With the reveal of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the big question that fans are asking is whether it’ll be faithful to the original games or include new elements like the remakes of the past such as 2009’s Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Ordinarily, Pokemon remakes stick close to the original while containing elements of the current generation but it is unclear whether this will happen this time due to the stark contrast of art style and the titles being outsourced and not worked on directly by Game Freak. Here’s a list of features I think would make these remakes the definitive way to play these classic games!
Platinum Elements
Diamond and Pearl have already received a lot of improvements with their third and definitive title Platinum, and those should be considered for the remake, rather than discarded to the past like a Pokémon released from the box. The first one being the expanded Pokédex, 60 Pokémon were added to the main game’s story and these should definitely not be locked behind the post-game again. Ideally, I’d rather there was a lot more choice for the game with new Pokémon being introduced to the region but at the very least these 60 need to be in the main story. Platinum also introduced some post-game elements that expanded the Sinnoh region further and allowed the player to explore and uncover more mysteries, from the Regi trio to the Interpol operative Looker and the Charon subplot, these were great additions that make revisiting Platinum more desirable than the original duo.
Giratina has been established as an integral part of the SInnoh lore for 12 years now, going back on this and having him appear as a secret encounter at the end of a cave just doesn’t cut it for the God of Antimatter. I’d love to see a Delta Episode-inspired subplot that brings the player to the Distortion World to encounter this legendary Pokemon again, and they absolutely need to include his ‘Origin Forme’. Lastly for the Platinum enhancements, the improved gym leader and Elite Four fights are an obvious choice, but the ability to re-battle them in the survival zone needs to be retained, and do I even need to mention the long-missed Battle Frontier?
GB Sounds
For better or for worse, a lot has changed in the 15 years since Diamond and Pearl first hit the shelves and there have been a lot of features introduced that would improve the core experience if implemented into the remake. Starting with Heart Gold and Soul Silver, the most definitive remake to date, GB Sounds is an item that allows you to dynamically switch between the old school original soundtrack and the new score, this could easily be implemented using a similar item called ‘DS Sounds’ so we can relive the good old days with our ears.
New Pokémon and Alternative Forms
There have been a lot of new games since Diamond and Pearl hit shelves in 2007. As a result, there are nearly double the roster of catch-able monsters now, it would make a world of difference to include some of these newer Pokémon that can call Sinnoh their home too, especially considering the game is in dire need of certain types(I’m looking at you Fire Type). There have also been regional variants of existing monsters that have been introduced which would be cool to see included. Battling Tourist trainers from Alola like Sun and Moon had for Kantonian forms would keep battling interesting and see the return of fan favourites like Alolan Meowth and Galarian Zigzagoon.
Arguably the most in-demand forms for the game though are the Mega Evolutions. These powerful forms give weaker Pokémon more potential and stronger ones new options, and with many of the capable ones appearing in Sinnoh it seems that this would be an addition that would make old and new fans very excited to battle again in these games. Just thinking about battling Cynthia with a Mega Garchomp gives me shivers.