Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shiny Pearl

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond[a] and Pokémon Shining Pearl[b] are 2021 remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS role-playing video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The games are part of the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series and were developed by ILCA and published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo Switch. The games were released on 19 November 2021. They were announced as part of the 25th anniversary event, alongside Pokémon 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) from Pokémon Platinum.

Gameplay

Gameplay of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is similar to the original Diamond and Pearl games, comparable to previous remakes such as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The games are presented in a top-down isometric third-person perspective, though with a distinct visual style.

Setting

See also: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl § Plot

The Sinnoh region is based on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō.

As with the original games, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are set in the fictional region of Sinnoh, an island based on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō

Development and release

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were developed by ILCA;[4] as such, they are the first main-series Pokémon games to have a different company as the lead developer instead of Game Freak.[5] They were directed by Yuichi Ueda from ILCA and Junichi Masuda from Game Freak, the director of the original games.[6]

Possible development on remakes of Diamond and Pearl had been leaked on 15 January 2021, when a "diamondpearl" subdomain of the Pokémon website was registered and published. Shortly after, the domain was taken offline.[7] On 26 February 2021, the day of the Pokémon 25th Anniversary Pokémon Presents presentation, several leakers claimed that the upcoming livestream would announce remakes of Diamond and Pearl, titled Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, alongside an action role-playing game also set in the Sinnoh region, later revealed to be Pokémon Legends: Arceus.[8][9] During the Pokémon Presents, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were announced for the Nintendo 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 the Nintendo 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 original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, 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 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 from Pokémon 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 and Shining 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 Pokémon Shaymin,[19] access the location for the Darkrai event location early and to speedrun 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]