Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Released in U.S. 61
The wait for 'catch-em-all' folks in the US is over; Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are out today. Joystiq and Kotaku have coverage of yesterday's launch party at the Nintendo Store. "There was a station set up to play the card game, manned by adults who were there to teach the game to kids. Finally there was a station where Junichi Masuda, the game director, and Shigeru Ohmori, the game design lead, signed autographs for those old enough to know who they are. It may have been meant to push Pokémon merchandise (the guys at the card station handed out thin packs of cards to every kid who came by) but it also meant there was something for everyone." 1up and Gamespot, meanwhile, are offering up reviews of the game. Both hand it the respectable score of 8.5, saying that it's still a great game experience but dinging the developers for not moving the series forward in any innovative directions.
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So.... (Score:3, Insightful)
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With the pokemon red/blue/green/yellow, pokemon red/blue was what the main pair was for the original game... in the US. Pokemon green was Japan only, and I believe it held the place of pokemon red there. Pokemon yellow was, I think, Pokemon Blue, but you could start with pikachu.
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In a sense, but the Wifi abilities actually makes it worth it though. No more having to find people in the person to battle with.
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They've also generally refined each of the Pkmn's that were already there, tweaks to the battle system, time/date sensitive events (like Animal Crossing), sortakinda 3d map, and adapts the game to the DS hardware (touch screen menus, notetaking, sleep mode so you can put it down w/o saving). But the online is the biggest change by far
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Re:Wrong demographic for this crap? (Score:5, Informative)
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Same applies for the Yu-Gi-Oh games for the DS. The Anime is horrid, but the games are really fun.
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Correction... (Score:2)
Fixed.
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Pokemon (Score:2, Funny)
Gotta buy em all, gotta buy em all.
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Re:Oblig... (Score:4, Funny)
('course, we actually had 151...)
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Fads usually don't last this long, though, so I think it's safe to say that the formula works for a reason. Whoa there, cowboy, no need to add chocolate syrup to that milk just yet.
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Not to nitpick.. (Score:2)
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Been playing a bit since I got it last nite... (Score:1)
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I guess if you didn't, the additions are minor. Shrug, the only reason I really picked this up was for the WiFi. That, and pokemon is a great JRPG lite.
Fantastic Game (Score:4, Informative)
Yet I am 18 and greatly enjoy the game. It's got a fun storyline, a wider variety of Pokemon (the magic number is now 493), and at long last decent graphics.
And I know I'm not the only one. I moderate the Diamond/Pearl forum over at Bulbagarden [bulbagarden.net], which is home primarily to a number of older fans, many of whom are older than I am. Say what you will, this game is not just for children. Just because there's no graphic violence and language in it, that doesn't mean it's not fun by a long shot.
That said, I don't own a copy of the English version yet (still playing with my Japanese import of Diamond), but I'll be getting it soon enough.
- Trip
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DS Emulators? (Score:1, Offtopic)
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No$gba can run these games. That's a gba emulator written in assembly.
I ran this game just a few hours ago and it seemed fine.
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Wrong Date (Score:1)
My impressions. (Score:3, Interesting)
Not that anyone asked for them, but here are my initial impressions on the game...
The last Pokemon game I played which was Pokemon Blue for the old Gameboy Pocket and this game despite being significantly more complex is very reminiscent that game. I have to say I don't agree with the complaints that the game should have been more innovative. Sometimes I don't want a game to be innovative. I want a game to adhere to a tried and true formula which I know I will enjoy. I don't want to feel alienated because the developers decided to completely revamp gameplay. I wouldn't want Pokemon Diamond/Pearl to be some stylus-based puzzle game.
Perhaps if I had played all the Gameboy Color and GBA version I would be asking for something different myself. But there are already plenty of other Pokemon games with differing gameplay styles on the DS.
I like the game. It's got nice vibrant graphics. When traveling around the world environments are subtly done in 3D; it all looks like it's sprite-based, but the environments are all 3D. Another neat thing is that a player can cross the entire world seamlessly. The outside world isn't broken into sections. Interiors and caverns, of course are the exception.
The Pokemon, in fights, don't really look any different than what I've seen of the GBA Pokemon games. The lack of character animations is a slight disappointment. But I can appreciate the amount of production involved in dealing with over 400 Pokemon, especially since some aren't much more than blobs.
The background music is decent. But Pokemon sounds leave a lot to be desired. Most consist of odd digital squawks. When I first encountered some of those sounds I couldn't help but momentarily wonder if those audio clips weren't corrupt.
Fights are entertaining but can get tedious sometimes, especially since Pokemon can be taken down more easily than a player character in most conventional RPGs. Walking through tall grass or caverns can bring an absurdly high number of random encounters. Then there are the jerks who stand around waiting to challenge the player. I like the interface, especially during fights. It's colorful and easy to follow. There are some inconsistencies, however, particularly with the inventory. It's like a different team worked on that aspect of the game.
One thing I've noticed is that this game has longer save times than any other DS game I've played to date. In some cases it even warns that it has to save "a lot of data".
The minor issues aside I do enjoy the game. It does get addicting; I can't help but wonder why Nintendo hasn't considered an MMO version of the series.
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2nd : Two new types to balannce psychic. split special into special attack/special defence.
3rd : Limited EVs, so pokemon now have a max stat level instead of in previous games where the more you killed the higher their stats would go even if it was unnatural (killing 3 million geodudes = +400 to defence stat for example). Also added Double battles
4th : Moves are now
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Diamond or Pearl (Score:1)
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The only difference that I know of is that each offers some different monsters, I'm assuming late in the game. Otherwise, I doubt you'd ever notice the difference. And with the trading functionality I assume you could acquire anything with a single copy of the game.
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If you don't have any Wi-Fi access, ask your friends (if they play) which one they're getting, and get the one they didn't get.
If you do have Wi-Fi access (either through a Wi-Fi router, or Nintendo's fancy USB dongle that only works on Windows), just pick the one with the pkmn you think looks better on the cover, since you'll be able to trade for everything else online.
The only major differences are which pkmn are available in the wild
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I bought my daughter Diamond and she's been playing that thing non-stop since we picked it up on Sunday.
She's turned into a Pokemon nut . . . I'm sure she'd love to learn about trading characters, etc. online, can you recommend any good sites that explain the trading and stuff?
Thanks.
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Thanks for the info . . .
They mess up nearly everything... (Score:1)
An honest review from a jaded veteran (Score:2, Informative)
I didn't play another Pokemon game since.
It's been 9 years now - I'm married, going to college, and working. When I heard about Diamon