Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl 11-21-2021, 03:20 AM
#1
Alright, so about a week before the release of BDSP I pre-ordered Brilliant Diamond and Legends. Now that I've had sometime to play it, I'm going to go ahead and review it, and maybe this thread will help you decide if getting BDSP is right for your wallet.
If you recall in my previous thread about the remakes, I was very upset at the fact that we got a one-to-one remake.
I mean, yeah, the remakes are here nonetheless, but it seemed to me when the remakes were announced that GameFreak really didn't care about the remakes the same way they cared about Heart Gold and Soul Silver and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
So to some degree I would say that holds true still. I've played BDSP and what I will say is--they're phenomenal. Currently I'm playing on v1.1.1 of the games. They're lovely, and they really do capture the heart and soul of the original Diamond and Pearl. The games look amazing graphically, sound is on par with aesthetics. I hold true to what I said that I'm really disappointed in the development choices made, most everything is a one-to-one, I really hate the idea that the game is chibi (though it was amazingly executed, I will say).
I guess really what I was expecting was Pokemon: Breath of the Wild. And while it's unfortunate that BDSP isn't that, it seems thus far that Legends Arceus might be.
So, foregoing my disappointment in their developmental decisions, I'm going to look through the lens of an awe inspired fan who maybe didn't play the originals, or maybe isn't disappointed in the direction ILCA took.
The game, like I said, is phenomenal in its own right. The graphics are beautiful to look at, the sound is amazing. Feature wise, I love that the menu has changed. Now instead of waiting until the 8th gym to play around with pokeball seals, you can jump right into them almost immediately after the 1st gym badge is obtained. The movement feels incredibly smooth compared to the originals as well. Gone are the days of slow surfing and walking, gone are the days of waiting 3 business days for health bars to go down.
More than anything, this game feels like a true pokemon game. As a long time fan, Mega evolutions, Dynamaxing, Z-Moves, it all felt gimmicky. None of those features felt like Pokemon. It feels like we've made a return to glory now with these remakes.
The Sinnoh underground makes a return, and better than ever I might add. It is super fun to run around the underground once again. This time, we can find ourselves among hideaways in the underground, a place to find roaming pokemon, some of which aren't even registered in the Sinnoh pokedex. The random NPCs are also fun to hunt down, if you're looking to catch a Spiritomb like I was. And the Diglett/Dugtrio mini game is fun to play too if you're into shiny hunting. I pulled out my old DS with Platinum just to compare, and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feel authentically Pokemon. ILCA did not miss.
Now here's a part where the mark was missed entirely. The remakes were, unfortunately, not completed in time. Pulling the cartridge from its box will yield you with v1.0.0 of BDSP. You need to update if you want functionality such as mystery gift. Which is necessary if you want your early purchase Manaphy egg. That's part of why I even bought it early, so it was definitely a necessary update. Some other functionality, like online battling and trading which I took advantage with one of my friends with, is also makes an update from 1.0.0 to at least 1.1.0 necessary. The game doesn't even ship with an introductory cutscene like every other pokemon game ever--unless you update past 1.0.0.
My final verdict: I'm upset that we went completely back to chibi style. I personally would've preferred going sword and shield full-character models, roaming pokemon, all the fancy stuff. But the games have been so well remastered that I can look past it. If you were looking for a pokemon game to pick up, this is it. I'd like to say the same about Legends, but who knows. The BDSP games are most definitely worth the money if you were on the line about getting them. Even moreso, these are the first Pokemon games in years that genuinely feel like Pokemon games.
If you recall in my previous thread about the remakes, I was very upset at the fact that we got a one-to-one remake.
I mean, yeah, the remakes are here nonetheless, but it seemed to me when the remakes were announced that GameFreak really didn't care about the remakes the same way they cared about Heart Gold and Soul Silver and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
So to some degree I would say that holds true still. I've played BDSP and what I will say is--they're phenomenal. Currently I'm playing on v1.1.1 of the games. They're lovely, and they really do capture the heart and soul of the original Diamond and Pearl. The games look amazing graphically, sound is on par with aesthetics. I hold true to what I said that I'm really disappointed in the development choices made, most everything is a one-to-one, I really hate the idea that the game is chibi (though it was amazingly executed, I will say).
I guess really what I was expecting was Pokemon: Breath of the Wild. And while it's unfortunate that BDSP isn't that, it seems thus far that Legends Arceus might be.
So, foregoing my disappointment in their developmental decisions, I'm going to look through the lens of an awe inspired fan who maybe didn't play the originals, or maybe isn't disappointed in the direction ILCA took.
The game, like I said, is phenomenal in its own right. The graphics are beautiful to look at, the sound is amazing. Feature wise, I love that the menu has changed. Now instead of waiting until the 8th gym to play around with pokeball seals, you can jump right into them almost immediately after the 1st gym badge is obtained. The movement feels incredibly smooth compared to the originals as well. Gone are the days of slow surfing and walking, gone are the days of waiting 3 business days for health bars to go down.
More than anything, this game feels like a true pokemon game. As a long time fan, Mega evolutions, Dynamaxing, Z-Moves, it all felt gimmicky. None of those features felt like Pokemon. It feels like we've made a return to glory now with these remakes.
The Sinnoh underground makes a return, and better than ever I might add. It is super fun to run around the underground once again. This time, we can find ourselves among hideaways in the underground, a place to find roaming pokemon, some of which aren't even registered in the Sinnoh pokedex. The random NPCs are also fun to hunt down, if you're looking to catch a Spiritomb like I was. And the Diglett/Dugtrio mini game is fun to play too if you're into shiny hunting. I pulled out my old DS with Platinum just to compare, and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feel authentically Pokemon. ILCA did not miss.
Now here's a part where the mark was missed entirely. The remakes were, unfortunately, not completed in time. Pulling the cartridge from its box will yield you with v1.0.0 of BDSP. You need to update if you want functionality such as mystery gift. Which is necessary if you want your early purchase Manaphy egg. That's part of why I even bought it early, so it was definitely a necessary update. Some other functionality, like online battling and trading which I took advantage with one of my friends with, is also makes an update from 1.0.0 to at least 1.1.0 necessary. The game doesn't even ship with an introductory cutscene like every other pokemon game ever--unless you update past 1.0.0.
My final verdict: I'm upset that we went completely back to chibi style. I personally would've preferred going sword and shield full-character models, roaming pokemon, all the fancy stuff. But the games have been so well remastered that I can look past it. If you were looking for a pokemon game to pick up, this is it. I'd like to say the same about Legends, but who knows. The BDSP games are most definitely worth the money if you were on the line about getting them. Even moreso, these are the first Pokemon games in years that genuinely feel like Pokemon games.
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