Return to Sinnoh in These Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Switch Remakes

February 27, 2021

It may have been over six years since Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire launched, but we’ve always known that the Pokémon remakes would continue at some point. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were our most played Pokémon games ever and now we’ll be able to put even more hours in with the games receiving Switch remakes.

Titled Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and announced during the overnight Pokemon Presents, these Switch remakes aren’t exactly what we expected. Instead of being similar in appearance to Pokémon Sword and Shield, these instead look to be very faithful 3D recreations of the style of the original games. This means we’ve got the same top-down view, chibi overworks graphics and more correctly proportioned characters when the game shifts into battle. It’s an interesting choice, and one that we’re squarely behind.

Beyond a quick look at the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Switch remakes, we also got confirmation the game is being developed by someone other than Gamefreak. Developed by ICLA Inc., who are mostly known as a support studio on games like Dragon Quest XI, this is the first time a mainline game in the series has shifted to another studio. Junichi Matsuda is directing the game on behalf of Gamefreak, so there’s still plenty of oversight from the main team.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are slated for release in late 2021 on Nintendo Switch. For more information, check the official website.