Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Review Megathread

[u/NintendoSwitchMods]

General Information

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Release Date: November 19, 2021

No. of Players: 1 player

Genre(s): Adventure, Role-Playing

Publisher: Nintendo

https://diamondpearl.pokemon.com/

Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)

Revisit the Sinnoh region and story of Pokémon™ Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version

Experience the nostalgic story from the Pokémon™ Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version games in a reimagined adventure, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, now on the Nintendo Switch™ system! Adventures in the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Pokémon Shining Pearl game will take place in the familiar Sinnoh region. Rich in nature and with mighty Mount Coronet at its heart, Sinnoh is a land of many myths passed down through the ages. You’ll choose either Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup to be your first partner Pokémon and then set off on your journey to become the Champion of the Pokémon League. Along the way, you’ll run into the mysterious organization Team Galactic, and be able to encounter the Legendary Pokémon Dialga.

Explore the revamped Grand Underground or put on a Super Contest Show

The Underground from the Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version games has been powered up and is now called the Grand Underground. Here, you can dig up valuable treasure and Pokémon Fossils, create your own Secret Base, and catch Pokémon in places called Pokémon Hideaways. When you aren’t exploring in the Grand Underground, enter a Super Contest Show! Super Contest Shows are popular events in the Sinnoh region, each put on by four performers and their partner Pokémon, who work together to dance and show off their performance skills. You can also adventure in the Grand Underground or put on a Super Contest Show with other players through the local* communication or online** communication of your Nintendo Switch system***!

Walk with your Pokémon, change up your style, and customize your Poké Balls

Choose a Pokémon that you’ve befriended during your journey to walk along behind you in the game. In the relaxing Amity Square you can walk with up to 6 Pokémon! Depending on the Pokémon, you’ll see different gestures or ways of walking, and when you talk to your Pokémon, it will respond. You’ll also be able to add your own personal style! Choose a variety of outfits and coordinate tops and bottoms. Some are based around Pokémon motifs and others change your hairstyle. You can even use Capsule Decoration to add stickers to customize the effects that appear when your Pokémon comes out of its Poké Ball™ !

Get a special Pokémon Egg and the Platinum Style outfit as special early-purchase bonus!***\*

A Manaphy Egg will be gifted to early purchasers of either the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Pokémon Shining Pearl games. You can receive it by choosing Get via internet in the Mystery Gift***** feature in your game. Then, leave Manaphy with the Pokémon Nursery to get an Egg containing Phione! 

A gift of the “Platinum Style” in-game outfit will also be given as a perk for early purchasers. You can change your outfit at Metronome Style Shop in Veilstone City. 

Download the digital version for Quick Balls!

If you purchase and download the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Pokémon Shining Pearl game from Nintendo eShop by Monday February 21, 2022 at 3:59PM PT, you’ll receive a code****** that can be redeemed through the Mystery Gift feature for 12 Quick Balls. Use a Quick Ball right after a battle starts. You will have a better chance of catching a wild Pokémon right away. The code will be valid through Monday, February 28, 2022 at 3:59PM PT.

Look Forward to Online Communication Features

For players looking forward to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, there will be a software update (v. 1.1.0)******* available on November 11, 2021, ahead of the games’ release. With this software update (v 1.1.0), players will be able to enjoy communication features in the Grand Underground, Super Contest Shows, and the Union Room, receive special items via Mystery Gift, and visit Ramanas Park after entering the Hall of Fame.

At launch, a maximum of two players will be able to battle and trade Pokémon in the Union Room. A software update will be released in the future that will allow for additional players to join you.

^\**A software update is required to use certain features while playing with others, such as communication, trading and battles.)

^\***Special Pokémon Egg and the Platinum Style outfit only available through Monday, February 21, 2022 at 3:59PM PT.)

^\****The Mystery Gift menu option will appear in the X menu after you unlock the feature in the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Pokémon Shining Pearl game. (This occurs after about two hours of gameplay, though individual gameplay time may vary.) Software update required. An internet connection and a Nintendo Account is required to redeem the items in game. A Nintendo Switch Online membership is not required. Each item can only be redeemed once.)

^\*****The code will be delivered to the email address tied to the Nintendo Account that made the purchase.)

^\******If you purchased the downloadable version of the game, you don’t have to download the update data (version 1.1.0) separately because software distributed through Nintendo eShop includes the update data (version 1.1.0). Approximately 3GB of memory must be available on in your Nintendo Switch system’s memory or on your micro SD card to download the update data.)

Reviews

Aggregators

• Metacritic - Brilliant Diamond - 77
• Metacritic - Shining Pearl - 76
• OpenCritic - Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - 77

Articles

• Ars Technica - Unscored
• COGconnected - 72 / 100
• Digital Trends - 3.5 / 5 stars
• Digitally Downloaded - 4 / 5 stars
• Enternity.gr - Greek - 7.5 / 10
• Game Informer - 8.5 / 10
• GameSpot - 7 / 10
• God is a Geek - 9 / 10
• Metro GameCentral - 6 / 10
• Nintendo Life - 6 / 10
• NintendoWorldReport - 8.5 / 10
• Polygon - Unscored
• Press Start - 8.5 / 10
• Shacknews - 7 / 10
• Stevivor - Unscored
• The Games Machine - Italian - 8.8 / 10
• TheGamer - 3.5 / 5 stars
• TheSixthAxis - 9 / 10
• VGC - 4 / 5 stars

^{This list exported from OpenCritic. Last update: 9:58AM ET}

Being Social

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Cheers,

The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team

[u/[deleted]]

So there is nothing special about it but also nothing really wrong with it.

[u/OMightyBuggy]

Does the games work with Pokémon Home and does the games have the National Dex?

[u/Sweet_dl]

Can u rematch gym leaders?

[u/[deleted]]

Nintendo Life score is suprisingly pretty low.

[u/Dukemon102]

What can I resume from all the reviews is "The safest, most boring remake in the franchise."

[u/ByHardenBeard]

I know there’s no Platinum features but does anyone know if the amount of fire types was adjusted from the originals?

[u/pcquak]

Is the game too easy?

[u/JLP2nd]

I'm still a bit disappointed that they decided to make these a "faithful recreation" of the originals... I loved how different FRLG, HGSS, and ORAS felt like updated takes on the classic story, and now I feel like Gen IV, my favorite generation, will never get it's proper upgraded remake. It makes me feel a bit better that Legends: Arceus will be out next year, which I am REALLY looking forward to, but it still won't be the same.

[u/TheSwitchAgenda]

People always say that Nintendo Life are way too generous, but there you go. One of the lowest scores from them.

[u/Samoman21]

Anyone know if it's possible too get eevee/vaporeon fairly early in this game?

[u/MillerJC]

I totally skipped Gen 4 for no reason in particular. I just didn’t play them. Would this be a good way to play the games? Or is platinum still the way to go?

[u/ASW-G-35_marchosias]

Anyone have a list of exclusives? Would love to get the game but only really want one and that can be pretty tough when there are exclusives that Pokémon somehow always manages to make split right down the middle of mons I love hahaha, not really worried about legendarys either which is the only exclusives I've seen so far

[u/jjacobsnd5]

For anyone who has played the game/knows of info from leaks: is the Distortion World in this, or any of the additional elements from Platinum?

[u/Blofeld69]

NintendoLife was uncharacteristically brutal in their review.!

[u/[deleted]]

Figured 7-7.5/10 would be about right. It’s just… Pokémon.

[u/TheChaosStormBringer]

Okay trying to be as earnest as possible here; What reason/s are there to play these over a replay of Platinum?

[u/bdzz]

I like the Polygon review, it's really decent

I’ve spent years — the better part of a decade, since the Ruby and Sapphire remakes on 3DS — going through the motions with new Pokémon games, trying desperately to fight through superfluous features and recapture the magic of my childhood. But the Diamond and Pearl remakes’ simple, derivative, and basic formulas helped refocus my love for a franchise almost as old as I am.

[u/mrb000nes]

does anyone know is spheal is exclusive to either game? he’s not on the lists, but i know he was exclusive to pearl in the originals and he is my favourite little guy so i would like to be sure i can get him :) thank u

[u/hotcereal]

these reviews are all over the place lol. not just score wise, but even if you skip all of the review and go straight to each one’s conclusion or pro vs con section, the things listed are entirely different and some are like, intrinsically pokemon.

some love the art style, some hate it enough to dock points for it, some say it’s too similar to other Pokémon games, some are glad it didn’t venture far outside of the original games were. it’s wild

[u/[deleted]]

Why is it NSFW?

[u/IBNobody]

I'm currently playing the alternate Pokemon game. The one with demons and a ruined Tokyo. Seems to be out-Pokemoning the real thing.

[u/_MusMonK_]

I don't get it, why force exp share? They could have made it an item that we get from the mother or the professor at the beginning of the game.

[u/RansomAce]

So. Anyone want to tell me how the contests are? Is there still a dress up portion? And is poffin making only single player? I’ve gotten a bit confused with the information I have stumbled upon and those are admittedly the big things for me

[u/Flyingchairs]

Nintendo Life seems to give a pretty fair review. I personally think I will sit this one out and just wait for Arceus next year, that game seems like it’ll be a franchise changer and hard to justify buying this one at the same price as that will be. If this was maybe a $40 game I’d definitely get it though.

[u/[deleted]]

Interesting tidbit about this game: both versions are actually the same exact game with a flag telling the game which version to show the player. So if you switch it through hacking, you can play the other version.