The original Pokemon Diamond and Pearl came out way back in 2006 in Japan, and 2007 in the West. It’s been almost 15 years since their release and Nintendo have decided to bring back these classics from yesteryear now in 2021. They’ve given both games a fresh coat of paint, like they’ve done to numerous other titles from their back catalogue recently, and it’s a welcome addition to the Nintendo Switch library of games.




Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Pokemon Shining Pearl have been developed by ICLA making it the first main-series Pokemon game where Game Freak was not the lead development studio. ICLA have essentially taken the original game’s core framework and built upon that. They’ve given them a new look along with a vast range of changes for better or worse depending on what you may want, and the end result will certainly be polarising to seasoned veteran fans. Pokemon Shining Pearl is a mixed bag of a game which feels like it straddles the line between faithful remaster and uninspiring remake.

The end result will certainly be polarising to seasoned veteran fans.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “a remaster and a remake are two very different things” and that’s exactly the problem that Pokemon Shining Pearl has. If you’ve played Pokemon Pearl back in the day, the game you’re getting here is essentially the same thing, just with more modernised graphics and quality of life improvements. That ticks the faithful “remaster” box but at the same time, there’s divisive “remake” treatment which has crept in. This includes removing certain aspects as well as adding new content which can further complicate the game.



If you’ve got some time on your hands and you’re into video game history, you could sit and compare the two games scene by scene and you’ll most likely pick up quite a few differences. There’s been changes to words that NPCs say and there’s been changes to the battle and experience point system. The graphical look of the game has also been given an overhaul and characters now have a 3D chibi-ified look to them which you will either love or hate depending on your own personal preferences.



One of the biggest changes in Pokemon Shining Pearl involves the conversion of all HM moves to single use TMs. If you want to use an ability tied to an HM in the world, you will simply bring it up via the Poketch and use it that way. Another massive change lies with the fact that the underground area of Pokemon Pearl has been given an extreme makeover. The original underground area in Pokemon Pearl allowed players to explore, excavate and build bases. This has been expanded upon with the underground area being enlarged and now incorporating Nintendo Online features. There’s also brand new “Pokemon Hideaways” which are areas where you can obtain Pokemon that aren’t endemic to the Sinnoh region.

If you want to use an ability tied to an HM in the world, you will simply bring it up via the Poketch and use it that way.

Diving into the graphical aspects of the game, if you compare the original Pokemon Pearl to Pokemon Shining Pearl, the visual fidelity has certainly been increased. Environments have a lot more detail and the swap from the top-down view to a more zoomed in 3D view during cutscene conversations with other characters is welcomed. The battles have also been given a visual overhaul with Pokemon looking great in 3D.

However, if you’ve played Pokemon Sword and Shield recently, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will seem like a graphical downgrade to you. The graphical fidelity and quality of Pokemon Shining Pearl, while an upgrade over its original source material, is severely lacking compared to the far more modern Pokemon Sword and Shield and it’s immediately noticeable. With that said though, these remasters are still fine by today’s Nintendo Switch standards and players will get used to the visuals quite quickly.



When it comes to the actual gameplay, Pokemon Shining Pearl and Pokemon Pearl are still pretty much the same game. The key difference being that Shining Pearl is arguably easier because Pokemon now share experience points and it’s therefore a lot easier to over level your entire team while simply exploring the world and battling wild Pokemon. You also don’t need to lug around a dedicated Pokemon to use HMs so players will have a slight bit more freedom with who they can have in their team.

Shining Pearl is arguably easier because Pokemon now share experience points.

As of writing this review, the game still features a lot of bugs and glitches that players have discovered. Quite a few have already been patched such as walking out of bounds in specific areas or duplicating items using menu glitches. I never encountered anything game breaking in my time with the game though and a major progression bug has already been patched.



The soundtrack to Pokemon Shining Pearl has been given the remaster treatment and it sounds as fantastic as ever. You’ll be humming the themes to various areas as you play through the game because the soundtrack really was super catchy back in the day and still is even now.



Overall, Pokemon Shining Pearl is more of the same old, tried and trusted old-school Pokemon formula. It features plenty of quality of life improvements over the original DS titles while also incorporating newer, more modern Pokemon aspects such as shared experience, spruced up graphics and the streamlined HM system. Purists might scoff at these remasters/remakes while newcomers will find them great to play through if not a tad repetitive. It is disappointing however that Pokemon Shining Pearl wasn’t expanded upon further and even more disappointing that the better aspects of Pokemon Platinum weren’t put into place here.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are therefore slightly too faithful to the source remasters/remakes. They bring back the older game’s stories and modernize them for a nostalgic hardcore fanbase. They will also appeal to a newer, younger Nintendo Switch audience. It’s pretty straightforward to be completely honest and I can safely say there is a lot of fun to be had with these games even now in 2021. Just don’t expect anything mind-blowingly amazing here.