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. Advertising materials said the games were accurate remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The games came out on November 19, 2021. They were announced as part of the 25th anniversary event, along with Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl got mixed reviews from critics. Some praised parts of the gameplay, but critics had different opinions about some changes made to the original games, the visual design, and missing features such as 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 other remakes like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The games use a top-down isometric third-person view, but they have a unique visual style.

Setting

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl take place in the imaginary region of Sinnoh. This area is inspired by the real island of Hokkaidō in Japan.

Development and release

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were created by ILCA. These games are the first main-series Pokémon games to be developed by a company other than Game Freak, which usually leads the creation of main-series Pokémon games. Yuichi Ueda from ILCA and Junichi Masuda from Game Freak, who directed the original Diamond and Pearl games, led the project.

Information about remakes of Diamond and Pearl was leaked on January 15, 2021, when a "diamondpearl" subdomain of the Pokémon website was registered and shared online. Shortly after, the domain was removed. On February 26, 2021, during a Pokémon 25th Anniversary presentation, some people claimed the event would announce remakes of Diamond and Pearl, titled Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, along with an action role-playing game set in the Sinnoh Region, later named Pokémon Legends: Arceus. During the presentation, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were officially announced for the Nintendo Switch, with a planned release in late 2021.

On May 26, 2021, a release date of November 19, 2021, was shared, along with images of the game boxes. During the announcement of the Nintendo Switch OLED model on July 6, 2021, improved visuals for the games were shown. On August 18, 2021, a presentation revealed new features, including character customization, a reimagined 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 egg for Manaphy would be available as an early purchase bonus until February 21, 2022.

On September 28, 2021, which marked the 15th anniversary of the original Diamond and Pearl games, a new trailer was released. It showed the Pokétch with Hidden Moves, Poffins, and Pokémon following the player in Hearthome City's Amity Square. It also introduced "stat trainers" (trainers who specialize in specific Pokémon stats), Cheryl and Riley, and Eterna City Gym Leader Gardenia. On October 26, another trailer featured Snowpoint City Gym Leader Candice, Sunyshore City Gym Leader Volkner, Team Galactic Commanders Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, Team Galactic Boss Cyrus, and the Legendary Lake Pokémon Mesprit, Azelf, and Uxie. It was also announced that outfits for the protagonists Lucas and Dawn from Pokémon Platinum 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.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl had many glitches discovered shortly after their release. These included the ability to walk through walls to catch the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin, access the location for the Darkrai event early, complete the game in 23 minutes, and duplicate multiple Pokémon at once along with their held items. Some of these glitches were fixed in version 1.1.2, released on December 1, 2021. Arceus can be found if players become the Champion and defeat 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 argued that the new look remained true to the original 2D games while adapting to 3D.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. OpenCritic reported that 53% of critics recommended the games. 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," relying on the past with its successes and challenges. She noted that if a good remake is defined by loyalty to the original, then these games are very good remakes. However, she mentioned the games did not improve upon the originals as much as other Pokémon remakes did. John Carson of Game Informer called the games "faithful remakes" of the DS versions but said they changed some mechanics with mixed results. He praised the graphics engine for avoiding slowdowns seen in other 3D Pokémon games and described the games as a return to a simpler time when completing a Pokédex felt achievable.

IGN generally praised the stylized chibi art style, except for some serious story scenes. However, Chris Carter of Destructoid said the visuals took time to get used to. He noted that while the region was enjoyable to explore, the game stuck too closely to the originals and added few new features, creating a disjointed experience. He also criticized the inability to disable the Experience Share feature, which caused player Pokémon to become over-leveled, making battles with NPCs feel unchallenging. Jordan Middler of Nintendo Life said the art style was worse, comparing characters to "emotionless Funko Pops," though battle models were better proportioned. He also mentioned that excluding story elements from Pokémon Platinum was a drawback, but the new Grand Underground area helped balance the limited Pokémon selection. Steve Watts of GameSpot praised the chibi style and quality-of-life improvements but criticized the lack of evolution in the franchise and the difficulty spike in 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 close-up chibi characters, and noted the games would mainly appeal to nostalgic players.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl sold 1.39 million copies in Japan within its first three days, surpassing the launch sales of Pokémon Sword and Shield in the same period. It became the second-largest Switch game launch in Japan after Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020 and the second-best-selling game launch of 2021 in the UK, 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 globally. By December 31, 2022, sales reached 15.06 million copies worldwide.

In Spain, the games sold 228,000 copies in 2021.