Pokemon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl: Everything We Know

Nearly 15 years after their original release, The Pokemon Company is polishing up Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and bringing them to Nintendo Switch as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The pair will release on the hybrid console this November, and like other Pokemon remakes before them, they update the classic DS games with some modern features. However, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also stay much more faithful to the originals than previous remakes, even sporting a similar visual style and the series' traditional top-down viewpoint.

We got our first glimpse at Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl during the Pokemon Presents event back in February. While we've heard little about the titles since then, The Pokemon Company has already revealed some notable details about the upcoming remakes, with more news likely on the horizon as we approach their launch. In the meantime, here's a look at everything we know so far about Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

When Do Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl Launch?

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch on November 19, 2021.

Who Is Developing Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl?

While series creator Game Freak developed every previous Pokemon remake to date, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are instead being handled by Ilca, the studio behind the Pokemon Home storage service. Game Freak itself is currently at work on a new Pokemon game titled Pokemon Legends: Arceus, which likely explains why Ilca was enlisted to develop Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. However, Game Freak will still have a hand in the remakes. Longtime series producer and original Diamond / Pearl director Junichi Masuda is serving as co-director on Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl alongside Ilca's Yuichi Ueda.

What's Different In The Remakes?

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are taking a different approach from other Pokemon remakes. Rather than completely modernizing the classic DS games, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are staying very faithful to them, featuring the same top-down perspective and chibi art style as the originals. According to The Pokemon Company, "the sense of scale of the original games' towns and routes has been carefully preserved" in the remakes, and players "will encounter the Pokemon that appeared in those nostalgic titles."

Despite these similarities, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will feature some updates over the DS games. The Pokemon Company says that the remakes boast "easy-to-understand, player-friendly conveniences of the modern Pokemon video game series," although no specifics were shared beyond that. Battle sequences also feature more detailed Pokemon and character models like those in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Trailer

The Pokemon Company has only shared one trailer for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl thus far, which came during its Pokemon Presents anniversary stream back in February. The video offers a quick look at the upcoming remakes, showing off their faithful visuals as well as a few of the Sinnoh-native Pokemon that you'll encounter on your adventure.

Setting And Story Details

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are set in Sinnoh, a rural region divided down the middle by Mt. Coronet. As in other Pokemon adventures, your goal is to travel across the region, defeating Gym Leaders and collecting badges to qualify to challenge the Pokemon League. En route, you'll cross paths with Team Galactic, a villainous organization that's trying to summon the Legendary Pokemon Dialga (in Brilliant Diamond) and Palkia (in Shining Pearl).

Like other games in the series, you begin your adventure by selecting a starter Pokemon from the local Pokemon expert, Professor Rowan. Your three choices in these titles are the Grass-type turtle Turtwig, the Fire-type monkey Chimchar, and the Water-type penguin Piplup.

Any Connection With Pokemon Legends: Arceus?

Although they are separate games, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus share one commonality: their setting, the Sinnoh region. Unlike the remakes, however, Pokemon Legends is set in the distant past, before Sinnoh was fully developed, and it charts the player's journey to create the region's first Pokedex. It's still unclear if there will be any actual connection between the games beyond their setting, such as some kind of bonus for players who play both, but it appears Pokemon Legends will delve further into the lore behind the region and its titular Mythical Pokemon, Arceus, which is said to have created the world.

Preorder Details

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are already up for preorder at various retailers. No preorder bonuses have been announced thus far, but that may change as we get closer to the games' release.