Fans have been waiting years and years for Pokémon's fourth-generation remakes and the day is finally here. Yes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available right now on Nintendo Switch.
A reimagining of the adventure found within the original Diamond and Pearl on Nintendo DS, the new games take fans back to the Sinnoh region for one last hoorah – well, until Pokémon Legends: Arceus comes along at least. The launch trailer for the new titles has now been released, so make sure to check it out above.
We weren't overly impressed with the new games when playing them for review, although some other critics were a little more favourable. Whatever your opinion, make sure to let us know which version – if any – you'll be picking up today in our launch day poll.
For everyone who's been looking forward to getting their hands on these games, happy launch day! Let us know if you've already got stuck into either version in the comments below.
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I put my Switch into airplane mode before inserting my Brilliant Diamond cartridge, and it insisted on downloading an update before the online system knew I had the game.
You can still play without updating, but Nintendo are really keen that you update before you start playing.
@RupeeClock i wonder why? maybe theres a game breaking bug
@RupeeClock They insist because otherwise you are playing some beta build on the cartridge. Just pathetic
@RupeeClock are you playing it without the update? If so, are the union room and grand underground missing or just missing some features? Because the patch has a bit of weird wordibg around that.
@Hinade I'm going to play Brilliant Diamond with update, but Shining Pearl later on I may try playing updateless to see what it's like, I have a secondary Switch system I can do that on.
I’ve never played a Pokémon game before. Would these remakes be a good place to start?
A little disappointed with the lack of Mega Evolutions. But all in all, this is a remake to introduce the younger generation of Pokémon fans to generation 4. They stuck close to the original but added some quality of life updates.
A lot of people try to compare BDSP to Let’s Go. Let’s go was a test for SwSh. This is a remake of a 2D DS game. I’m pretty sure my niece is going to love the chibi art style of characters and the diorama style of the overworld.
The game was developed by by a 3rd party, so they probably didn’t have authorization to make the changes some fans were expecting. But who knows, maybe we’ll see some DLC with something interesting.
Looks great, will be putting some hours into this over the weekend.
@arrmixer all mainline Pokemon games are made to be good starting point for the series (and RPG in general). Check out on YouTube the gameplay for all three entries available on Switch and get the one you think it's more to your liking.
@RupeeClock cool to hear. Hope I ever get to see you post the results.
@arrmixer : If you can find a physical copy of Sword or Shield with the expansion pass on the cartridge (I believe it’s now out of print), it will yield the most content for your money as well as being the best and most feature-rich main series Pokémon game on Switch so far.
I’m enjoying Shining Pearl mainly due to the fact that I have played the originals, but these remakes are frankly embarrassing by how unambitious and rushed they are. The opening cinematic isn’t even on the cartridge, and the software update adds one that is of poor picture quality. Unless you’re a diehard fan, I would recommend skipping these and saving your money for Legends Arceus in January instead.
@RupeeClock : The console would have known already. It’s one of those things that Nintendo has set in the background that isn’t immediately obvious. Setting the Switch to Flight Mode just prior to inserting the cartridge would have been insufficient.
There were times where I had bought a game and immediately stuck the cartridge in while at the shopping centre waiting for food and I’ve been prompted to download updates.
@Silly_G
That's what I expected of course, that they make all connected switch systems aware of the update at some point so that you can still be prompted to update even when disconnected.
Gen 4 remakes confirmed!? I'll believe it when I have it in my hands! 🤣
@RupeeClock The Switch occasionally downloads a log of all current game versions to check against. You'd need to have had it in airplane mode since the patch came out. Though... Usually it's set to let you play without the patch
.
@link3710
Usually yeah, if there were any problems with playing an older version, it would prompt you to update when trying to play using online features.
It's rare that they would outright force you to update a game to start playing it, they did that for some 3DS games like IronFall Invasion, which was famously used for homebrew exploits.
@SuperCharr if you want a more adult-oriented monster collecting game, check out SMTV on switch
@RennanNT @Silly_G thank you! 😀
I'm not impressed with rehashing the same old formula again and again. So, although I love Piplup, I probably won't pick this up.
Looking forward to Arceus, though.
So I have no qualms with the gameplay. I mean it's Pokemon it's hard to screw that up. But it cannot be understated how much I loathe the art style. I didn't like it when I first saw it but seeing in motion in person makes me absolutely hate it. This is by far the worst looking mainline Pokemon game, remake or not. I mean the chibi style, in battle it looks fine, and baffles me why they didn't do something like Sword/Shield or the Let's Go games. Graphics aren't everything and I'm still loving the game but the art style is truly bad.
This was definitely for me. I missed out on the DS generation of games because that was a time when I sorta outgrew Pokemon for a while and lost interest in it. In fact I think Pokemon Gold was the last version I played until I played Pokemon X on the 3DS.
So this, it's just a nice throwback for me, a perfect opportunity for me to experience a Pokemon generation that I missed out on. I know Lets Go Pikachu was sort of a remake of Yellow, but they changed so many things about it that it wound up being a completely different experience. Diamond/Pearl seem to stay far more true to the originals.
I’m loving it. I got Shining Pearl digitally and found the underground to be addicting. Plus apparently the gorgeous statues do stack and make it easier to find shiny pokémon. Saw it first hand when someone (HDVee) streamed and found a shiny Mukrow after putting 18 gorgeous statues in their secret base. 87 encounters in he found it.
Exp share and lack of platinum make it a hard pass for me. Remake the enhanced version and keep difficulty in tact. Kthxbai
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