Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum
In the fabric of space and time...comes an all-new Pokémon adventure!
Protagonist(s): Lucas Dawn Genre(s): Role-playing Platform(s): Nintendo DS Release Date: Diamond and Pearl:JP: September 28, 2006 NA: April 22, 2007 AU: June 21, 2007 EU: July 27, 2007 KOR: February 14, 2008 Platinum:JP: September 13, 2008 NA: March 22, 2009 AU: May 14, 2009 EU: May 22, 2009 Developer(s): Game Freak Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: Japan Series: Pokémon Predecessor: Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald (series) Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (by release date) Pokémon Legends: Arceus (chronologically) Successor: Pokémon Black and White (series) Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (by release date) Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (remakes)

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum are a trio of role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are part of the fourth generation of the Pokémon franchise, and were released in celebration of the franchise's 10th anniversary.

The first two versions, Diamond and Pearl, were released in Japan on September 28, 2006, then throughout 2007 worldwide. The third version, Platinum, was released on September 13, 2008, then worldwide throughout 2009, and corrects some flaws of the previous versions and makes some changes to the plot.

Remakes of the game, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, were released on November 19, 2021, while a prequel to the games, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was released on January 28, 2022.

Why You'll Want to Catch 'em All in Sinnoh

1. The Sinnoh region, which is based on Hokkaido, Japan, is the first to include more varied weather, including snowy regions such as Mt. Coronet.
   • In Platinum, several more areas of Sinnoh have become snowy, and characters wear warmer clothes to reflect that.
2. Several weaker Pokémon from previous generations, such as Sneasel, Tangela, Gligar, etc., gain new evolutions in this game, making them even more useful than before.
3. Many new Legendary Pokémon are introduced, including the Lake Trio (Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf), the Creation Trio (Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina), Regigigas (the leader of the Regis), etc.
4. Since these games were released on the DS, you can now battle and trade online, such as through the Global Trade System (or GTS, which is introduced in this game).
5. The game uses the 3DS hardware in creative ways, such as the Touch Screen being represented by the player's Pokétch.
6. This generation features a colorful cast of likable characters, such as Lucas/Dawn (the protagonists; the latter is even featured in the anime), Barry (the player's rival), Professor Rowan (the Pokémon Professor in this game), Cyrus (the main antagonist), Team Galactic, etc.
7. The graphics are a step up from the GBA games while retaining their art style, with some terrain even being rendered in 3D.
8. Thanks to the DS' superior sound card, the music is vastly improved over previous games.
9. The battle system is revamped so that moves can be physical or special regardless of their type, meaning that certain types whose attacks were always physical or special can now have moves that can be both varieties. This is especially beneficial to Ghost and Poison types, whose moves were always physical in previous titles (despite the former being based on spirits and thus having no true physical powers).
10. Starting with this game, you can transfer Pokémon from a previous generation to the current one, thus allowing you to fill your Pokédex more quickly while keeping your collection from both games.
11. Pokémon Contests return under the name Super Contests, and they were improved and expanded upon from those in Hoenn.
    • You can raise a Pokémon's Contest qualities by making Poffins, cookies that are the same color as both the flavor and quality you are trying to improve, and sometimes include sprinkles to boost another quality.
12. This game introduces the Masuda Method, which allows you to increase your odds of finding a Shiny Pokémon by breeding two Pokémon from different language games.
13. The Battle Frontier returns from Emerald, with more clever rules in each facility this time around.
14. Platinum makes several changes and improvements to both the story and gameplay, including, but not limited to:
    • The slow pacing found in battles and surfing is removed, meaning the game is a lot faster. However, you still move slowly in the overworld.
    • All Gyms now exclusively include Pokémon of their specialty type, which allows for more competitive teams.
    • You can now cycle forward and backward through Pokétch apps so you won't have to waste your time scrolling through them.
    • Giratina plays a larger role than in Diamond and Pearl, and Cyrus is introduced earlier than in those games.
    • You obtain your starter before fighting Barry rather than before fighting a flock of wild Starly.

Bad Qualities

1. Diamond and Pearl are very slow-paced due to long (and unskippable) battle/catching tutorials, a slowly-draining-or-filling HP gauge, and jarring delays during battle actions.
   • You also move slowly in the overworld even with your Running Shoes, which is made even worse by terrain types that slow you down even more.
   • The pacing is rather plodding as well, with almost all of the important events happen in the second third of the game.
2. Diamond and Pearl have very few Pokémon of certain types, with Ponyta being the only Fire-type one can find in tall grass.
3. You need to backtrack a lot throughout the game, the most annoying being Mt. Coronet, which must be traversed multiple times and is hard to get through.
   • It can be alleviated when you teach one of your Pokémon the Fly HM, which lets you fast-travel so you won't have to travel so far.
4. Some Mythical Pokémon, such as Shaymin, could only be obtained via special Key Items that were only found in certain regions for a limited time.
5. If you're playing on a DSi or 3DS, you can't transfer Pokémon from the Gen III games over, since they lack the GBA slot that the original DS has.
   • Regigigas can't be caught without the Regi trio from Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
6. The slot machines in the Veilstone Game Corner are removed in the Korean versions of all three games and the European version of Platinum, the former due to gambling being banned in South Korea and the latter due to a change in PEGI ratings that would give games a 12+ rating if they include gambling in them.
7. This game introduces fog, which is annoying because it sharply decreases your Pokémon's accuracy and can make battles even longer.
   • The only way to remove fog is via the HM Defog, which is only useful to decrease your opponent's evasion.
8. Victory Road requires five HM moves to progress through it, specifically Rock Smash, Surf, Strength, Rock Climb, and Waterfall.
9. Unlike previous remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are barely improvements over the original, coming off more as "faithful" HD remastered versions of the originals rather than reimaginings like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Read their page for more information.

Reception

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum received generally favorable reviews (scoring 85/100 on Metacritic for the first two games and 84/100 for Platinum), and are often considered the best Pokémon games of all time. Critics praised the graphics, gameplay, Platinum's new content, and the addition of online play, but criticized the plodding pace of the originals and the lack of innovation from previous games.

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