Rumour: Pokémon Diamond And Pearl Remakes Will Be Revealed For Switch Next Month

Please be better looking in both animations and art than sw and sh.

I dont ask new pkmn snap models, but atleast on par with the 2 other nintendo franchises. Mario and zelda.

Yes, of course. 😀
Hopefully the Platinum version implemented on both Pearl and Diamond version.

I’m down! Hopefully they’ll add some of the new things like Wild Areas to the Diamond & Pearl games (or at least full-camera control throughout).

@superguy123
New Pokemon Snap shares the exact same models as every other post-X/Y Pokemon game.

Please don’t ruin it. They’re going to ruin it. At least I have the originals but it’s a shame because HG/SS is one of the best remakes ever so it’s not like they don’t know how to remake games.

@westman98 That's actually sad since we were told we'd get better models for Sw/Sh

@westman98 Yeah, you're right! The pichu model was ripped straight out of Pokemon gold and silver! How unbelievable!
Also this should go without saying, but just because they have the same design, doesn't mean it's the same exact model

IMO the DS Pokemon titles (Gens 4 and 5, including HG/SS) were the pinnacle of the series in terms of art style, mechanics, and meaningful plot. I'd buy a D/P remake, but they have a LOT to live up to in my book.

Whether or not these rumors are genuine, I suspect it's only a matter of time before remakes do show up.

@Doofenshmirtz
Gold/Silver didnt have models - they used sprites.

@westman98 prob comes down to the animation variety then, the pokemon just seem more alive.

But tbh to be expected.
This is prob the engine where mp4 was based off, before it got cancelled.

This game is obv easy to recap a failed project and this project in terms of monetary gains.

Cheaper to make, easy to make money off as its the pkmn ip.

Investment could be done solely on animations and the world around it in i'd assume 2 - 3yrs of dev time.

So yeah bandai would want to make the game look very appealing

You guys realize actual game news happened today right? there's no need to feed this bogus "trust me bro" nonsense.

I hope this is true. The Diamond and Pearl games never clicked with me. Yes, I played Platinum and even that didn't click with me. Maybe the remakes will change that for me.

I still have Pokemon Platinum for my DSi.

My opinion, Pokey Platinum is the Ultimate edition version of Diamond and Pearl.

Ill pass on the Diamond/Pearl remake. Plus I still havent bought and played Sword/Shield anyway

If these remakes are a thing, I hope that the games look more refined than Sword and Shield. I don't expect a huge graphical leap from Sword and Shield, but I at least hope that it looks a bit more polished. I also hope that they don't cut the features of the original game, like they did with ORAS just because "Kids today don't like playing games for long periods of time". I'm cautiously optimistic, as I never actually played a gen 4 game all the way through before, and my platinum cartridge no longer works on my DS. I'm hoping for the best, but I'm keeping my expectations low, as this is gamefreak, and they can always let us down. ORAS wasn't their best remake, but I enjoyed it, so if Sinnoh remakes do happen this year, then I hope they're at least as good as those.

Diamond and Pearl were kind of forgettable entries in the series, so it'll be interesting to see what Game Freak does with them, if they are indeed real. I'm sure they'll do something that enrages the fanbase.

It'd be nice to play a pokemon game that had REAL tense and scary atmosphere along with great lore that gen 4 had and isn't all sunshine and rainbows like SW&SH was.

@Ralizah Woah take that back, Sinnoh blows Hoenn out the water, literally 😂😂

Never played the originals but considering all the demand for D/P remakes, this would be huge. For a while, I've thought it would be cool to give Pokemon from Unova onwards regional forms in Sinnoh for a potential remake.

@Gigan following patterns, it's safe to assume that there's a high chance that we could get Sinnoh remakes this year. However, I wouldn't say it's confirmed to be the case, since it could be that remakes were entirely replaced by the Let's Go games. The pattern so far, excluding the gen 1 remakes in gen 3 goes as followed: Gen 2 in Gen 4, Gen 3 in Gen 6, and so ultimately that should mean Gen 4 in Gen 8 and Gen 5 in Gen 10. If that is indeed what the pattern is.

D/P were excellent back in the DS days. I'm not optimistic about the next mainline pokemon games (whether they're D/P remakes or something else), but I'll hold off judgement until we see the games.

Doesn't this thread 'reveal' them?

@Crono1973 Not entirely. "Revealed" means that the games officially got revealed by the company. There's still a chance that this rumor is false, and that the release pattern most people follow can be changed. We still don't know of the Let's Go games take the place of remakes yet or not.

@VoidofLight No, I would say this is a reveal and then the company would 'confirm it'.

I never understood announcements of an upcoming announcements.

@Crono1973 You can't reveal something that doesn't officially exist. We have no idea if these remakes exist or not, as the rumor itself, while coming from someone credible, could end up being wrong.

Diamond is my favorite Pokemon game; loved the battle tower and the world itself. Day 1 if this is true.

@VoidofLight If it's releasing this year, it exists. It isn't like they start work on it next week.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I think a reveal is when people are first told about it, no matter the source. If it turns out to be a real thing then you can't take back that it was 'revealed' here.

I probably won’t get this, but I’m happy for all those that will. Assuming that this leak is accurate.

@Tyranexx I'd agree but also include gen 3. I feel like 3-5 are all the peak of the series.

@Crono1973 We don't know if it exists or not until Gamefreak or Nintendo tell us otherwise. Someone could say "Gen 9 is being revealed tomorrow", does that mean Gen 9 exists, and it's being revealed? It'd be a different story if Gamefreak hinted towards Diamond and Pearl remakes, or confirmed them, but they haven't yet. All we have is speculation, Poketubers looking at fake leaks, and then rumors from credible sources, who might possibly be wrong. A reveal is when someone comes out and says "it sure as fact exists", while providing proof of said existence.

@VoidofLight Let me put it simply, if the game is real then THIS reveal was real. If it's not real then THIS reveal wasn't real.

If the game is real then Game Freak will only be confirming what people have read here.

@Supadav03 Even so, it proves that the lighting engine and animation makes all the difference.

@Crono1973 Ah, my bad. I didn't know that's what you meant by that. Yeah, if it turns out real, then it was the leaker who technically revealed it. So they should probably change "reveal" to "Gamefreak plans to announce sinnoh remakes" or something.

I'd rather it be the Platinum version, cause its obvious they're gonna remove stuff and I prefer the more superior version.

My appreciation for these titles cannot be understated. They brought me back I to the series after skipping Gen 3. Now my all time faves are Starraptor and Luxray, my dream team!

Never played thies games I would buy day one if its true but.

I hope there are other Pokémon re-releases in addition to this.

@Christofu The Gen 3 games are decent overall, they were a definite step up from the GB/GBC entries. Still, I feel the DS titles were even more of an improvement in every way.

@Gigan Same. I hope that if anything, if these do exist, that they're at least as good as ORAS, if not better.

@Ralizah what, forgettable ), really ?

@nessisonett @3dvCuong12 Sinnoh is definitely the least visually distinctive region in the series. Also, the pacing is weird, and the early game drowns you in Bidoofs.

@g_ruz Pokemon Platinum is still great and really doesnt need a remake.

old Pokey Platinu has Distortion World. and like I said Platinum was and still is the Ultimate edition version of Diamond/Pearl.

@urrutiap I feel like if done right, it could use a remake. The games themselves are extremely slow, with battles taking forever to get through in comparison to what came before and after the game. Not to mention, you can't really buy platinum anymore at retail stores, unless you have loads of money. Even then, getting an actual legit copy that works on the 3DS is rare. So I'd say it does deserve a remake, so that more people can play it. The only thing is, it depends on if the eventual remake is worth buying at all. Since, well.. sword and shield happened.

Whether it's true or not, the only thing I do ask Nintendo (and Pokemon Company) to do is allow Game Freak to develop the next main Pokemon game with the time they need to make the game without the rush that ruins any big project, seriously, SERIOUSLY, if They can't have a game "ready" this year, better not do it, and I will wait to next year without problems.

@VoidofLight Whatever.

I still have Pokey Platinum and Ive had the game for like a few years and once in awhile I still play it for my DSi.

and the game isnt that hard to track down even on online like amazon.

@SakuraHaruka I hope that Gamefreak will get a break between this next game and gen 9 honestly. They deserve one to work on the next generation more, and if they bring back the actual spin-offs, that'd tie fans over until the next generation.

@urrutiap I have a copy as well, but mine no longer works, so I have to rely on these remakes. Especially because I don't want to spend a lot of money on an old game, just for it to turn out to be a fake copy of the game itself.

Finally! Gen IV games where Blissey's health meter fully depletes in 4 seconds instead of 40.

First Pokémon games I ever got. Can’t wait to see how they look

I personally hope for a straight up port of Red as well. Like they did with Fire Emblem for the anniversary.

Great if true as I haven’t played them

Let's be real, we didn't need a rumour to know Diamond and Pearl remakes are on the way. You just have to look at history.

This year we'll either see Let's Go Johto, or Diamond and Pearl remakes.

@Doofenshmirtz Your reply shows your ignorance surrounding Pokemon.

First off, Gold/Silver were 2D and used sprites and @westman98 clearly said post X and Y. It's well known that the 3D Pokemon models were created by Creature Inc and that they were future proof. Meaning they have high res models and the 3DS games used these models but with lower poly count and lower quality textures.

These are the exact same models they have been using since X and Y, it also doesn't make sense to create new models when they already have them all in relatively high quality.

"These new versions apparently won't be like the Pokémon: Let's Go games released on the Nintendo Switch in 2018, and will be closer in style to the original DS releases from 2006."

Why would these remakes be closer in style to the original DS game as opposed to running on the same engine and using many assets from Sword and Shield?

We have seen this with Heart Gold/Soul Silver and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire being part of the generation of the previous game. If it's no Let's Go game it most definitely will be running on the exact same engine as Sword and Shield.

Personally, I be happiest getting a DS emulator on the Switch, so we can get the game as it was back then, similar to if you wanted to play a pirate copy on your PC.
This could then also be used for the Switch Online service for other games

Typical Pokemon Company: skip the best 2 games in the series for the worst!

@Tyranexx

I like Black and White 2 more, it has so much Content and Stuff you can do after the Main Plot.
SS and HG i do like also a lot!

The Oportunity to add a Battle Zone as a "Pokemon Stadium" is there in the Switch Generations.

I wanted RBI’s for years. But after playing Sw/Sh I no longer do. I don’t want stupid Dynamax Palkia or some crappy glitchy wild area dumped in

best games in the franchise

I'm so excited for these, I loved the DPPt games so much. I just have a sinking feeling they'll be closer to SWSH. They can't have had much time to develop them, so I'm expecting bare bones games with missing features and a half-arsed story about dimensions tacked on.

I'm really hoping we get a remake closer to HGSS and less like ORAS!

Still waiting for pokemon Let's go Gold and Silver (or Marill and Schnubbel). Didn't really care for diamond and pearl back in the day. Don't know what it was, but it just couldn't grab me like the other games did. Perhaps my expectations were to high back then of what a DS could do.

I'm certain that along with the gen 4 pokemon, it will give us the ones not in sword and shield. That way they can claim that this was their plan all along with leaving so many out of those games.

All I ask for is that they don't use the "let's go" mechanics, otherwise il pass on these

This should go without saying, but if these are real:

-Expect them to be running off the SwSh engine. All past remakes have run off the same engine as their current gen counterparts and it would be very unlikely for this to change.
-As such, don't expect much in the way of graphical improvement. Could they improve it? Absolutely. Will they? I personally think any improvements will be marginal at best.
-Don't expect all 898 Pokémon to be accessible in the game. They stated this would be the case going forward, so until it's confirmed otherwise, don't expect all Pokémon to be present. If anything, they'll at least cover the Pokémon that aren't in SwSh or their Expansion Pass areas, giving us the remaining 234 Pokémon for Gen VIII. There's definitely a possibility that they took fan feedback about the lack of all Pokémon into consideration, but don't be surprised if not all Pokémon are present.

Overall, just don't be surprised if Game Freak doesn't buck the trend and gives us just another Pokémon game like they've been doing for years.

I'm sure if it does happen they'll cut the Battle Frontier from Platinum.

If this is true, then they've backflipped on the promise they made to stop remakes. Really want them to focus on one game, not waste time with remakes where dev time could be spent elsewhere.

This is the only mainline generation that I've never completed (other than the current gen). I played Gen 1, loved it, then didn't come back til Diamond and Pearl, and was a little disappointed in how little had changed in 9 years. I didn't bother trying a Pokemon game again until Sun and Moon, and since then I've gone back to play through Heart Gold, Omega Ruby, White 2 and X.

Just waiting for this Switch iteration stuff to come out before I buy a Switch to play Sword and the remake.

@Kalmaro,

The models look better for sword and shield on the Switch, and the gamed target audience I bet are over the mood with them.

Normally I scoff, roll my eyes, and keep scrolling when I see rumour posts. But now I'm pleading with you. Please don't do this to me, Nintendo Life. Don't get my hopes up, you're just setting me up for disappointment.

Well, its not on my top 3 gens so i can live without it , but a lot of people want it for a long time now and i have high hopes that i ll like it too this time .

@Supadav03 I don't understand why people would want this. It doesn't really add anything, and actually takes away stuff: it can't look as good because the system has to render more stuff, the linear parts of the game would look more confining, and it would just be much easier to get lost that way. I hardly ever knew where anything was in the Sw/Sh DLC as well. But then again, most places looked really similar to each other, which might be part of the problem.

I need to finish SwSh DLC that I paid for but haven't even started. I hope I can get around to it before getting these.

Honestly as a casual Pokemon guy I'm not too exited for these. I prefer the old 4th gen engine over the new one any day of the week.

@johnvboy Them looking better doesn't change the fact that they aren't actually better.

Please have music that slaps

@Kalmaro,

There was nothing wrong with the 3DS models, it's just the 3DS could not show them off to their full potential, due to it's power limitations.

Maybe we'll luck out and it'll just be Diamond and Pearl, virtual console style. Then all the Gen 4ers can enjoy just how slow those games play

WHY is this news? There's ALWAYS a Direct in Pokémon Day, OF COURSE another will happen during the Pokémon 25 celebration. Gen 4 remakes rumours are as old as Gen 6 when ORAS came out, the DLC for SwSh is done, SOMETHING will have to release this year because something always does, and they're not changing generations yet. You don't have to be an insider to calculate the most likely scenario.

@johnvboy I never said anything was wrong with them. If anything, game freak hinted at that when they said that stuff would be removed so we could get better looking models and such.

@Kalmaro,

Never said you did, and like I said they look good to me, of course not everyone will always agree, but I do agree that the developer should not have states they were going to change the models, when in fact they didn't.

Yeaaaaahhhhh sure........

@SeantheDon29 Guess you didn't play the part where you fight Eternatus in Sword and Shield. That was definitely not rainbows and sunshine.

On one hand I'd love to give these game another chance (they were the least fun for me so far) but on the other I stopped playing every remake after 4-6 gyms...

@Krisi It’s 2021...I think AAA developers can & should be able to handle this with ease. The Switch is definitely powerful enough. I think it add quite a bit to a game actually, in both immersion & exploration.

I could see it making some of the linear paths seem smaller/worse but I’m hoping for a modern re-imagining that would expand & beef up the world to 2021 AAA levels.

i seem to be one of the only people that didnt mind swsh's art style. but new pokemon snap definitely puts it to shame. my hopes are at least better textures, ui, and way less pop in

I expect this will include the missing PM from S&S what will also be added by an update to them. I'm really curious to what they will do with the remakes in a post S&S world, the Wild Area was kinda game changing so i wonder if they will find a way to add one in some way. I am hoping its based on Platinum more then D&P though as Platinum added a ton of stuff and is the best version, i get its a remake of D&P but Heartgold and Soulsilver were more Crystal then G&S so hopefully the same will be done here.

I hope the rumor is true, because I'm really looking forward to this remake. Diamond/Pearl were good games, but they had some problems (e.g., unbalanced progression - it took a long time between 2nd and 3rd gyms - and slowness, especially in battles) that were almost all resolved in Platinum (which also included the incredible Distortion World and a Battle Frontier). Gen 4 would have a lot to gain from a remake, as long as they make good use of the gameplay increments made in the past four generations.

I'm not really expecting it to look better than sw/sh. I feel like it'll be closer to Link's Awakening remake in terms of graphical cartoon bubbly style tbh.

I'm 1000% here for it.

I waited for the dust to settle on SwSh, and I'm glad I did, because it is an excellent game (even if visually it looks like a gamecube game). If they implement some stuff from those, like wild areas, fast leveling, visible pokemon, etc, then Diamond/Pearl remakes will be must-haves.

Not exactly the versions I wanted remade but I’ll still end up likely picking it up. I hope The Pokémon Company releases a Let’s Go set in Johto. I would love to play gen 2 again with those controls and with Pokémon GO support!

@Anti-Matter yes. Diamond and Pearl aren't terrible, but platinum improves them vastly

@kaiofelipe I get most of your points but I've never understood why people don't like long stretches between gyms. I've always enjoyed when Pokemon games have huge stretches of just exploring routes, finding cities, etc, especially with how short the games mostly are

@abbyhitter the difference is that Eternatus didn’t have any buildup,like,at all and the battle, while it was interesting in the first half of the battle, was completely made null when the two legends showed and the happy music started playing and you were basically just watching an interactive cutscene.

Compare that to Giratina, where you see it appear from a dimensional rift, shrouded in a black silhouette, grab Cyrus and pulls him into its world and then you go to its domain, you see it in the background, watching you, then when you finally encounter it, you hear this loud, unworldly cry and the battle starts, and unlike SWSH, there is no one to help you in this battle and you will lose if you’re not prepared.

@Andymad I pray that the next game could look half as good as the Link's Awakening remake.

DO NOT MESS UP THE MUSIC, Game Freak!!!

@Azuris B/W 2 are prime examples of how to handle a video game sequel. Why TPC/Game Freak did away with this after Gen 5 boggles my mind. They added SO much to complement the original B/W. Probably my favorite extra was the movie studio outside of Virbank City. Fully optional, but it was a fun, unique piece of side content!

HG/SS are, hands down, my favorite games in the series. They perfected two already great games with some (then) modern touches. No game is truly perfect IMO, but they come close!

@g_ruz
You do realize Battle Frontier is missing from ORAS, right?

@Shepdawg1
I don't expect the missing Pok from Sw/Sh
Not even full Dex for Gen (1-4)
Prob just what was available in original games
Which means Fire-types are severely lacking

@g_ruz
Me too

@jamesthemagi I think they'll do what the past remakes have done: the original game's Dex for the main story/majority of the main story, followed by an expansion that adds in the remaining Pokémon that haven't otherwise been available that Gen.

I feel like if they remake Diamond and Pearl, people shouldn't expect them to bring back the national dex. The best we'll probably get is maybe Galar pokemon in the post-game. It'll primarily be the Sinnoh Dex.

Honestly, if that were the case, it wouldn't be the worst thing, as long as the game itself is a good remake, with loads of side content, and an alright story. However, I doubt that'll be the case, but we'll wait and see I guess.

Kind of done with the Pokémon Franchise. I regret buying Sword digitally because now I can’t sell it.

Sinnoh is my favourite region ,i would be very happy

Don't get your hopes up, it will probably be Pokémon Unite

What would these remakes look like now?

The style from Let's Go?

@Ralizah i can say all version have weakness, but i still love Gen 4 (and Gen 2, Gen 5, Gen 6 with Mega). I don't think it forgettable, but everyone has their own opinion.

I wish they would just add some more difficulty modes to the let's go games.
Let's Go mode: the lame easy version it is now

Original: (Pro Controller Support)(Motion Controls Optional)Classic battle and catching style with increased difficulty. (Pikachu & Eevee aren't overpowered)

Hard: Basically Original mode with increased battle difficulty. Trainers and Gym leaders have more pokemon and different pokemon with higher levels.

Didn't enjoy Pearl too much when it was released but never quite knew why, still completed the game though. Would be happy to give it another shot if the rumour proves to be true. Seems like a remake of Diamond/Pearl would be on the cards.

Didn't have the chance to play Diamond/Pearl before. So I'll keep an eye out for further news on this!

@PBandSmelly 🙄

Everyone is being gangster until is reveal that is Diamond and Pearl GO with only 100 pokemon avaliable and N64 graphics

....Sword and Shield had its moments, but for the most part I was kinda disappointed, at the same time I expected this. I was hoping the DLC would fix this but...yeah not that much. Didn't even bother with the Tundra part.

Diamond and Pearl I never actually played since I got back into the series with Platinum, so I don't know what was new in Platinum aside from Giratina's...weird world area. lol

That said, one thing I loved in Plat was the Battle Frontier. I'm kinda sick of all these Tower clones future games got, Frontier did a lot more with this, I miss the Arcade. Anyways if this ends up being true, please don't screw this up, GameFreak. -.-

Assuming this is actually true, don't know how motivated I'd be to drop $60 on it. Game freak will almost certainly copy-paste the battle engine yet again - with only two stale animations for all a pokemon's moves, and hamfistedly shove in some gimmick instead of addressing balance issues in the underlying game.

@nessisonett Let's be a little more realistic of the Pokemon Company. Next month they're probably going to drop Game Boy Advance Video: Pokemon on the Switch eShop!
Maybe a Pokemon Dash remaster too!

@Shpeegz "Let's Go" Easy? More like the annoying motion control catch system!
I had a harder time near the end because I had an underleveled team. But to think if I was actually grinding the expected way of chucking 20+ Pokeballs every fight (between the misses from crappy motions and from RNG) to catch for EXP. And that was supposed to be "fun"? Thanks Game Freak for at least halving the ball costs in that game, so at least they sort of knew they had created a garbage system that would result in more wasted balls than usual.
I mean, I was doing that once per species for Dex completion. Thinking of doing it for EXP sounds like torture.

@Christofu I also like it when games leave exploration more free (it was nice, for example, to choose in which order to do the Kanto gyms - or even Johto's 5th, 6th and 7th badges - in Gold/Silver), but I think that Diamond/Pearl didn't do it so well, because right after the 3rd badge there are two consecutive gyms, one of which is from a city we’ve already visited in the long gap between the 2nd and 3rd (Hearthome). They found a good solution for this at Platinum, anticipating battling with Fantina from the 5th to the 3rd badge.

@kaiofelipe Yeah, it's a good feeling for sure, and Sinnoh could've used the opportunity better. I hope that something can light a fire under game freak to see the potential their franchise has. I genuinely think they're gonna start losing sales from teen/ adult fans in the next gen or two if they keep things up. Despite Sinnoh being my favorite region, I honestly don't know if I'll bring myself to buy it if it's like Sw/Sh
Edit: sorry I got off topic. Pokemon is like this well of thoughts and feelings lately and it's really easy to go off track talking about it