A dedicated fan of the Pokemon franchise has released a new video comparing Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl to their original Nintendo DS counterparts, just hours after the remakes were revealed. The comparison shows just how faithfully the new games follow the style established by the originals, likely pleasing some fans and annoying others.
Although fans had been expecting the reveal of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl for quite some time, their announcement brought a few surprises. For one, the games would not be developed by Game Freak, given that studio's focus on Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Instead, the game would be made by ILCA, the company behind the popular Pokemon Home storage application. Another surprise was that the games would not replicate the style of Pokemon Sword and Shield, but rather use a highly-simplified graphical style and overhead camera angle like those of the original DS games.
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As posted by YouTube channel Mixeli, the comparison aligns the footage from the remakes' trailer with corresponding footage from the original. In motion, the remakes clearly do an excellent job of adhering to the original games' art style, especially with the chibi-style simplification of the human characters' designs. The comparison also makes clear that the method of capturing Pokemon is carried over from the original, disproving rumors claiming that the method for catching Pokemon would be streamlined akin to the Pokemon: Let's Go games.
The new games include even more nods to the original games than might be immediately apparent. For instance, the remakes' official artwork for the three Sinnoh starters is based on the poses of their sprites from the original Diamond and Pearl games. This might imply that the games will not be focused on adapting content from Pokemon Platinum, as that game used different poses for the starters there. This means it may be up to fans to remake Pokemon Platinum, and indeed, some fans are already working on such a project.
That said, not everything between the originals and their remakes is identical. In the original, the protagonist had a Nintendo Wii in his or her room. Now, in the remakes, the Wii has been replaced with a Nintendo Switch. A few of the games' generic NPC characters appear to have been changed as well, as can be seen when the comparison video briefly shows Snowpoint City. In the original, a Sailor NPC can be seen near the Snowpoint City Gym. In the remakes, it appears the Sailor has been replaced with a child NPC. It's unclear what, if any, impact these types of changes might have on the games' story.
Some fans may lament the apparent lack of new content in the remakes, given that recent Pokemon games have focused on alternate timelines and dimensions as a plot point. This culminated with the universe-hopping Team Rainbow Rocket in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. It would be especially relevant to frame these remakes as a new timeline given that the games' Legendary Pokemon duo, Dialga and Palkia, respectively control time and dimensions. Still, many fans will be happy with the return to simpler times the new games promise, plot and all.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl will be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in late 2021.