Some of you, like us, might be a little embarrassed to go out and actually buy a Pokemon title. That was so a decade ago, and that anime ...! But every time we manage to muster up the courage and shove away our pride, we are constantly reminded why we continue to buy these games: behind the rudimentary plot and a-bit-too-cute style lies an RPG experience unequaled in portable gaming.The premise is simple: head out and become a Pokemon master (simply because, hey, it's the cool thing to do), stomping anyone and everyone in your path. There's some nonsense about friendship, but that's irrelevant, because this game is about battling and little else. The reason the game is so wildly successful is that it is the natural progression of the "collection" phenomenon in our history. People have always loved to collect things for no real reason: bottlecaps, stamps, whatever. Things like collectible card games became highly popular because they take that very same concept and allow people to compete with said collectibles, claiming superiority over another. Finally, the Pokemon series takes that battling and implements it electronically, automating the rules and number-crunching and opening up the concept for anyone willing to insert the game cartridge.
So, while casual gamers can simply go through and level up their Pokemon ... more than sufficient to beat the single-player game ... the hardcore can immerse themselves in the process of raising a specific Pokemon to maximize their statistics and moves, creating an unstoppable team to challenge the world's best. It's this duality that makes the game so accessible for pretty much the entire gaming population, whether they want to admit it or not.
So, Diamond and Pearl. The bad news is that developer Game Freak is absolutely unwilling to change anything that made the series popular in the first place, at the heavy cost of stagnation. This game, especially the first half, is a near carbon-copy of previous titles in the series. You still pick from one of three starter Level 5 Pokemon: grass, fire, or water. You still journey from city to city on predefined routes, battling gym leaders and catching wild Pokemon in the exact same way. Each Pokemon still has exactly four moves and a predefined limit as to how many times each move can be used. These things are not necessarily bad; they still allow for wildly intense strategy and depth within a team of Pokemon, but to see the same things over and over in the fourth generation of titles can get irksome. Why not at least let us send Pokemon to storage from any location, or let us select our four moves from a pool of abilities? Even minor additions like these would be highly welcome, but are almost nowhere to be found.
The things Game Freak did add this time around are minor (except one, coming in a bit). The horrendously useless "Pokemon Contest" system allows you to enter your Pokemon is a competition of beauty, skill, and ... hell, it doesn't even matter, it's pointless. The underground digging mini-game is fun for all of nine minutes. There are zero new elemental types of Pokemon (though there are some interesting new combinations), and now with 493 Pokemon in the series in total, it's difficult to give new Pokemon a sense of unique identity; half of them simply fade into obscurity. Touch screen menus are a welcome addition, but ultimately add little to the overall experience.
This review has been fairly doom-and-gloom thus far, but if there's one thing we want to make clear, it's that Pokemon did not need to be changed. The incredibly addicting system is still in place, and the number of locations and things to do is immense. And despite the lack of new gameplay features, there is one overwhelmingly important reason that Diamond and Pearl excel over their predecessors: WiFi.Trading has always been an important part of the series -- hence the two different versions -- but with the Nintendo DS comes freedom from cumbersome link cables. Though the tacky friend code system is still in place, the ability to trade with and battle friends and random people on some silly message board somewhere is extremely gratifying. Voice chat is also enabled during battles, either through the built-in microphone or the newly available Nintendo DS headset, which improves audio quality significantly. Also, you are able to "download" others' teams and battle against a computer-controlled version of said team offline. But wait, dear friends, there's more: without any knowledge of friend codes at all, you may offer up one Pokemon at a time on a worldwide trading server and post what you desire in return. If anyone sees the match and has what you need, they may complete the trade without your direct intervention. Due to the unbelievably high number of players currently using this system, there are literally hundreds of thousands of trades being offered at any given time, which adds a whole other layer to the game. The search feature is surprisingly robust, and though the limit of one Pokemon at a time is a bit frustrating, this is without a doubt the best addition to the series since the original titles.
There's really no reason you shouldn't pick up this game, unless you felt yourself become a little burned out on the phenomenon during the last Pokemon title you played. If you're new, buy it. If you liked the last one, buy it. If you're some weird jump-on-the-bandwagon gamer, buy it. If you're too cool to own a Pokemon game, well, you are reading this review, after all. Drop the tough guy act, and you'll thank yourself later.
The Basics
Controls: Though no Pokemon game requires "tight handling," the addition of big, comfy touchscreen menus is a definite plus. But why not let us map more items to the L and R buttons?
Visuals: Though the visual style of the previous games remains, the engine is at least partially 3-D. You won't notice some of the more subtle effects for awhile, but still, they could have gone a little further.
Sound: Surprisingly excellent. The familiar themes are still in full use, but the new stuff is highly varied and well-composed. The classical theme played right before you challenge the Champion was enough to pause the game for several minutes and simply enjoy.
Story: The same old Team Rocket/Evil/Galactic/whatever trying to conquer the world via snatching Pokemon. The game tries to pretend to do something new, but it doesn't. Disappointing. Still, who plays Pokemon for the storytelling?
Difficulty: Generally where it should be; you may have to grind a bit if your Pokemon types are inopportune, but it's never unbearable. It should be noted that the Elite Four and Pokemon League Champion are much more difficult than in previous titles.
Final Score: 9.0/10
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-01-2007 @ 11:15AM
hvnlysoldr said...
Looking forward to this.
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5-01-2007 @ 11:16AM
Tweak said...
I totally Agree with everything in the above review. It is a very well-thought out game, but they could have improved at least a little on the repetitiveness from the previous titles. Pearl and Diamond are Pokémon games through and through, but they could have at least improved on the storyline and added (as said above) a pool of moves to select from.
It is a welcome addition that they added the WiFi Connectivity to trade and battle wirelessly. Personally, I live in a small town where they just found out about the DS yesterday, so it's nice to be able to get on WiFi and Battle someone I heavn't even met, and to Trade to complete the PokéDex.
By the way, If anyone wants to Trade Codes, I'm here and will give you my code for yours. :)
(Stupid effing Nintendo and their stupid effing Friend Code crap.)
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5-01-2007 @ 11:34AM
Kian said...
I too was a little embarrassed picking up Pokemon Pearl on the release date. I showed up to buy it and was the one who asked the sales rep to open the display case for me and other Pokemon fans who were all around 7 years old. I didn't care. I hadn't played Pokemon since Pokemon Blue and won over by the Wifi option.
I was really disappointed by the friend code requirement though. It kind of ruined the game for me at first. I couldn't believe you couldn't battle random people like in Metroid Prime Hunters. When I finally did get a friend code to experience WIFI It was ok. My Pokemon were way stronger then anyone I could find so I annihilated everyone. I like winning but I had so much of an advantage that it wasn't fun. This was my first time using VOIP and although it was impressive for the DS after the first battle I wanted to turn it off.
Once I got over my WIFI disappointments and focused on my quest to be a Pokemon Master I was having fun again. Its pretty much the same game I played 7 years ago with a few extra bells and whistles. I'm about level 30 now and really enjoying the game. I want to play it every chance I get.
Overall I recommend Pokemon Diamond/Pearl.
Even though the WIFI is under developed you can't go wrong with such a great game.
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5-01-2007 @ 12:42PM
Fatass of Kickassness said...
...er, Kain, FCs aren't a requirement. May I direct you to the GTS, which allows for trading with anyone online, or the Battle Tower, which allows for battling with random opponants on Wifi? (Of course you need to unlock the National Dex to get the Battle Tower, but its an easy feat - just fight every trainer you see and you should end up seeing all th creatures in the sinnoh dex.)
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5-01-2007 @ 12:45PM
Fatass of Kickassness said...
That goes for you too, Joystiq. IGN gave the game an unfairly low score because they didn't play the entire game through before reviewing it. You can battle others randomly over Wifi after you beat the E4. You need to have gotten the National Dex though.
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5-01-2007 @ 12:54PM
blasphemizer said...
I have been playing this game non-stop. Yesterday I even spent a lot of time doing contests, I know it's wrong but it feels so right. The wifi is great but this game leads me to one conclusion, there needs to be a Pokemon mmorpg!!!
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5-01-2007 @ 12:56PM
Dragod said...
We could actually call Diamond and Pearl the 5th Generation of Games.
Red/ Blue/ Yellow
Gold/ Silver/ Crystal
Ruby/ Sapphire/ Emerald
FireRed/ LeafGreen
Diamond/ Pearl
I guess they just didn't want to include FireRed and LeafGreen, as they were a disappointment. I liked being able to replay the (previously) best games in the series, but some of the stuff they added just made it... suck. I think that the reason why Diamond and Pearl hasn't changed all that much is because if we learned anything from FireRed and LeafGreen, it's that we don't want drastic/ pointless changes in our games.
I wish they would have remade Red and Blue into a true to the original remake. They should have had the graphics update, the customizability, added the new coding that makes things easier (like showing you what's the max of an item you can buy without saying "You don't have enough money!") and possibly added the Johto region, I think they would have had a winner.
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5-01-2007 @ 1:00PM
Dragod said...
Actually, you guys, the Battle Tower isn't a place to battle random opponents, it's a place to battle random teams.
if you check out http://www.serebii.net it talks about the japanese game and how all it does is upload a few random teams to battle from other players, but they are still controlled by computers.
That's just what I read though, I am currently on Victory Road, so I haven't had a chance to get to the Battle Tower yet.
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5-01-2007 @ 1:25PM
Jason Wishnov said...
I mention in the review that you may download others' teams and fight them, but as Dragod states, you are not actually battling another player live. I did my research on this, give me some credit!
Fire Red and Leaf Green are not counted as a generation because they were remakes of the original RBY versions.
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5-01-2007 @ 1:36PM
Fashnootin said...
I got Pearl, and playing it refreshed my love for [real] Pokemon games [and not those filler puzzle games or whatnot- the True RPGs are the REAL pokemon games!]. It does feel a bit of a waste that L/R aren't used for any primary features, though having familiar controls to the older games keeps it easy for veterans to transition to the new title.
From an experienced Pokemon Trainer point of view, the creature variation leaves more to be wanted. I can understand how first-gen pokemon can be used as the typical early wild pokemon, but I'm kinda disappointed that I'm still just fighting zubats and geodudes in the typical places. With 493 total pokemon, you'd think that we'd see more second/third gen pokemon around too.
It also bothers me how many of the fourth-gen pokemon are evolutions of the old pokemon. I mean, I love it (I was always a fan of Gligar), but when I found out I have to beat the game before I can access any of their earlier forms (to get the new 4th-gen-exclusive evolutions), that further lessened the "new pokemon" craze.
And am I the only one who's tired of the lack of electric pokemon, or hybrid-electric pokemon? (Most electric pokemon are only elec type, or legendaries, so they're highly uncommon)
I'm ranging around the lvl 30 or so right now, and have:
lv32 Torterra
lv33 Luxray
lv30 Gyarados
lv30 Golbat
lv25 Ponyta (still not sure if I want to fully raise it, because it doesn't learn a good variety of moves)
I get the feeling that the wild pokemon in this version are lacking until you beat the game, which makes it all the harder to have a varied team when running though the game the first time.
Overall though it's still a great game, and I'm going to keep it up until I beat it and see how it changes after that. I think I'll look into breeding too. Oh, and I need to get the gym badge that lets me use Strength so I can go get a Gible.
Just my opinion, take it as you will.
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5-01-2007 @ 2:29PM
ConstyXIV said...
Has anyone noticed that Pokemon turns on the radio at the load game screen? Does anyone know what it's doing?
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5-01-2007 @ 2:36PM
Dragod said...
ConstyXIV,
What it's doing is checking Nintendo WFC to see if you have a Manaphy egg available. Since most people don't have two DS' laying around, they can't exactly transfer them. So, in Pokemon Ranger what you do is get the egg, upload it, put in Diamon/Pearl and it'll recognize it. It just does a simple check, it's not stealing info or anything. ;)
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5-01-2007 @ 5:50PM
Kian said...
You need Friend Codes for WIFI battle.
Although random trade is available without wifi. Battling, even in the battle tower, is still computer AI. You are just fighting teams of Pokemon put together by random around the world.
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5-01-2007 @ 6:40PM
phanboy_iv said...
Testimonial:
I had never played Pokemon, but I picked up Pearl on Thursday, and I haven't been able to put it down. Given the fact that I can't stand RPGs with no plot or character development, it's a bit suprising that I like it so much.
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5-01-2007 @ 9:04PM
clark park said...
i got this girl's friend code off of myspace and she flirted away all my best pokemon!
http://www.myspace.com/waffles
but it was SO worth it lolz.
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5-02-2007 @ 12:14PM
van said...
So... who else wants a Pokemon MMORPG for the wii/ds sometime soon?
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5-05-2007 @ 5:35PM
axel said...
the reason they dont allow you send pokemon from anywhere is because you could be in a cave or something where you needed a certain hm to get in and out and sending the only pokemon that is able to use that hm would sort of make you stuck...
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7-01-2007 @ 12:00AM
brianbong said...
go where to download pokemon pearl or diamond can someone tell me plspls.u can e-mail me also,my e-mail is [email protected]
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