Pokemon has had its share of ups and downs. Some of their successes have been so special,
that they warranted complete re imaginings. The fourth generation of the franchise is
one of those special cases. With the brilliant and shining remakes freshly available, and
its prequel game right around the corner, let's examine the original games that brought
them to life.
This.
Is the pokemon, diamond and pearl iceberg.
A new generation
Diamond and Pearl are the first games in the fourth Generation of the games, which started
on the Nintendo DS. Not only that, but it also saw unprecedented success, as it sold
a total of 18 million units. That is 2 million more than Ruby and Sapphire which came before,
and 2 million more than its sequel Black and White.
No color coding
Diamond and Pearl broke the tradition of the games, having their storage media colored
to match their versions. This came off as a surprise to gamers, because Diamond and
Pearl are roughly the 10th mainline release in the long-running franchise, and the previous
games had color-coded storage media. Additionally, it's also the first set of games in which
the rival starter Pokemon is not at level 5 in the first fight, the lab of the Professor
is not in the hometown, old save data has to be deleted before a new game can be saved,
and a Pokemon that generally evolves through trading can be caught in the wild too.
Historical for the Nintendo DS
Diamond and Pearl are not only one of the highest selling Pokemon games of all time,
but they are also historically important for the Nintendo DS, because they are the best
selling games for the console, sitting at a whopping 18 million units. Although this
isn't the highest-selling game on a Nintendo handheld game in general, it's still a big
deal for the DS since the GBA wasn't even dead at the time of its release, and the PSP
was giving intense competition too.
The Return of the King
Diamond and Pearl has been remade for the Nintendo Switch and was released on the 19th
of November. Called Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the game features new graphics
and was announced alongside Pokemon Legends: Arkeus. Although a mainline title despite
being a remake, Brilliant Diamond and shining Pearl are not developed by Game Freak, which
is responsible for every mainline Pokemon game that has been made so far. There are
several things to note here that make it different from the originals, aside from being a remake
in general. First of all, unlike some of the other remakes that make the games look similar
to the latest ones in line, Brilliant Diamond and shining Pearl took a different turn.
That is because the remake has a chibee art-style even though the graphics are generally modern-looking.
Secondly, the game focuses on being something that the older fans can truly enjoy. It has
some quality of life improvements, but it ultimately feels like an old game, and keeps
several of the limitations which the originals had, instead of importing over the recent
features from the later games. It's a different take in remaking the games compared to the
previous ones, and that is something that critics and fans alike are happy about.
Tie-in Anime
Alongside the games, the Diamond and Pearl animated series was released in the year of
2006 and all the way to 2011. Although the name is based on the games and it takes place
in the region of Sinnoh, which is something that the games had - the story is generally
unrelated and still features the adventures of the immortal boy Ash Ketchum and his trusty
campanion peeka chu.
Connections to the remake
Diamond and Pearl and its remake are not connected to each other in terms of continuity, as the
remake is not a continuation of the original game and instead, a retelling. The plot roughly
deviates a bit here and there, but it's generally the same thing entirely and that's also because
of the fact that the mainline Pokemon games usually have the same story. A kid takes on
every gym leader challenge in their town, and eventually find themselves saving tons
of Pokemon and even their town due to villainous presences, all the while becoming the 'best'
trainer of that area. So, those familiar with the original will just be playing the same
story again, while newcomers will still be able to get into it and not miss anything.
The story behind the name
According to Junichi Masuda, who is the director of the board at Game Freak, the names Diamond
and Pearl were choosen for the game because diamonds symbolize love and pearls symbolize
happiness - which are both beautiful things created by nature itself. Since Pokemon are
meant to be animals rather than man-made creations, he believed that it fit the theme very well.
The mysterious Azure Flute
There is a key item that cannot be obtained in the game, even though it's still exists
and functional within the game's files. It's called the Azure flute, and it leads to a
hidden event once you obtain it. In an interview, Junichi Masuda revealed that it was scrapped
because he thought it might be too confusing for players to use. Naturally, gamers wanted
to get their hands on it and experience the event - and this was made possible through
hackers. Once the game is hacked through cheats or tools, the item is granted to the player
and then they can access the mysterious event, which shows that it was completely finished
before being scrapped.
Enhanced re-release
Although the true remake only came out this year, Diamond and Pearl had an enhanced re-release
in the past, called Pokemon Platinum Version. Combining both Diamond and Pearl in one game,
it's considered the ultimate version of the two games and sold over 7 million copies by
itself, becoming one of the fastest selling games in Japan at the time of its release.
It has a few different changes, such as the difficulty of each trainer being increased.
It's considered one of the best Pokemon games of all time, by critics and fans alike. Just
like the original game, the name of this game has specific meaning, as the developers wanted
to take the 'beauty' of the name to the next level, since platinum is different from a
gem and a pearl, and shines more.
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Meming
The English version of Diamond and Pearl surprised everyone, because it contained references
to internet memes and even slangs that are generally found online. The reason behind
it is because the lead translator for the project, Nob Ogasawara, is a member of the
'Something Awful Forums', and must have found all different kinds of memes there, which
were then added to the game. Speaking of the translation, Diamond and Pearl are the first
games in the series where names of proper nouns that aren't related to the Pokemon themselves,
are capitalized properly. For example, Ultra Ball is written with the first letter capitalized
instead of every letter capitalized.
Mismatched specialty
Despite generally being a polished game, the game has an odd problem, due to the leaders
and Elite Four of the Sinnoh region not always using the Pokemon that are meant for their
specialized type. This problem was not fixed until the aforementioned Enhanced Platinum
Version of the game was released, which made the characters use their specialized Pokemon
type properly. However, even in the fixed release, Aaron still uses a Drapion, whereas
he is meant to be a Bug-type specialist - showing how persistent this error in the game's programming
is.
Unparalleled connectivity
Diamond and Pearl are the most compatible games in the franchise, as they can be connected
to a total of 19 other games. The games included in this list are all of the 'core' games of
the third, fourth, and fifth generation - the ranger games, Battle Revolution, and My Pokemon
Ranch. Although several other games can be connected to each other, a total of 19 is
a number that has not been achieved again yet.
Typos
There are several typos associated with Diamond and Pearl. (1) In the Australian backcover
of the Diamond version it says, "as you search for the Pokemon that rules space in Pokemon
Diamond Version", even though it should say 'time' instead. (2) On the North American
manual for the Pearl Version it says, "In order to catch all the Pokemon in the Sinnoh
region, thus completing your Pokehdex, you must trade with the Pokemon Pearl version".
This should say 'Diamond version' instead, since that is the opposite version of the
game. Fortunately, this typo does not exist in the Diamond manual as it says Pearl properly
instead.
If a FireRed or LeafGreen cart is present in Slot 2 of the Nintendo DS while playing
Diamond and Pearl, the migration option in the main menu says 'Migrate from Fire Red'
or 'Migrate from Leaf Green', which is missing the space. This typo was fixed later in the
Platinum version, similar to the issues resolved with the specialized types of Pokemon leaders.
Funnily enough, the instruction manual of Platinum has a typo too, as it claims that
there are 493 Pokemon to be discovered but the 493rd Pokemon, Arkeus, was revealed only
after the game was already released.
And while we're speaking of regional mishaps - this is the last game in the series that
has the slot-machine minigame in a core game of the European releases. That is because
their laws became more strict later on in terms of anything resembling gambling in a
children's game.
A bit foggy
Excluding the remakes, Diamond and Pearl are the only mainline games in the series to feature
fog as a natural weather effect. Although some battles have fog being summoned as a
random effect in the later games, it never came back as a part of the weather and it's
unknown as to why, since it's not something that was particularly complained about.
Foreshadowing
Inventions that we see in Generation 4, which Diamond and Pearl belong to, were hinted at
in the previous generation of Pokemon games - such as Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. For
example, In the Devon Corporation building's second floor, several scientists are working
on computers, and say that they are working on a device that will revive Pokemon fossils.
And additionally, another scientist says that they will be able to reproduce dreams of Pokemon.
And then the last scientist says he will allow people to talk directly to them, although
the last two inventions are stated to be performing poorly. It wasn't until Generation 4 and even
5 when we finally see these devices in action.
Months-long development conflict
Since the shift to the Nintendo DS meant that the games had to incorporate touch features
into the mix, Junichi Masuda wanted players to use their fingers on the touch screen for
gameplay. However, some of the other devs found that dirty, and wanted to make the game
in such a way that the stylus was encouraged more instead. This argument went on for months
and Masuda won the argument, as the touchscreen interface was designed in a way that encouraged
players to use their fingers instead of the stylus. Eventually though, it did not matter
all that much, because games on the Nintendo DS and even 3DS can be played perfectly with
both the stylus and fingers, neither posing an advantage over the other.
A rocky launch
Although several of the game's issues which were fixed with the Platinum release as mentioned
previously, there were some that were so game-breaking that certain retailers had to be provided
a patch for the Japan release of the game - which was rare at the time since DLC and
online patches were still something gamers were new to. The worst of the glitches included
players getting stuck inside walls and losing their saved data, and Nintendo had to release
a statement detailing these glitches themselves, so that the players can be careful about them
until the issues were patched out.
Leaked content
In 2020, dataminers leaked Nintendo-related builds which include a lot of unfinished builds
of several of their projects on ResetVia. This ended up including the source code for
Diamond and Pearl, which includes a lot of unused sprites and scrapped designs for new
Pokemon which were then never made. Although Nintendo is very aggressive in terms of copyright,
fortunately nothing gets lost on the internet and they are easily found online for those
who are interested.
A delayed game is eventually good
Diamond and Pearl were announced in 2004 alongside Pokemon Dash - and the two games were intended
to be released in 2005. However, Nintendo revealed that the developers were still working
on some aspects of the game, and they were delayed to 2006. This was not a surprise since
Masuda had stated that he wants the game to be the 'ultimate Pokemon version' and wanted
to include new forms of playing the game, which referred to the wi fi features, and
the second screen of the Nintendo DS.
Prequel
Pokemon Legends arkeus, which is an upcoming 2022 game, is in fact a prequel to Diamond
and Pearl. This actually applies to the original 2006 game too, not just the Brilliant remakes
that came out this year. Although a main title in the series, it takes place long before
the events of Diamond and Pearl, when the Sinnoh region was called the Hisui region.
Although it was mistaken for an open-world game, that was later clarified to not be the
case - although it does introduce new Pokemon and features, which you can expect of every
new core game.
theorization
In the Japanese version of Diamond & Pearl, you can visit the library in Canalave City.
Some of the myths of the Sinnoh region include a theory that humans and Pokemon used to marry
each other in the past. This was eventually censored in the English versions of the game,
and replaced with information about how humans and Pokemon sat and ate together at the same
table as equals. The purpose of this myth was to show that Pokemon and humans were considered
equals once - but for some reason the Japanese version of this myth just crossed into an
uncomfortable territory.
Many fans theorize that the Pokemon Arkeus was supposed to be included in Diamond and
Pearl, especially since one of the manuals claimed that you can catch 493 Pokemon in
total and the 493rd was revealed to be Arkeus. This theory was further strengthened by the
recent reveal of the arkeus game, as it is officially a prequel to Diamond and Pearl,
and the title itself includes that Pokemon's name.
One of the most common theories for the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and shining Pearl, was that
the game might be connected to the originals in such a way that the remake might be more
of an alternate universe than a retelling of the story. This is because it's a game
that many considered to be barebones in terms of the story. However, that theory has been
debunked now that the game is released - much to the dismay of the fans, as it's pretty
much entirely the same as the original.
Another theory revolving around the Pokemon Arkeus is connected to the scrapped 'Azure
Flute', as some believed that it might have originally been intended to lead to a quest
related to Arkeus, and reveal its mysterious connection to the town of Sinnoh. However,
this theory has never been confirmed nor denied, as the developers only admit they removed
it as it would be 'confusing' in their opinion, not what the quest was really going to be
about or if it was 100% completed or not in the game's files.
Diamond and Pearl were very clearly among the most popular in the franchise. And although
it did not veer too far from the formula that the series had become known for, some have
suggested that it was perfected in this generation. Like and subscribe if you'd like to see more
videos like this. And let me know what topics you'd like to see covered next.