Pokémon Returns To Sinnoh In Diamond and Pearl Remakes

Pokémon is returning to the Sinnoh region with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, remakes of the Diamond and Pearl games that were originally released in 2007 for the DS.

Coming to the Switch later this year, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are being developed by ILCA, Inc., with co-directors Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) and Yuichi Ueda (ILCA) overseeing the project. The trailer for the games show that the remakes are remaining as faithful as possible to the original games. Areas have the exact same layout and NPC placement as before and battles have the same opening transitions as well. This mission to stick close to what came before even applies to the game’s art style.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl translates the pixel sprites of the original game into a new chibi-esque art style for the remakes. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the art style that the remake for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening had when it released in 2019.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl join the list of games in the franchise that have received remakes in recent years. In 2018 we got remakes of Pokémon Yellow with Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! Prior to them, remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released for the 3DS in 2016. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Pokémon Black and White get the remake treatment as well.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl weren’t the only new games in the franchise announced today. The Pokémon Company also revealed Pokémon Legends: Arceus, an open-world action-RPG set in the Sinnoh region that looks to be every fans dream come true, though it’s not planned for release until early next year. At least fans will have the remakes to help make the wait feel not as long