Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl are 2021 remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS role-playing video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The games were created by ILCA and released by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for the Nintendo Switch. Marketing materials described these games as very similar to the original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. They were released on November 19, 2021, and were part of a celebration marking the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon series, which also included the game Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Critics had mixed opinions about the games. Some praised the gameplay, but others disagreed about changes made to the original games, the visual style, and the absence of features like the Sinnoh Battle Frontier from Pokémon Platinum.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is similar to the original Diamond and Pearl games, as well as earlier remakes like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The games use a top-down isometric third-person perspective, but they have a unique look and design compared to other versions.
Setting
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl take place in the fictional region of Sinnoh, which is inspired by the Japanese island of Hokkaidō.
Development and release
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were created by ILCA. These games are the first main-series Pokémon titles developed by a company other than Game Freak. Yuichi Ueda from ILCA and Junichi Masuda from Game Freak, who directed the original Diamond and Pearl games, led the development of the new titles.
In January 2021, a website subdomain named "diamondpearl" was registered, hinting at possible remakes of Diamond and Pearl. The subdomain was later removed. On February 26, 2021, during a Pokémon 25th Anniversary event, some sources claimed the livestream would announce remakes of Diamond and Pearl, named Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, along with a new action role-playing game set in the Sinnoh Region, later revealed as Pokémon Legends: Arceus. During the event, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were officially announced for the Nintendo Switch, with a planned release in late 2021.
On May 26, 2021, the release date was set for November 19, 2021, and the game box art was revealed. During the July 6, 2021, announcement of the Nintendo Switch OLED model, improved visuals for the games were shown. An August 18, 2021, presentation highlighted new features, including character customization, a revised version of The Underground called The Grand Underground, renamed Poké Ball decorations (now called Stickers), the Union Room, Super Contest Shows, and the ability for Pokémon to follow the player. It was also announced that a Mythical Pokémon Manaphy egg would be available as an early purchase bonus until February 21, 2022.
On September 28, 2021, a new trailer was released to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the original Diamond and Pearl games. The trailer showed features such as the Pokétch with Hidden Moves, Poffins, Pokémon following the player in Hearthome City’s Amity Square, and trainers specializing in specific Pokémon statistics, including Cheryl and Riley. It also included appearances by Eterna City Gym Leader Gardenia. On October 26, another trailer featured Snowpoint City Gym Leader Candice, Sunyshore City Gym Leader Volkner, Team Galactic members, and the Legendary Lake Pokémon Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. It was also announced that outfits from Pokémon Platinum’s protagonists Lucas and Dawn would be available as an early purchase bonus until February 21, 2022. An overview trailer summarizing the games’ features was released on November 5, 2021, on the official Japanese Nintendo YouTube channel.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were reported to have many glitches shortly after their release. These included the ability to walk through walls to catch the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin, access a location for the Darkrai event early, and complete the game in 23 minutes. An exploit allowed players to duplicate multiple Pokémon and their held items. Many of these glitches were fixed in version 1.1.2, released on December 1, 2021. Arceus can be found after becoming the Champion and defeating Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Reception
After the announcement, fans had different opinions about the new chibi art style shown in the trailer. Some people believed the graphics were worse than those in the two previous Pokémon remakes (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!). Others said the new look remained true to the original 2D games while moving to 3D.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review website Metacritic. Another review site, OpenCritic, said the games got fair approval, with 53% of critics recommending them. The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the games a score of 34 out of 40, based on individual scores of 8, 9, 8, and 9.
Rebekah Valentine of IGN gave the games an 8 out of 10, saying the games were "solid and enduring" and based on the past, with both good and challenging parts. She said if a good remake is defined by staying true to the original, then these games are very good remakes. However, she noted the games did not improve as much as other Pokémon remakes. John Carson of Game Informer called the titles "faithful remakes" of the DS games but said they changed some game mechanics with mixed results. He praised the graphics engine for being mostly free of lag and slowdown, and called the games a return to simpler times when completing a Pokédex felt achievable.
The games' chibi art style was mostly praised by IGN, except for some serious story parts. However, Chris Carter of Destructoid said the visuals took time to get used to. He noted that the region was fun to explore but criticized the game for being too close to the originals while adding only a few new features, creating an unclear experience. The inability to turn off the Experience Share feature could make the player's Pokémon too strong, making battles with NPCs feel boring. Jordan Middler of Nintendo Life said the art style was worse, with characters looking like emotionless Funko Pops, but praised the properly sized character models in battles. ILCA's decision to leave out some story elements from Pokémon Platinum was seen as a downside, but the addition of the Grand Underground area helped balance the limited selection of Pokémon from the original games. Steve Watts of GameSpot praised the chibi art style and convenience features but criticized the lack of evolution in the franchise and the sudden difficulty of the Elite Four. Takuya Watanabe of IGN Japan gave the games a 5 out of 10, saying they were too faithful to the originals, with awkward chibi characters in close-ups, and noted the games would mostly appeal to fans of the original games.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl sold 1.39 million copies in Japan in its first three days, beating the launch sales of Pokémon Sword and Shield in the same period. It became the second-largest launch for a Switch game in Japan after Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020 and the second-best-selling game in the UK in 2021, behind FIFA 22. The games sold 6 million copies worldwide one week after release. As of June 30, 2022, the games had sold 14.79 million copies worldwide. As of December 31, 2022, the games had sold 15.06 million copies worldwide.
In Spain, the games sold 228,000 copies in 2021.