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| Pokémon Diamond Pokémon Pearl | |
|---|---|
| File:Pokémon Diamond Japanese Boxart.jpg File:Pokémon Pearl Japanese Boxart.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Game Freak |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release |  September 282006<br\>  TBA 2007<br\> TBA<br\> TBA |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer, online multiplayer |
Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl are two Pokémon roleplaying games for the Nintendo DS. Diamond and Pearl were released September 282006 in Japan. Release dates for other regions have yet to be announced.
Setting and plot
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl take place in Shin'ou, a region based upon the Hokkaido prefecture of Japan, characterized by mountainous and snow covered areas and three lakes. Each lake is home to a third of a legendary trio of Pokémon; Yuxie is found at Wisdom Lake, Agnom at Aspiration Lake and Emurit at Trust Lake.
The games chronicle the adventures of a new Pokémon trainer as he vys to become the Pokémon League Champion, collecting and training various species of Pokémon along the way. As in all games in the series, Diamond and Pearl feature eight Pokémon Gyms led by Gym Leaders, professional trainers whose expertise lies in a particular Pokémon type. Gym Leaders serve as bosses and reward skilled trainers with badges of merit, key to the advancement of the plot. The protagonist must simultaneously thwart the agenda of the criminal organization Team Galaxy.
Diamond and Pearl begin in Futaba Town. After viewing a television report about disturbances at the lake by a red Gyarados, who first appeared in Pokémon Gold and Silver at the Lake of Rage, the protagonist and his rival travel together to investigate. Near the water they are attacked by Mukkuru and, using a Poké Ball from a briefcase, defeat them in a battle. They discover that the briefcase belongs to Professor Nanakamodo, an expert in Pokémon evolution, and return it to him in Masago Town. After witnessing that a bond has been forged between the young protagonist and his chosen Pokémon, Nanakamodo offers it to the protagonist and asks that he embark on a journey and fill his Pokédex.
As the plot continues, Team Galaxy's motives are made clear. Executives of the organization are named after planets in our solar system, such as Mars and Saturn. Team Galaxy captures Yuxie, Agnom and Emurit, of Shin'ou's three lakes, and imprison them, making it the player's responsibility to free them. Upon releasing the trio, one is able to travel to the sacred shrine atop Tengan Mountain and enter the cave, where the leader of Team Galaxy awakens either Dialga, in Diamond, or Palkia, in Pearl. Dialga and Palkia's powers begin to "overwhelm" Shin'ou, causing the newly free Yuxie, Agnom and Emurit to attempt to stop them. It is then that the player is able to engage in a battle with either of the legendary Pokémon.
Project history
Diamond and Pearl were officially announced on October 92004, though further information, other than their titles, was not divulged. Details concerning the games were slowly unveiled by Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Comic. Early on, CoroCoro released only artwork and statistics for new Pokémon scheduled to debut in the games in its articles. As 2006 progressed, more and more information about Diamond and Pearl were revealed by it, and eventually in-game screenshots and videos were released.
Features and information
Setting and plot
- Diamond and Pearl are set in the new region of Shin'ou, which is formed of 70% of land (montains and terrains) and 30% of water. Some place will be covered by snow.
- Shin'ou features an underground world, which will be used for multiplayer gaming. Players can create and decorate "secret bases", like they could in Ruby and Sapphire, and participate in minigames, one of which will allow the player to dig up fossilized Pokémon.
- A new criminal organization, called Team Galaxy, stars in Diamond and Pearl. A woman named Mars will act as Team Galaxy's boss. Given that she is presumably named after the planet Mars, it has been speculated that the names and themes of executives in Team Galaxy will follow suit.
- The Shin'ou trio is caught by Team Galaxy when the protagonist reached a certain point or criteria of the game. The protagonist teams up with his/her rival and takes down Team Galaxy's members - Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Then, the trios are then freed by the protagonist. The trios stop Dialga or Palkia from overwhelming Shin'ou using their psychic powers (they are Psychic-type Pokemon) at the later of the game.
Gameplay
- The Pokédex now allows one to input their own weight and height to be compared to that of a Pokémon.
- Diamond and Pearl utilize five different time periods, a concept originally introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver; though the scale of the system has grown substantially and now features morning, daytime, afternoon, evening, and night.
- Pokémon Contests, which first appeared in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, return as "Super Contests", with a few similarities and differences. Super Contests consist of three rounds. In the Visual Judgement round, players utilize the DS's stylus to place objects on their Pokémon in order to receive points. In the Dance Judgement round, a player's Pokémon competes with its opponents in a test of rhythm and balance. The final round, Performance Judgement, is identical to the original premise of Pokémon Contests; Pokémon use their attacks to score points.
- Assuming the same role as Pokéblocks, Pofin or Pokébread can be made through use of the touchscreen and fed to Pokémon in order to increase certain traits and the likelihood of success in a Contest.
- Aesthetic differences between male and female Pokémon of a given species is implemented, including aspects such as differently sized or absent distinctive physical features. In the example provided by CoroCoro, a female Wooper has smaller antennae than its male counterpart.
- Diamond and Pearl feature new abilities, such as "Belligerence" (which raises a Pokemon's attack when its opponent is of the same gender), "Natural" (Pokemon always attacks Pokemon with higher stats), "Simplicity" (raises the effect of hold items or attack after effects), and "Unconventional" (disables other Pokemon's ability), a feature introduced in the previous generation of games, Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
- A completely new device known as the Pokétchi, resembling a wristwatch, can be obtained and will play host to a variety of features, including a time management system, a calculator, a method for monitoring Pokémon in the breeding center, a type chart, a radar, a map, an itemfinder, a counter, a wireless link up seach, and drawing pad.
- The Battle Tower makes a return.
- The three starter Pokémon continue the theme from all other Pokémon games, giving the player a choice of a Grass, Fire, or Water-type.
- Pokémon make animated entrances into battle, as revealed in a Japanese commercial.
- Diamond and Pearl feature new Pokémon natures; the ones revealed are "Meticulous" and "Frivolous".
- Diamond and Pearl feature two new Poké Balls, the "Health Ball" and the "Dark Ball", the Health Balls heals the pokemon when it is captured and the Dark Ball makes it easier to capture pokemon in dark places, such as caves or at night.
- Although no new types are introduced, there are new combinations of elements, such as Poison/Dark and Ice/Grass.
- So far all baby pokemon that appear in Diamond and Pearl can be captured in the wild (such as Subomi, the pre-evolution of Roselia, which is found early in the game). Additionally, all pokemon that hatch from eggs start at level 1, as opposed to level 5 (as they had previously).
- There are two new stones called the Light Stone, and the Dark Stone. Roselia and Togetic use the Light Stone to evolve into Rozureido and a previously unknown Pokemon. And Murkrow and Misdreavus use the Dark Stone to evolve into Donkarasu and Muumaaji
Connectivity to other games
- Diamond and Pearl are compatible with the Game Boy Advance Pokémon RPGs after completing a task within the game. The Game Boy Advance Pokémon RPGs will be inserted into the GBA slot of the Nintendo DS, while the Diamond/Pearl copy is in to upload Pokémon.
- Pokémon uploads are restricted to six per day per GBA cartridge, and the player will have to re-capture such transferred Pokémon in a park before transfering from another GBA game.
- The player cannot transfer any of the Pokémon back to the GBA cartridge once they are transferred to their Diamond/Pearl copy, as it was announced that the transfer is permanent.
- The DS's native support for Wi-Fi is employed, allowing players to trade, battle and communicate through "voice chat" online.
- Diamond and Pearl feature Wi-Fi connectivity to the upcoming Wii Pokémon title Pokémon Battle Revolution.
- Diamond and Pearl feature a global trading system, with allows trainers to search for any Pokémon they want, the resulting list showing all the people that are willing to trade that Pokémon, as well as the Pokémon they want in return for it.
Pokémon
- See also: Shinou Pokédex and Fourth-generation Pokémon
On May 142004, the first Pokémon of the fourth generation, Munchlax, was revealed. Following the pre-evolved form of Snorlax a score of other new Pokémon to appear in Diamond and Pearl were revealed in articles in CoroCoro Comic. Early in production, it was intended that Pokémon introduced in previous generations of the series would receive new, pre-evolved forms; Pokémon available from as far back as Pokémon Red and Blue can now be bred to produce new infantile species, such as Chansey who is preceeded by Pinpuku and Mr. Mime by Mime Jr.. Pokémon have also been given new, further evolved forms; for example, Electabuzz can now evolve into Erekiburu and Roselia can now evolve into Rozureido.
The mascots of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were confirmed as Dialga and Palkia, like Groudon and Kyogre before them, when box art for the games was released in late June. Dialga will represent Diamond, as its name suggests, and Palkia Pearl, following in the trend of the past two generations. It is unknown if the two legendary Pokémon will be exclusive to the version they represent, or if they will be universally available as Ho-oh and Lugia were in Gold and Silver.
Impact and Sales
The game's release in Japan has been a huge success, with queues in Japanese stores reaching record lengths. Even though 2,000,000 copies were shipped (1 million copies per game), there have still been shortages in many Japanese stores due to the huge demand.
References
- "Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl". Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- "Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Shinou Underground". Retrieved 2006-08-12.
- "News".
- Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - The Pokédex
- "The time of day". Serebii.net. Retrieved 2006-06-27.
- Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Pokémon Contests
- Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - Pokémon Contests
- Pokémon Diamond/Pearl
- Pokémon Diamond/Pearl - The Pokétch
- August 2006 News
- "New Pokemon Revealed: Naetle, Hikozaru, and Pochama". Retrieved 2006-08-05.
- Commericail At youtube
- Two new Pokéballs
- Pokémon Diamond Preview
- Pokémon Battle Revolution announced for the Wii
- GTS trade system
- "Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl Sold Out". Retrieved 2006-09-28.
External links
- Official Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Page on the Japanese Pokémon Website Template:Ja icon
- GameWatch page on Diamond/Pearl
- Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Page
- Bulbapedia's Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Entry