Review: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are especially old-fashioned

The newest Pokémon games are remakes of two old classics. But those revised versions are so faithful to the original that the end result feels dated.

In more than twenty years Pokémon has become one of the largest game series on earth. The series has now raised hundreds of millions of euros and new games are still released every year in which new monsters have to be caught.

These games have been critically received more often in recent years. Fans are disappointed by a lack of innovation, while at the same time old features are being removed. To the foregoing Pokémon Sword and Shield even classic monsters from the first generations were removed.

Remake of old fashioned games

Of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl little is being done to address that criticism. This is another classic Pokémon , in which you must defeat eight Gym Leaders to enter a tournament where you can reach... Pokémon champion can be declared.

It's no wonder these games stick so close to the old-school core, as both are remakes of titles released for the Nintendo DS in 2006. And in these revised versions, the basis of those classics has largely remained the same.

Furby characters

This is clearly visible in the game world. The natural looking characters Sword and Shield have been exchanged for a kind of Furby's with gigantic heads. That looks strange, but those game figures are exactly the same size as the pixelated people from the original. The stylized style allows the creators to recreate the original game world one-on-one.

You notice that the games often struggle between their classic origins and other, more modern ones Pokémon games. This is noticeable, for example, during battles, where the crazy toy characters are suddenly exchanged for the taller, more realistic heroes we know from recent games. The makers do not dare to choose between two styles, so the whole never really comes together.

Controls awkward

You also notice this when exploring the world. While the original was controlled with a D-pad, in the Nintendo Switch version you can also move around with the analogue stick. That feels more fluid and logical, but at the same time you quickly fall into holes or unintentionally jump over fences in narrow spaces. After all, they were made for the old service. Switching to the D-pad is possible, but then you can only walk in four directions.

The original was released for a dual-screen gaming console, with the bottom image showing extras such as your team's life bars or the current time. That function is also in the Switch edition, but takes up a large part of the image. A somewhat clumsy way to transfer these functions, although fortunately you can disable this extra screen.

Old fashioned Pokémon at its strongest

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the old ones Pokémon formula at its strongest, with a world that is a little more free to explore than what we saw in previous titles. It's a game that can keep you entertained for hours. And even after you've completed the game, it can still offer a lot of challenge, because you can fight most of the opponents again with new, stronger monsters.

That's good news for long-time fans, but newcomers will encounter a game that feels a bit dated. Diamond and Pearl are extremely slow games that take hours to get going. The combat system also feels very slow due to the many animations shown. You can turn off some of these, but then the game will look boring again.

The games are only worth it for fans who grew up with the original 2006 titles. Fine for that large group of gamers, but with a remake of games in such a valuable series you hope for more. These new versions basically add little to their predecessors and that is a shame.

Conclusion

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are two ultra-conservative remakes of two somewhat old-fashioned ones Pokémon games. A fun nostalgia trip for anyone who grew up with the original versions, but newcomers will quickly tune out.