Pokemon Sword and Shield are more than a year old at this point. So naturally, fans are expecting remakes of the beloved 2006 DS titles, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. By now you’ve probably heard that a lot of people were disappointed by Sword and Shield. If the inevitable Diamond and Pearl remakes carry Sword and Shield’s worst aspects, do we even want them?
Remakes will probably happen.
Since 2004, Gamefreak has been remaking older Pokemon games for the newest hardware. Starting with Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, remaking older titles has been a standard of the series. What started out as a necessity for players to access the original 151 on the Gameboy Advance has now become a staple that people have come to expect.
Most of these remakes have been fantastic, and have been met with plenty of positive criticism. A lot of people even consider them to be some of the best of the series. The problem is, that if Pokemon Diamond and Pearl‘s remakes follow the quality level of Sword and Shield, it may be the death blow to the series for a lot of people.
Sword and Shield, in brief
Pokemon Sword and Shield changed everything. They have become infamous as not only some of the most controversial games of the Pokemon franchise, but some of the most controversial games, period. I will not pretend that they are good entries to the series. From development, to release, to DLC, Sword and Shield have been little but a slap in the face to longtime fans.
Whether it’s Sword and Shield’s lack of polish and lack of detail, or its copy-pasted plot, graphics, and animations, they are just bad. I could go on for pages about why I resent just about everything Sword and Shield did, I’ll just leave it at this: I don’t like them.
While I don’t blame the developers themselves, it’s clear that something went wrong during the development of these games. No matter what the cause was, Sword and Shield show a clear decline in quality. Even compared to Pokemon Sun and Moon, they don’t hold up for me. With that said, it would be miserable to see this lack of quality carry over into a Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remake for the Switch.
Don’t ruin our childhoods
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, and subsequently Pokemon Platinum, are timeless classics. Some consider them a revival of the series. They’re some of the best entries into the main-series games, and replaying them is like stepping into a time machine where Gamefreak and/or The Pokemon Company cared about the quality of their games.
This isn’t even nostalgia talking, they’re not my personal favorites, and I missed out on them when they were new. I simply don’t want them to be bastardized.
I’m done with Pokemon If Diamond and Pearl’s remakes are anything like Sword and Shield. I only speak for myself, but I have a feeling a lot of other people feel the same way. Hopefully, Sword and Shield is just a one-time miss for Gamefreak. Maybe Diamond and Pearl will be remade perfectly and everyone will love them. But I’m not holding my breath.
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