Pokemon Pearl Version

"Shine on you Crazy Pearl!"

Some time after the release of the Nintendo DS, we are yet to experience one of Nintendo's most prominent franchises-the Pokemon series. Well here comes along Diamond and Pearl. How is it? Read the review to find out!

Graphics: 8/10

I often try to stress the fact that I don't really consider graphics to be an essential part of a game. Now that I have that out of the way, Diamond and Pearl does a nice job of bringing the Pokemon series into the next generation while retaining the look of the old school Pokemon games. No actual 3-D is used, but that's probably for the better considering that the Game Boy 2-D Pokemon games have always been considered superior to the 3-D outings. The game does, however, support a nice 2.5-D approach. In my opinion, this was pulled off very nicely. However, it does look a little off sometimes and the battles don't look very much improved from the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald format.

Sound: 7/10

The Pokemon series isn't particularly a series that contains songs you might find on somebody's CD player, nor does it contain emotionally moving tunes that make you want to buy the origional soundtrack. The Pokemon series sound wise, is usually just a collection of catchy tunes that you can enjoy while playing the game. And to this effect, Diamond/Pearl does the job nicely. Towns sound like towns, caves sound like caves, battles sound like battles and so forth. The music of this game fits the bill of adding to the game nicely, but never really being anything so well done that it can be one of the biggest things you remember in a game.

Story: 5/10

Too little has changed from the previous games, you go to eight gyms, collect eight badges, defeat the elite four, and occasionally take a break to stop a terrorist group. Sure, it works, but after four generations, there should be something thrown in there to spice it up a little bit. The story isn't particularly bad, but the lack of anything new can really aggrivate. Not only that, but the story is combined with the gameplay in a way so that not only does it seem repetitive, it is repetitive. When Nintendo makes the next version of Pokemon, I strongly hope they throw something in there for the people that have played the same storyline three or four times. It's just starting to get old. And the story shouldn't be a weak point in an RPG, that's just not right.

Gameplay: 8/10

Alot of this game feels like an attempt to recapture the feeling of the older generations of Pokemon games-back before gaming had evolved to the point where graphics and presentation became at least as important as the gameplay itself. And it does this nicely. You train a team of six Pokemon and begin your quest to become a Pokemon master. Sure, it's not particularly innovative (see "Story" section), but it's fun and a very nice game to play. The big new thing for this generation however (Wi-fi play) is bittersweet. Trading is great in concept because of how catching every Pokemon is an ambition everybody has, but few ever execute due to the lack of any game having all of them. Battling is just a fun little diversion to do with friends and we all enjoy it, but barely ever actually do it because of the messy cords and the inconvenience of getting together. Once you get online however, it's a total mess. Trading never works because of all the bastards who won't give you a fair trade, but are putting up a Bidoof and asking for a Palka. Battling is often corrupted by AR users (please stop, it's one thing if you ruin the game for yourself but don't ruin it for anyone else). Nintendo really needs to put a stop to this somehow. But until then, the ideas are great on paper and if you can find somebody who is willing to make fair trades and battles, it can be alot of fun.

Replay Value: 10/10

This is where the game really excells. I'm sure there are lots of gamers like me who want to be getting their money's worth out of a game before they shell out anywhere from twenty to sixty bucks for another one. Diamond/Pearl has about a fourty hour storyline to start with (probably a bit more if you do the necessary leveling and don't run from fights). And for the most hardcore, you can "Catch 'em all". While this isn't something most of us strive for, the opporitunity is certainly there for the most hardcore of fans who really want this game to last them a long time. (I have a friend who completed Emerald with all of the Pokemon in no less than two-hundred hours, and another one who is up to two-hundred and fifty with this game and still not done). So while you may not feel compelled to do it all, there's anywhere from two to three hundred hours for you in this game, and just finishing with the bare minimum will give you at least fourty.

Conclusion: 9/10

If you're a Pokemon fan, a psuedo-casual RPG fan, a hardcore RPG fan, a NIntendo fan, or pretty much anybody short of those who truely require variety and those who don't have a soul, you will enjoy this game.

Pros:
+Old school graphics/music (If you're into that)
+Fun gameplay
+Long story
+Wi-fi
+Lots of replay

Cons:
-Old school graphics/music (If you're not into that)
-More of the same
-Bittersweet Wi-fi
-Replay only for the dedicated

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/07

Game Release: Pokemon Pearl Version (US, 04/22/07)