BDSP Am I the only one who still likes BDSP?

[Snowy.ninetales]

It’s a really good remake but people hate it so much. It never could be that popular due to arceus coming out a month later. It’s so sad that no one cared about these remakes and it never got to show it’s potential. Its fun and you can catch loads of legends! It’s a fun game with all the contests and poffin making. I just wish people talked about it more… does anyone else agree?

 

[CynthiaLover]

No. I like it. I consider them as one of the better remakes, second only to ORAS in my eyes. It offers a fair few nice things and several conveniences that the original Sinnoh games lacked. While they would've benefitted from Platinum content and reusable TMs greatly I still find them very enjoyable.

 

[Okido]

Not just you; I really enjoy BDSP and am still playing it as my "main" Pokémon game right now. I like the approach they took to these remakes, it still feels very close to the original DP but the quality of life improvements made are fantastic. I still have a lot of stuff left to do in the post-game too.

BDSP's not perfect by any means (Platinum content would have been nice), but it is a real shame that it got such a bad rep before it released, and was going to be very quickly overshadowed by Legends either way.

(P.S. welcome to the forums @Snowy.ninetales )

 

[Fitzy3386]

Also a fan here! I thought BDSP were very good remakes, and brought back a lot of feelings of the games that brought me back to Pokémon after I missed the GBA generation. Cynthia in BDSP is the hardest fight I've experienced in a Pokémon game, but still not so hard that I got angry about it.

 

[Mudkip With Shades]

BDSP is far from the worst in the series, but admittedly, it's slightly the most boring in the series in my opinion. Lots of people including myself expected so much more, but I was actually hyped for the releases. I think the features that were not present in gen 4 make a difference, and the fact you can actually get the Azure Flute for the first time, although Legends Arceus did it officially first before the update, makes them better than the originals. On my first try, I've beaten Cynthia, although she was tough as heck, the challenge is what made her fun.

I still have to complete the dex for both games.

 

[Dougbro1]

I found BDSP to be excellent. They've done well to prove that they're more than a 1:1 remake of Diamond/Pearl despite their faithfulness to these. If I'm gonna be playing through a Sinnoh game again in the future, I'd rather play BDSP than even Platinum. It's like I always say about these: Platinum improved on DP in the ways that BDSP didn't, but BDSP also improved on DP in the ways Platinum didn't.

 

[Kelleo]

I'm still playing BD since Sinnoh and gen 4 were always my favorite. I'm in need of Moon Stones. lol Sinnoh games just had to make certain stones harder to find depending on the version.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

despite how much i criticise BDSP, i don't hate the games. they're an improved version of DP, which were already good games. too bad they ditched all the improvements from Platinum and didn't fix DP's issues nearly as effectively as that game. BDSP is definitely better than several games in the franchise including all of gen 1 and 2, but i see no reason to play it over platinum.

 

[SNBeast]

I didn't think of them as phenomenal, but they did keep me engaged long enough to complete the regional dex and National Dex for the first time ever (been playing main series over a decade) (of course, the National Dex could be completed with just the pair of games, so that portion isn't saying much), and motivated me to start work on Home's National Dex by getting me to go for the first half. I appreciate ILCA's effort, especially to make a main-series game that's probably unintentionally the easiest to mod and therefore improve to our image (as we speak the BDSP modding scene is popping off and advancing on a daily basis), and that for a period of time Sinnoh's been getting attention rather than all the nice things being applied primarily to Kanto. Unless there's a sneak Platinum remake coming, as games in and of themselves I'd tell people to play Platinum, and only recommend BDSP if they're trying to catch 'em all (especially if they don't have Mew and Jirachi).

They'll also for me have the sentimentality of being where I got my first shiny and Pokerus

 

[Palamon]

I didn't hate BDSP. I just didn't love them. The only Pokemon games I hate are X/Y. I had fun in BDSP, but quickly moved over to PLA.

 

[PandaSamma]

I like Shining Pearl! I'm still breeding Pokemon in it (currently working on Dratini) but I also didn't get it until recently. I don't regret getting it because it's still fun and there aren't all the genned pokemon that Sword and Shield are getting from those bots (at least, I haven't gotten any) meaning that any pokemon I get through GWS are legitimate and that makes me happier sending them the pokemon I've been working on, even if they aren't the "perfect" pokemon I'm working towards that I'm working on.

 

[AuraSoul93]

I don't think that the frustration surrounding BDSP is aimed at those who enjoy the games. I also don't believe them to be "cool to hate" like so many people on the internet like to think. I feel there are many genuine issues with those titles that MUST be brought up before The Pokemon Company International feel that that level of quality should be the standard moving forward.

Please forgive me for coming off as angry or rude in the latter paragraphs, I don't think I come off that way but given how much I dislike BDSP I think it's easy to misinterpret my displeasure with the games as hatred towards its fans. Which it's totally not, just wanna make that clear.

I feel the reason that there's so much negativity towards BDSP is that they don't feel like full-on remakes. If one were to compare the differences they have to their original counterparts to previous remakes it becomes blatantly obvious that these games were made with such a lazy mindset.

RBY -> FRLG
GSC -> HGSS
RSE -> ORAS

What those 3 have in common is that the remakes are the absolute definitive versions of that region's experience. There's so much more one can do in FRLG due to the expanded areas unique to it & only it. HGSS has so many extra features it's insane. ORAS is packed with a great postgame story among other things. BDSP has nothing on that same level. There's so little new in the games that it doesn't feel justified, unlike the previous remakes.

Even for someone who had never played the original DP these games are rather poor. They still have a bunch of exploitable glitches even after the patches, they still made a poor decision to use an inferior selection of the Pokedex for that generation with a lack of variety & couldn't even be bothered to implement the most basic of quality-of-life features like a back button on the Poketch, the latter 2 they fixed almost immediately in 2008 but they can't be bothered to do in 2022? To say nothing of the forced EXP Share when it was optional in older titles & the fact that they implemented 3D movement in a game that's still clearly built on a 2D grid, those 2 things alone show how little attention/care/thought was put into BDSP.

Yes, these games were made by ILCA & not GameFreak. No, that doesn't serve as an excuse. There's clearly a lack of communication there that should be addressed between the companies. People think that GameFreak is losing it when it comes to making Pokemon games, but look at how well Legends Arceus came out. They clearly CAN still make good games. Ones that look even more difficult to make than BDSP. What excuse does the latter have for not being as good as ORAS? Which at this point is an 8-year old game that's has more to offer than BDSP. How is that acceptable? Either they or TPCI should've looked at ILCA's development of BDSP & tried to assist in whatever they were doing. And they didn't.

They just feel so......obligatory. Like someone doing just the bare-minimum at work when we've seen them go all out in the past with less technological advances & developing know-how. It's not that people enjoying the games is a problem, it's that TPCI thinking that producing such a lackluster product is okay. It's not. That's not people "hating" on the game or the fans of it, that's people pointing out that these companies have done better before & are frustrated about it.

Again, sorry if I sound like old-man-yells-at-clouds, I just wanted to give my perspective on the games & why they make me so upset.

 

[PandaSamma]

I don't think that the frustration surrounding BDSP is aimed at those who enjoy the games. I also don't believe them to be "cool to hate" like so many people on the internet like to think. I feel there are many genuine issues with those titles that MUST be brought up before The Pokemon Company International feel that that level of quality should be the standard moving forward.

Please forgive me for coming off as angry or rude in the latter paragraphs, I don't think I come off that way but given how much I dislike BDSP I think it's easy to misinterpret my displeasure with the games as hatred towards its fans. Which it's totally not, just wanna make that clear.

I feel the reason that there's so much negativity towards BDSP is that they don't feel like full-on remakes. If one were to compare the differences they have to their original counterparts to previous remakes it becomes blatantly obvious that these games were made with such a lazy mindset.

RBY -> FRLG
GSC -> HGSS
RSE -> ORAS

What those 3 have in common is that the remakes are the absolute definitive versions of that region's experience. There's so much more one can do in FRLG due to the expanded areas unique to it & only it. HGSS has so many extra features it's insane. ORAS is packed with a great postgame story among other things. BDSP has nothing on that same level. There's so little new in the games that it doesn't feel justified, unlike the previous remakes.

Even for someone who had never played the original DP these games are rather poor. They still have a bunch of exploitable glitches even after the patches, they still made a poor decision to use an inferior selection of the Pokedex for that generation with a lack of variety & couldn't even be bothered to implement the most basic of quality-of-life features like a back button on the Poketch, the latter 2 they fixed almost immediately in 2008 but they can't be bothered to do in 2022? To say nothing of the forced EXP Share when it was optional in older titles & the fact that they implemented 3D movement in a game that's still clearly built gonna 2D grid, those 2 things alone show how little attention/care/thought was put into BDSP.

Yes, these games were made by ILCA & not GameFreak. No, that doesn't serve as an excuse. There's clearly a lack of communication there that should be addressed between the companies. People think that GameFreak is losing it when it comes to making Pokemon games, but look at how well Legends Arceus came out. They clearly CAN still make good games. Ones that look even more difficult to make than BDSP. What excuse does the latter have for not being as good as ORAS? Which at this point is an 8-year old game that's has more to offer than BDSP. How is that acceptable? Either they or TPCI should've looked at ILCA's development of BDSP & tried to assist in whatever they were doing. And they didn't.

They just feel so......obligatory. Like someone doing just the bare-minimum at work when we've seen them go all out in the past with less technological advances & developing know-how. It's not that people enjoying the games is a problem, it's that TPCI thinking that producing such a lackluster product is okay. It's not. That's not people "hating" on the game or the fans of it, that's people pointing out that these companies have done better before & are frustrated about it.

Again, sorry if I sound like old-man-yells-at-clouds, I just wanted to give my perspective on the games & why they make me so upset.

Oh, no, I understand all of that and I've been with Pokemon since it came to the states so I've seen all the changes. It's true that there should have probably been more changes and improvements to the games but there are a couple things that I also think of when I see them. One of my friends would constantly say things like, "they can't put any of the DS and 3DS games in the Switch because it was made for two screens" even when I said they could easily work around that and this showed a way that they could. Shining Pearl also let me replay a generation I haven't played for a long time which I liked. I do get all the disappointment though, trust me.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I feel the reason that there's so much negativity towards BDSP is that they don't feel like full-on remakes. If one were to compare the differences they have to their original counterparts to previous remakes it becomes blatantly obvious that these games were made with such a lazy mindset.

RBY -> FRLG
GSC -> HGSS
RSE -> ORAS

What those 3 have in common is that the remakes are the absolute definitive versions of that region's experience. There's so much more one can do in FRLG due to the expanded areas unique to it & only it. HGSS has so many extra features it's insane. ORAS is packed with a great postgame story among other things. BDSP has nothing on that same level. There's so little new in the games that it doesn't feel justified, unlike the previous remakes.

Ehh, I wouldn't call ORAS definitive. ORAS had a few new things like the Delta Episode, Dexnav, and Mirage Spots, but it also almost completely ignored Emerald content. They excluded the Battle Frontier, the storyline followed RS more than Emerald (you only fought one evil team instead of both, you didn't have Magma Hideout in Mt. Chimney which made much more sense), they left out the new areas Emerald added (the Safari Zone expansion, Mirage Tower, Trainer Hill, Terra and Marine Cave, Trainer Hill), they excluded the Match Call and gym leader rematches. I can't really call ORAS "definitive" if it's missing so much from another game, definitive means that it's a complete experience and you should have little to no reason to go back to RSE. I can't say that for ORAS, I would say there is no definitive Hoenn experience because it's about 50/50 between Emerald and ORAS.

So I wouldn't say that BDSP was the trendsetter for the remakes not being definitive experiences, that was ORAS. BDSP just worsened things by the graphics not being up to par with other Gen 8 games and by not including any Pokemon that had been introduced since the originals (FRLG had 2nd gen Pokemon and 3rd gen available by trade, HGSS had 3rd and 4th gen Pokemon, and ORAS had 4th, 5th, and 6th gen Pokemon).

 

[There Is No Arceus]

Ehh, I wouldn't call ORAS definitive. ORAS had a few new things like the Delta Episode, Dexnav, and Mirage Spots, but it also almost completely ignored Emerald content. They excluded the Battle Frontier, the storyline followed RS more than Emerald (you only fought one evil team instead of both, you didn't have Magma Hideout in Mt. Chimney which made much more sense), they left out the new areas Emerald added (the Safari Zone expansion, Mirage Tower, Trainer Hill, Terra and Marine Cave, Trainer Hill), they excluded the Match Call and gym leader rematches. I can't really call ORAS "definitive" if it's missing so much from another game, definitive means that it's a complete experience and you should have little to no reason to go back to RSE. I can't say that for ORAS, I would say there is no definitive Hoenn experience because it's about 50/50 between Emerald and ORAS.

So I wouldn't say that BDSP was the trendsetter for the remakes not being definitive experiences, that was ORAS. BDSP just worsened things by the graphics not being up to par with other Gen 8 games and by not including any Pokemon that had been introduced since the originals (FRLG had 2nd gen Pokemon and 3rd gen available by trade, HGSS had 3rd and 4th gen Pokemon, and ORAS had 4th, 5th, and 6th gen Pokemon).

i actually prefer RS over emerald, and though ORAS is the better overall package, i think the story was better realised in RS. i disagree that it's 50/50 which of Emerald and ORAS is better, ORAS is quite clearly the best Hoenn experience imo, and the contender is RS in my eyes. i know this is an unpopular opinion, but you shouldn't just discount RS; it had things over both emerald and ORAS.

Sinnoh does have a definitive version though. Platinum.

 

[Crisbee Donut]

Nope, not just you. Besides Let's Go, this was the first real challenge I had in a Pokemon game. Went back to the good old days of taking down two gyms in one session, but then got beat hard by Cynthia. A couple weeks later, and with hours of grinding in the Underground, I finally beat her. Although I could have used a Focus Sash to let my Gastrodon live an Earthquake from Garchomp or use Quick Claw RNG to move first, but I was single-mindedly grinding. My point is, the struggle made it fun.

 

[Boss1708]

You're not the only one, friend. I think BDSP is a very good game, and I feel like there's a lot more people who like it. It just seems popular to hate BDSP these days, for some reason (actually I know the reasons why, I just mostly disagree with them).

BDSP did a lot of things right, and I would say I prefer it even to Platinum, as the definitive Sinnoh game, due to the improved Grand Underground, absence of HMs, giving out multiples of each TM, improved Stickers decorations, etc

My favorite thing about BDSP is the Grand Underground. It's just miles better than the DPPt Underground, especially because of the Pokemon Hideaways, and the Pokemon Statues you can dig in the Digging mini game.

In conclusion, I would say that BDSP is an underrated Pokemon game that has more things to offer than what appears on the surface.

 

[colours]

it's ok/10

i remember being super excited about these remakes, but after playing through them and even going through battle tower ad nauseum to get to Masters level... idk. i feel meh on it as a whole?

the good for me:

• the underground, as usual. although i didn't really get to use the wifi feature of it at all, contrary to what i expected initially. most of my time was spent catching pokemon there and level-grinding
• the elite four was an interesting challenge, especially Cynthia, and i wouldn't expect anything less! quite frankly, if she wasn't a challenge, it'd be a disappointment
• no hms!! probably one of the greatest fear for most people was that it'd be too faithful to a degree to where hms would be brought back. thankfully not the case.
• the overall gameplay experience was ok, i think

the "meh"

• battle tower. played it until i got to masters, havent really touched it since.
  • speaking of... look, i hate to be That Person, but why doesn't this game have Battle Frontier? i know people are sick of the constant pining for its return, but if any region were to have it, it'd be sinnoh (aside from hoenn of course, and that tease didn't go over very well). i already had my hopes pretty low of any of Platinum's inclusion, but this seems to be the biggest slap to the face for me. it's a large part of why i haven't played as much as i have been
• as said, after battle tower, there's not much else to do. i'm not a contest person, so i don't really care for those. it's times like this that i miss hgss' pokeathalon, as fun little minigames would at least serve to keep the player occupied. i admit though, that this is more of a "this would probably appeal to specifically me than other people" thing, though
• lol. distortion world got absolutely gutted and isn't anywhere near the memorable experience as it was back then. alas.
• ramanas park. i didn't go there, nor find any real motivation to go there. not saying it's a poor inclusion, i've just stopped playing the game before getting to this point and have no real desire to come back to it specifically for the pokemon here

overall, i've got the experienced that i paid for and not exactly what i had hoped for - an updated vanilla diamond/pearl with some neat extras here and there - which to be fair, is exactly what third games are, although forgive me for the nostalgia goggles when i say that third games tend to deliver a more.... memorable experience (to me), that justify the price. i'd like to be clear and say that these games aren't a letdown to me, but they don't blow me away, either.

 

[There Is No Arceus]

• lol. distortion world got absolutely gutted and isn't anywhere near the memorable experience as it was back then. alas.

we didn't get the distortion world at all?

 

[prog rocker]

I ended preferring it over Platinum, in great part because it fixed my issues with the DS originals. You don't really notice the lag until you play the later games. I had to get used to the chibis but after that it was alright.