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|---|---|
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| Developer | ILCA[a] |
| Publishers | |
| Directors |
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| Producers |
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| Designer | Jun Taniguchi |
| Programmer | Shinya Suda |
| Artists |
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| Writer | Junichi Masuda |
| Composers |
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| Series | Pokémon |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform | Nintendo Switch |
| Release | 19 November 2021 |
| Genre | Role-playing |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond[b] andPokémon Shining Pearl[c] are 2021remakes of the 2006Nintendo DSrole-playing video gamesPokémon Diamond andPearl. The games are part of the eighth generation of thePokémon video game series and were developed byILCA and published byNintendo andThe Pokémon Company for theNintendo Switch. The promotional material described these games as being faithful remakes ofPokémon Diamond andPearl. The games were released on 19 November 2021. They were announced as part of the25th anniversary event, alongsidePokémon Legends: Arceus.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl received mixed reviews from critics, who praised aspects of the gameplay but were divided over certain changes made to the original, the games' visual design, and lack of features (e.g. the Sinnoh Battle Frontier) fromPokémon Platinum.
Gameplay ofPokémon Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl is similar to the originalDiamond andPearl games, comparable to previous remakes such asOmega Ruby andAlpha Sapphire. The games are presented in atop-down isometricthird-person perspective, though with a distinct visual style.[1]
As with the original games,Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl are set in the fictional region of Sinnoh,[2] an island based on the Japanese island ofHokkaidō.[3]
Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl were developed byILCA;[4] as such, they are the first main-seriesPokémon games to have a different company as the lead developer instead ofGame Freak.[5] They were directed by Yuichi Ueda from ILCA andJunichi Masuda from Game Freak, the director of the original games.[6]
Possible development on remakes ofDiamond andPearl had been leaked on 15 January 2021, when a "diamondpearl"subdomain of thePokémon website was registered and published. Shortly after, the domain was taken offline.[7] On 26 February 2021, the day of thePokémon 25th AnniversaryPokémon Presents presentation, several leakers claimed that the upcominglivestream would announce remakes ofDiamond andPearl, titledBrilliant Diamond andShining Pearl, alongside anaction role-playing game also set in the Sinnoh region, later revealed to bePokémon Legends: Arceus.[8][9] During the Pokémon Presents,Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl were announced for theNintendo Switch with a tentative late 2021 release date.[2]
On 26 May 2021, a release date of 19 November 2021 was announced along with a reveal of the games box art.[10] During the reveal of theNintendo Switch OLED model on 6 July 2021, footage displaying improved visuals for the games was shown.[11] A Pokémon Presents presentation on 18 August 2021 showed new features including character customization, the return of The Underground which is now called The Grand Underground, Poké Ball decorations (now renamed Stickers rather than Seals), the Union Room, Super Contest Shows, and Pokémon being able to follow the player.[12][13] It was revealed that a Pokémon egg of the Mythical Pokémon Manaphy would be available from Mystery Gift as an early purchase bonus until February 21, 2022.[14]
On 28 September 2021, on the 15th anniversary of the originalPokémon Diamond andPearl, a new trailer was released showcasing the Pokétch with Hidden Moves, Poffins, Pokémon party following the player in Hearthome City's Amity Square, "stat trainers" (trainers specialising in a specific Pokémon statistic) Cheryl and Riley, and Eterna City Gym Leader Gardenia.[15] On 26 October, another trailer was released featuring Snowpoint City Gym Leader Candice and Sunyshore City Gym Leader Volkner; Team Galactic Commanders Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, and Team Galactic Boss Cyrus; and the three Legendary Lake Pokémon Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie.[16] Moreover, it was announced that the outfits of the protagonists Lucas and Dawn fromPokémon Platinum would be available from Mystery Gift as an early purchase bonus until February 21, 2022.[17] An overview trailer summarizing the main features of the games was released on 5 November 2021 on the official Japanese Nintendo YouTube channel.[18]
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl have been described as having a "litany of glitches", with numerous glitches discovered within weeks after release. This includes the ability to walk through walls to catch the Mythical PokémonShaymin,[19] access the location for theDarkrai event location early and tospeedrun the game in 23 minutes,[20] as well as an exploit to duplicate multiple Pokémon at a time along with their held items.[21] Several of these glitches were fixed in version 1.1.2 released on December 1, 2021.[22] You can findArceus if you become the Champion and beatPokémon Legends: Arceus.[23]
After the announcement, fans were divided on the newchibi art style shown in the trailer. Opponents argued that the graphics were a downgrade compared to the two previous Pokémon remakes (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire andLet's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!). Proponents argued the new look stays faithful to the original 2D games while making the leap to 3D.[24]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 73/100[25][26] |
| OpenCritic | 53% recommend[27] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Games Magazine | 7/10[28] |
| Destructoid | 6.5/10[29] |
| Digital Trends |    [30] |
| Easy Allies | 6.5/10[31] |
| Famitsu | 34/40[32] |
| Game Informer | 8.5/10[33] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[34] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4.5/5[35] |
| IGN | 8/10[36] |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 15/20[37] |
| Nintendo Life | [38] |
| Nintendo World Report | 8.5/10[40] |
| NME | [39] |
| RPGamer | 2.5/5[41] |
| Shacknews | 7/10[42] |
Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to thereview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[25][26] Fellow review aggregatorOpenCritic assessed that the games received fair approval, being recommended by 53% of critics.[27] The game earned a 34 out of 40 total score from Japanese magazineFamitsu based on individual scores of 8, 9, 8, and 9.[32]
Rebekah Valentine ofIGN gave the games an 8 out of 10, stating: "Like the themes of its story,Pokémon Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl are solid and enduring – leaning on the past, with all of its triumphs and tripwires." They would ultimately declare that "If a good remake is defined by its loyalty to the original, thenPokémon Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl are very good remakes indeed," but lamented that they "weren’t braver in how they improved upon the originals in the same way otherPokémon remakes were."[36]Game Informer's John Carson likewise called the titles "faithful remakes" of the DS games, but that they "deviate from the mechanical blueprint, with varying degree of success."[33] He would go on to praise the graphics engine which was "mostly free of framerate drops or the slowdown that plagues other 3D entries in the series," and declare the games "a welcome throwback to a simpler time when I felt completing a Pokédex was a somewhat realistic task to undertake."[33]
While the games' stylized chibi art style was mostly praised byIGN with the exception of certain story sequences meant to be taken seriously,[36] others such asDestructoid's Chris Carter felt that the visuals took some getting used to. He said that while the region can be a "joy to explore", developer ILCA tried to stick too closely to the originals while adding a few new features on top, leading to a disjointed experience. In addition, the inability to turn off the Experience Share feature can result in the player's Pokémon being over-leveled for the majority of the game, making battles withNPCs "a chore" rather than a legitimate challenge.[29] Jordan Middler fromNintendo Life declared the change in art style to be "for the worse" and that the characters resembled "emotionlessFunko Pops", but the correctly proportioned character models in battles were considerably better.[38] ILCA's decision to exclude story elements and features seen inPokémon Platinum was also seen as a detriment, but the inclusion of the new Grand Underground area made up for the otherwise limited selection of Pokémon originally included inDiamond andPearl.[38]GameSpot's Steve Watts praised the chibi art style and quality-of-life improvements while criticizing the franchise's lack of evolution and difficulty spike the Elite Four represented.[34] Takuya Watanabe ofIGN Japan gave the games a 5 out of 10, criticizing them for staying overly faithful toDiamond andPearl, noting the awkward appearance of the chibi characters in closeup, and concluding that the games would mostly appeal to players with nostalgia for the originals.[43]
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond andShining Pearl sold 1.39 million copies in its first three days in Japan alone, surpassing the launch sales ofPokémon Sword andShield in the same period in that region.[44] It became the second-biggest launch for a Switch release in Japan afterAnimal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020,[45] and the second best-selling game launch of 2021 in the UK behindFIFA 22.[46] The games collectively sold 6 million copies worldwide one week after release.[47] As of June 30, 2022, the games had sold 14.79 million copies worldwide.[48] As of December 31, 2022, the games had sold 15.06 million copies worldwide.[49]
In Spain, the games sold 228,000 copies in 2021.[50]
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