The Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl situation.
*Op-Ed*
The Hype
Pokemon fans tend to be among some of the most abused fan bases when it comes to classic franchises. Some would say things started going south with the release of Sun and Moon, some would say X and Y, and then, of course, there is the "Gen Wunners," as they're usually called, who tend to believe strictly in gen 1 and 2 superiority. One common thread in all Pokémon discourse is that no Pokémon fan can agree with another what constitutes a "good" Pokémon game looks like.
I was born in 1992, making me the perfect candidate to be a "Gen Wunner," and I technically wear it, while I do resent the title. that is only to preface that when Diamond and Pearl was released, I was in 9th grade and found most of the Sinnoh Pokemon to be overly designed and ugly. But to the generation of Pokemon fans younger than me, Diamond and Pearl is to them what Red and Blue is to me, meaning there are thousands of people in their early 20′s who believe this to be one of the if not the best Pokemon entry and will defend this game at all cost.
So it's 2001, and the Game Boy Advanced just launched, a console incapable of trading with the previous Game Boy. This presented a problem for Gamefreak, with older Pokemon being harder to find in Generation 3′s Ruby and Sapphire, so they made remakes of the first generation of Pokemon games as Fire Red and Leaf Green. This started a trend of remakes, the latest 2014s Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (or technically Lets GO Eevee and Pikachu). This created quite the expectation for several growing early 20 somethings. “Where is my Diamond and Pearl remake?” they collectively asked.
The Announcement
Despite the cynical takes I’ve seen on the Pokemon 25th anniversary "Pokemon Presents," I didn't think it was nearly as bad as they claim it to be. For example, I thought the intro movie was an entertaining and nostalgic look back at almost every Pokemon game in the last 25 years. The attention to detail with the titles they chose to highlight was impressive and almost like a sign that they remember when the series was overall of higher quality. While I am a bit skeptical, another highlight for me was Pokemon Legends Arceus announcement. The idea of an open-world Pokemon Game set in a past version of Sinnoh sounds intriguing, I saw how Gamefreak handled open-world areas in Pokemon Sword and Shield and you can color me unimpressed and apprehensive.
Then they show the highly anticipated and expected, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The trailer starts off pretty strong, with a montage of memorable scenes from the original DS game, which in hindsight only made the reveal of the games visuals all the more devastating.
Cut to a shot of the character Dawn in her starting home but wait, what's wrong with Dawn? she is now horribly disfigured. Im usually a fan of “chibi” aesthetics but this one felt immediately lifeless. The character has been foreshortened with the grace of someone using hacksaw for the first time. It seems as if no artistic consideration was put into how these characters would look in this new style. This feeling only grows as you continue to watch the trailer and see how the "chibi" style fared with all of the non-player characters, which, in my opinion, is far worse. It seems as if they were more concerned with making 3D models that matched the origional games sprites that they didnt stop to consider how these models appeared.
Then comes the larger models used in battle, what some people claim to be the remakes saving grace (visually speaking at least). It’s understandable why people claim those models look better than the overworld models, but the improvement is minimal, to say the least. These battle models are larger and more detailed but just as stiff, lifeless and flat as the overworld models. Not to mention the Pokemon are using the same tired models they've been recycling since generation 6 and continue to battle in spaces that remind me of what a low budget high school play looks like.
Besides goofy and awkward walking animation, the trailer doesn't really have much else to say past this point. It really does feel like ILCA said, "you like Diamond and Pearl? here it is again, but we made it ugly".
The Fallout
This is when the situation begins to unfold in different pockets of social media, I primarily experienced it on Twitter. While it did seem like most Pokemon fans were rightfully disappointed in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearls appearance, both in terms of technical graphics and art style, it seemed like another group of fans seemed vehemently opposed to any and all criticism of the trailer claiming "we finally got what we wanted"
While it merely comes down to a matter of artistic preference, I don't think it's unreasonable to hold one of the highest-grossing franchises in the world to higher standards. Additionally, this is only one in a long series of disappointment from Pokemon titles, and I liked Pokemon Let's go. Die-hard fans who have been with the franchise from the beginning are scared that they'll never see what they consider to be a high-quality Pokemon game ever again.
Hope?
There might be light at the end of the tunnel after all. Like I previously stated, Pokemon Legends Arceus seems like an intriguing enough concept, although I do remain skeptical. Also, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were good Pokemon games, so while the art style might look silly and animate stiffly, the general game should be fun.
After all, I am looking forward to playing this game and will more than likely buy it at full price.


















