Share
Last week’s Pokémon Presents was quite a special experience for long-time fans of the popular monster-catching series. Most notably, it celebrated the franchise’s 25th anniversary, a milestone that most assumed would bring along with it some pretty substantial announcements – and they were right. For starters, we learned that Nintendo Switch will be the home of the very first truly open world Pokémon game in 2022 with the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and we also received our first gameplay trailer for the upcoming New Pokémon Snap, which also launches on the Switch on the much sooner date of April 30, 2021.
As exciting as those announcements were, however, the star of the show was no doubt the remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, which have received the fancy new names Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl. The original games from 2007 marked the fourth generation of the series, and though they aren’t widely considered the one of the best entries, they remain beloved by enthusiasts around the world for a variety of reasons, such as their introduction of Wi-Fi battles, voice chat, and online trading.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl seem to have preserved the fundamentals of the initial Nintendo DS releases, but they’ll feature charming upgraded graphics and a slew of modern conveniences that have been introduced throughout the years. Even cooler, the games will feature an updated battle perspective that puts emphasis on showing all of your favorite Pokémon in a full 3D space, a vast departure from the original games’ comparatively simplistic and visually uninteresting view.
For now, Nintendo is remaining relatively quiet about further details, but the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl trailer has nonetheless made quite a splash with those who have been patiently waiting for news on the next big Pokémon release after the mixed reception of 2019’s Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, which drastically expanded and shook up the formula of the franchise for better or worse, depending on who you ask.
While you may have a while to stand by for a truly brand new experience with Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you won’t have to wait nearly as long to get your hands on Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as they’re scheduled to launch sometime later this year.
Discuss this article with the community!
Reddit | Discord
