Pokémon Brilliant Diamond

The OuterHavenBy Scott Adams

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Review The Outerhaven

GameSpewRichard Seagrave

8/10

Whether you’re a Pokémon fan who fondly remembers the original or a newcomer looking for a way in to the series, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond is easy to recommend. It may seem a little bit costly for a remake that stays fairly close to the source material aside from a snazzy new look, but there’s still a lot of game here. Even better, it’s enjoyable no matter your age, gender or skill level. Once you’ve started playing Pokémon Brilliant Diamond you really will feel the urge to catch ’em all. And the improvements here mean it’s never been as easy or enjoyable.

Checkpoint GamingEdie W-K

8/10

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, which will henceforth be referred to in this review as BDSP, has been long-awaited by fans. I count myself among them – Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was my very first Pokémon generation, so I am very attached to it. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t hear any criticism of the games where it’s warranted. Despite what Gen 4 did right, it had a few distinct flaws that make it hard to go back and replay. Going into BDSP, I was keenly l...

GamereactorJuan A. Fonseca

8/10

We've left out things such as online play and endgame content because we can't talk about them at the moment. However, with virtually the whole of Sinnoh behind us, what we can tell you is that Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes are decent and entirely faithful, but not as brilliant as the title implies. Their faithfulness becomes a burden, which is concealed, sometimes clumsily, by their new features. The Pokémon formula continues to deliver an RPG that is easy to understand, hard to master, and addictive to the core, and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are here to prove it.

InverseTomas Franzese

6/10

Thankfully, it’s nowhere near as technically flawed as GTA: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition or worsens the original like Warcraft III: Reforged. Still, it doesn’t reach the heights of previous Pokémon remakes like HeartGold and SoulSilver, which reimagined the source material as much as they preserved the originals for a new generation.

Lords of GamingDaniel May

Unscored

Though remakes like Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and remasters like the PS4 rerelease of Shadow of the Colossus share visual update priorities, they differ in scope. Remasters focus on enhancing visuals, while remakes also update gameplay and narrative elements, yet these remakes often only deliver visual improvements instead of significant changes.

StartMenuKyle Moffat

Unscored

We thought about making the subhead of this review, “What is old is new again” but that could be almost any Pokémon game if we are honest. We welcome Kyle Moffat to the site to break down what has changed and what hasn’t for BD and SP.