Pokémon Brilliant Diamond - Nintendo Switch

So, pokemon BDSP, eh? Some people like it, most people hate but, but let me tell you as someone who has never even touched a gen 4 game (theyre way too expensive, even back in like 2014) I had quite a bit of fun with it. Its no masterpiece, but it pretty much is the gen 4 experience you all remember down to each and every mechanic and line of dialogue. However, the original Diamond and Pearl games for the Nintendo DS, released in 2005, have many mechanics many believe to be frustrating and unwanted. This includes the slow gameplay, (mainly animations and HP bars, along with surfing) overuse of HMs, and an incredibly small pokedex until post game, so much so that there are only two fire types in the game, one of which being optional. These problems have all been fixed in this remaster. (Its kinda hard to call it a remake) HMs are now permanent menu options available at all times, making overworld travel a lot easier. coinvent, and most importantly fun. The game engine has also been completely redone, causing animations to run much faster and battles to flow a lot easier. And for the lack of available Pokemon, dont worry! Many mons from the original game that were neigh-impossible to catch have been made much easier to obtain thanks to the reworked grand underground, now featuring a large variety of Pokemon to catch along with mining for items and fossils. In short, if you liked the original Diamond and Pearl, youll like this. And if you didnt like the originals solely due to the annoying mechanics and gameplay problems stated above, all of them have been fixed. However, thats not the main point of this review. This game has received SCATHING criticism from the incredibly toxic Pokemon fanbase, calling it the worst remake in history and crap like that. Now, for the rest of the review, there will be heavy spoilers as I will be defending this game against its most common criticisms. This will include post game spoilers. You have been warned. First of all, many people complain that its too faithful to the originals and that they wanted graphics in the style of SWSH, (not chibi) they wanted new content like ORAS delta episode, they wanted mega evolutions, etc. But heres the thing. This is supposted to be a FAITHFUL REMAKE, more of a remaster than anything else, reworking gameplay, updating graphics and sound, and adding QoL. And you know what PEOPLE COMPLAINED LIKE CRAZY WHEN ORAS CAME OUT. You want to know why? Because it wasnt faithful AT ALL to the original GBA games Ruby and Sapphire. They have a plot that was like 70% original, completely redesigned every character, added in countless new post-game scenarios and sidequests, added crazy new lore, a whole new post game story in the Delta Episode, etc. But now people are complaining again because Nintendo gave the fans what they wanted back in 2015, a faithful remake/remaster than a full-on reimagining like ORAS was. Another criticism this game, BDSP, often gets is that they didnt add in the additional content added in with Platinum, the definitive edition of Diamond and Pearl released in 2008 for the DS. But the thing is, THEY DID. The game features all platinum-exclusive Pokemon and events within the game, no exceptions. The only things not included are the Battle Frontier (which hasnt been in the series since Platinum itself, most likely replaced by competitive battling) and the 15 minutes of extra story with Looker which really amounts to basically nothing. They even have the distortion world in the game as a special post-game dungeon, so youre not even missing out on that. Finally, the last criticism this game gets is that its too easy. This is mostly true, however, only to a certain extent. Unlike the original games where EXP was evenly distributed between all participants in the battle, now EXP is given to all party members in equal amounts no matter if they participated in battle or not, though ones that havent participated do only get 50% of the EXP. This was already very controversial when the choice to turn this feature on was added in Pokemon X and Y (gen 6, released in 2013 for the 3DS) and was made even more so when the feature was forced in Pokemon Sword and Shield. It also seems like that what fans called forced EXP share is here to stay due to its inclusion in both BDSP and the recent Pokemon Legends Arceus. However, this is far from an issue if the game is balanced around it. Pokemon SWSH was balanced around the new EXP formula, but due to the wild area in that game it was VERY easy to become overleveled and since Pokemon dont scale in that game you just steamrolled everything. Unlike SWSH however, BDSP is not nearly fine-tuned enough for Pokemon to match your level, causing you to become overleveled for a large majority of the game. Unlike the original games where for 90% of the game you are severely underleveled, in BDSP you are often extremely OVERLEVELED causing you to steamroll everyone especially since most gym leaders only have a max of 3 Pokemon. But there is one caviat to the games difficulty that changes everything, the final challenge, the elite four. HO BOY the elite four in this game are something else. Absolutely brutal from beginning to end, using actual competitive strategies with EV trained Pokemon and powerful and varied moveset. The final boss, Cynthia, is even harder than she was in the original game, boasting perfect IV and max EV trained Pokemon, competitive items, and viable movesets. She is a force to be reckoned with, and unless you either bring in a lot of items or grind heavily, she will absolutely body you time and time again. This difficulty spike when you hit the elite four is absolutely insane, and definitely turns this game into an incredibly easy game into one of the hardest Pokemon games to date just with the final challenge alone. So yeah, BDSP good, Pokemon fans bad. Goodnight.

Its been a LONGGG time since i played the DS version, but these are the differences i think their are from the DS version: - art style - Pokémon walk with you?? - Hovering over a evolution stone says which Pokémon in your party are compatible with it. - Fairy types are in this game, which i guess could of been in the original also, but not that i remember. - When you use a item like a repel, where it can wear off, once it does wear off the game will ask if you want to use another. - all Pokémon get exp when defeating/catching a Pokémon [And i think it is weighted, depending on your Pokémons levels, but not the # of pokemon, like if i have a egg pokemon level 1, it will get 622exp compared to the 157exp my level 33s get, and my level 35 gets 146; and having only one pokemon in your team doesnt give all that exp too that pokemon (like the 622+157+146,etc so might as well fill the party]. - If you catch a Pokémon while party is full, itll ask if you wanna put it in your party or send it to the box. - You can go in Veilstone city and buy new outfits for your chibi character and 3d battle avatar, ranging from 8.5k to 120k. [In my opinion they all look good] - Hovering over a city on a map now says whats in it, such as Pokecenter galactic veilstone building style shop etc; So if your wanting to remember where the underground mans house is, you can just switch between the citys on map view. - Moves now show their effectiveness on enemy Pokémon under the move; from not very effective to super effective if you have faced that Pokémon before. - When you switch out Pokémon, its moves will be shown with the same effectiveness tips/info shown for them, so you can go between your Pokémon to find one with a super effective move/etc - Their is a button/shortcut to throw a pokeball - Checkpoint on map saying next stop, and on pause menu it says what to do next, Head to X [When you need to go to the lake, and need strength for mt coronet, at first your objective marker is on the lake, but then you go touch a boulder and it says might be able to move this with a hm, then you get a new flag/icon on the map for where to get strength, i thought that was pretty cool, i didnt have to google strengths location]. - HMs are now on the poketch, so you dont need a dedicated HM Pokémon now. - You can access your Box (normally/still in pokecenter) from your pause menu - If the switch detects a lets go save game on your switch, Itll give you a mew in floaroma town, or a jirachi if you have sword or shield data. - Friendship effects were changed in this game from the old versions. CONS [No longer differences, just things i consider a con] [spoilers]: - Its kinda weird the number of pokemon some homies have, like some trainers will have like 5-6, however the LEADER of team galactic has 3 when you first fight him.... hes the boss of stealing everyones pokemon but he only has 3.... - You beat the Team galactic boss... and he gives you a masterball... he says i have no use for this, but what if his red chain he created didnt work? unless he can farm masterballs it seems kinda strange where he would just give us a masterball without testing his chain first...aka saving the ball for a backup. - It is a pokemon game so you cant except the smartest decisions, but some gym leaders will have 2-3 hyper potions, but use them on their first Pokémon and not the strong Pokémon that they have a little cutscene throwing, that is stronger and has more hp/etc... - If you have a chonker, like Dialga walking with you, if your in a narrow path and you turn around, your character goes pretty slow... pushing around that 1,500lbs behemoth - You cant skip the end credits.... Were in 2021 and this is a pokemon game (aka they have a budget); yet we cant skip it...

Id actually like to give this a 4.5/5 star review - This is a solid remake of the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl games originally for Nintendo DS. A majority of things are very similar to the original games, with the addition of some great quality of life improvements. For example, a dedicated HM Pokemon is no longer needed, as you can use these moves in the field as soon as you beat the appropriate gym by calling a wild Pokemon to use the move. You automatically run by pressing the L stick, and walk by using the D pad (instead of having to use the running shoes by pressing B). More modern Pokemon elements - Fairy-types, updated movesets for Pokemon, TM range expanded from 50 to 100 machines, etc. - have also been incorporated. The Grand Underground is a new-ish addition that Im really enjoying. Previously, you could really only mine for fossils and treasures and create a secret base in the underground. Now, in addition to hunting for fossils and items, there are special caverns to explore that hold Pokemon you can catch or train against - most of these are from the Sinnoh Pokedex, but some are not, and you can still use these Pokemon before completing the game and getting the National Pokedex. These are similar to patches of grass in Sword/Shield, where Pokemon will chase you around to battle and you have to either avoid them or get caught up in a fight. Its very fun to go exploring down there, and I could (and have) spend hours just finding new caverns/digging up treasure. To be honest, the only thing I really dont like is that you cant seem to turn off the EXP. Share. Im at four badges right now and already over-levelled, so I can imagine how itll be at the end of the game. I know this has been a mechanic for several games now, but its one I really dislike, and I much preferred it when the EXP. Share was an actual item I could turn on or off. Overall, though, a very good game. Im having a lot of fun going back to Sinnoh.