pokémon en los que, aunque fuesen mediocres, aún había una pizca de ambición (atrozmente llevada a cabo). Lo que quiero decir es que, aunque Sol y Luna, X e Y u ORAS no merezcan el tiempo de los jugadores y jugadoras, al menos había aún un mínimo esfuerzo por crear algo nuevo con esos juegos, que repetía la fórmula, sí, pero con matices. Ahora ya no quedan matices, la peña se come el mismo juego desde X e Y una y otra vez, pero cada una de las veces más mediocre que la anterior, con menos razón de ser. En fin, que Pokémon murió hace tiempo, solo vengo a recordárselo a algún despistado. Haré lo mismo con el Leyendas Arceus, que va a ser una mierda igual.… Expand
  8. usernamesrsh1t
    Nov 26, 2021
    0
    Wow! Two identical cash grabs with no new content, awful graphics, and more bugs in them than a rotting trash pile on a hot day? Just what I asked for!

    These games are terrible. Got them as a present and they ended up on eBay two days later because that's how long it took to beat and get bored of these watered down and lackluster games.
  9. ND-Bringer
    Dec 3, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bonus Cynthia Fight Review: Many people have claimed that the upgrades for the final boss fight against Cynthia is reason enough to play this game. Her team has max EV stats, good move sets, Platinum Pokedex upgrades later on in the post game, they have choice abilities, and they're even equipped with great items. Its the ultimate challenge fans have been waiting for! So then why does the battle feel so empty? First off, one of my biggest problems with this game that the Pokemon sprites may look good, but there still the same exact same sprite designs from generation 6 just with added color...I'm getting sick of seeing them. Second, these battle tactics are good, but they've been seen before in competitive play. Nothing feels new or fresh about this fight. Fans have fought Cynthia plenty of times before in games like Black & White and Sun & Moon. I her Garchomp was given new abilities like Gigantamax this fight would be able to stand out more. But because there aren't any new battle mechanics or returning mechanics from Sword & Shield, this battle feels dull and lifeless. Fire Red & Leaf Green's final battle feels fresh because Blue now has access to Pokemon abilities and Johto Pokemon! Heart Gold & Soul Silver's final battle feels fresh because Lance's Pokemon become more powerful thanks to the new Attack system and powerful new moves! Hell, even Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire's Steven Stone fight is a lot more interesting because he has access to Mega Evolution! Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's champion fight could appear in any other game from generations 6 to 8. This boss fight is behind its time. I managed to beat this difficult challenge on the first try, but I don't feel satisfied in the slightest. Probably its because I need to wait for a freaking update if I want to see actual pictures in the credits! If the new updates add interesting content I'll re-review this game post game in all. But if you ask me, Pokemon Platinum still remains as the most well-balanced way to experience the lush beauty of Sinnoh.… Expand
  10. Colton236
    Nov 30, 2021
    0
    No coop battle tower (multi battle) like the original. Will change my rating if they make it a "true" remake like it was advertised as.
  11. Latios___
    Nov 25, 2021
    0
    Bugs from able to clone Pokémon to softlocks. So many glitches, bugs to being able to skip all trainers, walking around ending up in different spots unintended and even berry planting crashing game bugs. That's too much. It's a broken game at release. Also not a fan of chibi stylistically, weird to see the enhanced version Platinum ignored, don't understand some choices like permanent expBugs from able to clone Pokémon to softlocks. So many glitches, bugs to being able to skip all trainers, walking around ending up in different spots unintended and even berry planting crashing game bugs. That's too much. It's a broken game at release. Also not a fan of chibi stylistically, weird to see the enhanced version Platinum ignored, don't understand some choices like permanent exp share obligation and single use TM. When everything is so faithful intended, why not have exp mechanism faithful (turned off) as option too? Was a great fan of the original Diamond and Pearl, but seeing this as the upgrade in over 15 years just feels too lackluster for me. It's not really worth the $60,-. Especially compared with changes in ORAS and HGSS, this just isn't up to par.… Expand
  12. pokemonmaster9
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    Everything is gone.

    You started back to old fashioned game, and it was difficult to play, like the original games. Everyone, do not buy. They didn't do a good job remake the idea. Poor gameplay, lack of difficulty, no all Gen 5-8, and story is still the same without re-imagining. Also, hidden should not include because we don't need it for the remake. I rather do the 3d dimensional,    Everything is gone.

    You started back to old fashioned game, and it was difficult to play, like the original games.

    Everyone, do not buy. They didn't do a good job remake the idea. Poor gameplay, lack of difficulty, no all Gen 5-8, and story is still the same without re-imagining. Also, hidden should not include because we don't need it for the remake.

    I rather do the 3d dimensional, instead of 2d dimensional. It's like old games, and the overall is worst. Evolution mechanic is old schools and became worst too.    … Expand
  13. TinCanStone
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros: Some song remixes are pretty good (but even the worst Pokémon games tend to have decent music), some battle backgrounds look nice.

    Cons: -Awful chibi style in the overworld that makes some scenes that are supposed to be tense into jokes (Cyrus awkwardly waddling around the edges of the carpet before talking about putting an end to everything)
    -Little to no Platinum features (no Charon, Looker, or Villa for example)
    -Forced EXP Share, regardless of if you hated grinding or not
    -OP Amie buffs upon reaching 100% friendship
    -Scuffed following Pokémon mechanic with the same exact issue SwSh had with some Pokemon being incredibly slow even though they literally got it correct in LGPE
    -Overworld Pokémon scaling so bad it’s hilarious
    -Only the original 493, not even any regional forms which even LGPE had (the same game that also cut cross-gen evos)
    -Still has many issues that plague the Pokémon series (Clunky and slow battle system with text boxes for everything, bad in-battle scaling, static/boring idle and attacking animations, lack of difficulty options)
    -Instead of Secret Bases you have rooms that you place uninteresting statues inside of and nothing else
    -So faithful that it contains many of the problems that DP had that Pt actually fixed/improved, the only problem that was technically improved in BDSP is Pokemon distribution
    -Just generally lazy and an obvious cash-grab since TPC knows that they’ll still sell
    -Further continuation of the really grubby practice of selling two versions so that two copies are needed for the ‘full’ experience.
    -The datamine revealed that a single flag in the games code can be switched, causing the game version to change. You are literally paying $120 for the same game twice.

    Basically, just play Platinum or some ROMHack if you want to play a Sinnoh game.    … Expand
  14. TheHonestMan
    Nov 22, 2021
    6
    Don't let the overly positive user score for double pack fool you, organized raids by reddit and discord are not an accurate representation of the quality of these games. Throughouly average throughout, and as remakes incredibly disappointing compared to HGSS. You can enjoy this game casually but a 9/10 game it is not. Tacked on new content and plenty of removed content from Platinum.
    You    Don't let the overly positive user score for double pack fool you, organized raids by reddit and discord are not an accurate representation of the quality of these games. Throughouly average throughout, and as remakes incredibly disappointing compared to HGSS. You can enjoy this game casually but a 9/10 game it is not. Tacked on new content and plenty of removed content from Platinum.
    You may have fun, but deep down this is not the remake you dreamed of when you first thought of gen 4 remakes. And don't you think it should be? World's biggest IP here folks.    … Expand
  15. qweqaz123
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    All in all the games are a dissapointment and does not justify the increased price-tag of 60 bucks, save your money for better JRPG's like Tales of Arise, SMTV, DQXI or just anything.
  16. Otts
    Jan 15, 2022
    0
    Shameless budget cash grab. A rushed project cutting as many corners as possible. Maximum profit, no passion.
  17. pastelisland
    Dec 6, 2021
    0
    This game is an obvious lazy cash grab. While claiming to be a “faithful” remake, they gut the Grand Underground, removing traps and being able to decorate secret bases. They gut the contests and remove dressing up, dancing, and judges to replace it with a boring one button, one line rhythm game. They don’t allow Exp share to be toggled off so the game is incredibly easy. You don’t evenThis game is an obvious lazy cash grab. While claiming to be a “faithful” remake, they gut the Grand Underground, removing traps and being able to decorate secret bases. They gut the contests and remove dressing up, dancing, and judges to replace it with a boring one button, one line rhythm game. They don’t allow Exp share to be toggled off so the game is incredibly easy. You don’t even have to try to win any battles, you can just mash A. The expressionless chibi models are laughable and so are the cutscenes. There are bugs and glitches. The game just feels so bland and lazy. The 2006 games made 15 years ago are more enjoyable. We should have better pokemon games made in 2021, especially when Nintendo has so much money and has made incredible new LoZ and AC games. If you want a nostalgic, challenging game, don’t waste your money. Use an emulator or drag out your DS. This game can only be recommended for young children. I suppose that’s who Pokemon is geared towards nowadays instead of working more towards their audience that has grown up playing the games.… Expand
  18. I_Trust_In_GF
    Jan 29, 2022
    10
    Remakes of the highest quality, it evokes nostalgia for a two game that was part of my childhood on the NDS.
  19. Cimmo72
    Mar 14, 2022
    8
    Remake done very well, faithful to the original games. I had a lot of fun exploring the Sinnoh region after years
  20. Marioipod13
    Aug 23, 2023
    4
    Get Platinum instead and maybe buy an Action Replay to get the mythicals. Switch games are low quality cash grabs with excessively strict terms of service.

    BDSP is also riddled with softlock bugs. I was once softlocked in Amity Square because for some weird reason they made following Pokemon count as solid objects. I also had a friend send me a picture of him stuck in between unbreakable    Get Platinum instead and maybe buy an Action Replay to get the mythicals. Switch games are low quality cash grabs with excessively strict terms of service.

    BDSP is also riddled with softlock bugs. I was once softlocked in Amity Square because for some weird reason they made following Pokemon count as solid objects. I also had a friend send me a picture of him stuck in between unbreakable snowballs in Snowpoint Gym. These were not issues with Platinum so why now?!

    Finally, the fact they kept the dex cuts for a remake is unacceptable. I think part of why remakes are fun is it's a good old adventure you already liked but with new Pokemon and new features. If I want to limit myself to the original 493 I can simply play Platinum instead.    … Expand