Introduction

Pokemon is an RPG video game series originally released in Japan in 1995. The original Nintendo Game Boy game came in two different flavors, “green” and “red,” which each featured several exclusive monsters. The original Japanese title was “Pocket Monsters,” but legal issues with the U.S. franchise, “Monster in my Pocket,” forced Nintendo to shorten the game’s U.S. title to “Pokemon,” which many Japanese already referred to the series as for brevity’s sake.

After dozens of entries into the series, the latest two Pokemon games, “Diamond Version” and “Pearl Version” were released on April 22, and have already sold a combined total of more than 1 million copies, making it the fastest-selling DS game of all time.

Review

Like previous games in the series, “Diamond” and “Pearl” have your young character setting off on a journey to collect and raise the creatures known as Pokemon, in order to ultimately defeat master Pokemon trainers, known as “gym leaders,” and become a Pokemon master. Why any mother would let her 10-year-old child journey off alone in a world full of vicious monsters is beyond me.

Also like past Pokemon games, you’ll engage in random battles with wild Pokemon as you walk in tall grass or inside caverns and other wilderness. During battle, you’ll send out one Pokemon of the six you are allowed to carry, to engage in a turn-based contest of might with your opponent. Depending on the type of Pokemon you choose, they may have weaknesses or resistances to the opposing Pokemon. It’s a rock-paper-scissors-type system in which things such as creatures of fire have an advantage against those of grass or electric monsters will easily defeat water monsters.

Battles with other Pokemon trainers will also occur as you encounter them. In these battles, you will be able to win money in order to purchase restorative items or Pokeballs to capture wild Pokemon. Unfortunately, battles tend to plod along with lengthy battle animations and unnecessary gaps between each attack. Luckily, the battle animations can be turned off in the options menu in order to help speed things along.

Differences between the “Diamond” and “Pearl” versions of Pokemon are minimal and have mostly to do with how often certain Pokemon appear in each game, or whether they appear at all.

“Diamond” and “Pearl” also make use of the DS’ internal clock to reflect the time of day within the game. Some Pokemon may only be caught during certain days of the week or specific hours of the day, such as the nocturnal Hoothoot.

The most interesting addition to the new Pokemon games is the use of the DS’ wireless capabilities. You will now be able to battle and voice chat with other players from across the world. Not only that, but you can put Pokemon up for trade online in exchange for a specific Pokemon of your choice, and wait for someone to accept the trade. You won’t even need to be playing the game at the time for someone to accept your offer. It’s a much-needed system that is simpler than waiting for your buddy to get the Pokemon you’re desperately wanting and then physically meeting up with them to trade, as was the case with previous games.

“Diamond” and “Pearl” also feature a maze-like series of caves called the “underground,” where you can search for rare gems and fossils to mine in an interactive minigame. You’ll also be able to set up and decorate a secret base in the underground, as well as play minigames such as “capture the flag” with your friends via local Wi-Fi.

Of course, the DS touchscreen and stylus are also incorporated into this iteration of Pokemon. In battle, touch menus will allow you to quickly select a command.

However, touchscreen capabilities in other parts of the game are underwhelming. With the hundreds of Pokemon you might find yourself collecting within the game, it would have been nice to have touchscreen capabilities that would allow you to quickly swap Pokemon between the many storage boxes and your party. Although vastly improved over the original 1995 game, the Pokemon storage system found here can still be a tedious affair.

Visuals in the game are little improved over the Game Boy Advance games in the series. Although many environments are rendered in 3D, the effect isn’t particularly amazing, as there is no option to rotate the camera or zoom in on objects. Pokemon themselves still have a minimal amount of animation, such as a brief flapping of wings or wobbling back-and-forth, which is shown only when entering a battle or performing an attack. Backgrounds during battle are unfortunately still practically nonexistent.

The game’s music is almost always upbeat and cheerful, much like previous Pokemon games. Although some songs may get a bit repetitive and irritating, most of the music fits the colorful child-friendly nature of the game very well. Older Pokemon from the classic Game Boy games retain their awkward electronic-sounding cries, while newer Pokemon thankfully give more organic-sounding vocalisms that bring them to life.

In the end, those who have enjoyed previous Pokemon games will most likely enjoy this latest addition to the series, but shouldn’t expect a major leap forward in gameplay.

Rather, they’ll find the implementation of several minigames and mediocre features that may sometimes make the game overwhelming. Despite the level of micromanagement players might find themselves dealing with, gamers new to the series will probably find Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl a great place to start.