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. Xopomol
    Aug 30, 2023
    0
    There is no way to put this lightly, this game is utter garbage. From optimisation to visuals this abhorrent experience Game Freak tried to mask as a video game fails horribly. I am pretty much certain that it was created as a new more efficient way to torture Pokémon fans. It is filled to the brim with bugs and glitches and barely functions properly. Most of the content was missing onThere is no way to put this lightly, this game is utter garbage. From optimisation to visuals this abhorrent experience Game Freak tried to mask as a video game fails horribly. I am pretty much certain that it was created as a new more efficient way to torture Pokémon fans. It is filled to the brim with bugs and glitches and barely functions properly. Most of the content was missing on release together with the freaking soundtrack and people had to wait for a content update. Somehow instead of being a better version of two already buggy games, it ended up being worse than the originals. The return to the chibi art style was a terrible idea as it was translated terribly on 3D and it led to some of the worst visuals I've seen in the Pokémon series. The fricking pixelated games looked better than this. Finally, instead of following the plot line of Platinum, which is the superior Sinnoh game, they based BDSP entirely on Diamond and Pearl, unarguably inferior games, without adding any new content as they've done in previous remakes. The community had awaited for Sinnoh remakes for such a long time and it is seriously depressing that this is what we got.… Expand
  2. 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.
  3. SplitMind
    Nov 26, 2021
    6
    Brilliant Diamond teeters the line between yet another lazy remaster and a breath of fresh air. For me, I find that the remaster does improve the game quite a bit but is still undermined by decades old mechanics and lacking in innovation.

    The graphics are the most noticeable difference here. They may even be divisive as the heads of the characters are absurdly enlarged compared to their    Brilliant Diamond teeters the line between yet another lazy remaster and a breath of fresh air. For me, I find that the remaster does improve the game quite a bit but is still undermined by decades old mechanics and lacking in innovation.

    The graphics are the most noticeable difference here. They may even be divisive as the heads of the characters are absurdly enlarged compared to their bodies. This was jarring at first for me but I got used to it. What made me sceptical was the similarities to the models in Miitopia. Anyway, it is quite nice seeing the game on a TV screen, but where the graphics do quite suffer is in the simplicity of the designs as some pokemon such as Scyther are mostly one block of colour. Having said that, the vivid colours in some areas do stand out and the game is still immediately recognisable as Pokemon.

    The gameplay is where Pokemon struggles/refuses to innovate. The core mechanics we all know and love are here, although many grow tired of them by now, myself included. They tried with Sun and Moon to shake up the formula a bit, with S+S attempting and failing at the open-world approach. BD reverts back to the tried-and-tested linear approach, for better or worse.

    What stands out to me are the gym battles and Elite 4, in that these were often quite a difficulty spike. I remember this always being the case with Pokemon but it's a flaw of the game to find you have been raising the 'wrong' Pokemon for the Elite 4 and a real faff to raise the one you need at the last hurdle. Having said that, I give kudos because the gym leaders and Elite 4 go outside the box from the usual rock-paper-scissors elemental approach Pokemon has always taken.

    The Underground is a new addition, and a peculiar one at that. The digging for treasure aspect resembles lootboxes too much for my liking, while the overall tunnels were a bit vacant and the rooms where you meet Pokemon I always found to contain the same handfuls I've already encountered.

    The game does seem to have some end-game content, however after 20+ hours and beating the Champion I had had enough and switched off at this point, but hardcore fans could spend dozens of hours here.

    The story of BD is probably Pokemon at its weakest and most formulaic. Obviously a remaster isn't a remake, but it really does show the aging concepts as the same story format is woven throughout the entire series. You won't be surprised by what you find here.

    It may be that Pokemon is in a strange epoch. I grew up with it and the simplicity was appropriate as a child, but now I'm older it feels like the games have aged too but not developed. Perhaps Pokemon is caught in a bind between appealing to children vs long-time followers like me, so I can appreciate that but perhaps a simple solution is to release two very different games instead of almost identical ones. This is an amazing con and I don't understand how Nintendo still get away with it, so I deduct points for that always.

    Overall, this is merely yet another Pokemon experience. It's nice to dive into for nostalgia but really they could have remade the first three generations instead as they are far more memorable for me. This game does show potential for when the effort is actually put it and makes me curious if Arceus will try stepping outside the box a bit. I'd recommend waiting for that rather than buying this.    … Expand
  4. BrushedRed
    Dec 8, 2021
    1
    I cannot believe in 2021, people are willing to pay $60 for this. These games were $30 in 2006, and that was when this was top of the line for Pokémon. In 2021, these games are worth about $20. In the past, when Pokémon remade prior generations, they took that classic game and then they brought it into the current generation of Pokémon. New moves, new Pokémon, and new mechanics were putI cannot believe in 2021, people are willing to pay $60 for this. These games were $30 in 2006, and that was when this was top of the line for Pokémon. In 2021, these games are worth about $20. In the past, when Pokémon remade prior generations, they took that classic game and then they brought it into the current generation of Pokémon. New moves, new Pokémon, and new mechanics were put into them to make them fun, creative, and more thrilling. Take that idea and scrap it! BDSP has done nothing but take old DS graphics and up the resolution. That is it. There isn’t even inclusion of Platinum into this game, which is inexcusable, especially for that price tag. The UI menus look like they were made for a gameboy. The graphics look like gameboy graphics, and the online play looks like trash. I wouldn’t mind it if it were a $20 game but for a full retail title, it’s unsatisfactory. This is why you don’t take a beloved franchise and offload it to a developer that only makes mobile games, and then rush it. These cartridges shipped with nothing on them but a skeleton. 80% of the game/content were added day one. It’s a shame because Sinnoh is one of the Pokémon locations with a lot of variation in terrain and sights. This could’ve been the most open world and beautiful of Pokémon games, but it was lazily rushed and ultimately ended up like a flat, cardboard, lifeless diarama. I cannot believe people actually have bought this and now because it’s selling well, this is what Pokémon will probably look like in the future. Low effort, high profits. Quantity does not reflect quality. I hope this is not the future of one of my favorite franchises.… Expand
  5. Mestear
    Dec 3, 2021
    1
    I want to say that first of all I do not blame ILCA, they have absolutely to no experience with game development. Probably they done what Nintendo wanted them to do, the bare minium. To milk money from all the nostalgic players. But this is not okay in year 2021. To take the same game with no new mechanics, and simply reskin it. In this case faithfull remake means lazy one. So what do youI want to say that first of all I do not blame ILCA, they have absolutely to no experience with game development. Probably they done what Nintendo wanted them to do, the bare minium. To milk money from all the nostalgic players. But this is not okay in year 2021. To take the same game with no new mechanics, and simply reskin it. In this case faithfull remake means lazy one. So what do you get for 60$? 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
  6. m0th
    Nov 28, 2021
    5
    I'm not writing this to contribute to review bombing, but because the game feels rushed and lacks soul. Half these reviews are about how these games are horrible and irredeemable while the other half is mindlessly praising them for the bare minimum.

    No they aren't the worst games ever but they are unfinished. After FRLG, HGSS, and ORAS, the playerbase expected more content and can you    I'm not writing this to contribute to review bombing, but because the game feels rushed and lacks soul. Half these reviews are about how these games are horrible and irredeemable while the other half is mindlessly praising them for the bare minimum.

    No they aren't the worst games ever but they are unfinished. After FRLG, HGSS, and ORAS, the playerbase expected more content and can you blame them for that? Other than nostalgia what exactly makes these remakes anything more/less than average?

    The problem is The Pokemon Company no longer prioritizes the games. Being a multimedia franchise that earns the most profit from merchandise, the games are now pumped out every three years to match up with the anime. They're now side dishes to the main course rather than the other way around.
    Add in juggling so much work they decide upon outsourcing one of the most popular generations to a company that's only used to assisting game development, and this is what happens. I don't think devs are lazy. They're all working hard and clearly trying the best they can to salvage this. It's the higher ups who are to blame for the series decline in quality.

    If these games did not have "Pokemon" attached to them they most certainly would not be reviewed this high when other monster collecting games have surpassed the minuscule amount of content, and been scored lower.    … Expand
  7. Tubey
    Nov 24, 2021
    5
    Unlike most, I don't have a problem with the chibi art style, nor do I find it particularly strange when it swaps over during battle animations to more 'normal' anime sprites. This is fairly standard fare in Japanese animation, even in gaming (Link's Awakening, Animal Crossing etc. etc.) and I think the game looks pretty good overall.

    As a faithful remaster (which it is, rather than a    Unlike most, I don't have a problem with the chibi art style, nor do I find it particularly strange when it swaps over during battle animations to more 'normal' anime sprites. This is fairly standard fare in Japanese animation, even in gaming (Link's Awakening, Animal Crossing etc. etc.) and I think the game looks pretty good overall.

    As a faithful remaster (which it is, rather than a remake in many ways), Brilliant Diamond is largely fine. Takes basically no risks, it's just the original with a coat of paint on. However, there are several glaring problems with it.

    First is the decision not to use Pokémon Platinum as the basis for this remaster - this was done for greed so they could release two versions in Diamond/Pearl instead of one, but Platinum is a series highpoint; arguably it's their greatest ever title, so to see it ignored is irritating.

    From a series veteran perspective, the second major drawback is just how much a fairly simple game in the first instance has been mechanically dumbed down. Specifically, the Experience Share system. This means every Pokémon in your party gains experience from every battle, even if they're not used. Which as an ease of use feature for younger players or those new to the series it would be fine... but it can't be turned off. At all. So if you play this 'normally', you'll be incredibly overlevelled, and you can wave goodbye to things like EV training with more than one Pokémon in your party.

    So it's just too easy throughout, and that kills the title for me. It's not a terrible game, but nor is it a masterpiece - in fact, it's bang average, hence the score. I hope Arceus is better than it, or at least more ambitious... and has a toggle switch for any Exp Share!    … Expand
  8. 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.
  9. Cancery1987
    Nov 27, 2021
    4
    Bad remake with lazy Graphic.
    Gold digger with no Platinum Remake.
    Disappointed
  10. Ceyarove
    Nov 26, 2021
    3
    Mejoran los grafico. Pero para ser una copia al 99% de los originales y que no incluye las nuevas mecánica que se han agregado en las últimas generaciones ,siento que es un robo y el predio debió ser menor.
  11. M4B7
    Nov 26, 2021
    2
    Much money for bugs, bad design and old content.
    Without the old games, this game was crab.
    It’s only living, because the old games are grateful
  12. uhohreviewalert
    Nov 28, 2021
    5
    i love the fourth generation of pokemon. since i started with sapphire, diamond and pearl were the first new generation i was able to experience. despite the negativity within the community regarding brilliant diamond and shining pearl, i was still excited. i generally don’t care about graphics, but i thought it looked okay enough, and i would pay $100 dollars for diamond and pearl to bei love the fourth generation of pokemon. since i started with sapphire, diamond and pearl were the first new generation i was able to experience. despite the negativity within the community regarding brilliant diamond and shining pearl, i was still excited. i generally don’t care about graphics, but i thought it looked okay enough, and i would pay $100 dollars for diamond and pearl to be relevant again..

    ..but not like this.

    on some level (a really high one because always on exp share is back), i appreciate that ILCA changed basically nothing about the games. i can’t stand the terrible pokemon story and dialogue game freak always wants to shoehorn into the games, and the only thing that really bugs me about the originals (besides wasting a move slot on defog) is the slow performance, and they certainly are more optimized on switch. i’m not really sure if that’s a compliment or more like “well duh,” but beyond that not much is different. maybe even too much.

    for starters, the poketch is back and, while a little clunky to use, works well for the most part. however, it’s back down to one button for switching through apps. platinum added a back button so you didn’t have to flip through, like, thirty freaking apps just to get back to the one you accidentally skipped over. how could those drooling mobile developers nobody’s ever heard of not include such a simple and useful feature?

    the games struggle to decide between a grid based and full 360* control scheme, and they suffer a little for it. never before have i described a mainline pokemon game with the phrase “this controls bad,” but here we are. it really isn’t a big problem, but it may irk you from time to time, especially when using the bicycle.

    a few more quick positives! the updated soundtrack sounds quite nice. nothing is really re-imagined akin to what heartgold and soulsilver did for their base games, but diamond and pearl had great music to begin with and they’re done justice here. with Masuda in charge of the score, though, that isn’t really a surprise. the only track that’s seemingly missing is the wifi connection theme which, to me, is just tragic. also, the underground is pretty okay. it gets kinda old kinda fast, but it does allow you to capture pokemon outside of the sinnoh dex before you finish the game. now you can actually choose between more than, like, three fire types.

    a few quality of life improvements really help mitigate some old annoyances. HMs are, in modern pokemon fashion, no longer a problem. you can open the map and choose where to fly, talk to rocks and trees to remove them from your reality, and even defog need only be selected in the poketch. you can access your PC box from the menu, ball capsules and mystery gift are also both in the start menu, and battle screens display type effectiveness to assist new players. i realize these improvements are subjective, but they do help the games feel a bit more modern, i suppose.

    now for the big one. i can deal with all the other minor gripes, but the difficulty has been absolutely tanked. it’s that god. damn. exp share.

    game freak, and now ILCA, are hellbent on making you play the game the way they think is right. you can never disable it, so every pokemon in your party gains exp from every battle (unless they’re fainted). while this does mean you can switch up your party frequently without worrying about wasting too much exp, once you have your final team they will be overleveled so quickly you just press A to win for the rest of the game. and that’s the biggest shame, because the originals could be one of the tougher games in the series, even if you used strong pokemon.

    ultimately, the difficulty is where this game fails. this isn’t diamond and pearl anymore simply because you **** Cynthia without even looking at the screen. play platinum instead.    … Expand
  13. notnoxi
    Dec 1, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. tl:dr Pokemon BD failed to give you a reason to play their remake instead of going back to your Nintendo DS. Every remake achieved this, but this time they failed to validate it. You aren't missing much.

    Excited at it's first reveal, I was optimistic about the team behind it and how they were taking it. However as the months went by, reality comes knocking my door. Outside Legends of Arceus, this will be the only time you will get to explore sinnoh again for a long time. Besides the questionable gameplay changes and other issues, the remake does the acceptable job of releasing Sinnoh to the Switch. But it's underwhelming for one of the longest and anticipated remakes, in comparison to how Pokemon Company handled their previous remakes. Traditionally, a pokemon remake is done with current technology in mind of it's recreation to show how hardware progressed and what it would've looked like if it were made at that time instead. You saw this with HeartGold / SoulSilver and FireRed/LeafGreen. BDSP misses that mark by not taking advantage of it's hardware and did not add much new additions to this remake. The soundtrack wasn't done much justice, did not take full advantage of Platinum improvements, and the legendary park is cool to a degree till you realize you could already do this in many of their previous games. Platinum DLC is off the table too as you can unlock the alt form in the game, it's also hard to call this a faithful remake when there's things they've forgotten, failed to capture the same atmosphere or color palette, or just changed something for no good reason.

    BD/SP works to introduce new players to the region of Sinnoh, but to people who played it when they were younger, they will be underwhelmed. Is it a terrible pokemon game? No, but it failed to meet expectations and it's not like they didn't know as they've been aware of how much people wanted this for a long time.    … Expand
  14. 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.
  15. Dudewheremyname
    Dec 21, 2021
    4
    Yet another regression for Gamefreak, nothing new to offer and features in previous games/other remakes completely missing. You’re paying for a watered down, free to play mobile game quality version of gen 4 but at a full game price. This game only caters to the youngest and most casual of Pokémon fans, anyone that has played through any previous Pokémon game before this will be disappointed.
  16. ChrisBlack
    Nov 28, 2021
    0
    This is literally a disaster. I cannot believe they have done this low-quality remaster witch is not comparable with other remake series. I admit that they have done a certain level of work, witch may satisfy some of people. However, it still can't be qualified for official remake series with such an expensive full-price. The level of satisfaction of this game is very similar to originalThis is literally a disaster. I cannot believe they have done this low-quality remaster witch is not comparable with other remake series. I admit that they have done a certain level of work, witch may satisfy some of people. However, it still can't be qualified for official remake series with such an expensive full-price. The level of satisfaction of this game is very similar to original diamond and pearl so that this is not valuable as a remake.… Expand
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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
  20. MasdeuVL
    Dec 1, 2021
    2
    I had been waiting for over 10 years for a 4th gen remake. I always told to myself ''when 4th gen remakes release, i will buy them, no doubt.''. You can't imagine the disappointment i felt when i first saw the trailer of these 2 new games, it was like wanting something so badly and getting it taken out from you when you could almost touch it. I obviously got the games, but that only madeI had been waiting for over 10 years for a 4th gen remake. I always told to myself ''when 4th gen remakes release, i will buy them, no doubt.''. You can't imagine the disappointment i felt when i first saw the trailer of these 2 new games, it was like wanting something so badly and getting it taken out from you when you could almost touch it. I obviously got the games, but that only made my disappointment even worse. I honestly expected a true remake, one in which they use all the new technology used on the most recent pokemon games (in this case Let's go P/E or Sw/Sh) to make an ''old'' game feel like a new ''actual'' experience and a true ''revisit'' of the region the games are settled in, like taking a new and modern perspective of those games.
    Sadly that didn't happen this time around, i just wanted to point out the lack of innovation in this games. It is sad that at this point I think that it is better to play platinum than this games, because it has way more content (we are talking about a 10+ year old game) since there is literally more diferences between platinum and the original diamond and pearl than BD/SP and the original diamond and pearl.

    Hope Arceus doesn't disappoint..    … Expand
  21. 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.
  22. EasyGamerBoi
    Dec 4, 2021
    5
    These games (& Platinum) were such MASSIVE parts of my childhood that I still love Pokémon to this day, but that’s not to say they don’t try EXTREMELY hard to shake that love out of me with nearly every release this decade. These aren’t trainwrecks like Sword & Shield or LGPE, they’re quite literally the same games we played almost 20 years ago with a new coat of paint which is fine.. ButThese games (& Platinum) were such MASSIVE parts of my childhood that I still love Pokémon to this day, but that’s not to say they don’t try EXTREMELY hard to shake that love out of me with nearly every release this decade. These aren’t trainwrecks like Sword & Shield or LGPE, they’re quite literally the same games we played almost 20 years ago with a new coat of paint which is fine.. But to call these games remakes is a borderline insult, REMASTER is much more fitting but even then they really didn’t deliver in the way TPC has with the previous remakes. This is such a disappointment guys, my favorite Gen feels so.. hollow & soulless. The sad part is we all saw it coming since that abysmal reveal trailer back in February followed by a suspiciously long amount of radio silence on the game, what’s sadder is by being Gen 4 remasters they’re kinda the best Pokémon games to come out since the end of Gen 5 by default, remnants of a bygone era when TPC cared about their games. I can try to find positives.. if you liked Sinnoh then nothing changed, you’re still gonna love the region & all the Pokémon in it even though you’ll see the same ones 10 million times in the campaign. Things in Sinnoh don’t fully open up until the Post Game which is still one of the best in the series. The new OST is mostly good, a lot of hit or miss tracks thanks to a lower budget but the remixes that they got right, they KNOCKED out of the park (ex. Cynthia, Giratina, etc). Speaking of Cynthia, she’s as brutal as ever! I never had issues with her as a kid somehow (had a lot of trouble with Lucian instead) but this time she was on my NECK, I was genuinely shaking & sweating for my Pokémon’s lives. I literally can’t remember the last time I lost against an in-game trainer, it was EXHILARATING. For as heavily Pokémon uses nostalgia as a crutch for their stupid design choices, keeping everything the same here had me remembering things from playing these games in 2007 somehow! I would remember a different way to proceed through a route or a hidden item laying somewhere, all just coming to me naturally while exploring the world, I thought that was really neat. The graphics being at a smaller scale also look a lot better than they did in the sometimes hideous Sword & Shield. But for negatives we have a lot to unpack here. Firstly, this game is BUGGY as hell. It was very obviously rushed, the day 1 patch was over half the game but the level of bugginess is INEXCUSABLE from a billion dollar franchise like Pokémon. I’m talking over half the time you try to start the game from the Switch menu, you’ll get a “something went wrong” error & restart the very long wait time to get to the title screen, should I mention how many times this game has just randomly crashed in gameplay too? Despite an auto-save system, it can be wonky & not save for long stretches for some reason, leading to lost progress & anger. The chibi art style is lame too, I don’t care if that’s how it was in the original games, it was left in the past for a reason. It’s a bad sign when Cyrus is trying to destroy the universe & your immersion is shattered as it shows his tiny chibi model, expected to take any of this semi-seriously is impossible. Yes the game is still fun to play & I’d rather play it over the originals, but the general consensus around this game is that it should’ve been a PLATINUM remake, or at least have the enhancements brought by the Platinum re-release. This game is horribly unbalanced & retains so many of the asinine gameplay decisions that were weird & stupid even in 2006-7. BDSP REEKS of a lack of effort & passion, which is a blow to the gut for people like me who just watched their favorite Gen get the “who cares it’ll print money anyway” treatment that is indicative of every modern Pokémon release of the last 10 years, & I’d still defend Sun & Moon most days of the week! At this point I can’t be convinced otherwise that Pokémon is headed for a major crash, they’ll sell well regardless, but it will be tossed in with the likes of Call of Duty & other milked to the max franchises that even the developers don’t care about anymore, being crunched beyond what should be legal to deliver passionless projects year after year, & looking at Legends Arceus coming in the dump month of January… I doubt that can save it unless it completely reinvents the franchise, which we know Nintendo & TPC will probably never do until their wallets start to hurt. It’s a shame, compared to every remake we got from Pokémon before excluding LGPE, these remakes COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MORE like ORAS was, & we shouldn’t feel bad demanding more from a franchise that is comfortable doing less than the bare minimum. This isn’t “ungrateful” behavior, these games are not gifts. They are products. We deserve better.… Expand
  23. 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
  24. 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.
  25. Hakutaru
    Dec 1, 2021
    0
    The only Pokémon game in 20 years that I had to return. Lazy in every way.
  26. 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
  27. Eryoz
    Nov 28, 2021
    3
    Pros: TMs are gained in gym rematch battle
    Pkmn follow are back

    Cons:
    HM use animation (bidoof and staraptor)
    Leader and Elite’s team are based in DP
  28. liathwulf
    Nov 22, 2021
    8
    yo, I really liked this. I know it's not shiny like nu pokemon, but I don't like nu pokemon. I'm docking points for sure for not including platinum content, because they have no excuse. But even not being a huge fan of diamond and pearl I consider this game way better than sun/moon/sword/shield/x/y, because it a lot less linear and feels way more like a pokemon adventure used to back inyo, I really liked this. I know it's not shiny like nu pokemon, but I don't like nu pokemon. I'm docking points for sure for not including platinum content, because they have no excuse. But even not being a huge fan of diamond and pearl I consider this game way better than sun/moon/sword/shield/x/y, because it a lot less linear and feels way more like a pokemon adventure used to back in the day. And honestly for people who don't feel that way about pokemon too, like the new stuff is just too far off, you might not like this.… Expand
  29. CloudXz
    Nov 24, 2021
    5
    This Game had good Moments but i don't know somehow i was bored a lot. I never played Gen 4 and was curious because some Peoble called it the best Generation ever. After playing it: Not even close to Gen 2.
  30. dotaxlevel
    Dec 2, 2021
    0
    Игра пытается высосать все свободное время игрока. Тупо и ужасно
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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.
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  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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