Gah… I’ve been so lazy lately [Blames society].
Everybody who has been around video games for a while knows what Pokemon is, so it doesn’t exactly need an introduction. One of the most common assumptions about Pokemon is stuff like “Oh, Pokemon is for kids” or “Pokemon is n00bish” but most of them are completely wrong since Pokemon has quite an older [16+] following and the second is fairly wrong also; yes there are plenty of n00bish people, but no more than any other game out there. So now that we got that out of the way let’s move onto the review.
This game’s story is no different than pretty much any other mainstream Pokemon game out there. You get Pokemon, you battle gyms, you become champion. And the side story plots are almost identical to R/S/E [Ruby, sapphire, emerald] just with the names changed. But now is where the Pokemon games are best-known for; the game play. The gameplay outside of battle is fairly unchanged except for the added Poketch [Pokemon watch...] that allows you to see some stuff that you wouldn’t normally notice and includes a lot of worthless stuff also [Like a calculator?]. The battling, though, has went through one of the biggest overhauls since Gold and Silver. First of all there’s about 130+ Pokemon added [as if there were already enough] and the normal addition of new moves, but the main part is the way moves use the stats [I.E. attack, special attack] Instead of the attacks depending on type it’s now physical contact orieneted [physical uses attack non-physical uses special attack - at least for most moves], but once you get used to that change you’ll find that it’s relatively unchanged. Also, for those few people who actually enjoy Pokemon contests, those have been overhauled as well. The contest now instead of choosing a few moves here and there, you now have to dress your Pokemon, dance your Pokemon and still use those moves, but ALL of their effects have changed. Also the Pokeblocks have been thrown out onto the street corners and replaced with Poffins which do the same thing, except they are much more annoying to produce. But the most anticipated change is the addition of the Nintendo Wi-Fi, which in turn allows for online battling and trading which has been needed since Pokemon games were started. The battling is the same online, except you can choose optional Pokemon Stadium-like rules t battle with and the trading is unchanged, except now there’s a GTS [Grand Trade Station? [I think]] which allows for you to trade indirectly with anyone world-wide.
Another overhaul is the graphics which could’ve easily been predicted to change. Now they have a semi-3D-ish treatment with the same classic pokemon 2D feel. The music has been updated to more songs and remixs of old ones, and still I have not found an annoying song yet. The sound is unchanged; the Pokemon still sound the same and the menus still beep the same way.
These are by far the BEST Pokemon games ever. They are great in comparison to most next-gen hand-held RPGs that are out there [my opinion not yours]. I give Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl a 9 out of 10, just because it’s awesome, but still right on the doorstep of perfection.
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