As a lifelong fan of the Pokémon series, and more specifically a sucker for the remakes of original games, the impending release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is beginning to take shape and it can’t come soon enough.
The oft-memed-about remakes to the fourth generation of Pokémon games, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are finally just around the corner, and followers of the franchise are eagerly awaiting the games’ launch on Nov. 19.
The games, which are ground-up remakes of 2006’s Diamond and Pearl, are set in the Sinnoh region; a region based on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are graphically updated versions of the classic turn-based play of the franchise, marking a return to form for a series which had recently (with Sword & Shield) branched out to a more open-world concept of plot. Instead of an omnidirectional movement system, which is indeed more conducive to the open-world map, the series will feature a two-axis movement system, resembling much more closely the Pokémon games of yore.
Gameplay-wise, the plot of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is expected to faithfully follow that of their predecessors, retelling the story of the villainous Cyrus and his sycophantic Team Galactic and their plot to kidnap legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia for dimensional conquest over time and space. No big deal for a 10-year-old, right?
Yet that’s where the plot of Diamond & Pearl begins, as most Pokémon games do; a hapless youngster with one starter Pokémon, training their way to the final challenge of the Elite Four—all the while foiling Galactic’s interdimensional misdeeds at every opportunity.
Poké-fanatics such as myself are bracing for the drop of these games; games which the core base has been yearning over for the past 15 years. Now, the land of Sinnoh will finally be returning to the fanbase; or, rather, we are returning to Sinnoh.
