![]() The frame-rate issues that plagued Sword and Shield and the later DS titles are thankfully absent, making battling a smooth experience. Moves are nicely animated, and plenty of Pokémon have their own unique animated signature attack. It’s not pushing the limits of graphical fidelity by any means, but all the Pokémon models look nice – even if their static animations are pretty lifeless. The game runs well in both docked and undocked modes and looks very sharp on the shiny new Nintendo Switch OLED Model. However, that issue aside, the ability to revisit The Grand Underground and hunt for new Pokémon is very enjoyable – especially since they’re visible before battling, avoiding the incredible annoyance of the random battles elsewhere in Sinnoh. Throw in the permanent, non-removable EXP share and your team will be absolutely stacked for the whole game. We managed to catch them and, for the next few gyms, we had completely broken the level curve. These two powerful 'mon were both just sitting there, seven levels higher than the rest of our team. As soon as we gained access to The Grand Underground, we began exploring its various biomes and came across two rare Pokémon – well, 'rare' when you consider how early we were in the game: Absol and Houndoom. ![]() There’s a slight issue, however: the levelling system feels somewhat exploitable. This not only fixes a big problem in Generation 4 - the lack of Fire-type Pokemon - it also manages to include some of the Platinum Dex that has been omitted from the main game. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, it’s been renovated with new biomes, which contain roaming wild Pokemon. The Grand Underground is a reimagining of the same system from the original games, wherein players could explore, mine for shards, and meet other players. Where Pokemon do spawn in the overworld, however, is in the all-new 'Grand Underground'. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) We had really hoped we’d gotten away from this antiquated system for good, but unfortunately not. In a really disappointing step back for the franchise, Pokémon no longer spawn in the overworld in the wild - instead, it’s back to random battles in the grass when you’re walking the roads of Sinnoh. Some smart quality of life changes include the new HM system, which means that Surf, Fly and other moves that were relegated to the lone Bidoof in your party are now handled by… a Bidoof – but this time it’ll just appear when you need it, and no longer take up a party slot. If you’re tired of that formula, these games will do nothing to sway you. You’re travelling from town to town collecting badges and trying to foil a plot to harness a Legendary Pokemon. The core of the game is the same as it was 15 years ago. ![]() In a smart move, during battles in the wild, you’ll often see the shadow of Coronet looming in the background, making the battles feel much more like they're playing out in the world, rather than in some cordoned-off area. There’s a great atmosphere to the entire region, you really get the sense that it’s a lived-in environment built around the imposing Mt. The Sinnoh games were home to some of the best themes in Pokémon history, and they’ve been lovingly remastered here. While the art style underwhelms, the music, however, is excellent. This really makes us wish that they’d retained the overworld scale of the previous Nintendo Switch games, rather than attempt to transport the squat 2D sprites of the original game into a full-3D world. Why should we take this big antagonist seriously when he looks just as (un)threatening as any other trainer?Įvery character you battle has a full-sized model resembling the style adopted in Sword and Shield, and they uniformly look so much better than the Chibi, toy-like models that cover the overworld. It also robs some NPCs – who were intimidating and serious in the original 2D games – of their tone completely. While battles have arguably never looked better – with some incredible arenas and backgrounds for your Pokemon to compete in – the overworld looks cheap in comparison. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feature a 3D 'Chibi' art style for their overworld, making all characters look like emotionless Funko Pops, and it was a real mistake. However, instead of a Game Freak-helmed remake and love letter to the generation, ILCA, the studio handling Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, has changed the art style for the worse and failed to include many elements from the generation’s best game, Pokémon Platinum. Generation 1, 2 and 3 have all received stellar reimaginings, and Generation 4 felt like the odd one out. There’s a strange feeling of obligation to these remakes.
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