Remakes are a tradition of thePokemonfranchise by now. Ever sinceFireRedandLeafGreen,Nintendo has been taking the time to revisit its previous regions and bring them up to date. At this point, fans expect remakes on the regular, and are always waiting for one to appear. For many months, it’s been rumored that Nintendo is finally ready to remakeDiamondandPearl,a pair of fan favorites in the franchise. Thankfully, it looks like these rumors are true. As a part of the company’s celebration ofPokemon’s 25th anniversary, these games are being remade asBrilliant DiamondandShiningPearlfor the Switch.
Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare certainly different remakes from what Nintendo usually does. In most cases, Nintendo likes to update old games to the franchise’s current aesthetic. Instead,Brilliant DiamondandShiningPearlare trying to preserve the look of the original games, yet the remakes aren’t as different as they could’ve been. Leading up to this latest iteration of the franchise, it was rumored that a futureDiamondandPearlremake would use themechanics ofPokemon GOandPokemon Let’s GO!EeveeandPikachuinstead of the franchise’s usual combat heavy gameplay. Many fans weren’t excited about that possibility, but as of the remake’s reveal, the rumor has been thoroughly dispelled.
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Preserving Pokemon Tradition
Gameplay footage ofBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlproves that the games are keeping to the traditional battle formula. Trainers will encounter Pokemon out in the wilds and leap into battle, rather than battle being an affair between Trainers alone. Catching Pokemon will also ask players to wear them down in battle like usual. Just like the game’s developers are keeping to the original look of the Sinnoh region as much as possible, the gameplay keeps to tradition. It’s a breath of relief for fans who wanted a remake of these games, as many fans want toreliveDiamondandPearlthroughthe type of game they’re familiar with.
ThePokemon GOstyle of Pokemon catchingcertainly simplifiedPokemongames and made them easier to get into. However, Nintendo has found lots of other ways to make thePokemonfranchise more approachable for newcomers, like waypoints and deeper explanations of Pokemon types. ThePokemon GOstyle breaks so much from thePokemonformula that it’s hard to call it the same game, and it’s certainly not what madePokemonfamous. BetweenPokemon SwordandShield’s preservation of tradition andBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearldoing the same, it looks like thePokemon GOformula is reserved for spinoff games, and that’s okay.
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All Kinds of Pokemon Games
ThePokemon GOformula works in its own right. The mobile game that it’s named for remains a huge success five years later, and the spin-offs that followed it were charming in their own right. However,the way they simplifyPokemongameplaywould risk estranging diehard fans and veterans if Nintendo adopted it for every game from here on out. It’s a good thing to keep these separate and experiment with them on their own fronts. The more ways there are to enjoyPokemon,the more fans the franchise can garner.
In fact,Pokemon Legends: Arceusshowsthat experimentation is a good thing forPokemon.Fans are already getting excited for this historical open-world take on thePokemonworld that’s bound to be very different from the main games in its own way. However, sinceBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlcome from the core series of games and are meant to recapture their original versions, it’s best that they aren’t too experimental. Fans are looking for a nostalgic experience, not a breath of fresh air. Thankfully, Nintendo is successful and resourceful enough to do both. ThePokemonfranchise looks like it’ll strike a balance between trying new things in spin-offs while the core games stay true to their proud lineage.
Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlwill release in late 2021 for Nintendo Switch.
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