BDSP Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl General Discussion

[Boss1708]

Yeah, I actually got stuck TWICE while I was playing Platinum, and I had to look for help on YouTube LOL

So, this is one of the reasons why I am excited for BDSP. Because Sinnoh is the most complex region to traverse, imo. I don't remember getting stuck in any other region, ever.

 

[silurica]

I wasn't even that young when I first played Diamond and I got lost in Mt Coronet lol. Wouldn't have it any other way though, it felt special that way.

 

[prog rocker]

At least you got the full game with those. And it wasn't a bad buy if you never got the first versions.

Problem is most people do buy the first versions... Including myself.

 

[UxieLover1994]

BDSP is now out in Australia and New Zealand for those who've downloaded the game. Of course, I've preordered a physical copy of BD from EB Games, so I don't have access yet.

(Interface spoiler) It's more LGPE than HGSS/ORAS, and I'm disappointed that, at the very least, the Unova and Kalos starters (and Sylveon) are not programmed into the game (even as a post-game bonus) according to Serebii (hope PLA makes up for this) Although once HOME access comes along, I hope I'd be able to take advantage and evolve my GO-caught Gen II-IV Pokémon not programmed in SwSh for trading in HOME

Problem is most people do buy the first versions... Including myself.

I never really played the original DP myself, but I did play Pt around 2009. It was that (along with HGSS and BW) that reintroduced me to the franchise after I took to Kingdom Hearts after outgrowing the anime.

 

[guydee]

But one problem I think the non-Japanese regions do have is that they're very touristy. They're definitely made from a tourist's point of view, and suffer from the glorification and stereotypical portrayal that comes with that, whereas the Japanese regions, even in Legends, seem more down to earth and normal by comparison, like they're just being presented and not caricatured or over-glorified.

Japan is only so big, though, and the developers can only make the regions based on their own perspective, so I don't think the tourist vibe is really something we'll ultimately be able to avoid. Unless making pokemon games got passed around the world like hosting the Olympics, but that would be completely ridiculous and unrealistic. XD

I think I actually like the "touristy" feel more. It really makes it feel like you're exploring a new world with exotic (or at the very least different) places and creatures to discover as opposed to Gen 1-4 where at times it kinda just felt like the real world but with the occasional sentient sludge and red monkey running around lol

 

[RavenRaziel98]

I'm already playing too, just reached the lab the first time

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Well, the third versions were more or less full priced patches...

As pointer out earlier, the third versions did not have to “patch” vital things like missing title screens; soundtracks and cutscenes. They were available in each and every game right out of the box.

Honestly, if you cannot properly optimise literally the first thing the player sees on opening the game (and it’s not some indie franchise, it’s the highest grossing franchise in the planet), it says a lot about the polish and amount of care that went into the user experience.

 

[prog rocker]

As pointer out earlier, the third versions did not have to “patch” vital things like missing title screens; soundtracks and cutscenes.

Okay, I didn't know these details.

 

[Bolt Strike]

I think there were complaints of children getting lost in the Sinnoh games, and BW tried to fix it… with the franchise aggressively heading towards the opposite direction. If we were to get a new Japanese region now; it’ll be just as linear as the recent ones, I’d bet.

Bingo. Sinnoh was what triggered it because there were several instances where it wasn't entirely clear where to go next (several of the HMs such as Strength and Rock Climb that were mandatory to progress weren't put in very obvious locations, several players had issues getting to Celestic because they didn't know you needed to follow Team Galactic to Lake Valor after beating Crasher Wake). But instead of correcting the game's actual signposting and game hints, they just nerfed the region design altogether and made them linearfests. It was a gross overcorrection that opened up new issues and new complaints (Game Freak seemed to have had this problem with several things. Another example: from 4th gen to 6th gen fans flip flopped complaints between there being too many and too few new Pokemon because instead of finding a happy medium between the two they immediately jumped to the opposite extreme). The only thing that's really saved Pokemon from the linearity has been the popularity of BotW and Pokemon's desire to follow suit.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Spoiler: The long walk is over...

 

[FelipePR]

Ryan Gilliam - Unscored - Polygon

"Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl aren’t for the kids that love Pokémon now — they’re for their college- and working-age older siblings or even their parents. They’re for Millennials like me who grew up with the first three generations, or even Gen Z players, who perhaps first came to the Pokémon series with the original Diamond and Pearl. These remakes are Game Freak and developer ILCA’s ploy to recapture those of us who only see Pokémon as a memory, or something to play on our phone while standing in line for coffee."

When I saw screenshots of the game for the first time I said, "Hey I think they're releasing a main Pokemon game for mobile/smartphone", looks like I wasn't so wrong Lol. The remakes aren't doing really well on the reviews: Pokemon Shining Pearl

 

[Puddle]

As pointer out earlier, the third versions did not have to “patch” vital things like missing title screens; soundtracks and cutscenes. They were available in each and every game right out of the box.

Honestly, if you cannot properly optimise literally the first thing the player sees on opening the game (and it’s not some indie franchise, it’s the highest grossing franchise in the planet), it says a lot about the polish and amount of care that went into the user experience.

Even though I'm super-excited to play Brilliant Diamond, I actually almost considered cancelling my pre-order because of the day 1 patch. As someone who prefers to buy physical media for preservation purposes, I feel a bit uncomfortable about paying full price for an incomplete cartridge. If I had known this was going to happen, I might have bought the game second-hand instead, or waited to see if some pre-patched copies got released at a later date.

I ultimately decided to keep my pre-order, because I've been looking forward to this game for months and couldn't bring myself to cancel it. But now that I've learned that day 1 patches are a thing that can happen, I probably won't be pre-ordering any more games in the future. I'd rather wait till release day so I can find out exactly what's on the cartridge before buying.

 

[FaeKing17]

Pokémon games being lazy and hastily cobbled together, wow a real shocker.

 

[Oriden]

Pokémon games being lazy and hastily cobbled together, wow a real shocker.

Pokemon has never been this bad.

 

[Puddle]

I see no evidence to suggest that the finished, patched version of the game will be at all lacking in quality. The only issue I have with the patch is that it means the game will be more difficult to preserve in the future.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Ryan Gilliam - Unscored - Polygon



When I saw screenshots of the game for the first time I said, "Hey I think they're releasing a main Pokemon game for mobile/smartphone", looks like I wasn't so wrong Lol. The remakes aren't doing reasonably well on the reviews: Pokemon Shining Pearl

I think newer generations will appreciate the game too. There are teens who were born after the original Sinnoh games came out, so I'm sure there will be plenty of people who'll appreciate the chance to explore a region they've never been to before.

 

[guydee]

I think newer generations will appreciate the game too. There are teens who were born after the original Sinnoh games came out, so I'm sure there will be plenty of people who'll appreciate the chance to explore a region they've never been to before.

Yeah, is this not the main purpose of remakes? Especially in a franchise whose main demographic is children?

 

[Oriden]

I think newer generations will appreciate the game too. There are teens who were born after the original Sinnoh games came out, so I'm sure there will be plenty of people who'll appreciate the chance to explore a region they've never been to before.

I think if you're a kid and your first games were Sword and Shield or even Sun and Moon, BDSP would seem like a major downgrade in many many aspects.

 

[guydee]

I think if you're a kid and your first games were Sword and Shield or even Sun and Moon, BDSP would seem like a major downgrade in many many aspects.

I think, realistically, kids wouldn't care about the things we're complaining about. I'm pretty sure they don't really care about graphics and artstyle (I know I didn't, but I still don't, so I don't I think I'm the best point of reference), and they won't even know what a Battle Frontier is. I think the only thing they might miss is Pokémon appearing on the overworld, but that wasn't in Gen 7 either.

 

[Oriden]

I think, realistically, kids wouldn't care about the things we're complaining about. I'm pretty sure they don't really care about graphics and artstyle (I know I didn't, but I still don't, so I don't I think I'm the best point of reference), and they won't even know what a Battle Frontier is. I think the only thing they might miss is Pokémon appearing on the overworld, but that wasn't in Gen 7 either.

I do disagree a bit on the graphics and artstyle- the tiny character models versus SwSh and SuMo's better proportioned models does resemble a sort of difference between a more "mature" game versus a more "childish" one, and I feel that kids can be more subject to that impression than adults. Especially teenagers. They're more likely, I think, than any other age group to reject something just based on artstyle.

But what I really meant is that they were much more immersive, cinematic games, with natural landscapes... and then you move into BDSP which is on a grid and very flat both in world and in story.

It also doesn't have any big gimmick like z-moves or Dynamax, so it is going to seem a bit like "pokemon, but simplified" for anyone who didn't live through it before.

Oh, and not even counting the much fewer pokemon in BDSP versus more recent games. Even with Dexit, I'm pretty sure SwSh had more pokemon pre-DLC.

Older games also had less variety in the areas you explored, so much of the region looked exactly the same...

This list just keeps growing the more I think about it.