Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl General Discussion

[PkmnTrainerV]

Plus it wouldn't be Game Freak you're supporting, it'd be ILCA who apparently did a great job on revamping the battles.

I’m pretty sure at least a proportion of the profit would go to GF, since Masuda was the director.

 

[Oriden]

I’m pretty sure at least a proportion of the profit would go to GF, since Masuda was the director.

Yeah but it's still mainly ILCA being supported by this. Game Freak has its own cash cow that it cares about more.

 

[Fairy Type Arceus]

My gamestop night be having a 9pm release which is pretty hype. Was worried they wouldn't even do midnight.

 

[ChocolatePenguin]

At the risk of getting mocked, I'm partly relieved with them using the Diamond/Pearl teams instead of Platinum so as not to deal with some of the more frustrating early game bosses like Jupiter's Skuntank.

 

[colours]

you shouldn't be. people have their preferences. while Plat teams seems to be the popular opinion, it's not like it's a crime to prefer the D/P teams.

 

[ChocolatePenguin]

Just a little joke at my own expense what with people tend to mock others for complaining about something being too hard and wanting to do it the easy way.

Of course, some things weren't changed in Platinum, like Roark and his Cranidos or Gardenia's Roserade (why a fully evolved Pokemon for the second gym?).

 

[SlowGinFizzzz]

Did anyone else have SERIOUS trouble with that Ace Trainer double battle on Route 215 (right before reaching Veilstone City) in the original Diamond/Pearl? Like, I still remember struggling a lot against that Kadabra and Gyarados as a kid, much more so than against any of the Gym Leaders or even Galactic Commanders up to that point. They very much nerfed them in Platinum and gave them completely different teams, and I think that's pretty much the only instance where I actually preferred the Diamond/Pearl one. I remember fighting them in Platinum for the first time and thinking, "Where's the challenge??"

 

[Puddle]

I actually think using the DP Dex makes more sense on the whole. The Platinum Dex has an unintuitive numbering system that wouldn't have made much sense to new players, and it includes Giratina, a Pokemon that presumably doesn't appear in BDSP's main story. I think giving players access to extra Pokemon in the Underground, rather than completely revamping the Pokedex order, is a good compromise.

 

[Daren]

Gardenia's Roserade (why a fully evolved Pokemon for the second gym?).

It wasn't the first time they did that; Misty's Starmie can be a huge pain if you didn't pick Bulbasaur. Roserade might be a step up stat-wise, though.

Did anyone else have SERIOUS trouble with that Ace Trainer double battle on Route 215 (right before reaching Veilstone City) in the original Diamond/Pearl? Like, I still remember struggling a lot against that Kadabra and Gyarados as a kid, much more so than against any of the Gym Leaders or even Galactic Commanders up to that point. They very much nerfed them in Platinum and gave them completely different teams, and I think that's pretty much the only instance where I actually preferred the Diamond/Pearl one. I remember fighting them in Platinum for the first time and thinking, "Where's the challenge??"

I don't recall them but I am getting Mt. Moon Raticate flashbacks.
(Actually when I replayed Platinum a year or so ago my only loss was to a random Galactic scientist who X Specialed a Kadabra in Eterna that was able to pull a sweep that early. Could've won if I wasn't on a no items challenge run though).

 

[ChocolatePenguin]

I forgot about that, mainly because I insist I catch a Pikachu and grind until it knows Thunderbolt. I actually did use Bulbasaur for my first Fire Red run and somehow still had trouble.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I actually think using the DP Dex makes more sense on the whole. The Platinum Dex has an unintuitive numbering system that wouldn't have made much sense to new players, and it includes Giratina, a Pokemon that presumably doesn't appear in BDSP's main story. I think giving players access to extra Pokemon in the Underground, rather than completely revamping the Pokedex order, is a good compromise.

Later games that expanded the Dex (HGSS, BW2, ORAS, USUM) just renumbered the dex instead of tacking the new ones onto the end. If that was their only issue they could've just renumbered BDSP's Dex as well.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

It wasn't the first time they did that; Misty's Starmie can be a huge pain if you didn't pick Bulbasaur. Roserade might be a step up stat-wise, though.

Actually, Starmie has a slightly higher BST than Roserade (520 compared to 515, which was 505 prior to Gen 6), though Roserade does have much higher Special Attack (125 compared to 100). Starmie is much faster, though (having base 115 Speed while Roserade's is only 90).

 

[venusboi79]

When it comes to the pre-order bonus; I’m assuming it’s because they don’t want to “compete” with the bonuses from their retail partners. Companies pay lots of money for exclusivity (across the board, not just video games). And GF/Nintendo make money from every purchase, regardless of where you pre-order, so there’s no real compelling business move in offering an amazing pre-order bonus themselves.

Granted, I think it would be more enticing if they offered Quick Balls instead of Pokéballs. The gimmick is arbitrary enough (you need to remember to use it before you perform a move, and its still not a guaranteed catch), while still giving a higher catch rate.

Most of the other gimmick balls require specific conditions, Great Balls aren’t really that great (plus, they seem to have the least favorite design when it comes to non-gimmick balls), and giving away a bunch of Ultra Balls at the start of the game feels cheap.

 

[RavenRaziel98]

At the risk of getting mocked, I'm partly relieved with them using the Diamond/Pearl teams instead of Platinum so as not to deal with some of the more frustrating early game bosses like Jupiter's Skuntank.

I haven't played platinum (only a Rom hack with platinum being the base), but when it comes to the difficulty this would probably be less of an issue since exp share is always on.

 

[Puddle]

Later games that expanded the Dex (HGSS, BW2, ORAS, USUM) just renumbered the dex instead of tacking the new ones onto the end. If that was their only issue they could've just renumbered BDSP's Dex as well.

They could have done this, and I was actually hoping they might (I even made a spreadsheet speculating about what the order might be). But I can understand why they didn't want to deviate that much in a remake. B2W2 and USUM overhauled their Pokedexes but HGSS, ORAS and LGPE only made small alterations.

I like smaller Pokedexes and I'm quite nostalgic about the DP roster in spite of its flaws, so I'm happy with the decision they made overall. That being said, if they had revamped the Pokedex I don't think anyone would have complained. It seems that I'm in the minority for feeling nostalgic about specific Pokedex listings, and newcomers wouldn't have noticed the difference.

Perhaps making the "see every Pokemon in Sinnoh" challenge accessible for children and newcomers was a factor in the decision to keep the Pokedex small.

Wait, so Volkner and Flint won't have Electivire/Magmortar?

That's so disappointing.

Spoiler: BDSP leaks

They will in the postgame, it seems.

 

[zoroarctic]

2 days away from being 2 days away.

 

[Bolt Strike]

They could have done this, and I was actually hoping they might (I even made a spreadsheet speculating about what the order might be). But I can understand why they didn't want to deviate that much in a remake. B2W2 and USUM overhauled their Pokedexes but HGSS, ORAS and LGPE only made small alterations.

I like smaller Pokedexes and I'm quite nostalgic about the DP roster in spite of its flaws, so I'm happy with the decision they made overall. That being said, if they had revamped the Pokedex I don't think anyone would have complained. It seems that I'm in the minority for feeling nostalgic about specific Pokedex listings, and newcomers wouldn't have noticed the difference.

And this is where I think they're taking nostalgia too far, I don't think the players that liked DP liked it because of its regional dex, in fact DP's regional dex was pretty hated which is part of the reason why Platinum expanded it in the first place. I doubt there's more than a handful of fans that would've been upset if BDSP had a renumbered Platinum Dex.

Perhaps making the "see every Pokemon in Sinnoh" challenge accessible for children and newcomers was a factor in the decision to keep the Pokedex small.

This wasn't needed either, there have been numerous other games where you just get the National Dex post game without any real restrictions. This would be bringing the bathwater back with the baby, which is why so many fans have been upset with BDSP's approach.

 

[guydee]

At the risk of getting mocked, I'm partly relieved with them using the Diamond/Pearl teams instead of Platinum so as not to deal with some of the more frustrating early game bosses like Jupiter's Skuntank.

Plus the fact that Volkner, Flint, Candice, etc. being forced to have more type-diverse teams would (seemingly, I haven't played the original D/P) make the later bosses harder, which is a plus in my book.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Spoiler: Overview trailer

 

[Kallyle]

And this is where I think they're taking nostalgia too far, I don't think the players that liked DP liked it because of its regional dex, in fact DP's regional dex was pretty hated which is part of the reason why Platinum expanded it in the first place. I doubt there's more than a handful of fans that would've been upset if BDSP had a renumbered Platinum Dex.



This wasn't needed either, there have been numerous other games where you just get the National Dex post game without any real restrictions. This would be bringing the bathwater back with the baby, which is why so many fans have been upset with BDSP's approach.

You know, all of this makes me wonder if we’ll get an explanation in an interview about why these detrimental decisions were kept when both Platinum and later games rectified these unpopular choices beyond “nostalgia.” If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll even get to know why Diamond and Pearl were designed the way they were in the first place!