Pokemon Brilliant Diamond

 Switch
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 917 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 322 out of 917
  2. Mixed: 214 out of 917
  3. Negative: 381 out of 917
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  1. JSwizzle86
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Very poorly made remake. While the expansions to old features are nice, forced exp share on from the start, several gamebreaking bugs, sluggish battles, and softlocks in places such as Snowpoint Gym make for an awful experience. You're better off playing Pokemon Platinum than this rehashed "remake" trash. You don't even get to customize your character until way later into the game, and Platinum outfits are locked behind paid internet for Mystery Gift. These games have the same problem as the last three gens have had; too much lenience in the direction of newcomers, and almost nothing for veterans to sink their teeth into. Not to mention how awful grid-based movement and stiff turns look in a completely 3D environment.
    The few good things are mostly expanded on in postgame, such as rematches, the new Park, and more stuff to catch in the Underground.
    Otherwise, save your money. The worst part is that these games can have their versions changed with a single flag of its code being changed, so anyone who paid for the double pack was ripped off big time. Play Platinum, Renegade Platinum, or just old DP. The "National PokeDex" doesn't really contain anything beyond Gen 4, and Leafeon/Glaceon/Gliscor/Dusknoir (fanfavorites) are all stuck in postgame because they used the DP item distribution.

    Complete waste of money, save yourself some sanity, please.    … Expand
  2. Silaf
    Jan 30, 2022
    1
    They sold us an incomplete and nerfed game for the absurd price of 60 eruros.
    Some functions months after the release of the game are still missing. On top of that platinum version is still way better compared to this sloppy port.
    Uninspired cheap work with no new additions unlike omega ruby and alpha zaffire. Reason my score is 2 and not 1 is because pearl was a great game with a    They sold us an incomplete and nerfed game for the absurd price of 60 eruros.
    Some functions months after the release of the game are still missing. On top of that platinum version is still way better compared to this sloppy port.
    Uninspired cheap work with no new additions unlike omega ruby and alpha zaffire.

    Reason my score is 2 and not 1 is because pearl was a great game with a good map... somehow the remake ruin it for me.
    There are way better games to play compared to this uninspired work.    … Expand
  3. popc5
    Jan 15, 2022
    1
    Incredibly buggy. The graphics also seem to be a prototype version. Shouldn't have been sold.
  4. Amon2906
    Nov 22, 2021
    1
    This game is literally the minimum of a pokemon game. It only has the base content a pokemon game should have, thats it. After 1 hour, the gameplay just repeats itself. Go there-beat gym leader-go there. On the way of your adventure, you literally chase the same 3-4 wild pokemon every single time. Its always either geodude, ponyta, kricketune or bidoof.

    The graphic style can of course    This game is literally the minimum of a pokemon game. It only has the base content a pokemon game should have, thats it. After 1 hour, the gameplay just repeats itself. Go there-beat gym leader-go there. On the way of your adventure, you literally chase the same 3-4 wild pokemon every single time. Its always either geodude, ponyta, kricketune or bidoof.

    The graphic style can of course not please anybody, but that is not the bad thing. The bad thing is, how they implemented it. I like chibi art style, bot those character models in combination with those bad animation, is just ugly. There are many frame issues also.

    Next: The game is just too easy. I know, pokemon games are not popular for their difficulty, but this is a nightmare. their decision to force the player to use the exp. share, does make it even worse. Battles arent fun anyomore, because you already know you win, easily. Even though I tried to avoid as many battles as possible, I still was overleveled with at least 4 levels.

    Now it gets to the worst of all: The connex club. Wtf is this. It doesnt even work right. In comparison to the online systems of the last decade, this is a joke. You can only battle and trade, and thats it. If you join a room, there is literally one person, that isnt even moving. No one can accept your requestions and thats just pretty dumb. Connex club was not a bad idea back then: But it isnt anymore. I cant understand why the implemented this it didnt age well.

    In conclusion, this is not a good remake. Its more like a remaster. Which has definetily lower requierments than a real remake.    … Expand
  5. Aiodensghost
    Nov 28, 2021
    1
    Wanted Shin Megami Tensei V but was SOL, so I picked this game up instead since my sister also wanted to play it and we could share the game.

    The art work is HORRENDOUS. Whoever thought chibi characters where a good idea should've been fired. The game holds your hand WAY to much, and each enemy attack is pretty much predictable to the point you use maybe 1 or 2 moves per Pokemon. Hitting    Wanted Shin Megami Tensei V but was SOL, so I picked this game up instead since my sister also wanted to play it and we could share the game.

    The art work is HORRENDOUS. Whoever thought chibi characters where a good idea should've been fired. The game holds your hand WAY to much, and each enemy attack is pretty much predictable to the point you use maybe 1 or 2 moves per Pokemon. Hitting enemy weaknesses isn't as rewarding/satisfying as they are in Shin Megami Tensei because while they do slightly more damage they only do that, slightly more damage.

    You can, quite literally, complete this game with just your starter. Pitiful.

    The online portion of the game is absolute garbage. In the middle of an online battle? Well now your not because in 2099 you could have terabit internet and the game would still drop your connection to your opponent like a freaking hot potato. My sister can have this game since she wants to play it... I'm never buying a Pokémon game again, and I'm gonna stick to Shin Megami Tensei    … Expand
  6. mtkf
    Jan 3, 2022
    1
    The original has more charm than this weeb slop port job. There are basically zero quality of life improvements besides the thing that gives your whole party experience (which puts the game in easy mode) and the ability to use HMs without making a slave. The worst part of this pos is the CHARACTER MOVEMENT. The game lets you use an analog stick to roam freely while still using a gridThe original has more charm than this weeb slop port job. There are basically zero quality of life improvements besides the thing that gives your whole party experience (which puts the game in easy mode) and the ability to use HMs without making a slave. The worst part of this pos is the CHARACTER MOVEMENT. The game lets you use an analog stick to roam freely while still using a grid system, so you're constantly running into doorframes instead of a door, or moving around in a complete circle while trying to move between two rocks. This, mixed with the fact the game throws low level time wasting pokemon encounters at you every 5 steps makes this game an unbearable turd. I literally spent all my money on repels because I couldn't take it anymore. DO NOT BUY, buy or emulate the original.… Expand
  7. Bartson
    Nov 26, 2021
    1
    Keine Liebe im Spiel. Nicht mehr genacht als nötig. Das was verändert wurde ist nix was das Spiel verbessert. Vor allem mal wieder keine einstellbaren schwierivkeistsgrade
  8. Aboughtcritic
    Jan 30, 2022
    1
    Low effort remake of a classic that defined a lot of people's childhood. Embarrassing.
  9. Maor_NYC
    Feb 16, 2022
    1
    Actually **** this game.
    You already know why.
    I'm just happy we got Legends Arceus in the state we did, most likely cause gamefreak didn't need to split they're dev team to make both games.
    As long as gen 9 follows in legends footsteps were in a good place, otherwise it's back to soulless **** :(
  10. CoffeeSip
    Dec 12, 2021
    1
    Just so sick of the same old pokemon stuff. Gamefreak will literally never listen to us. I know this is a remake, but you can still feel the 0 effort they put into this. They don't even have the Vs recorder in the game which was oringally in Diamond and pearl. They don't even have a rank mode for this game :/. They left that on Sword and Shield.
  11. Mangoss
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    Nothing new, the same old copypaste, disappointing as always. Don't pay attention to the fanboys review, this game is made with the minimum effort and doesn't deserve your money.
  12. Lap1as
    Nov 26, 2021
    1
    Нет русского языка! Это просто стыдно, сейчас у многих малобюджетных инди игр(в которых иной раз текста больше чем в покемонах) есть локализация с русскими сабами, а у nintendo с game freak денег не хватило? Нинка позиционирует себя как друг семьи, но мой ребенок должен страдать играя на неродном языке.Нет русского языка! Это просто стыдно, сейчас у многих малобюджетных инди игр(в которых иной раз текста больше чем в покемонах) есть локализация с русскими сабами, а у nintendo с game freak денег не хватило? Нинка позиционирует себя как друг семьи, но мой ребенок должен страдать играя на неродном языке.
  13. Pgzus234
    Nov 22, 2021
    1
    Bad Graphics or better, similar in some way to 3ds graphically, rushed, and plus, incomplete unless you download update day one, without platinum content and has few current gen improvements, different than HGSS and ORAS, all of this for $60. And sorry for my bad English.
  14. PokeFanXD
    Nov 20, 2021
    1
    This is not a good remake.
    Why doesn't this remake have platinum content or any original content? When Heartgold Soulsilver had crystal content and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire had some Emerald content. No story changes, graphics looks like something came out the PS2 GameCube era. ILCA and Junichi Masuda should be a shamed of themselves! This not worth $60!!!
  15. Cyanocobalamin
    Nov 20, 2021
    1
    Small nitpicks like Amie boosts and untoggleable exp. share aside, the game simply fails to meet the graphical standards that would be expected of a 2021 Switch game. The game may be useful to those people who hadn't played the originals, but it fails to add enough content to justify its price tag and elicits profound sense of déjà vu for players of the original Diamond and Pearl versionsSmall nitpicks like Amie boosts and untoggleable exp. share aside, the game simply fails to meet the graphical standards that would be expected of a 2021 Switch game. The game may be useful to those people who hadn't played the originals, but it fails to add enough content to justify its price tag and elicits profound sense of déjà vu for players of the original Diamond and Pearl versions that released in 2007.… Expand
  16. Kamalghinaglia
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    It is my favorite game of the franchise, at the time in the DS I spent hours and hours playing, transferring my Pokémon from LeafGreen.

    With the graphics I have no complaints because they wanted to do something different, but the fact that it does not add anything new to the saga is a joke. Sadly I bought it expecting something new but it is only a remaster. How to ruin my hype in    It is my favorite game of the franchise, at the time in the DS I spent hours and hours playing, transferring my Pokémon from LeafGreen.

    With the graphics I have no complaints because they wanted to do something different, but the fact that it does not add anything new to the saga is a joke.

    Sadly I bought it expecting something new but it is only a remaster.

    How to ruin my hype in a long time.

    I give it a 1 just for nostalgia    … Expand
  17. TinCanStone
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    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)
    -Costs about 9-6 more dollars (assuming you bought DP/Pt when they released for $40) than the originals when accounting for inflation and not including a NSO subscription
    -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)

    Basically, just play Platinum or some ROMHack if you want to play a Sinnoh game.    … Expand
  18. YoBoyYo
    Nov 21, 2021
    1
    This game is almost literally a carbon copy of the original pokemon diamond and pokemon pearl. As such, it is hard for me to give this game anything more than a 1, because no game was "made" here, everything is just copied. But, I will give it a 1 instead of a 0 because it is an actual game that turns on and that you can win. Considering the 60$ price tag though, to anybody that reallyThis game is almost literally a carbon copy of the original pokemon diamond and pokemon pearl. As such, it is hard for me to give this game anything more than a 1, because no game was "made" here, everything is just copied. But, I will give it a 1 instead of a 0 because it is an actual game that turns on and that you can win. Considering the 60$ price tag though, to anybody that really wants to play this: I recommend playing pokemon platinum from 2009. Pokemon platinum is this game but better, because it has more content and it has pixel art instead of the visuals of this game, which unfortunately don't look good and are very reminiscent of a mobile game. Pokemon platinum is also a more challenging experience as there is no mandatory "Exp share" item to boost your pokemons' levels beyond your opponents'. Pokemon games are notoriously braindead-easy, so any possible increase in difficulty is a plus in this franchise.… Expand
  19. Mestear
    Dec 3, 2021
    1
    I want to say that first of all I do not blame ILCA, they have absolutely to no experience with game development. Probably they done what Nintendo wanted them to do, the bare minium. To milk money from all the nostalgic players. But this is not okay in year 2021. To take the same game with no new mechanics, and simply reskin it. In this case faithfull remake means lazy one. So what do youI want to say that first of all I do not blame ILCA, they have absolutely to no experience with game development. Probably they done what Nintendo wanted them to do, the bare minium. To milk money from all the nostalgic players. But this is not okay in year 2021. To take the same game with no new mechanics, and simply reskin it. In this case faithfull remake means lazy one. So what do you get for 60$? Questionable graphics and the same old game from year 2006. That's all, really. I would rather play platinum version, or diamond pearl. Those games are from the era when Nintendo/Gamefreak actually cared about the quality of games. I suggest that with the death of Satoru Iwata, we lost passion in pokemon games. But I refuse to enjoy this cashgrabs, even though gen 4 is one of my favourite.… Expand
  20. JamesKpa
    Nov 22, 2021
    1
    The game is fine, it maintains the essence of the original diamond, with pleasant graphics to see.
    The big problem is in the difficulty, it is null.
    I don't see any point in the exp being active for all the pokemons on the team, it should at least give the option to deactivate it, that added to other small things that make it too simple an adventure
  21. Ohnebein
    Nov 22, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its a failed chance. The missing of Platimum content, the EXP share system and the friendshipsystem are more than garbage. Its sad to play the game and constantly skip routes because the next gym is everytime under youre level. If you go to the gym and youre the same level youre pokemon constantly avoid attacks ad crit everythin into the ground. Pokemon hasnt to be hard but a bit more challenge than onehit everything is more than needed for a good game .… Expand
  22. 16thbirthday
    Nov 24, 2021
    1
    One point for the new graphics. The remake has no a sincerity, I’m even missing ORAS on 3ds. It hardly has any new contents being a new game in 2021 selling for 60$. All I want now is a National Pokédex, I have even put away my wild wish for the return of mega evolution.
  23. Teddy-Kun
    Nov 24, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Don't waste your money on this. I was never a fan of Pokémon going 3D, but I told myself the 3DS was holding it back. So how do these games look worse than Sun/Moon? The chibi artstyle on the overworld might be faithful to the originals, but it doesn't look that good. The entire game has no character, compared to the DS originals which, while being limited to being almost entirely 2D, where extremely charming. Compared to other 3D Pokémon games, the problem is probably best summed up as, the colors just don't pop. The games look very flat, compared to even the 3DS games. The games are laughably easy. They included every new thing that made the last games easier (EXP share for the entire team always on, Pokemon critting more often and surviving hits that should have KOed them if the friendship is high enough) and then decreased levels compared to the originals? The only exception is Cynthia which ramps the difficulty up to 11 with a competitive team. The story is a carbon copy of the originals with no notable changes. Post-game is non-existent and every change Platinum made is also cut completely. What did they improve? The new underground is a very nice addition, as well as the removal of HM's. Don't get me wrong you will have fun playing these games, but only because the originals where good games and you know what Platinum was better in every way. It feels like Gamefreak doesn't know what we like about Pokémon or what the fans want. They copy pasted the originals, made them 3D, made them easier and called it a day. They couldn't even be asked to include any Pokémon that weren't in the originals, even though the 3D aspect should make that an almost trivial task, by just doing what they did for the entire game, CTRL+C -> CTRL+V. No new features like Mega-Evolution, Z-Moves or even Dynamax are here. Additionally the games are already so bugged, that glitches similar to the original DS games where discovered. While these generally don't happen during a normal playthrough, they show a lack of polish. TLDR play a patched version of Platinum that removes some of the kinks or even just the vanilla version and you will have a better experience. If we call out EA for copy pasting the same game every year I. The Fifa series, Gamefreak shouldn't get any other treatment for doing the same, even if the games are 15 years old at this point.… Expand
  24. speepo
    Nov 24, 2021
    1
    I'm just going to be up front here when I say this; this game does nothing new. There is almost zero attempt at actually being better than the originals. Hell, even some content from Platinum is cut entirely when it would've benefitted the game heavily. The game is an absolute breeze to go through, even when up against endgame foes. This is because of two reasons:
    A) The EXP Share is    I'm just going to be up front here when I say this; this game does nothing new. There is almost zero attempt at actually being better than the originals. Hell, even some content from Platinum is cut entirely when it would've benefitted the game heavily. The game is an absolute breeze to go through, even when up against endgame foes. This is because of two reasons:
    A) The EXP Share is constantly on, thus meaning with just one party you can easily level your Pokemon to the point where they could defeat any opponent.
    B) If you have save data from Sword and Shield, you can get a Jirachi (an actual Mythical Pokemon) around the first few towns. The same applies for Mew.
    Meanwhile, the games keep negative features from the originals. Cyrus isn't even referred to by his real name, he's called "Boss" like in Diamond and Pearl. TMs are back to being temporary and one-use, a feature which everyone despised.
    The one positive change I can note is the decision to do something similar to Sun and Moon where HMs are restricted to Pokemon that you don't need to waste HMs on.
    All around, I wish it was something similar to Heart Gold/Soul Silver where the game keeps everything from Crystal, while still adding new things in as well.    … Expand
  25. SouperDooper369
    Nov 25, 2021
    1
    A “faithful” remake doesn’t mean a good remake. Ever since Sword and Shield dropped, I’ve taken notice of the lack of quality in the games Gamefreak has been putting out. Now, the lack in care, quality, or even effort has been put on full display with these two titles. There is absolutely ZERO effort put in to make the Sinnoh region from the original games shine. The original Diamond andA “faithful” remake doesn’t mean a good remake. Ever since Sword and Shield dropped, I’ve taken notice of the lack of quality in the games Gamefreak has been putting out. Now, the lack in care, quality, or even effort has been put on full display with these two titles. There is absolutely ZERO effort put in to make the Sinnoh region from the original games shine. The original Diamond and Pearl has been ripped straight from the Nintendo DS with Gamefreak only painting over it with 3D models instead of pixel art and only a handful of quality of life changes that aren’t necessarily a “welcome edition” but rather a necessity. The game, like all modern Pokémon games are way ok easy. I’ve been playing Pokémon for 15 years and I really wish the games grew up with me but they sadly haven’t. If you are at all interested in buying this game, go out and purchase yourself a used copy of Pokémon Platinum and enjoy a time when Gamefreak actually cared enough about their franchise. I hope this is just a side project and Legends: Arceus will actually have real effort put into it but from what I’ve seen as of late, it’ll most likely be just a shameless low effort cash grab and that depresses me.… Expand
  26. Manaki
    Nov 30, 2021
    1
    Nintendo still sits on their success and the knowledge that everyone will buy the new title, no matter how bad it is. You can again see how they didn't listen to the community nor to pro players.
  27. Kenkaara
    Dec 2, 2021
    1
    Isso não se deve ser chamado de Remake e sim de Remaste, pelo simples fato de que é exatamente igual os primeiros jogos, como assim? Não tem funções novas como Megas ou até mesmo Z-Move.
    Mecânica dos TM não sumirem da sua BAG agora não existe mais, eles somem igual aos jogos antigos, Pokémon agora não aprender outros golpes das outras gerações, exemplo disso é Zaptos que desde os jogos de    Isso não se deve ser chamado de Remake e sim de Remaste, pelo simples fato de que é exatamente igual os primeiros jogos, como assim? Não tem funções novas como Megas ou até mesmo Z-Move.
    Mecânica dos TM não sumirem da sua BAG agora não existe mais, eles somem igual aos jogos antigos, Pokémon agora não aprender outros golpes das outras gerações, exemplo disso é Zaptos que desde os jogos de Black/White aprende o movimento "Hurricane" e nesse REMASTE não e isso se aplica aos itens também por exemplo EVIOLITE todo mundo conhece esse item chatão, pois é ele nao faz parte desse jogo porque esse item só foi implementado na Quinta Geração.

    Reclamaram tanto da Pokedex de SW/SH que nao tinha todos os pokemon, essa aq nem se fala porque a nacional só chega ate os pokemon da Quarta Geração.

    Se é para pagar 300,00 reais na midia digital ou 480,00 reais na midia fisica ( EM UM JOGO DE SMARTPHONE) é melhor comprar o SW/SH ja que tem as mecânicas novas e sem tirar o fato de ter as batalhas ranqueadas que nesses jogos ele removerão.

    Questão de graficos eu nao me importo se é chibi ou cartoonizado ( poderias ser igual de LETS' GO), porem o jogo é sem polimento, quando começa as batalhas simplesmente o campo some e fica um local todo branco, não é vivo igual do X/Y ou de SW/SH, Pokemon te seguindo fora da PokeBola ridiculo até HG/SS consegue fazer umas dimensões de tamanhos melhor que esse REMASTE.

    Eu aconselho esperar o ARCEUS ( nao que seja bom, grafico pior q SW/SH), já que vai ser um jogo de pokemon com mundo semi aberto.

    Se fosse para da uma nota 0 a 10 para esse REMASTE eu daria sem duvida um 4 só pela nostalgia e por cauda do UNDERGROUD.    … Expand
  28. elysia1047
    Dec 6, 2021
    1
    ILCA ruined everything but the soundtrack. +1 for Soundtrack.
    I've played Platinum every year since it came out. Super hyped for this game. I made a metacritic account just for this. Affection RUINED this game. Over Leveled Pokemon the entire way through even while skipping a third of the trainers and repel on the entire time. not even the Competitively built elite 4 could save this game    ILCA ruined everything but the soundtrack. +1 for Soundtrack.
    I've played Platinum every year since it came out. Super hyped for this game. I made a metacritic account just for this. Affection RUINED this game. Over Leveled Pokemon the entire way through even while skipping a third of the trainers and repel on the entire time. not even the Competitively built elite 4 could save this game from the affection system. Plus I don't like the art. but thats the least of the problems. I don't even care that it was going to be an exact duplicate of DP. If it was. It would have been A LOT better. Yet another Trash game from pokemon.    … Expand
  29. Sweet_paco
    Dec 11, 2021
    1
    This game is uncomplete as hell, the took pokemon pearl as the base instead of platinum, the graphics are horrible, the entire game is a copy-paste of the original, 0% innovation, 0% new content, 0% easter eggs, and on top of that, people look like pinipongs, the could have done much better than that.
  30. Reddytal
    Dec 28, 2021
    1
    Mediocre en todo los sentidos y el peor Remake de todos sin duda. Ya fuera de la estética que te puede gustar más o menos el juego es horrible y todo el rato da la sensación de que los desarrolladores no sabían que hacer con el.
    Una perdida de tiempo y dinero.
  31. SnivyLink
    Dec 30, 2021
    1
    There’s no excuse anymore. How can a game made in 2021 be such a step back. The regressive trend that Pokémon has been making lately is so disappointing.
  32. LSWSjr
    Feb 8, 2022
    1
    From the makers of Pokémon Ransomware… sorry, I mean Pokémon Home… comes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, 2021 Switch remakes of 2006 DS games that they’re ultimately inferior to.

    Let’s start with the fact that these remakes require a Day One Patch almost as big as the game itself, which bodes well for future retro gamers who jump in after Nintendo finally shuts down the    From the makers of Pokémon Ransomware… sorry, I mean Pokémon Home… comes Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, 2021 Switch remakes of 2006 DS games that they’re ultimately inferior to.

    Let’s start with the fact that these remakes require a Day One Patch almost as big as the game itself, which bodes well for future retro gamers who jump in after Nintendo finally shuts down the Switch store. A problem all three original releases lacked.

    Even with the patch or let’s be honest, the other half of the game’s data which even combined is only 2/3 that of Sword and Shield’s upon release, these remakes are filled with numerous bugs, incomplete animations and brand new ways to both hard and soft lock your progress.

    There are also a number of issues related to the change to a 3D perspective, with some content unintentionally obscured by buildings and other terrain, pathing being restricted/exploitable and awkward looking NPC movement, just to name a few.

    Then we have the numerous features that have been changed for the worst. With Pokémon contests being stripped down to a single button rhythm game instead of a full side activity; the Grand Underground losing both its Hidden Base customisation, which has been replaced with a room of capture rate increasing statues, and its Capture the Flag mode; and finally, the rest of its online functionality is well… still unfinished as of the time of this review, three months after release… and like all mainline Switch Pokémon titles, most of the interactions are restricted to the version duo alone.

    Beyond that is the strange mix of old and new mechanics, most notably the now standard party wide Auto-EXP Share feature, which removes a lot of the grinding but then sees your team over levelled for the majority of the game’s runtime provided you battle all the NPC trainers along the way… until we get to the Elite Four and Champion, who’ve been bolstered by perfect stats, along with competitive level tactics and move/item uses. It’s actually quite jarring of a difficulty spike and many have commented on it being too much for children and adults alike to handle.

    As for the good additions, there’s the modern updates and rebalancing to the Pokémon and their move pools, as standard; the unwieldy 8 HMs of the originals have been replaced with interactions tied to gym badges; and most all of the trainer battle animations are very lively and unique.

    Ultimately however, these remakes just pale in comparison, not only to the originals, but to previous remakes like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Heart Gold and Soul Silver and yes, even Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee in several respects. All of these previous remakes felt like they’d improved, innovated and updated enough over the originals to justify their existences, in my opinion.

    Pokémon Diamond and Pearl had already received a definite rerelease in Pokémon Platinum some two years following, whilst the only serious innovation from these remakes is being able to play it on the TV, with a mix of new and reused 3D graphics and animations.

    Short of a significant overhaul and/or DLC, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will remain the inferior versions out of the five.    … Expand
  33. mimikyuu
    Dec 6, 2022
    1
    Essentially removed everything from Platinum that made it good. Didn’t prefer the chibi graphics. Hard to stay interested in enough to fully play through. Probably good for people who haven’t played the original Diamond/Pearl/Platinum games, or for diehard gen 4 fans.
  34. Pyrrha51
    Dec 9, 2022
    1
    I like Pokemon and I like Sinnoh but this remake just wasn’t it. It was basically a carbon copy of the original Diamond with a weird hybrid of Pokémon’s modern artstyle and a chibi artstyle that... is a little odd. There’s nothing from Platinum in the game outside of a few minor things like the early purchase outfits, and given that Platinum was the definitive Sinnoh game... that justI like Pokemon and I like Sinnoh but this remake just wasn’t it. It was basically a carbon copy of the original Diamond with a weird hybrid of Pokémon’s modern artstyle and a chibi artstyle that... is a little odd. There’s nothing from Platinum in the game outside of a few minor things like the early purchase outfits, and given that Platinum was the definitive Sinnoh game... that just means it’s a downgrade of an existing game. Every other remake added to itself in some way - new Pokémon from the generations that had come out after the original set of games, new features, content from or homaging the third, enhanced version of the games... BDSP falls flat on its face on delivering new features. Just go buy Legends Arceus instead for the true Sinnoh remake.… Expand
  35. helohe
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    The laziest pokemon game one can imagine. Did they just reuse all assets from animal crossing? The overworld looks so boring and generic. The pokemon encountered are very repetitive, there is not much new here. The puzzles are too easy. (I know this is a remake, so I did factor in that there should be some familiarity). The next totally new pokemon that is schedulled for 2022 is hopefullyThe laziest pokemon game one can imagine. Did they just reuse all assets from animal crossing? The overworld looks so boring and generic. The pokemon encountered are very repetitive, there is not much new here. The puzzles are too easy. (I know this is a remake, so I did factor in that there should be some familiarity). The next totally new pokemon that is schedulled for 2022 is hopefully better, although I am not very optimistic after they stated that it is not going to be open world after all.… Expand
  36. SammyHauguth
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    Because the third gym leader that uses hyper potions and drain... This game sucks, don't buy!
  37. Mogki
    Nov 25, 2021
    0
    It works on a technical level and everything looks alright but the whole game just feels like a soulless lazy cash in on nostalgia, it doesn't make me upset it just makes me sad. If you still have the original games don't even bother you won't miss a thing.
  38. dotaxlevel
    Dec 2, 2021
    0
    Игра пытается высосать все свободное время игрока. Тупо и ужасно
  39. camilongo
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    ILCA made a great job, but look that Game Freak and the Pokemon Company doesn't want to make great remakes of the 4th generation, this "remake" looks like a copy of the original games, it's more like a "remaster"
    there are great games, but this is because the original games were that good
    they didn't want to fix the fails that the original game had or add the upgrades that they add on Platinum
  40. Alcarin
    Nov 24, 2021
    0
    A Toddler could beat this game with closed eyes, played it once now, then uninstalled. Sad life, nintendo must think their users are brainless zombies.
  41. luckydutch
    Nov 25, 2021
    0
    An extremely low-effort remake. I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary but this is very poor. Also, it is absurdly easy. Just by following the most direct route to the next gym, you will massively out-level the gym by the time you get there. I think the new exp share system is part of the problem as it completely trivializes training your team. No longer do you need to try and useAn extremely low-effort remake. I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary but this is very poor. Also, it is absurdly easy. Just by following the most direct route to the next gym, you will massively out-level the gym by the time you get there. I think the new exp share system is part of the problem as it completely trivializes training your team. No longer do you need to try and use pokemon that are type-weak against certain opponents to train them, you can complete the entire game with one strong pokemon and your whole team will just passively level. That system combined with the over-tuned exp games mean that the game basically plays itself. Pokemon games were never 'hard' but this is now easy to the point where it is too easy for my 5 year old nephew.… Expand
  42. hosekisho
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    Yet another cash grab remake worse than the original. Seems to be the industry trend. If you like bad localization, lazy graphics, imbalanced arbitrary gameplay changes, and bugs, by all means get this game. If not, consider playing the original again or for the first time; you'll have a better experience.
  43. OriginalOne
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    Due to my lack of better judgment, I ended up buying the game because I enjoyed Platnium. Comparing it to its contemporary though, the graphics are just hideous. Especially the close ups, a 3D-modelling university student would do better. Diamond and Pearl fans deserved better...
  44. Correct-ahloosh
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    It's 2021 and they're getting away with selling a remake worse than a rerelease from 2009 for $60. Don't support garbage like this if you want them to actually try for the next one
  45. iqreyesg
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    If you wanna see one of your favorite games ever destroyed, play this. They had the chance to bring back the world of platinum in a 3d powerful way, but they preferred using toy models and horrible graphics. Exp share its always on, move animations are the same from sum/moon, and they didn't added anything. If you got the classic games, keep them, pokemon will never show its glory in theIf you wanna see one of your favorite games ever destroyed, play this. They had the chance to bring back the world of platinum in a 3d powerful way, but they preferred using toy models and horrible graphics. Exp share its always on, move animations are the same from sum/moon, and they didn't added anything. If you got the classic games, keep them, pokemon will never show its glory in the next remakes.… Expand
  46. OnlyOneHere
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    This game is extremely expensive. The greedy developers are charging $60 for a remake. That is $20 more than what the original was at launch. In what world does a remake/remaster cost more than the original? Usually you would expect a cheaper price from an old game getting reworked, especially one that is 15 years old. If it is the same price as the original, you would expect a collection,This game is extremely expensive. The greedy developers are charging $60 for a remake. That is $20 more than what the original was at launch. In what world does a remake/remaster cost more than the original? Usually you would expect a cheaper price from an old game getting reworked, especially one that is 15 years old. If it is the same price as the original, you would expect a collection, but the developers were too greedy for that. Keep in mind that this is only half of the game at $60, and it doesn't even have the AAA quality to justify the $60 price tag. It will cost you a total of $120 if you want to experience the full game. Imagine charging $120 for a remake of a 15 year old game. This outrageous greed makes EA and Take-Two look like saints in comparison.

    The graphics are a joke. The physics are beyond horrible. Every time my Pokemon attacks or gets attacked, it will have the same lazy animation as always. This is a 2021 $60 game. At this point, I should be seeing a variety of animations and physics in Pokemon battles that resemble what I've seen in the Pokemon TV show. We already have AAA games that can somewhat replicate big budget movies, yet the developers of this game can't even replicate an old cartoon. It just goes to show how cheap and lazy the developers are. I don't recommend this game at all, unless you want to support laziness.    … Expand
  47. AlexBlasio
    May 21, 2023
    0
    It is a game made with little effort and love, for the new consumers it was a great disappointment, let's hope that a misfortune does not happen again as it is.
  48. asdfgrand
    Mar 6, 2022
    0
    The most terrible remake game project humanity ever encounter with horrible, glitch-filled launch. GameFreak should have no love on their creation anymore, so neglecting they outsourced the game development to ILCA, the horde of assistant programmers who have zero experience of development from scratch. Pokemon is dead.
  49. Turndown4hwut
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    This game, and it's sister game Shining Pearl, are some of the most superfluous games I have ever played. I mean, yeah, if you play a remake of a game you already own, it will feel pointless, but while Diamond and Pearl were obviously made in 2006, they were great for the DS, while the remakes still feel like they're stuck in 2006. Even just considering Pokémon remakes, those still had aThis game, and it's sister game Shining Pearl, are some of the most superfluous games I have ever played. I mean, yeah, if you play a remake of a game you already own, it will feel pointless, but while Diamond and Pearl were obviously made in 2006, they were great for the DS, while the remakes still feel like they're stuck in 2006. Even just considering Pokémon remakes, those still had a reason for you to pick them up.
    FireRed and LeafGreen had the Sevii Islands, so you could get Johto Pokémon in Generation 3, without having to get a Gamecube, Colosseum, or eventually XD.
    HeartGold and SoulSilver added so much content they could basically be considered new games. The Safari Zone, new routes in Johto, and Kanto dungeons that were cut from the original Gold & Silver came back, better than ever before.
    Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as much as they ignored the good stuff added in Emerald, *cough* Battle Frontier *cough*, Mega Evolutions were still there, in fact, they actually introduced more of them, plus two Primal Reversions for Groudon and Kyogre. And also, incredibly minor, mind you but it's still worth mentioning, Mauville City was changed, for the worse, but there was still more stuff to do than in the original GBA games.
    Even Let's Go! Pikachu and Let's Go! Eevee allowed you to get Meltan and Melmetal in Pokémon GO, at least until you could get them just by transferring stuff into Pokémon HOME.
    Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the other hand, offer nothing to convince you to play them over the original Diamond and Pearl if you own them, and if you own Platinum, then apart from the Platinum Outfit available to early adopters, Rotom Forms and Origin Forme Giratina, there is no Platinum Content. No Battle Frontier (again), no Charon, No villa, and no Distortion World.
    On top of that, there's the forced Gen 6 EXP Share, which basically means if you want some sort of challenge, you need to catch 5 random EXP sponges so your starter doesn't get too overleveled, forced Amie bonuses, which basically add up to Pokemon curing themselves of statuses, boosted Critical Hit chances, and for the Pokemon to survive an attack that would otherwise faint it. At least with the Amie bonuses, you can reduce friendship with herbs, but I want my Pokemon to be friendly with me, without basically getting cheats. Also there are no regional forms and cross generational evolutions, meaning you can't use Sylveon or Sirfetch'd. Even Let's Go at least had the regional forms.
    TL;DR: If you own Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum, do yourself a favor and not only avoid these games, but to hold onto them for dear life. Especially if it's Platinum. If you don't own them, or you decide to buy them anyway, then you'll be in for a horribly easy time, unless you intentionally do some things to make the game a bit more bearable.    … Expand
  50. zycore718
    Oct 12, 2022
    0
    There is absolutely no reason to buy this if you still have a copy of Platinum. BDSP offers less than a 10-year-old game for more money. Every other remake added a wealth of new stuff to the base game - yes, even ORAS. BDSP on the other hand got a slightly better Underground and that's it. It can't seriously call itself a remake on the same level as HGSS or even FRLG, the most basic remakeThere is absolutely no reason to buy this if you still have a copy of Platinum. BDSP offers less than a 10-year-old game for more money. Every other remake added a wealth of new stuff to the base game - yes, even ORAS. BDSP on the other hand got a slightly better Underground and that's it. It can't seriously call itself a remake on the same level as HGSS or even FRLG, the most basic remake which STILL at the very least added a brand new area to explore.

    But then again that's what you get when the devs have literally only worked with 3D modelling before - you get essentially a port with pretty HD graphics but that is nearly identical in every way to Diamond and Pearl, which were screaming out for improvements.

    But because Masuda hates acknowledging that other directors made his base games better, everything that made Sinnoh actually good in Platinum - the superior graphics, the better wild encounter roster and Trainer teams, the Battle Frontier, the Distortion World, the extra story, even LOOKER who is a popular character and has had cameos in OTHER GAMES - gets the shaft.

    The sad legacy of BDSP will be a game that was given the middle finger by Game Freak, gutted by Masuda, sent out to die against the vastly superior Legends Arceus, and had to be completely modded by fans (thank you, Team Luminescent) to even get a somewhat decent final product.    … Expand
  51. greninjaX
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    easily the worst of the pokemon remakes (aside from let's go). they won't even use the platinum dex. the purposely keep problems from the original in order to be "faithful remakes". pokemon remakes shouldn't be faithful. they should try to improve and make it feel fresh. BDSP refuses to do that. it continues the pokemon companies trend of making all the switch pokemon games awful.
  52. flashmcg10
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    At this stage pokemon remasters are a joke and just a cash grab. Doing the bare minimum on a console that could accommodate so much more.
  53. 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
  54. RevUBrah
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    One job. They had one job. Copy and paste Platinum while sprinkling in bonus content like new Mega Evolutions. And they couldn't do it, so we're stuck with a $60 game with less content than one released 13 years ago.
  55. Mayanknaithani
    Dec 20, 2021
    0
    My favorite game series is dead, and the saddest part is it died due to greedy corporate milking our nostalgia and dumb player base buying anything thrown to them.....
    I have been buying every Nintendo console just for Pokemon and have pre-ordered every single Pokemon game, well I personally am done with Pokemon.
  56. christopher857
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Once again, the Pokémon Company shows that it doesn't know how to create games. The worst remake ever!
  57. prayformojo33
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Vergüenza que una empresa tan popular apruebe 3 juegos super mediocres seguidos, me refiero al sword, lets go y este, adiós Pokémon
  58. Zodiacbraves
    Dec 10, 2021
    0
    Either balance the exp share or allow it to be turned off. An unbalanced exp share removes all enjoyment from the game. Unless you are constantly replacing your party you'll be double the level of trainers around you shortly after the first gym.
  59. Maxentirunos
    Jan 13, 2022
    0
    I really wanted to like this game but the more I played it, the more it felt like a ripoff cashgrab for my nostalgia of Gen4 and less like a pokemon remake.

    Pokemon remakes are known to be the best remake made, adding new contents based on 3rd game of gen and actual recent gameplay. The last we got before BDSP was let's go, which while controversial with the new gameplay mechanic    I really wanted to like this game but the more I played it, the more it felt like a ripoff cashgrab for my nostalgia of Gen4 and less like a pokemon remake.

    Pokemon remakes are known to be the best remake made, adding new contents based on 3rd game of gen and actual recent gameplay. The last we got before BDSP was let's go, which while controversial with the new gameplay mechanic inspired by Go, was still a fantastic remake.

    BDSP try to hide behind the 'faithful' excuse but actually only is for things that weren't working and were corrected in platinum. The chibi design is jarring weird when the story turn any seriousness. No, Chibi art isn't Pixel Artstyle and this ''pokemon before XY where all chibi'' must die. Any change is just a QoL like 3D deplacement that somehow break the game and can softlock you.

    But not only this game is a downgrade from the platinum games, a 11 years old game, but also doesn't propose anything that would justify buying it over playing platinum or an hack of it. There is no new content. One thing for example that could have made it worth it would be the new addition of Primo Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and Arceus. Or new megas. Or better postgame content. But no.    … Expand
  60. ProfAmateur
    Dec 7, 2021
    0
    It's unbelievable how Nintendo still manages to steal money from clients.
    Instead of remaster Platin - which already contains many bugfixes and life of quality features - they just did it on the 2 previous editions, just to make more and more money. As a Pokemon-fan since 1999, i have just some tears left for this franchise.
  61. reviewer01
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    Bad graphic. To many bugs. Gamefreak bad. GTA trilogy definitive edition ver pokemon
  62. Red_Meridian
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Shin Megami Tensei 5 blows these games out of the water. Pokemon is the most profitable franchise of all time. They should be embarrassed by the lack of quality and content. As a lifelong Pokemon fan I myself am embarrassed by these lazy cash grabs,
  63. Exuvia
    Nov 24, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es igual a un animal crossing de hace 2 generaciones, un ascovídeo y una estafa acargo de gente inoperante eh irresponsable que no sólo hizo un trabajo mediocre sinó que también filtró el juego antes de su salida...… Expand
  64. spice9
    Dec 4, 2021
    0
    This is, at best, a $30 iOS/Android game. I don't blame Game Freak or ILCA - not at all. In fact, they've made an incredibly smart business move here. They knew that the fans were begging for a Gen 4 remake for years. Demand was through the roof. They knew that this would sell no matter how little effort they put into it. And so that's exactly what they did. They pawned it off to a literalThis is, at best, a $30 iOS/Android game. I don't blame Game Freak or ILCA - not at all. In fact, they've made an incredibly smart business move here. They knew that the fans were begging for a Gen 4 remake for years. Demand was through the roof. They knew that this would sell no matter how little effort they put into it. And so that's exactly what they did. They pawned it off to a literal mobile game dev team and made a mobile game - and it's selling like hotcakes. They took a massive dump on the desire and hype for these remakes.
    There's nothing I can say in this review that hasn't already been said. Anyone can look at the gameplay and see for themselves. If you compare the amount of new content in ANY of the other Pokemon remakes such as HGSS or ORAS, you can see a stark contrast with BDSP. You can even simply compare it with the other Pokemon games that have been released on the switch. This does NOT look or feel like a Gen 8 game. It is a direct downgrade. These games are lazy, unrefined, and a shallow insulting depiction of the original DP. I've completed the game in the roughly 72 hours I've had my copy and will be returning it for a refund. All around just incredibly disappointing.    … Expand
  65. Lucariomain05
    Nov 28, 2021
    0
    A blatant, empty cash grab and a disgrace to the Pokémon community. Platinum content, which was intended to address the mistakes of the original games, is missing entirely, the art style feels like it was lazily hashed together over a weekend, the XP system is bland and unrewarding, and there have been barely any changes or enhancements from the original source material. Don’t waste yourA blatant, empty cash grab and a disgrace to the Pokémon community. Platinum content, which was intended to address the mistakes of the original games, is missing entirely, the art style feels like it was lazily hashed together over a weekend, the XP system is bland and unrewarding, and there have been barely any changes or enhancements from the original source material. Don’t waste your $60 on this crap and spend it elsewhere. This was absolutely not worth my time or money.… Expand
  66. JusticeServed
    Jan 17, 2023
    0
    This game is a scam. It delivered nothing that could remotely qualifies as a remake game.
  67. Zaregoto
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    I loved the original games when they first came out on the DS, and this doesn't do them justice at all.
    Pitiful overworld art style, screwed up balance because of gen7 movesets and forced exp share, while at the same time providing almost no new content or any platinum content for that matter. They consciously decided against it too. Not just that, Gamefreak looked at gen 4 and was like    I loved the original games when they first came out on the DS, and this doesn't do them justice at all.
    Pitiful overworld art style, screwed up balance because of gen7 movesets and forced exp share, while at the same time providing almost no new content or any platinum content for that matter. They consciously decided against it too. Not just that, Gamefreak looked at gen 4 and was like "this isn't worth our time" and made some random mobile game company create the game for them. It looks like a joke in comparison to Alpha Saphire which released 7 years ago. Please do not support this. Show Gamefreak that you don't just gobble up anything they shove down your throat.    … Expand
  68. Doog39
    May 7, 2022
    0
    Way to easy of a game until halfway through the elite four, then you can’t do anything. Do not recommend.
  69. NTG07
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    What the **** happend Pokémon this game has no distortion world no battle frontier no platinum gym rooms and a really easy difficulty like why this game should’ve been called Pokémon Shiite diamond and **** pearl because of the chibi forms Oh My ****ing God I hate those chibi forms they’re disgusting to look at in Pokémon history I’d give this game a 0/10 Pokémon sword and shield wereWhat the **** happend Pokémon this game has no distortion world no battle frontier no platinum gym rooms and a really easy difficulty like why this game should’ve been called Pokémon Shiite diamond and **** pearl because of the chibi forms Oh My ****ing God I hate those chibi forms they’re disgusting to look at in Pokémon history I’d give this game a 0/10 Pokémon sword and shield were better then this absolute joke of a threat to Pokémon no ****… Expand
  70. Valaquenta
    Dec 1, 2021
    0
    a very boring game with much less content than what I expected. not worth of a $60 game, save your money for legends Arceus instead.
  71. Ali566
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    Bad art style. Visually this game looks bad. Chibi models, the grass and a lot of other parts of the game don't look good especially when you compare it to pokemon games like Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee that looked a lot better
  72. incubatedveg
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    what a boring remake... seriously its hard to imagine how gamefreak can take away many of the (admittedly few) interesting features from the more recent titles when putting out this, and there are still some people that are happy paying $60 for this. It feels like a remaster made for the 3ds, not the switch in 2021.
  73. Q-BEE-DEE
    Feb 7, 2022
    0
    Literally pointless. This remake offers absolutely nothing in terms of substance or value. It's the same game released 15 years ago except with a significantly worse art style and some incredibly minor tweaks, some of which actively worsen the experience of playing the game. The 60 $ price tag is absurd, especially given that it offers less content and quality than the updated version theyLiterally pointless. This remake offers absolutely nothing in terms of substance or value. It's the same game released 15 years ago except with a significantly worse art style and some incredibly minor tweaks, some of which actively worsen the experience of playing the game. The 60 $ price tag is absurd, especially given that it offers less content and quality than the updated version they released for 40 $ 13 years ago.… Expand
  74. Herbollo
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    I don't recommend it.
    The game has some serious issues like fps drops (30 to 19 fps). Graphics is not impressive at all compered to other switch games like Link's awakaning who uses the same chibi art style. And most importantly it has less content than the Platinum version on DS. It is the most lazy remake i ever seen.
  75. JunaCrawford
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Awful just absolutely awful!!!!! Overpriced samey garbage. Not worth any of your money!!
  76. 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
  77. shoutouttoVP
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    -The game that ships on the card is UNFINISHED. The Battle Area needs to be downloaded as an update, meaning the base game has less content than Diamond/Pearl, let alone Platinum.
    =The real contests from the original were replaced by a terrible rhythm minigame.
    -The graphics look like a low budget PS2 game. The presentation is also terrible without the patch, to the point where the title    -The game that ships on the card is UNFINISHED. The Battle Area needs to be downloaded as an update, meaning the base game has less content than Diamond/Pearl, let alone Platinum.
    =The real contests from the original were replaced by a terrible rhythm minigame.
    -The graphics look like a low budget PS2 game. The presentation is also terrible without the patch, to the point where the title screen and credits are placeholders.

    This is by far the LAZIEST Pokemon game ever made. It makes LGPE and SWSH look good by comparison. I can't believe we once complained about ORAS, that game actually had effort put into it, unlike this mess.    … Expand
  78. digiblader
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Severely outdated and a sign Game Freak isn't giving a damn about Pokemon anymore.
    And considering this is the Switch - you'd think they'd do a better job graphically and updated the game mechanics.
    And forced EXP. Share basically ruins it - the series has already been dumbed down heavily since Sun & Moon, and this isn't going to help. Not to mention you have to download a patch to    Severely outdated and a sign Game Freak isn't giving a damn about Pokemon anymore.
    And considering this is the Switch - you'd think they'd do a better job graphically and updated the game mechanics.

    And forced EXP. Share basically ruins it - the series has already been dumbed down heavily since Sun & Moon, and this isn't going to help.

    Not to mention you have to download a patch to get the full game because it was rushed to market!

    You're better off playing the DS originals and skipping this overpriced remaster.    … Expand
  79. pokemonmaster9
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    The problem is that the Pokémon do not have 3d dimensional. It was awful.

    First, you didn't re-imagined the remake, no Gen5-8 Pokémon, version exclusive is too difficult for trade, poor glitches, and same basic gameplay. It was worse than the original that I got when I was a kid. HM's and contests are like same but it was too lackluster. Also, the presentation and story are still the    The problem is that the Pokémon do not have 3d dimensional. It was awful.

    First, you didn't re-imagined the remake, no Gen5-8 Pokémon, version exclusive is too difficult for trade, poor glitches, and same basic gameplay. It was worse than the original that I got when I was a kid. HM's and contests are like same but it was too lackluster. Also, the presentation and story are still the same, instead of scrapping like Great Marsh, it was awful without freedom. National Pokedex is too difficult, so no National Pokedex NOWWWWW!

    It is too old fashion to play Pokémon, so do not buy this games everyone. They didn't do a good job remade the story like the previous remake.    … Expand
  80. anhiyprjqqjedvj
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    This game barely counts as a remake... it's more like a port with (bad) new graphics and a few new features. It was obviously not intended to be equal to previous remakes in the Pokemon series, which added new Pokemon, had new artwork, and added TONS of things. There is nothing on par with the Sevii Islands, Battle Frontier, Pokeathlon, Delta Episode or Soaring. There are no current genThis game barely counts as a remake... it's more like a port with (bad) new graphics and a few new features. It was obviously not intended to be equal to previous remakes in the Pokemon series, which added new Pokemon, had new artwork, and added TONS of things. There is nothing on par with the Sevii Islands, Battle Frontier, Pokeathlon, Delta Episode or Soaring. There are no current gen Pokemon either.

    This is just worthless.    … Expand
  81. MasterMimiii
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    The worst Pokémon remake ever made, the game já full of serious bugs never seen um any other games of the franchise, the following Pokémon don't even follow right, and are in a pathetic scale. There are no new things in the game, as a remake should have, and the art style is horrible. This is much like a remaster than a remake.
  82. cleangame37
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    This is very fun game. However, there are so many BUGS. Some of those are so critical that you should restart a game because of the BUG. As you know, this is not free game. You spend money on this,very expensive of course, and you get lower qualities, and many bugs. This is really meaningless remake.
  83. USAGI7
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Graphics: sword/shield better
    Pokemon: there are only 4 generation pokemons, no added latest pokemons.
    Level: very easy at first, but hard to see an ending because of an insane Cynthia
    Total:sword/shield better. ILCA should not make a pokemon game.
  84. adrienqua
    Dec 19, 2021
    0
    A SHAME. A lazy remake, it runs at 720p 30fps.
    Nothing new, the game doesn't looks good, clearly too colorful, 3d models are soulless.
    Play the original games, they are way better.
  85. D215
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    The worst Pokemon game ever made. The art style is terrible. The game is full of bugs. The idea they introduced for legendaries is a joke. Everything about this game is pathetic.
  86. AquaArmour
    Nov 20, 2021
    0
    Been waiting for a Diamond and Pearl remake for about a decade now, excited for when it would be finally Sinnohs time. Pokemon Diamond is my favourite game of all time, and it hurts to see this game turn out to be such a disappointment.

    The graphics are bland, the chibi art style doesn't fit the grand story and lore of simmoh at all. The textures are faded and blurry. Only good thing I    Been waiting for a Diamond and Pearl remake for about a decade now, excited for when it would be finally Sinnohs time. Pokemon Diamond is my favourite game of all time, and it hurts to see this game turn out to be such a disappointment.

    The graphics are bland, the chibi art style doesn't fit the grand story and lore of simmoh at all. The textures are faded and blurry. Only good thing I can say about the graphics is that I like the post processing bloom and depth of field. The beautiful faded bluish green grass of sinnoh has been replaced by ugly high contrast dark green.

    Gameplay is copied directly from the originals, with the map being 100% block to block recreation of the originals. Most of the features are the same, but some features are even take away. All the platinum features, the exp share as an item etc. are all missing. The exp all breaks the entire leveling curve, which would have been fine if it was adjusted, but that was ripped directly from the originals as well.

    The marketing seems to hide behind the term faithful remake, which all the defenders of the game seem to parrot. Pokemon remakes were already relatively faithful compared to what other developers were doing with their remakes. Every Pokemon remake before this was able to stay faithful while still adding a lot to the table. The faithful remakes term seems to be just an excuse for not adding meaningful content to the game. Game design decisions need to benefit the game in some way right? art wise or gameplay wise? This does neither, so it is obvious it was a time and budget saving measure. Making the game faithful does not benefit anyone at all, old fans or new.

    If a rating of 0 seems too harsh for you, then please take into mind that this remake of my favourite game of all time, made into one of the few games I actually hate.    … Expand
  87. Forketta95
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    A good remake, I think the chibi style fits better than the Sword/Shield's Graphics.
    Anyaway 60$/€ is waaaaay to much for this.
  88. Thorai
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is honestly the worst Pokemon game I've played so far. I just finished the league and I have no motivation whatsoever to even go on playing or look at anything postgame. I am severely disappointed.

    The good:
    - The new Underground is great

    The bad:
    - Incredibly boring, repetitive gameplay
    - Poor style, even if you like the chibi-look, the movement in cutscenes is unnatural and clunky
    - EXP-share makes any grinding the originals might have needed redundant.. but of course they leave in every single trainer that you needed back then, forcing you into unavoidable battles that feel like a waste of time.
    - They abandoned everything Platinum improved on for an utterly boring story. Yes, our 'Fire Type' Elite 4 still only has 2 Fire Types in his team of 5. Because the only ones that exist, outside of the Underground, are the Fire Type starter... and Ponyta. 2. In the entire game.
    - The former Touchscreen Poketch features are basically unuseable with how much of a hassle it is toeven try and use them

    My playthrough experience: For about 28 hours I fought the same 15 or so Pokemon over and over, mostly consisting of pokemon in their unevolved forms somewhere between level 15 and 30 while your own team has already passed level 40. Half of that time it's either Trainers with Bidoof, Bugs, 5 magicarps or at least 4 Geodudes and 1 Onix with sturdy... which all give you about 20 to 30 exp. While in the grass the NPC is standing in you can find the evolved form of what they're using at about 6 levels higher. In heavy contrast to that, the Gym fights are suddenly 15 levels higher than the trainers you fought right before that and actually pack a punch. Which would be great if the way there wouldn't be an utter chore.
    The only enjoyable part is Victory Road where you are suddenly encountering Trainer types never seen before, using evolved Pokemon of a decent level, making you actually feel like this is worth your time. And then we come to the Elite 4... which seem to have Pokemon with perfect IVs and EVs as, for some reason, even a 7 levels lower Golem manages to outspeed and oneshot your darling Penguin. In the end, despite beating the Elite 4 in what could be a thrilling battle, the game leaves you too drained and annoyed to even feel any joy for beating Cynthia.
    Sadly, that makes a grand total of maybe 1 hour of 'interesting fights' within the 30 hours of gameplay it took me to get through.

    In summary: I regret buying the game and wasting my time. If you miss Diamond and Pearl, play Platinum instead. If this had been a Remake of Platinum, which already covered so many of its predecessors weaknesses, it might have been a good game... but this way, they were basically shown what to do to improve their C-Grade game into an A-Grade one - and decided to just put a little graphics-glitter on top instead of anything else, then wondering why it's still C-Grade.    … Expand
  89. qweqaz123
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    This is a remake from a game made over 10 years ago who in my opinion don't live to the hype does not justify the increased price-tag of 60 bucks.. While they were able to fix some of the flaws of it's original version they also gutted content from the original like the secret bases and contests, not only that but this has made some dubious choices like turning back TM's to being breakableThis is a remake from a game made over 10 years ago who in my opinion don't live to the hype does not justify the increased price-tag of 60 bucks.. While they were able to fix some of the flaws of it's original version they also gutted content from the original like the secret bases and contests, not only that but this has made some dubious choices like turning back TM's to being breakable and the weird art-style who tries to resemble the original but it makes this game look like some low quality mobile game even thought artstyle wise the LGPE games already had a way better inbetween of the original sprites and the more modern and anime-like models. I don't deny they did some good like HM's not being forced, customization and the underground mons letting you get pokémon not on the dex but those sounds more like putting up a flatboard over a huge hole and calling it a bridge. It makes me wonder though was it just ILCA responsible for those games being so underwhelming or higher ups messing up the gamedev? I dunno what I know is when compared to EVERY single remake this one falls flat, even the ORAS ones were able to bring more stuff to the table than this one.… Expand
  90. Redzorr
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    The line between remake and remaster are way too close. This game sides more to the remaster side rather than remake. BDSP is the same exact game played back in the DS era with an odd "fresh" coat of paint. The new art style looks worse than ever. Definitely not worth buying this, better off playing the original
  91. mandasman
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    Trash graphic top of series and really many critical bug also full price i think this game worst pokemon game
  92. armageddon37000
    Nov 21, 2021
    0
    The worst remaster and the worst pokémon game at a time.

    I’ve been playing pokémon and red and blue games on game boy since I was 8 years old. I’ve done every generation, year after year. In 2003, game freak released remakes of red and blue, red light and green leaf, excellent and taking into account the 2 and 3g, with all pokémon from 1g to 3g and all objects. In 2010, game freak    The worst remaster and the worst pokémon game at a time.

    I’ve been playing pokémon and red and blue games on game boy since I was 8 years old. I’ve done every generation, year after year.

    In 2003, game freak released remakes of red and blue, red light and green leaf, excellent and taking into account the 2 and 3g, with all pokémon from 1g to 3g and all objects.

    In 2010, game freak released the remake of gold and silver, soul silver and gold hearthgold, pushing the limits of the games, taking into account the innovations of the 2g, excellent and taking into account the 1, 2 3 and 4g, with all the pokémon from 1g to 4g and all the objects.

    In 2013, game freak released the ruby and sapphire, omega and alpha sapphire remakes, with a real 3d, and a hallucinating post game, new shapes for the legendary, pushing the limits of what they did, excellent and taking into account the 1, 2 3, 4g, 5 and 6g, with all pokémon from 1g to 6g and all objects.

    Then came out sword and shield, games of the 8g, mediocre, graphically ugly and especially incomplete games because amputated half of the pokémon, added 1 year later, by deleting all the novelties of the 5 6 and 7g, like the mega, etc.

    But these very mediocre diamond and pearl remasters (because yes, they are not remakes) reach heights in terms of disrespect towards the players, and in terms of laziness:

    - The game has an ugly chibby style, making the heads of the characters huge, as in the 6g.

    - No real 3d, instead you have a graphically wrong diamond and pearl remaster.

    - ONLY the first 493 pokémon. From 1g to 4g. Why game freak?

    - You will roll all the way to the league, because of the multi exp activated from the beginning. You will be between 10 and 15 levels ahead of the trainers, who have only 2 or 3 pokémon at most.

    - ALL novelties from the 5 g removed, so say goodbye to mega evolution, z crystals, dynamax, AND all objects released after 4G. So goodbye to objects like evolution or headphones, very useful in strategy.

    - No new form for Dialga and Palkia.

    Let’s talk about the strategy:

    In addition to the fact that some pokémon are doomed to stay zero in strat, by the fact that they have lost their mega, like florizarre or dracaufeu, and by the fact that half of the pokémon and objects are missing,

    pokémon like dimoret or mamochon are rendered unusable, as they all lose vital attacks in their sets. Tentacruel can no longer learn toxic and toxic peaks, jirachi no longer has iron head, Melodelfus and leuphoria lose teleport, etc.

    The reasons for this shipwreck:

    Pokémon is one of the most profitable licenses in the world. The game freak editors, the pokemon company, want to do even more profile, so they pushed game freak to delegate the development of remakes to third-party developers, in this case ILCA, Inc., to focus on the development of pokémon arceus, which will be out early next year.

    Except that not in fact, you do not entrust the development of one of your most anticipated games to third parties, neither qualified nor numerous enough to do it. This leads to all the problems mentioned above.

    So exploration is ruined, ruined by ugly and old graphics and chibby. The fights are ruined, ruined by the frustration of all those missing pokémon and by the constantly activated basic multi exp, making the game ultra simple. The game is ruined by this regression of 10 years , we returned in 2010 to 4G.

    So I will rate this game on what it is:

    - 5 points for chibby style and ugly graphics, in addition to not having made us a 3d of the quality of the 3G remakes. There is no 3d, AT ALL.

    - 5 points for deleting all issued pokémon and all objects after 4G as well as for the fact that the legendary ones do not have new shapes to make them stronger.

    - 5 points for removing new features from 5G to 8G and for the multi exp ruining the adventure.

    So it’s a nice 5/20, for the fact of having at least (mdr), real 3D fights, and the return of a nice gen in terms of level design.

    Do not/no longer support this scam.    … Expand
  93. LordVRAI
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    A cheap cashgrab with so little effort that I’m shocked they even considered charging money for it.
  94. Purrpupurine
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    This game is just a remaster. If you are a user who played the original game deeply, it may be a game that stimulates memories. But for me, the diamond and pearl versions were not very good games.
  95. squirrel454
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    An extremely mediocre game and insult of a remake to fans. A terrible artstyle nobody wanted, tons of bugs (that needed a large day one pass), and a serious lack of content. This game is pretty much a remaster as it only "remakes" the basics of diamond and pearl, while missing a ton of content games the original 3 games had, especially when it came to Platinum content. In the end, just goAn extremely mediocre game and insult of a remake to fans. A terrible artstyle nobody wanted, tons of bugs (that needed a large day one pass), and a serious lack of content. This game is pretty much a remaster as it only "remakes" the basics of diamond and pearl, while missing a ton of content games the original 3 games had, especially when it came to Platinum content. In the end, just go play Platinum and Heartgold/Soulsilver if you want a definitive edition of this generation… Expand
  96. AntiAntiVaxxer
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    This is the bottom of the barrel for not just Pokemon, not just Nintendo, but gaming. This game is a terrible, unfinished Money Grab by the Pokémon Company. They did not even bother to get Game Freak involved, instead they just got an IOS developer do the job as terrible as possible. Literally no content, terrible graphics and animations, no innovation, only the old Pokémon mechanics. LessThis is the bottom of the barrel for not just Pokemon, not just Nintendo, but gaming. This game is a terrible, unfinished Money Grab by the Pokémon Company. They did not even bother to get Game Freak involved, instead they just got an IOS developer do the job as terrible as possible. Literally no content, terrible graphics and animations, no innovation, only the old Pokémon mechanics. Less content than the older games. Technically bad, randomly crashes, sometimes doesn't recognize controller input despite the controller working and many more issues. These remasters, uhh, i mean remakes, are so faithful to the originals they kept all the bugs. Not to mention there are soft-locks. Content needs to be downloaded via update. And all of that for 60 bucks, or 120 if you want all the Pokemon because trading was ruined in this game too.… Expand
  97. Drakogalaxy
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    the same game but on 3D, with the same problems original diamond and pearl had and new bugs
  98. tomh3115
    Nov 24, 2021
    0
    Quick reminder that this is the largest media property in the entire world. How are they expecting us to accept a "remake" that is actually worse than the original game in almost every aspect? And for 60 USD? The developers should be ashamed of delivering that mess and the fans should feel ashamed of defending this scam.
  99. usernamesrsh1t
    Nov 26, 2021
    0
    Terrible game that contains more glitches and bugs than new content or improvements. The awful graphics graphics look like they belong on an old graphing calculator and not a console.
  100. RileyFoxtrot
    Nov 26, 2021
    0
    Unplayable garbage. They added a blur effect that removed 50% of the screen and causes headache enduring eye strain.

    Save your money.
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 89
  3. Negative: 0 out of 89
  1. Nintendo Insider
    Sep 9, 2022
    70
    Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are faithful remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS games. They probably lean too much on the safe side, not achieving an awful lot to improve on the originals other than a few quality-of-life improvements. The improved Underground sections are a welcome addition, but the missing features from Pokémon Platinum are a big let-down. All in all, though, the Sinnoh region offers just as brilliant of an adventure as it was 15 years ago and the formula that worked back then (and then some) is still as addictive to this day. If you are a fan of classic Pokémon titles, this is a no-brainer.
    Read full review
  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Mar 7, 2022
    65
    I honestly think ILCA's decision to play it safe was the biggest thing that hurt Brilliant Diamond. Maybe if it had included a few more of the story beats and improvements that were introduced in Platinum, I'd be giving it a higher grade. [Issue #57 – January/February 2022, p. 66]
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 18, 2022
    60
    Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is a decent remaster transferring the fourth generation from Nintendo DS to Switch. The authors handled well the absence of the second screen, but in the case of game mechanics they could go a bit further.
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