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Do You Like Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl?

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Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
Just on this: *or* actually implementing the weighted Exp system like gen 5, 7, and 8 have. That can go a long way in balancing/catching up
Heck, maybe both. The weighted exp system is certainly miles better than XY's, tho it still has it's flaws in my opinion, as pokémon that don't even participate in battles shouldn't be rewarded with a huge boost in exp. for a higher level opponent fainting when they didn't even contributed with anything in first place, let alone defeated the thing. It leaves no motivation to sending out a weaker pokémon to train them better. Not much of a problem when you are simply grinding pokémon in the postgame, but it kinda affects your bond with your team and the challenges you face when you are playing the main story.

But at the very least when you are overleveled, it stops you from overleveling even more and that is something i truly appreciate, especially after experiencing how much overleveling can affect my enjoyment out of major battles after XY introduced that broken system. It's often said that nerfing the exp. share or allowing to turn it off would only amount artificial difficulty, when in reality things like the Totem, Volo and Raid battles are already the very definition of artificial difficulty created to balance the overleveling problems, since they have completely unfair advantages such as stat boosts, shields, more mons/moves per turn and etc. And honestly i don't even find that necessarily a bad thing, because even if it's artificial difficulty, it still is better than no difficulty at all, like it happened with Gen 6.

Something else i had considered was an upgradable exp. share, which would gradually give more exp. to your entire team, as you progress in the game. That way, you can still face a bit of challenge in the main story, while having motivation to keep going forward, and when you are finally in the postgame you can finally use the broken version to grind, as level differences are not as important to online battles or battle facilities, and at that point everyone is tired of grinding. Tho i reckon it would be better to give the last upgrade after the final sidequest.
 
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Teravolt

cilan lives forever in my heart
I personally enjoyed XY more, mainly due to it's innovations, like the 3d graphics, fairy type, mega evolutions, being able to interact with your pokémon outside of battles through Pokémon Amie, easier EV training and breeding, being able to rest at the battle facility without being forced into 7 battles, prolly the best berry farming feature of the series, having the first large scale cities like Lumiose... I also liked how much variety of Pokémon it had and how you could easily build your team with any pokémon you liked, which is the complete opposite of BDSP.

But yeah, both the story and postgame were severely lacking, not to mention it was far too easy, even the Gym leaders and E4' teams were atrocious. Sadly some of this stuff could have been easily fixed, especially the lack of difficulty by reducing more the exp that non battling pokémon were receiving aswell as giving the important trainers better teams, including mega evos for the more advanced ones. Viola could have had a lvl 10 Surskit with better def/hp to last just a bit more, a lvl 12 Heracross (just to make him mega evolve on rematches) and a lvl 14 Vivillon with better moveset like Gust, Struggle Bug, Infection and Poison/Stun Spore. Grant could have gained a lvl 20 Carbink to support his lvl 25 Amaura and Tyrunt with moves such as Reflect or Light Screen (alter its movepool if needed) so they wouldn't go down as easily (especially Amaura with it's many weaknesses). Korrina should have used Lucario instead of a weakass Mienfoo during the gym match and she should have gone for a Pangoro instead of Machoke to counter at least a few psychic types. Since you unlocked megas by that point, Ramos could've greatly benefited from a Mega Venasuar while exchanging his useless Weepingbell for something that could actually counter fire types even if just a little bit like possibly Ludicolo. As for Clemont, he should have gained a Mega Manectric, maybe exchanged one of his pokémon for W-Rotom or Magnezone, since they are stronger then emolga/magneton and fit the gym theme, but still can counter ground types since one has levitate and the other has a move that gives immunity to it while also having Sturdy to survive a possible OHKO. Valerie's Mawile should be able to mega evolve otherwise it serves no purpose and she should have had something like an Azumarill to help protect the Mawile from fire types. Olympia could have a Mega Medichamp and exchanged one of her pokémon for Malamar since it's half dark type. Wulfric could've used a M-Abomasnow, a bulky water type for the fire types like Walrein and an Aurorus to set up Aurora (that should have been possible from the get go), while keeping Cryogonal and Avalugg.

For the E4, they *must* have more than 4 mons with at least one of them being able to mega evolve. Like, give a m-houndoom, talonflame, chandelure, pyroar and torkoal or delphox to Malva. For Drasna, a m-garchomp, noivern, dragalge, tyrantrum and druddigon. For Wikstrom, a Klefki, Aegislash, Probopass, Escavelier/Scizor and M-Aggron. Meanwhile, Siebold could've used a Clawitzer, Barbaracle, Starmie and Mega Gyarados (i know Lysandre has one already, but i reckon there are better megas for him if we change his team a bit, like maybe m-scizor or charizard x/y depending on the version). As for the Champion, there is little we can do to save the awful synergy due to the Kalos-only pokémon theme, so powering up their lvls, stats and moves would be the only solution.

Overall, all of XY's major opponents could all benefit from higher levels, IVs and EVs, possibly even having hold items too. Since they have so many advantages in this game like the new exp. share, the affection and countless mega stones to use, boosting the opponents up this much really wouldn't really be too much.

Now, at least when it came to distributing the EVs and IVs for the gym leaders, that is something BDSP did much better, even if some of the teams weren't exactly the greatest. The exp. share is also just a little more balanced, making the level differences not as bad, at least in certain parts.

As for XY story, they truly should have gotten rid of that beauty motif, as it made absolutely no sense. Overall, Lysandre's goal is as underdeveloped as it gets. I feel like they could have leaned more towards the fact that he truly admires Pokémon but he hates that they are being used as tools for humans' selfish intentions, therefore, he is willing to create a world without them. That way the plot would focus more on why pokémon are so important to us and why we should protect them just like they protect us, which is a theme that fits the series' narrative much better than simply human genocide. It's also something that we have witnessed a lot more throughout the series, with each evil team using legendaries for their own selfish reasons and causing destruction all around them. That is something we have seen for years, while Lysandre's bad interactions with humans is not really something that got explored, not even on it's own games.

Speaking of which, i would not have AZ as ancient giant immortal but still as someone who used Pokémon to his own benefit and caused people like Lysandre to suffer. It would be better if AZ had imprisoned Xerneas and used his power to ressucitate his pokémon creating a disturbance between the balance of life and death while causing Yveltal to go rampage, destroying whole villages, like the one where Lysandre possibly lived. Maybe he could have taken Lysandre under his wing after feeling guilty for the destruction that the ressurection caused. That would explain why Lysandre knew so much about what AZ had done and why Lysandre is so against beings that powerful existing. Meanwhile, the Ultimate Weapon could have been created to suck life out of every pokémon regardless of where they are instead of simply throwing a beam that erases both human and pokémon. After all, it would make no sense for him to do all of that to protect humans from themselves when he is already killing a bunch of them.

It would also be nice for the rivals to have character arcs. Like, maybe make Trevor come out of his shell a bit more and have him act more proactive, less shy. Make Tierno understand that he needs to put more effort into training his team. Make Shauna be less superficial, slowly growing to care more and more about helping pokémon. For the opposite gender counterpart, i honestly felt like they were a bit unnecessary, only serving as a tutorial and mega absol exposition, when any other rival could have done that. If it were up to me, i would just get rid of them and have Tierno choose the starter that is strong against you. They could all have a mega aswell. At least that would make them a bit less of a pushover.

But i gotta say, BDSP made me realize how much Platinum's small addittions greatly benefited the storyline. Sometimes characters literally appear out of nowhere, spew 2 phrases with no emoction whatsoever and disappear without explaining anything. Barry and Cyrus are the one that suffers from this the most. Even with just a few more lines and a single new important character (Looker), Platinum was able to make the characters more real and explore better the motivations behind their actions. Overall, BDSP story is not as bad as XY, but it's far from being on par with the third version or even enjoyable in my opinion.


For the postgame, i feel like at least 2 other locations and battle facilities would have made it way better. Couriway Town has a railway that leads absolutely nowhere and Coumarine has a bunch of boats that you cannot sail. Why not take advantaged of them to take you somewhere else? One of these places could have had a rental mode like the Battle Factory or Trainer Agency, while the other could have had a exploration mode like the Pyramid from Emerald and the Whitetree/Blacktower from BW or even a tournament mode where a few previous characters would appear with megas, maybe not as many as the PWC, but at least a few. Either would be fine. It would also be fine if beating their leader would given you a stone.

The rewards given by the other sidequests should've also been improved. Chatelaines should've had rare megas (maybe the exclusive counterparts) and awarded you with their stones for beating them. In the Looker Bureau episode, Essentia and Xerossic should have offered a much harder battle and Malva could have given us a Houndoominite to award us for helping her to clear her name. Unlocking all of the stones should have allowed you to discover a bit more about their lore through Sycamore, even if just to tease a bit of what you would eventually find out in ORAS. Certainly that would be better than simply waiting the time locked events (or changing the clock) just to find them on the ground with absolutely no challenge nor explanation as to why they even exist in the first place. Sure, they could still keep a few of them spread out through the region and easily obtainable as long as you explore, but i feel like we don't need to give that many stones that way when permanent good TMs motivate players to explore just aswell.

In regards to BDSP postgame, i wouldn't exactly say it's much better. It only has a single facility with less modes and freedom than the Maison. The postgame villain sidequest (if we can even call it that) isn't exactly as elaborate nor moving as the Looker Bureau. They do have a few new areas to explore, but they are barren without Platinum improvements.

However, i will say this, they definetly have way better postgame battles to grind and more legendaries to catch than XY. It's just a little sad that the legendaries don't offer as much of a challenge to catch like they used to, other than finding some of the necessary items on the Underground.
Meanwhile, GF could easily fixed XY's problem by giving some of ORAS legendaries to XY, since ORAS already had soooo many.
Greatest essay I’ve read in a long time.
 

Zadent

Well-Known Member
Heck, maybe both. The weighted exp system is certainly miles better than XY's, tho it still has it's flaws in my opinion, as pokémon that don't even participate in battles shouldn't be rewarded with a huge boost in exp. for a higher level opponent fainting when they didn't even contributed with anything in first place, let alone defeated the thing. It leaves no motivation to sending out a weaker pokémon to train them better. Not much of a problem when you are simply grinding pokémon in the postgame, but it kinda affects your bond with your team and the challenges you face when you are playing the main story.
I guess I come from this from a slightly different place. While yes, they didn’t actually battle, from a gameplay side, I found it encouraged me to actually be able to use those mons since they weren’t so underleveled compared to the rest of my team, and I could keep it all fairly balanced without needing to do that “send in, immediately swap” grind until it was caught up. Even got me bringing in other lower pokemon to train them up as I went (like the typical baby pokemon gift). Never really enjoyed doing that, and never really understood the thrill of the level grinds. But that’s just where I come from with that take.
 

Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
I guess I come from this from a slightly different place. While yes, they didn’t actually battle, from a gameplay side, I found it encouraged me to actually be able to use those mons since they weren’t so underleveled compared to the rest of my team, and I could keep it all fairly balanced without needing to do that “send in, immediately swap” grind until it was caught up. Even got me bringing in other lower pokemon to train them up as I went (like the typical baby pokemon gift). Never really enjoyed doing that, and never really understood the thrill of the level grinds. But that’s just where I come from with that take.
No, i definetly agree. It's a good thing they all receive exp, but i don't think they should receive as much as they do now, as it's very easy to overlevel throughout the main story, even with the weighted system. Personally, i think giving us that much exp. right from the start is a bit unnecessary, since leveling already happens so quickly early/midgame.

We can try to rotate, however, it's quite frustating having to leave your favorites behind so often just to keep a bit of the challenge and even then you still end up a bit overleveled somehow. And i don't really want to skip npcs/trainers either, as i feel like i am missing out on the experience.

This is just an idea, but i think games like XY and BSDP could have greatly benefited from an upgradeable exp. share that can be turned off for your own benefit. For example, at the start of the game it would give 75% for battling pokémon and 40% for non battling pokémon, while, when it's turned off, you'd receive 100% for every pokémon that fought, but non battling pokémon would receive none. The weighted system would still be there, just slightly reduced to not boost your exp. as much when the opponent has a higher level (it would still boost tho).

Then late or postgame, you coud upgrade the item so battling pokémon would receive 100% and non battling pokémon would receive 50%, just like it originally was. After all, it becomes a bit harder to gain levels later on with the weighted system when the trainers on the routes become considerably underleveled. Tho, they would still have to keep the special battles around the same level range as yours.

Heck, the key item could have even smaller percentages at the very start of the game and more gradual upgrades before reaching 100/50, just to make the gain more balanced throughout the main story, but to know exactly which percentage would be the best would need some playtesting.

That is not really something that replaces them putting thought behind the major opponents' teams nor it's something that would work well with every game, but i feel that, at least for these two, it would have helped a lot.

Overall, considering how the exp. share worked in previous games, i still find that possibility quite generous while not being as broken. You'd still be able to train your weak pokémon with stronger ones without going overboard with your entire team. But if it was too much work to playtest this, i would be fine with just having a weighted system with slightly nerfed boosts.

Another alternative to make major battles more balanced would be to have 3x3 gym leaders battles, much like the anime. I have seen fan games do it and i honestly enjoyed it. Offers a more fair challenge as you use the same amount of pokémon as your opponent, but it comes at the expense of leaving someone behind and not being able to grind your pokémon at the gym, which the former is something that i don't like rotating pokémon (tho it wouldn't be as inconvenient, since you wouldn't have to do it all the time). In my opinion, something like that would be better for games that aren't remakes like BDPS, otherwise it changes way too much the experience. That said, i do think it would've prolly worked well with games like XY, tho it's not exactly the ideal solution, it's a cheap, easy one.
 
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Sαpphire

Johto Champion
Okay, to start, yeah, any and all discussion about who is or isn’t a ~real~ fan is… just entirely off the mark. Glad that's over!

Anyway, as a Certified BDSP Art Style Hater, I had to come in and say... I actually don't think I entirely hate it anymore. It looks absolutely tragic on a big TV, and even triggers some migraine issues for me. But in starting up a new file on my secondary Switch Lite, I've discovered that on the smaller handheld screen, it honestly looks fine. It leaves me to wonder if the game was perhaps designed with that specifically in mind, especially as it obviously recalls the original proportions of Sinnoh games. Regardless, it's made the game much more enjoyable for me right now, to the extent that I'm unexpectedly planning a second run. I'll have to impose a few restrictions to make it a bit less easy in the early-to-mid-game, though, so that remains a little bit of an issue. However, those accommodations - Set battle style, no following Pokemon to avoid super fast friendship bonuses, and a monotype run - are reasonable enough. BDSP as a result land comfortably above other major titles in the series - like XY, SwSh, BW, and most Kanto titles - for me.

Still wish we'd gotten something like MillenniumLoops' Pokemon Adventures Sinnoh concept, but between these and Legends... I'm feeling pretty good as a Pokemon fan now.
 
Okay, to start, yeah, any and all discussion about who is or isn’t a ~real~ fan is… just entirely off the mark. Glad that's over!

Anyway, as a Certified BDSP Art Style Hater, I had to come in and say... I actually don't think I entirely hate it anymore. It looks absolutely tragic on a big TV, and even triggers some migraine issues for me. But in starting up a new file on my secondary Switch Lite, I've discovered that on the smaller handheld screen, it honestly looks fine. It leaves me to wonder if the game was perhaps designed with that specifically in mind, especially as it obviously recalls the original proportions of Sinnoh games. Regardless, it's made the game much more enjoyable for me right now, to the extent that I'm unexpectedly planning a second run. I'll have to impose a few restrictions to make it a bit less easy in the early-to-mid-game, though, so that remains a little bit of an issue. However, those accommodations - Set battle style, no following Pokemon to avoid super fast friendship bonuses, and a monotype run - are reasonable enough. BDSP as a result land comfortably above other major titles in the series - like XY, SwSh, BW, and most Kanto titles - for me.

Still wish we'd gotten something like MillenniumLoops' Pokemon Adventures Sinnoh concept, but between these and Legends... I'm feeling pretty good as a Pokemon fan now.
I am also searching for a way to increase the difficulty. I have developed some complex point systems for LGE, SH and LA but BDSP presents a unique problem due to its ease. I don't like level caps or monotyping so... Nuzlockes are of course fun but game play being slowed down b/c someone fainted doesn't ADD anything for me. So as things are now I am still contemplating
 

Ryker101

Well-Known Member
I think they went too hard with the 'faithful' part, to the point where they carried flaws from the original games

They should've included more from platinum, like the roster and improved story elements
 

PrinceOfFacade

Ghost-Type Master
I don't think I could ever love them more than the original, but I do like the games very much!

I actually plan on starting over and doing a second playthrough, once Home becomes available.
 

NeganTheSavior

Well-Known Member
The more I think about BDSP, the more I dislike it. It barely has anything to offer that wasn't in the original. Nothing about it really makes me want to pick it up and play it again.
 

WishIhadaManafi5

To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Staff member
Moderator
I still like BD ok. Wish that it had the capture the flag game in it, that it had more in it that was like Platinum version and that we could use touch controls for the puffin making game. It relies too heavily on joystick ones.
 

Det. Viper

That’s Detective Viper to you
When I compare the game to itself I find the game very fun an enjoyable. The gym leaders and elite four having EV/IV/natures was surprising and made me think about what kind of team I planned on using. The story is immersive enough to draw me in and keep me entertained but it isn’t quite too over-the-top with everything. It is one hundred percent the quintessential Pokémon game. In this regard it is great.

However…… this game lacks what previous installments of the remakes brought and that would be something new. There is no new story elements like FRLG brought, there’s no incorporation of the third version like HGSS did and there’s no new features brought in like ORAS did. Out of the four remakes this one would have to rank fourth. Berry farming is as tedious and unnecessary as I remember, there is little to do once Heatran is caught and nothing if everything was caught from Ramanas park. And for that I find the game fairly lacking.

For me, the only great thing I’ll take away from this remake is that I did my best Masuda method breeding through these games coming out with about 10 shinies compared to the next best I did with Sun (only 3) and that just happened to be very good luck on my part and has little to do with the games itself.
 

Tepig Pignite Emboar 969

Well-Known Member
I do not like Brilliant diamond and shining pearl. I never liked the nIntendo Switch to begin with. BDSP in particular don't really feel like remakes because they don't include all the new Pokemon like good remakes do. I remember when I got Omega Ruby I was super excited because it was going to be like the original Sapphire but with all the new Pokemon and with Mega Evolution.

I truly like Platinum better than BDSP. It had the better Sinnoh and I even like Diamond and Pearl better than the remakes by far.
What is it with you people suddenly posting that they don't like the games? I getting sick of it. These are great games! The remakes are better by far!
 
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