Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo DS) Review
Posted by Sean Garmer on 05.30.2007
It's the newest in the flourshing franchise, how does it stand up to the other ones? Come find out.
Oh 1998 what a marvelous time, the Denver Broncos won the Superbowl, Bill Clinton almost got run out of office, Stone Cold Steve Austin won his first WWE title, and oh yeah, a little thing called Pokemon came on the scene in the United States. Now we are in 2007, it’s been almost nine years since Pokemon debuted in the states, but it just celebrated it’s tenth year anniversary in Japan. During it’s time, Pokemon has now become the second biggest selling franchise in all of gaming, and I’m sure that’s not what Nintendo was wondering way back in 1995. Fans of the series have been waiting almost four years for a true Pokemon successor to arrive, and they have it in the form of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Are these two any different than the others? Well, the Pokemon are, the local is different, but everything else will be a welcome flashback for Poke’ fans. So how does Diamond stack up against the rest? You’ll have to read to find out.
Graphics:
Pokemon in it’s history has been the standard game in making 2D RPG’s stay popular even till this day. However, with the move to the Nintendo DS, there was speculation that we could finally get a true 3D Pokemon game, in the similar vein as Final Fantasy III. Nintendo decided to keep things to form and everything is still in 2D. Even though everything still looks good and the color on the DS has never looked more vibrant, it’s a little disappointing that Nintendo didn’t do 3D for this. Nonetheless, the game still looks good, the new Pokemon are colorful and distinguishable from the old ones. The cities and locales are all different, and you can tell what city your in with the whirlwind of environments throw into the game. Honestly, for what Nintendo has done on the DS and keeping the 2D mold, there is nothing wrong with the graphics per se. Yes, some of the animations are reused and all that, but it’s nothing that will pop out at you. The game uses the top screen to show you all the action, and the bottom screen is used up with this device that gives you a variety of options, so that you don’t have to go to your start menu. Things such as a trainer locator that allows you to have a conversation with them to setup another battle, also it can show you where items are, how many Pokemon you’ve caught, and Pokemon status to name a few. It’s a good use of both screens and the device comes in handy quite often, the game also allows you to pick up other things for it as you progress through the story. It’s a nice touch, and nice use of both screens.
Gameplay:
If you’ve ever played a Pokemon game before there will be nothing about this one that will come as a strange thing to you. There is still 50 to even 60 hours of storyline play, tons of turn-based battles, and lots of training and catching Pokemon. I really liked that they added more 2 on 2 battles in this one, as I always enjoy those. So why buy this game? For the 100 new Pokemon, and the storyline of course, similar to a big reason why Sports games sell every year, people are always interested in seeing the new players or in this case, monsters. The story plays very much like all the other Pokemon games as well, you are a young trainer that has a rival, you live in a city called Sinnoh with your mother, and you get to pick between three starter Pokemon, then you begin the journey. Throughout the game their will be many trainers to battle, Gym leaders to dismantle, Pokemon to catch, and of course some diabolic team (Team Galactic) that stands in your way. Your main goal is still the same as it’s ever been, defeat the elite trainers after getting all eight badges, then the main story ends.
However, that doesn’t mean the game isn’t good, on the contrary it is addicting as it always was. I’m out of the Pokemon loop, but this series of games were the ones that got me into Role-Playing games when I was a youngster back in 1998, and now RPG’s are the majority of games I play, all thanks to Pokemon. So, for people like me, that have played all the other ones it’s a little bit of wash, rinse, and repeat, I still found myself hooked for hours battling. I can only imagine what it’s doing to the new generation of children that are getting hooked into the Pokemon universe as I write this. There are tons of mini-games, and distractions such as Poke Eggs, and the ability to raise your own Pokemon babies, and some side stories. The main reason, like every other RPG, is to complete the story and Nintendo has packed it chalk full. Even though the story follows the same line as all the others, many are still going to play the story probably twice through just to see what it’s like to start with a different Pokemon team. It’s a simple premise that works every time, because Pokemon is open to new followers, and never alienates it’s older fanbase either. In the end, the only thing that hurts the game, is the fact that the mini-games and side stuff, truly feels like it’s just thrown in there, and most of it is utterly useless. Other than that, the game doesn’t falter in giving fans what they want, and you can only commend Nintendo for that. However, it’d be nice to see some big changes with next iterations.
Sound:
This is why Nintendo are the masters with their first party games. The Pokemon games can get so immersive to the point where you forget about all the other parts of the game. Case in point the sound, The grunts for the Pokemon are there along with the move sound effects. The game is still all text based, so there are no voiceovers. The music in the game, is catchy and changes when you enter a new town or with just a change in the situation. I’m so used to that “Pokemon Battle theme” that I forget music is even playing at times. That’s what the music should do, provide something in the background, maybe you keep the player upbeat, but never intrude. That’s the best part of it, the soundtrack fits so well with the game, it’s more complementary than anything else, and it never got annoying to me.
Lasting Appeal:
Aside from the main quest and all the other stuff I mentioned before, there are still a few things to mention to do in this game. There is another Pokemon Tower where you can battle advanced trainers for some items and prestige (they don’t gain experience if I remember correctly). You can enter Pokemon contests, Safari Zone, and do some sidequests. Of course, the adventure of catching all 150 Pokemon is still there. Also you can battle friends (if you have their code) and trade with anyone in the world. Voice Chat has been included, so battles will be all the more intense. In reality, unless you are one of those that like to complete games in their entirety or have lots of friends, there isn’t much to do when you are done with the main quest. At least Nintendo tried to appeal to their fans with a variety of options, but RPG’s in general are made to give you a sense of accomplishing the epic quest and Pokemon does that well. They don’t all have to be Final Fantasy and give you twenty different sidequests. All in all, once the purpose is accomplished, unless you want to catch them all, or play through again, there isn’t much reason to keep playing.
Fun Factor:
Pokemon Diamond is a fun game that is similar to its predecessors. It has all of the elements that made the past adventures addicting. If you add in the multi-player battling with voice chat, there is enjoyment to be had for hours. Just training your Pokemon team as you progress through the story can be a satisfying thing in itself. I’m sure all the kiddies already jumped on this game, but old fans should be happy to know everything they liked about the series is here in the new versions too. Honestly, if you played the others, there’s no way you can’t have fun with this one.
The 411: Here’s the whole point, this game was made for the fans of the series that have been clamoring for a new game. If you in any form liked any game in the series, you shouldn’t hesitate in picking this up. Anyone that hasn’t heard of Pokemon or is looking for a reason to play the games, this is as good a place to start as ever. There isn’t a way to rank these games because aside from the Pokemon involved or that certain story, they are all the same in a sense. Nintendo did well in knowing the Poke’ formula and sticking to it in every way, however it doesn’t really do anything new either, it’s like playing the same thing you’ve been playing in every other Pokemon game. I still had a lot of fun with the game, and any fan of the series or RPG’s will too.
Graphics
8.0
It's still 2D but it looks great that way
Gameplay
9.0
It's the same as it's always been, but it's still very addicting
Sound
9.0
The music fits welll with every situation and never becomes overbearing
Lasting Appeal
8.0
Multi-player trading and battles with voice chat, and the ability to catch them all are about all you can do outside of the main quest.
Fun Factor
8.5
Even though Pokemon Diamond doesn't really do anything different from the other games in the series, it's still as fun as ever.
