REVIEW: Pokemon Diamond for Nintendo DS

REVIEW
Pokemon Diamond
Nintendo DS
Nintendo/ Game Freak

Reviewed by: Eric Leamen

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have sold like hotcakes in Japan, and now they are here on North American shores. The question is: have all of the Pokemon fans grown up and away from the series? Considering the sales of Diamond and Pearl in the US as of now, I'd have to say no. Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl are the first true Pokemon games to land on Nintendo's DS system and deserving of the title!

Pokemon Diamond starts out just as all of the past Pokemon games have. You're a young boy or girl living in a small town in a vast world, in this case, Sinnoh. You've got a mom, a Wii, and a best friend who tursn out to be your rival. Soon after starting the game, you spot a man named Professor Rowan, who forgets a briefcase with three Pokeballs in it near the lake. You and your friend each pick a Pokeball and fight with the Pokemon inside. Rowan lets you keep your Pokemon, and gives you a Pokedex. Thus, your journey as a Pokemon trainer begins!

The starter Pokemon is Diamond are Turtwig (the grass type Pokemon), Piplup (the water type Pokemon), and Chimchar (the fire type Pokemon).

Of course, the objective of Pokemon Diamond is to battle your way through the world of Sinnoh and fill up your Pokedex for Prof. Rowan. Along the way, you'll be challenged by gym leaders, trainers, Team Galactic, and you'll develop one strong Pokemon team. There are of course eight gym leader, one in each of the main cities you visit. As you progress through the gyms, the leaders will become increasingly more difficult to beat. Of course, at the end of your journey, lies the Elite Four, a group of four trainers who are way stronger than the Gym Leaders.

The main quests of Pokemon Diamond include filling up the Sinnoh Dex, defeating all eight Gym Leaders, defeating Team Galactic, collecting the Legendary Pokemon (there are FOUR in Pokemon Diamond) and defeating the Elite Four.

To fill up the Sinnoh Dex, you'll need to venture throughout Sinnoh, encountering wild Pokemon and fighting other trainers. Each time you see a new Pokemon, it will be added to your Pokedex. In the Sinnoh Dex, there are 150 Pokemon. Once you see every one, Prof. Rowan will update your Pokedex, which is now called the National Dex. The National Dex allows you to see every Pokemon from the entire Pokemon universe.

The Gym Leaders are the main objective of the game, at first. In each big city you visit, there will be a Pokemon Gym. A tip for beating Gym leaders is to always stock up on potions before battle, and to make sure your Pokemon are all strong and healthy. What tends to happen when you are raising a Pokemon team, is you use your starter Pokemon for everything, and the other are much weaker. Each Gym Leader has a chosen type of Pokemon, for example, Roark, uses Fighting type Pokemon.

Team Galactic replaces Team Aqua/Magma, or ultimately Team Rocket. Team Galactic wants to capture all three of the Legendary Lake Pokemon and awaken either Dialga or Palkia. You'll fight members and bosses of Team Galactic throughout your journey.

There are Four Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Diamond: Dialga, Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit. If you are playing Pokemon Pearl, Dialga will be replaced with Palkia. You free Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit from the clutches of Team Galactic before you can catch Dialga. Once Dialga is caught or killed, you can proceed to catch the other three. Each one has a different method to being caught, and if you can't do it on your own, I suggest using a walkthrough.

Dawn is another character that you'll encounter throughout the game. She is Prof. Rowan's assistant, and you actually team up with her to battle a few times. Dawn will help you out and even give you stuff periodically.

Controls in Pokemon Diamond are the same as the Pokemon games before it. You'll use the DPad to move, A Button to select, and B Button to cancel. You can assign an item to the Y Button for quick and convenient access. During battle, the Touch Screen is used to select Attacks, Items, Pokemon, or Run. The Touch Screen is also used to access your Pokemon Watch, or Poketch. The Poketch is given to you in the first city you visit and is used for various things. You'll obtain new Poketch apps throughout the journey. Some main Poketch apps include the clock, notepad, calculator, and map. One gym actually requires you use the Poketch calculator to get to the leader.

As always, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are RPGs. There are a variety of items that you can find or buy at the PokeMart. Technical Machines (TMs) and Hidden Machines (HMs) are in the game as well. HMs like Surf, Fly, Rock Smash etc make a return in Pokemon Diamond. You'll also collect a number of Key Items that each serve a purpose in completing the game. Pokemon Diamond introduces a number of brand new Pokeballs, including the Safari Ball, Dusk Ball (works better in dark caves or nighttime), Timer Ball (the more time spent battling, the more effective), Heal Ball (heals a captured Pokemons ailments), and more!

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl do have bumped up graphics. Although it is still a 2D game, certain elements like trees do appear to pop out. Although not amazing, there is a deffinate improvement from past Pokemon games.

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl use the DS's WiFi capabilities as well. You can not only battle with friends in the same room, but using Nintendo WiFi Connection, you can battle and trade with trainers worldwide! To access all of the NWC features, you go to the upper floor of the Pokemon Center. Diamond and Pearl also introduce the Underground, a series of huge tunnels in which you can link up with friends, and even create your own Secret Base!

I could go on and on about every single feature in these new Pokemon games, but to truly experience it, you need to go out and buy it! Pokemon Diamond and Pearl live up to what fans expect from this amazing series of games!

Gameplay: 9
Story: 8
Graphics: 7
Controls: 8
Re-playability: 9
Tilt: 9

Editor's Score: 8.3/10