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. OctaneNitro
    Nov 25, 2021
    5
    Diamond & Pearl were the first Pokémon games I ever played, and yet these remakes sadly left me disappointed compared to both the originals, and the even better Pokémon Platinum.

    Before discussing the pros/cons of BDSP, let's compare them to previous remakes in the franchise: Firered/Leafgreen took graphically dated GB games and gave them an appealing GBA artstyle.    Diamond & Pearl were the first Pokémon games I ever played, and yet these remakes sadly left me disappointed compared to both the originals, and the even better Pokémon Platinum.

    Before discussing the pros/cons of BDSP, let's compare them to previous remakes in the franchise:

    Firered/Leafgreen took graphically dated GB games and gave them an appealing GBA artstyle. Heartgold/Soulsilver were also visual upgrades, fixing issues in the originals (such as fleshing out Kanto), and were arguably the most packed Pokémon games ever. Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire weren't AS content rich, but still gave their originals a brand new 3D perspective and reimagining.

    Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, in contrast, do none of the above, with an incredibly strict approach that harms the games overall.

    BDSP's graphics are a prime example of this. Technically, they do an ok job of translating the look of the originals to the Switch, yet still offer no significant utilisation of the platform's capabilities whatsoever. All hopes for a reimagined, fleshed out Sinnoh were immediately killed by the artstyle, with several fanmade mockups (e.g. Millenniumloops' on Youtube) showcasing this missed potential.

    Unfortunately, this general lack of ambition extends to the rest of these games.

    Pokémon Platinum, released twelve years ago, added an expanded post-game, a wider variety of Pokémon, and countless graphical details to Sinnoh. Meanwhile, BDSP leave out almost all of these objective enhancements in the name of "faithfulness". Diamond/Pearl are hardly the most gruelling, tricky games to remake today, yet ILCA couldn't even add back content from a decade old DS game.

    I'd be willing to forgive this approach, however, if BDSP were genuinely faithful remakes... but in line with Gamefreak's modern design philosophy (favouring simplicity), countless tweaks were made to the original games. BDSP, for example, work in Sword/Shield's EXP Share: an item you cannot turn off, despite being able to do so in the originals. Additionally, Sword/Shield's affection system is present, allowing Pokémon to cheat battles (e.g. by dodging attacks) if they have a high affection stat. Together, these features practically erase challenge.

    Even more bafflingly, many welcome quality of life changes WERE removed. Reusable TMs? Gone. The Underground and contests? Simplified. The Frontier Brain theme? Gone. ILCA were perfectly happy adding in unfaithful features to classic experiences, yet also cut modernisations that might've improved the games overall.

    Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl simply don't live up to their originals, Platinum, or previous Pokémon remakes. Other than overworld Pokémon, recreating Gen 4's mythical events, and the rework of HMs, I struggle to find even the slightest hint of ambition in these games.

    BDSP aren't terrible games, but they ultimately deliver the bare minimum overall    … Expand
  2. 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
  3. MunhozMCM
    Jul 28, 2022
    5
    My Score:

    (5) - Average.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Pretty average, I personally would say it is pretty uninspired.
  4. 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
  5. Dej_9621
    Nov 27, 2021
    5
    Es un remake que no aporta nada nuevo o innovador desde los juegos originales, además que no agregan mecánicas, objetos u otras cosas que provienen de Pokémon Platinum y que facilmente pudieron haber agregado
  6. 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
  7. DeltaZ
    Feb 1, 2022
    5
    Story: Unverändert, keine Neuerungen.
    Grafik: Gut, oftmals zu unscharf und schlechter Auflösung, Artstyle ist in Ordnung.
    Soundtrack: Sehr gut. Gameplay: Naja, viel zu Einfach durch den OP Teiler. Features: Gut. besonders der Untergrund, leider keine Geheimbasen mehr. Following Pokemon hat schlechte Proportionen und technische/animierte fehler. Postgame: Sehr gut. Wieso haben die    Story: Unverändert, keine Neuerungen.
    Grafik: Gut, oftmals zu unscharf und schlechter Auflösung, Artstyle ist in Ordnung.
    Soundtrack: Sehr gut.
    Gameplay: Naja, viel zu Einfach durch den OP Teiler.
    Features: Gut. besonders der Untergrund, leider keine Geheimbasen mehr. Following Pokemon hat
    schlechte Proportionen und technische/animierte fehler.
    Postgame: Sehr gut. Wieso haben die alten Legis nicht ihr Battle theme?
    Sonstiges: 0% Platin Content, wieso nicht die Regi kammern übernommen? Ab der Mitte wird es
    langweilig, weil man Overlevelt ist. Steuerung ist sehr schwammig und ungenau. Viele
    Bugs. keine Langzeitmotivation.

    Story: Unchanged, no innovations.
    Graphics: Good, often too fuzzy and poor resolution, art style is okay.
    Soundtrack: Very good.
    Gameplay: Well, way too easy by the OP divider.
    Features: Good. especially the underground, unfortunately no more secret bases. Following
    Pokemon has bad proportions and technical/animated errors.
    Postgame: Very good. Why don't the old Legis have their Battle theme?
    Miscellaneous: 0% platinum content, why not take over the regis chambers? From the middle it will
    boring because you're overleveled. Control is very spongy and imprecise. Lots bugs
    no long-term motivation.    … Expand
  8. serphim7
    Jan 16, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I didn't play the original but the game is really kind of **** Yeah, the usual Pokemon mechanics are ok but it's way too easy (except for Cynthia). Also, the rest of the game is lacklustre, garbage story (even worse than usual), crappy mechanics (HMs) and way too many Geodudes, like WTF!?

    Edit: Had an insane last battle with Cynthia. Staraptor pulled it out of the bag when all seemed lost. That is the magic of Pokemon. Game is still the works Pokemon game I ever played    … Expand
  9. BirdPs4
    Feb 4, 2023
    5
    This game was supposed to be amazing after we waited so many years for a remake...only to get this piece of **** that is just a money grab the devs copy pasted from the originals.
  10. ezo2002
    Feb 19, 2022
    5
    Everything is slow, they excluded tons of platinum pokemon to make the game "feel like diamond and pearl you love" yet quality of life stuff, fairy types and how they let you access absol, houndoom and rhydon fairly early as if it were a modern gen 8 game. It can't decide whether it's excruciatingly faithful to the originals, as they retain the slowness and limited dex of those games, orEverything is slow, they excluded tons of platinum pokemon to make the game "feel like diamond and pearl you love" yet quality of life stuff, fairy types and how they let you access absol, houndoom and rhydon fairly early as if it were a modern gen 8 game. It can't decide whether it's excruciatingly faithful to the originals, as they retain the slowness and limited dex of those games, or an adaptation into the gen 8 style, one already prone to serious flaws in its standard game design, what with glitches, broken leveling system (that you cannot deactivate), and bumps in the road through its graphics all as a backdrop to a roster that is limited yet offer some evolved and wickedly high-leveled pokemon early on, after maybe an HOUR in the underground. I didn't know a gen 8 game would have to choose between frustrating and easy, yet I suppose it is on-brand for it to fumble the bag hard and devolve into a mindless, structure-less husk. After I beat the game I somehow managed to feel contempt for the original Sinnoh games, sadly, because despite their slowness, their I always came back to the story, the gyms and the pokemon whenever I reflected on their positives, which were pretty damn strong positives at that. The details of each gym leader's team, the sight of pokemon like gliscor and mamoswine, empoleon, carnivine, croagunk, bronzong and many others for the first time all for the first time, both were unforgettable and brought a genuine smile to my face. Evolutions were fun to complete, the pokedex was reasonably long, Cyrus gave the villain motivation with only maybe just an ounce of more grit and realism, but it was just fun to read his dialogue, the villain team too. This game took all of that, took the charm, took the fun and melted it into a thin laminate then stretched it to the point where it would just about give out over a white, soulless, dense and brittle brick of cement labeled formula then cut it down, stuck some wires into it and marketed it as a remake. I recently revisited pokemon platinum on my DS during a playthrough of White 2 and looked up palmer's fight and found myself floored. It was exciting, it looked fun, the music was catchy and upbeat and Palmer's animation, even if it was a couple of frames, it was emotive and pumped me up as it moved with the music. There was so much character in it too, I felt like Palmer was this extreme, energetic guy that also happened to father Barry. It was entertaining to watch and when I would go through it and the battle factory myself, I had the exact same experience, but a whole lot more excited since I was actually the one playing the battle this time. Yet BDSP reduces that experience to a mere single strand of 21 slow trainer battles and a looped close-up of a chibi animation that would transition to a stagnant frame of palmer standing there, his team feeling basically lifeless. I just don't get it. I understand the limitations of a COVID-era-production process, but it is easy to look at how well Fire Red and Leaf Green and Heart Gold and Soul Silver fared. Both were faithful to their games, sure, but you look to Fire Red and Leaf Green, more pokemon are available, biking is easier, Charmander had metal claw for the first gym, all starters received larger move pools, event pokemon and Sevii islands were easy to note from the start of the game and provided just a touch more incentive to complete the game and play out the post-game, link trading required fewer cables, TMs changed, trainer pokemon updated to gen 3 standards and the rematch with Gary included Tyranitar and Heracross on the team. Later on, came Heart Gold and Soul Silver, which kept Swinub and Tangela and Yanma for Sinnoh evolutions, remixed every single theme in the game, made several Hoenn and Sinnoh pokemon available, albeit through access to evolution items or late-game areas, to keep johto pokemon at the core of its gen 4 stylings. They implemented gen 4's physical-special split and updated practically every single johto pokemon's move set and learn set to encourage variety and allowed you to teach gen 4 tms like shadow claw and steel wing to your teammates that could learn it. Pokemon sprites were better looking and ALSO had the same animation as gym leaders, league champions and important trainers. Suicune had more of a story, as did the Kanto section. Both saw developers takes on the task of modernizing and re-energizing their games for a new gen and more powerful console, yet kept the pokemon, gameplay, and plot progression the same, if not more interesting. Even ORAS got that part right, Gen 6's emphasis on ease dried up the gameplay on occasion. Gen 8 meanwhile kept this ease and quality-of-life changes, Pokedex should still be bigger, the graphics better, and low difficulty was hit or miss. Yet saves, exp, and the menu was ultimately all that came of it. Like its secret base system, this game still feels empty for what it adds and should remain deep underground.… Expand
  11. Daniel1516
    Oct 8, 2022
    5
    La verdad en cierta forma esta bien . .
  12. Moustique
    Dec 22, 2022
    5
    Not a special remake. There are way better remakes like HGSS or ORAS. You better play Platinum than these remakes. They literally added nothing to me.
  13. Mythycal6
    Jan 31, 2023
    5
    As someone who has not played a generation 4 game before, this experience was ok. nothing about it interested me. the experience for me was just another pokemon game, and certainly not an amazing one. just "meh."
  14. proJRgamer
    May 10, 2023
    5
    No me gusta darle esta nota, pero creo que es justo. Hay un buen trabajo por detrás, pero creo que si en vez de que hubiera sido ILCA el que lo hubiera hecho, hubiera sido 100% de GameFreak no tendremos este mismo resultado. Me lo pasé y lo abandoné. No como el original.
  15. Marioipod13
    May 25, 2023
    5
    It's... a very good start but it is lacking extra features that were the reasons why I liked past remakes. The graphics don't bother me whatsoever but the fact they kept the dex cut since Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, and didn't add Platinum's content to the postgame, and removed several moves that balanced the game (Pursuit, Hidden Power [except on Unown which you shouldn't use anyway],It's... a very good start but it is lacking extra features that were the reasons why I liked past remakes. The graphics don't bother me whatsoever but the fact they kept the dex cut since Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, and didn't add Platinum's content to the postgame, and removed several moves that balanced the game (Pursuit, Hidden Power [except on Unown which you shouldn't use anyway], etc).... Play Platinum instead honestly. It's less than half the price, it has better content and storyline, and isn't on an overpriced console.… Expand
  16. miguellopez99
    Jun 1, 2023
    5
    45/100 half-assed remake .
  17. Gamerdingo
    Nov 20, 2021
    4
    Its a really disappointing remake. When people said they wanted gen 4 remakes, we meant platinum...

    Even despite the lack of obvious improvements, its a really clunky remake. It feels BAD to play.
  18. iSimeon
    Nov 23, 2021
    4
    "...Not so Brilliant or Shiny...not even close..."

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

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

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

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

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

    Pros:
    - it's Pokemon

    Cons:
    - gameplay
    - cash grab

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

    Conclusion:
    It's Pokemon game and if you are fan or like the genre feel free to try it out but be sure that you buy used physical copy (there are lots of them being sold right now for 30-40$) so that you can sell it afterwards. Why? Because you sure will want to. Even with that price you will feel ripped off.
    So get used physical copy, sell it after you see yourself and save some money to buy Arceus.    … Expand
  19. MoCBallyhoo
    Oct 10, 2022
    4
    Bruh peep this one! No really, peep this one!
    Nooo more Platinum-exclusive Pokemon!
    No more reusable tms!
    No more cross-compatibility between gen 8 games!
  20. Joko_96
    Dec 11, 2021
    4
    The game is avarage at best. Controls and menuing is really klunky. The TM/HM system was changed again from the perfect ORAS system. Whhhhyyy? You just fixed it. The game missed a lot of potential with not remastering platinum inside the versions. It's just really lacking a lot of great features that have been there in the past. As of this review there is no global trading system in game.The game is avarage at best. Controls and menuing is really klunky. The TM/HM system was changed again from the perfect ORAS system. Whhhhyyy? You just fixed it. The game missed a lot of potential with not remastering platinum inside the versions. It's just really lacking a lot of great features that have been there in the past. As of this review there is no global trading system in game. Also no wonder trade. That alone had me deducted 1 point. If its not in the game on release I won't bother for the feature. Period. Seriously games need to stop to come out with major features missing.… Expand
  21. Cancery1987
    Nov 27, 2021
    4
    Bad remake with lazy Graphic.
    Gold digger with no Platinum Remake.
    Disappointed
  22. PewPewMcP
    Dec 1, 2021
    4
    Remakes are supposed to take the best gameplay elements of the old games while brushing up on gameplay mechanics that didn't age well to deliver a fulfilling, up-to-date experience. However, Gamefreak once again demonstrates their utter inability to design decent videogames by selecting the least liked mechanics from old and new Pokemon games, stitching them together in to a misshapedRemakes are supposed to take the best gameplay elements of the old games while brushing up on gameplay mechanics that didn't age well to deliver a fulfilling, up-to-date experience. However, Gamefreak once again demonstrates their utter inability to design decent videogames by selecting the least liked mechanics from old and new Pokemon games, stitching them together in to a misshaped chimeric mess and bold-facedly masquerading it as a "faithful remake". Concepts such as 8 directional run are carelessly implemented to create a glitchy, softlock prone game that really makes you feel like you're playing Gen 1 again, while the chibi style is horribly leveraged to create some of the ugliest cutscenes in the series. TMs somehow are one-use again, while the unpopular mandatory EXP share makes a comeback, illustrating Gamefreak's tone deafness and general inability to sift good mechanics from bad ones. The long-requested feature of Pokemon following you makes a return, but the Pokemon scale awkwardly, follow you clumsily (often ending up just warping to your position due to their slow follow speed) and mesh poorly with the aforementioned ugly chibi character sprites. Affection and friendliness are now collapsed into one mechanic in a classic hallmark of Gamefreak laziness, and much like the EXP share, reduce your options to control how you play the game. The Poketch has been forced in without any consideration for how well it works in docked mode. And of course, your national dex is still stuck in a reduced capacity while battle animations remain as lazy and uninspiring as ever.

    If you are a child or parent of a child, this of course doesn't matter to you, you're still playing Pokemon because it's designed for kids. But if you consider yourself someone who enjoys well-implemented game mechanics, I advise you to turn away from this title. Gamefreak demonstrates yet again it has no idea what good game mechanics are and are instead throwing everything at the wall, not even caring whether anything sticks because they are in charge of the biggest videogame franchise in the world and they know it'll sell well no matter how little effort they actually put into it. As someone who has played every generation since Gen 1, I cannot in good faith recommend this Pokemon game.    … Expand
  23. Psychie
    Dec 8, 2021
    4
    A brilliant example of Pokémon devs pulling an Illumination and going for low budget, high return. The new stuff added is few, far between and mostly negligible (super Contests, woohoo). The foundation is inherently flawed. Did you want all the stuff Platinum added? Too bad. The art design, in trying to replicate the old games, regresses in a series that wasn't too great with graphics toA brilliant example of Pokémon devs pulling an Illumination and going for low budget, high return. The new stuff added is few, far between and mostly negligible (super Contests, woohoo). The foundation is inherently flawed. Did you want all the stuff Platinum added? Too bad. The art design, in trying to replicate the old games, regresses in a series that wasn't too great with graphics to begin with, and thanks to the EXP Share, the game is astonishingly easy. I was overleveled starting from the 1st Badge and ending at the Champion. The Competitive teams that the Elite Four and Champion carry only make an impact if you're going in blind, and I say all this with a self-added permadeath rule. No one died, how surprising.

    If you want to play through Sinnoh, just get Platinum.    … Expand
  24. Dandy_
    Jun 15, 2022
    4
    TLDR: Worse than the originals. Tons of missed potential. Overall worthless. Play Platinum.

    I'm a massive gen 4 fan, and these games are worthless. Pokemon Diamond is by far the most important game of my childhood and the one I've made the most memories with. To be fair, I would've preferred something in the ORAS style (granted I still dont like those games) so it might not be fair to    TLDR: Worse than the originals. Tons of missed potential. Overall worthless. Play Platinum.

    I'm a massive gen 4 fan, and these games are worthless. Pokemon Diamond is by far the most important game of my childhood and the one I've made the most memories with. To be fair, I would've preferred something in the ORAS style (granted I still dont like those games) so it might not be fair to compare them to actual remakes, but I still want to mention how pathetic these games are. So, I'll try to judge these games as "faithful remakes"

    So in trying to stay faithful:
    -They added the awful new friendship system which trivializes battles
    -Said system also slows down battles
    -HM system still way slower than should be (still useless text for Rock Smash, Cut, etc)
    -Following Pokemon are back and still lag behind and are generally buggy
    -Following Pokemon also make it hard to interact with ground items or HM blocks
    -Actually REMOVED content from the Battle Tower (yes, from Platinum, but there was no reason to at least bring that back things that made those games objectively better)
    -Subjective, but overall uglier than the originals. The translation to 3D using the chibi style from the originals did not land at all for me.
    And of course, the use of those 3D models again for the Pokemon. Seeing new sprites back then was always a treat. Nowadays, it would be a **** blessing, but I'm going off track here.
    -General lack of polish (which also slows down the game at times)

    The biggest complain your hear about DP was the speed, and even here they couldn't get that right. The speed was the ONE thing they needed fix.

    Reminder, these games are EASILY ACCESSIBLE through emulators. There is NO reason to play this over Platinum using literally any device you like through an emulator.
    So for me, the decision to make these faithful remakes instead of something at least interesting like ORAS is crazy and yes, even with PLA coming out almost at the same time. At the very least, they could've remade Platinum and fixed the above. Just tons of missed potential over all, even as a low-effort """faithful""" remake.

    The best thing about BDSP is that they provide a base for modders to build something actually worthwhile upon.    … Expand
  25. Black_Mullet
    Dec 29, 2022
    4
    Feels like a cheap indie game, I regret getting it, worst part is that it could have been the best game of it's kind (top down rpg) but the pokemon company didn't care at all. The game is just made badly, movement is bad, chibis aren't even cute, following pokemon plainly suck. I'm very disappointed with the way they massacared that remake. Worst part is that the modding community hasFeels like a cheap indie game, I regret getting it, worst part is that it could have been the best game of it's kind (top down rpg) but the pokemon company didn't care at all. The game is just made badly, movement is bad, chibis aren't even cute, following pokemon plainly suck. I'm very disappointed with the way they massacared that remake. Worst part is that the modding community has actually made the game a 9/10 with mods. I suggest to anyone that may want to play this game, find a good pc and play it on an emulator with some mods and you aren't gonna regret it. Don't spend money on this like I did.… Expand
  26. HerrWinstein
    Nov 20, 2021
    4
    These remakes do the bare minimum and charge $60 for it. Before you buy this game, know what you're getting into:

    - Poor presentation. It has a poor chibi art style, horribly converted music, and ill-fitting font. - TMs are single-use again. The game adds in multiple QoL features, yet takes away the most QoL-friendly feature over the past decade. Some trainers give multiple TMs, but    These remakes do the bare minimum and charge $60 for it. Before you buy this game, know what you're getting into:

    - Poor presentation. It has a poor chibi art style, horribly converted music, and ill-fitting font.

    - TMs are single-use again. The game adds in multiple QoL features, yet takes away the most QoL-friendly feature over the past decade. Some trainers give multiple TMs, but prepare for a slog if you want to get more in the post-game.

    - Like Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, it omits additions from Platinum, such as the superior trainer rosters, a fleshed-out Distortion World, and Battle Frontier. It doesn't even include the back button for the Poketch.

    - No extra regions (like FireRed/LeafGreen's Sevii Islands) or new post-game story (like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire).

    - Removes or simplifies certain features, like Super Contests or the Underground Secret Bases

    - The games have a barely functional online multiplayer system at launch and don't have the ability to transfer older Pokemon at launch.

    - Like Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, catching older legendaries in the post-game is a tedious, luck-based process involving the Grand Underground.

    - The games barely improve on the maligned Honey Tree mechanic, and the post-game grind for competitive items and TMs is still a slog.

    - Like Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, it lacks a proper random online battling system, so be prepared to face random teams full of Dialga and Palkia.

    - Only includes the first 493 Pokemon (similar to how Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee only included 153 Pokemon).

    - Inconsistent addition of newer features; it adds in moves and consumable items from later generations, yet removes most of the recent held items (like Assault Vest).

    - First Pokemon games since Crystal (2000/2001) not to include new Pokemon species, forms, or moves.

    - The Platinum outfits are locked to early-order bonuses instead of being available normally.

    (I won't mention the mandatory Exp. Share, since all of the Pokemon games are easy. I will say that the series is long overdue for multiple difficulty levels, though.)

    if you can look past that long list of negatives, there is some fun to be had. Walking Pokemon and trainer customizations are welcome additions from other games, and the post-game rematches have well-designed teams. Being able to catch a variety of Pokemon in the Grand Underground and participate in Super Contests online are also solid additions. Finally, the base games still hold up, even with all of the questionable changes.

    Overall, there's a reason these are the lowest rated paired Pokemon games to date. Decades of laziness has finally taken its toll on the franchise.    … Expand
  27. huguiringo
    Nov 21, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. El juego no permite un dificultad para los jugadores experimentados, en el apartado gráfico hace ver al juego una casita de muñecas, el avatar al caminar es torpe y el repartir experiencia no se puede desactivar ademas reparte demasiada experiencia… Expand
  28. Uncle_Flipp
    Nov 21, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When it comes to keeping their word, Pokemon Company is top notch. both Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and very faithful remakes to the original games of Diamond and Pearl. They are so faithful that they severely harm the quality of the game.

    Diamond and Pearl were great games for their time. They had a fantastic story, great characters, and the strongest champion ever, but the games weren't without their problems. Even the Pokemon Company and Gamefreak recognized that Diamond and Pearl needed something else to truely be a well rounded game with re-playability. That is where Platinum came in. Platinum added so many amazing quality of life features, an alternate and in my opinion better story line, as well as more post game features. So why is it that BDSP does not include many of the features from Pokemon Platinum that even the Pokemon company recognized as necessary to make the game better? This decision was a huge folly and if they decide to implement an alternate story line later to make up for this mistake, it better be a free expansion and not cost money.

    Next, I would like to discuss the graphics. The graphics of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have easily been the most controversial decision that was made for these remakes. Ever since the announcement of the chibi design is has been the most argued about feature in these two games. I won’t lie; I was one of the people who were abhorrently against this decision because it felt like a choice made to be lazy during game design and also felt like the games were going backwards, instead of forwards. Even though I hated the decision at first, the chibi design actually grew on me to the point that I don't hate it, but I don't love it. It still feels like it was a choice made to save time and cut corners under the ruse of "staying faithful" to the originals. After so many hours of playing I have grown accustomed to the chibi design and think overall this was a good decision, but terribly executed. In 2021, if you are going to remake a beloved game in a chibi design even though previously released games weren't chibi, then the models must look great, you need to use angles that make the chibi models look alive, and the movements and controls of all the chibi models must be smooth. Everything I just mentioned was failed on. The chibi models were poor quality and looked lifeless. Slopily, adding bouncing movement to certain parts of the model like hair and arms doesn’t make the character look alive, it looks robotic and poorly programmed. Also, the faces have blank stares and don’t move further bringing attention to the robotic nature of the models. On top of that the game tries to use camera angles as a wow factor, but the camera angles end up zooming in on the ugly character models they developed. Not every character looked terrible but a majority of them did. Any time you aren’t zoomed in on a chibi model the chibis look fine. Then you have the slightly terrible background graphics. Why is the upper third of the screen blurry like you are playing a character that is near sighted? The blurriness of the screen actually hurts my eyes after a while. The mixture of fast camera movements with the blurriness has even given me an occasional migraine.
    Lastly, I would like to discuss the controls for the game. There are three major complaints I have with the controls. First is the terrible reaction time between controller and character. If you are already going left and try to go right, there is a 1 second delay before the character even turns around. If you needed an example of good controls for a chibi, then look at Animal Crossing New Horizons. In ACNH The chibi model has a great reaction time between chibi and controller. This delay in turning adds to my second complaint which is the ridiculous “Sticky Wall” feature as I’ve come to call it. For some reason if you accidently touch a wall when walking/running your character will slightly be stuck and there in another second delay before your character can turn away from the wall in another direction. This is extremely irritating when you consider that the running is so fast, yet the areas are so narrow with tons of obstructions.
    Overall, this game is riddled with problems. There are indie games made by a team of 6 people that have higher quality graphics and better controls than BDSP. Which is a sad statement considering that Pokemon is the single biggest game franchise in the world by a long shot. The only reason I didn’t give these games a lower rank is because of it very few redeeming factors like it’s fantastic soundtrack, the Grand Underground (which we will probably never see in a future game knowing Pokemon company), and the fact that they kept the champion Cynthia at a high difficulty level. Unfortunately, these redeeming factors aren’t enough to make this a good game.    … Expand
  29. NepTunes
    Nov 22, 2021
    4
    I’m not having fun. I’ve been playing for about 5 hours, just arrived to the third gym. I don’t know what it is, but I am genuinely not having fun with the game. It’s so bland and basic, nothing new that’s worth talking about. Pokémon Sword and Shield definitely have their problems but they introduced new mechanics and concepts to the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond andI’m not having fun. I’ve been playing for about 5 hours, just arrived to the third gym. I don’t know what it is, but I am genuinely not having fun with the game. It’s so bland and basic, nothing new that’s worth talking about. Pokémon Sword and Shield definitely have their problems but they introduced new mechanics and concepts to the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pear feel so out dated with just a graphical update. It doesn’t hold up to the modern Pokémon games, like a remake should.… Expand
  30. Doug22
    Nov 23, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yeah i had to restart the game because i got auto saved in the softlock ice section which sucks, also if you look at the character models when there not up close you can see there eyes are just crusty jpegs which doesent bother me a whole lot. And well its kinda to easy, it was so easy to the point i kinda just fell asleep on my chair while playing it since all i mostly did was just press the a and dpad button and mostly did one attack through out the whole game. The music was alright not the best but not the worse, except the battle theme for all the gym battles... that was bad. And theres not alot of new stuff for a "remake", mostly just the cynthia fight being a little harder but not much of a challenge. Also the game kinda crashed twice through out my playthrough but it happens to most of my games. So to me, the game sucked hard and felt more like a 3ds game and not a switch title which is sad. And the whole "artisticstyle" to the game looked terrible with unecessary close ups on the characters and very flat textures, giving the game a very unfinished state. And you cant really say its a artistic choice since links awakening remake did it all better with the chibi look, so that doesent excuse it. So ill give the game a 4/10, dont waste your time and money like i have, just emulate the old game on your phone.… Expand
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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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