Don't Watch This Review of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

There's no real point.
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/ arlostuff
TWOOTER: @ArloStuff
BOOKFACE: ArloStuff
This video was edited by the excellent Yoshiller!
/ yoshiller
"Reloaded Installer #11" by LHS.
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#NintendoSwitch #PokemonBDSP #CancelArlo

[@chugga]

This is the first main Pokémon game I have no intention of buying. I've had 13 years to play Platinum, it's one of my favorite games, and I've played it many times before. And like... I could spend a week of my time playing a worse version of Platinum. Or I could just... play any of the many new games that came out around the same time instead? I just don't get why this needs to exist when they're ignoring the better version they already put out over a decade ago. By their own measure, they've acknowledged the flaws with Diamond & Pearl and fixed them, just to... pretend they didn't need fixing later? If I get the urge to replay this, I'm going to choose Platinum every time cause it has more stuff and improves on many things. Arlo's complaints about areas not being visually distinct from one another wounded me, because that is addressed in Platinum. Many areas were given new title sets and new models to make them visually distinct from one another and there's no good reason they couldn't have based this version on those tiles. I get there's logistical problems with including Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina in the same story and you wouldn't be able to have all of that going on at the same time, but everything else was left out for no good reason. I guess at least I'm not alone on thinking the battle backgrounds look amazingly tasty in this game! But that kind of further justifies the blocky style not working for me, the game only looks great when it isn't attempting the style they went for.

[@yungthunder2681]

THE chugga in Arlo comments??? Legendary

[@666slateran666]

You're nostalgia goggles for platinum are showing

[@CosmicTornado1]

@@666slateran666 I've never played a Pokemon game, but I know that when I do eventually play one it's gonna be Platinum followed by Black or White

[@TopherCadence]

I’ll be honest and say I did not read the whole comment. But same. This is the first mainline game I also did not purchase. Sometimes I have wanted to. But kept reminding myself why I should not and will not buy this game

[@bothsidesofthehill69]

Very well said Emile. I too have absolutely no intention of buying this soulless nostalgia product even though I own at least one copy of every game and remake going back to gen 3. A new low for the series, well beneath expectations. Lack of control of exp share also killed it for me...

[@GoldenDragon007]

For being "faithful" remakes, they sure weren't very faithful when it came to the origianal $40 price tag. Funny that.

[@spectrumblastgaming]

They arent on the ds. after all many remade games arent the same price when they came out on their original consoles

[@obamaorb7426]

@@saturnfirefly3714 Saying you can buy it cheaper from a 3rd party doesn't eliminate the fact that nintendo themselves are ripping people off with this mediocre cashgrab

[@tombolt13thexehanort29]

Actually that is due mostly in part to inflation, something people never take into account when discussing prices. If you factor in inflation, BDSP are only about 5 or 6 dollars more then their originals, which is probably due to internal costs being more to develop Switch games.

[@saturnfirefly3714]

@@obamaorb7426 It's hardly a rip off compared to more modern games with microtransactions galore. All game prices are subjective and you only buy from first party from a digital store (minus the Nintendo store in NYC). And until the day we are forced to buy from first party only, third party still counts. (You know, the reason why they want to get rid of physicals).

[@DanSutherland]

@@saturnfirefly3714 The price isn't really defensible. They've cut the design and writing process, it's all programming and art. A game with first party publishers behind it and being the 3rd set of releases from Pokemon on this console and having access to the original code means it shouldn't be hard to program. Creating the art assets can take time and a lot of work. If you aren't The Pokemon Company. The tools they have access to should have more than enough power to do the job efficiently. There's plenty of indies and other companies putting out as good of art or better while charging about half of what these cost individually. The fact they make almost double for very little extra effort also is telling. Nintendo and Pokemon are way too comfortable doing bare bones while making bank. Being compared to the worst of the worst with micro-transactions like EA and Ubisoft validates nothing about these games price. It's a ripoff.

[@thebaconator1883]

It’s almost like hiring people who have never fully developed a game before develop a game that can not be delayed AT ALL is a bad idea

[@pikapi1564]

This right here is all that needed to be said about this game

[@Cuprite1024]

This, *SO* much this. I honestly don't blame ILCA at all, I blame TPC for rushing a support studio to make this anticipated game.

[@urm8matt156]

And the director that developed Diamond and Pearl not Platinum

[@pikapi1564]

@@Cuprite1024the marketing team is the biggest to blame. They marketed it very similarly to ORAS which made us all expect more

[@mariokarter13]

We've gone from people complaining about Game Freak developing the games... to complaining that Game Freak didn't develop the games.

[@keebs5780]

Wait, I’m sorry - they don’t give Cyrus a NAME in the remakes?? He’s literally just called Boss?? Wtf

[@RedPandaNinja6886]

it's crazy how they made him even less of a character even when just copy-pasting the entirety of gen 4

[@Matt-qq4zh]

I literally thought my game was bugged when I saw that. Cyrus being reduced to just "Boss" was just sad. BDSP are a complete joke. Legends Arceus was the far superior Sinnoh game

[@robertlupa8273]

That was the case in DP too apparently. Even after he reveals his name.

[@donnylurch4207]

I stuck up for the art style at first, but it almost immediately became apparent they did not utilize it well. When Barry runs out his door and bumps into the player at the start of the game, he does exactly what his 2D sprite did: He exits the buildings, abruptly is stopped by the player's sprite, and a little digital noise accompanies the text "*THUMP*". Would have been really nice if they animated him running, stumbling, waving his little arms around, and putting on a shocked expression, don't you think? You can get away with "*THUMP*" in a 2D, standard-def, sprite-based game because that's all you can really do with the limits set on you. Here, the higher detail in the fully rendered, 3D models only highlights the complete lack of liveliness and expression in every character action.

[@trixxer872]

Completly agree. And the big reason why that is, is because on pixel art style like in d/p the game is more abstract and leaves a lot of room for imagination, which makes it nicer than the real world. However with such high resolutions and an art style like this with the option to actually make a beautiful world this feels really empty, soulless and disappointing in the remakes and all new pokemon games

[@melvinarturo1020]

My dumbass should’ve listened to my friends💀

[@philipmarable8698]

Exactly. Look at Flannery in the last remake. She’s basically trying to act hammy which you couldn’t see in the original.

[@amongushehehe896]

😂 damn did u guys catch when the game first droped their was a bug where barry would slide instead of walk across the tiles of the "ground"

[@5552515]

I do think that the lighting is actually very good at specific points, but the city/level/character design are all really bad for a 2021 Pokemon title.

[@jsenn8140]

No need to be worried Arlo, this video has ZERO dislikes! That means everyone agrees on how stagnant this franchise is!

[@montyspa6950]

? the dislike count isnt public anymore dude, you have no idea if anyone has disliked or not

[@datdamndog389]

@@montyspa6950 thats the joke

[@aionicthunder]

Well, at the time of this reply, it's at 326 (browser extension)

[@simonw.1223]

@@montyspa6950 r/wooosh

[@stevencraeynest7729]

well honestly, everyone really should agree on that

[@Phantanatomy]

I’m glad to hear the games criticized like this. So often when people try to critique Pokémon they’re just called toxic and an example of why the Pokémon community sucks, when in reality we just hate seeing the Pokémon company put such little effort into games that mean so much to us.

[@Daniel328DT]

I can see some things being a bit picky like his stance on the music, but he does leave some interesting points and that Pokémon Company is capable of creating better and more polished products.

[@thebraveguy9808]

That's the thing. The games just feel so under done lately compared to what they used to be upon release. I know between the games Genius Sonority has made, and ORAS, pokemon can lead to some great product when done right, it just feels like Game Freak and Nintendo don't care AT ALL about the franchise right now and where they're going to take it in the future. Here's hoping Legends Arceus is able to bring a new spark into the franchise though so they can keep making those good games that we've seen from Game Freak before though...

[@natsume-hime2473]

I really wish people would stop blaming the Pokemon Company, and/or Nintendo for the state of Pokemon games. Usually it's because Game Freak is a small studio, that works under incredibly tight deadlines. The small studio part made sense, when they were developing mostly, or entirely 2D handheld games exclusively. On the other hand, they can't just hire people easily. New hires have to be able to do the work and not drag the whole team down, while also being a good fit for the studio. This is compounded, because Game Freak is a Japanese studio. In Japan, due to the work culture, getting new hires is even more difficult than in the west. The tight deadlines are because new generations have to launch at the same time as the anime, both main mangas, and the new generation's merch. The last time there was a delay resulted in the Orange Islands filler arc. That was an expensive problem that Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc all agreed to never let happen again. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were developed by ILCA, who had a much more grand vision for the project. They were told to scale it back to what we ended up getting for two reasons: The first is because, there was no way they could have finished their vision before the 25th anniversary of Pokemon. The second is because The Pokemon Company didn't want the remakes to outshine Legends Arceus. A game which inherited many, if not all of the extra features and gameplay intended for the remakes. You can't fault Nintendo and The Pokemon Company for making these choices either. Since it was the most sensible business choice and the most practical use of resources for the production of the remakes and Legends Arceus. Most people who complain, forget that making games isn't easy and that it's a business, not a fun hobby. Especially with games as stylised as Pokemon games. Where the tiniest assets in the game world have to be hand made, from scratch. Unlike with more realistic games, where world assets are bought from massive repositories of realistic looking assets.

[@Terranigma23]

@@natsume-hime2473 "in Japan, due to the work culture, getting new hires is even more difficult than in the west" Not really true, just looks at Monolith Soft (Xenoblade, Breath of the wild, etc). Each year they do a a big hiring season for graduate students. In 2017 (the release of Xenoblade 2) Monolith Soft had 150 employees. There is only 40 employees who have worked on the big Xenoblade 2 and it already looks 1000 times better than this souless remake. However, yes the resolution and framerate of X2 are not always the best, but at least it looks lively/original and it was their first game on the Switch. In 2021, Monolith Soft have 272 employees. The problem of GameFreak it's their ego. They don't like when people from other company help them or give them some feedback. They are stuck in their own echo chamber.

[@Hiruma_]

People think (valid) criticism is equivalent to hate. They don’t understand that you SHOULD expect more from a AAA game than this.

[@PokeMaster22222]

9:47 Except that, ironically enough, the social aspect of the Underground was BETTER in the originals! The DS games had superior base-building, since you had access to so many different decoration pieces - furniture, dolls, mats, and more. Here in the remakes, it's strictly statues; how boring. Additionally, the DS games had Traps you could plant in the ground, and if someone walked over them (including yourself!) you'd be blown away, or have to pop bubbles, or have altered controls; you could see your own Traps, but not those planted by others. This was sadly removed in these remakes, for unknown reasons.

[@prodfife]

they didnt bring back traps? massive L

[@MrTots-lp4jx]

Yeah I don't get why they even did it, and just feels like they were more prioritizing catching the older Platinum only dex Mon, and Pinsir and Jynx lines for some reason, while leaving Tangla, Yanma, and few other Platinum only dex Mon out? Why?

[@davidalvarez5659]

Not to mention, I didn't had to pay a subscription for bad online service to interact with others.

[@PokeMaster22222]

@@davidalvarez5659 Absolutely true - I've never paid for NSO (complete waste of money), so I didn't even think of that!

[@ruvimperna5532]

@@PokeMaster22222 better than xbox live lol. not that expensive and its just the modern model for gaming online, Nintendo doesn't want to miss out on free money so they are adapting to the meta, can't blame them. Much cheaper online service, you get to play the older NES SNES and N64 games, and it will be important for Splatoon 3 and Pokemon Violet/Scarlett. Your missing out by just having the opinion of "COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY", like what? 20 bucks? You can't pay that? Lol

[@12OzTat]

can you imagine if pokemon consistently improved every game? like we had soaring, megas, pokemon following you etc in all the games? if gamefreak would just do this pokemon would be a god tier series

[@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034]

Megas are actually shitty, instead I think regional is better.

[@ryancarrell3186]

I want the Pokémon version of Smash Ultimate. Bring back EVERY Pokémon, bring back EVERY fan-favorite feature, bring back EVERY reigon, spice em all up with collectables, a fun way to connect it to online play without it being needed, and a GOOD story. It sounds like a lot to ask, but good lord, the franchise is literally worth billions, it's worth more than a lot of tech companies.

[@lysanderxx1664]

@@ryancarrell3186 Are you wanting a fighting game featuring all the Pokemon? Or just a Pokemon game with all the Pokemon?

[@JackAttackgamingXD]

Uhhhh what about Legends Arcues

[@Wiki1184]

@@lysanderxx1664 Could you imagine balancing and making a moveset for that many fighters? That's sounds like a nightmare.

[@TheMeGuy1]

The reason this was doomed from the start is because they wanted to make a “Faithful” remake when they have never once done that. The reason remakes were so successful in the past and why people scream for remakes all the time is because remakes have always been about taking an older game, bringing it up to modern game standards both graphically and mechanically, and adding additional content. Heck, the game with the most content in the entire series is HGSS, a remake, and a ton of that extra content is completely new or revised features that were not in the originals. What we should have seen was Sinnoh with Sword and Shield graphics, or at the very least Sinnoh with a Let’s Go overworld and the regular battle system. That’s not what why chose to make. The worst part about the faithful thing is that it can easily be used as a crutch. So many people argue “Oh they said it’s gonna be faithful, Pokémon fans are so entitled for wanting more.” Faithful is just an excuse to not add content and cut corners. Pokémon fans want and expect more because remakes have set the precedent of adding and giving more almost 18 years ago with the release of Fire Red and Leaf Green and have held that precedent diligently until now.

[@acidous]

to be honest, this remake were doomed from the start, because "current standards" set by SwSh were also pretty low.

[@juice2307]

BDSP is for the people that don’t want a drastic reimagining. Legends Arceus is for those who do. They made it so that we could have our cake and eat it too, yet we complain.

[@LocrianDorian]

I absolutely hate to burst your bubble, but this is the fastest selling Pokemon remake to date. So it is MORE successful than the previous remakes, not less. Maybe you are confusing your own enjoyment with success.

[@acidous]

@@LocrianDorian source? Because I've looked at famitsu weekly sales for the entire month and outside crazy week1 sales, BDSP is doing on par with LGPE (which were pretty average for the remakes). Also, games in general are selling way better than they did 15 years ago, so it's really hard to compare any historical data (for example even crazy popular titles like Battlefield and FIFA have jumped form ~10M sales to ~20M in 2020).

[@johns6014]

I am... fairly certain that BDSP is a Covid Baby. My theory is that Legends Arceus was intended to be the 2021 release title, but for one reason or another - most likely Covid, development on it was stalled for just long enough to prevent it from being ready by November 2021. What this means is that every other aspect of Pokemon, from the anime, the TCG, and the merchandise, was already set in motion for a Sinnoh theme, with no Sinnoh game to fill that slot in time. In response, DeNA was brought on board to through together a rehash of the original Diamond and Pearl as a bandaid to fill the void, and to allow for some stall time for Legends. The issue is, they likely already have things planned for the 2022 holiday, so they couldn't just push Legends back a year, because it would throw the entire machine out alignment - at the same time, they couldn't just drop PLA, because it's too important for them, going forward. From what we've seen already, it has *a lot* of technical advances - some of which were already seeded via Urshifu - and with their development style, it's important for them to get those advances out there to see how well they work, what needs to be changed or fixed, and what can just be dropped going forward. I'm expecting PLA to have some resulting development issues as a result, and there might be some signs of rushing, but I just don't think that BDSP was originally in their roadmap, when they planned out to 2021 and 2022.

[@9millimeter272]

I'm someone who actually has some nostalgia for gen 4 but I totally agree these games are a gigantic disappointment. Much of DP's problems are a result of the game being rushed and the devs not having the time to do everything they wanted, so to remake the games so religiously faithful to the original seems positively absurd. Platinum was an actual attempt to fix and expand upon the originals. Losing content in remakes is not a new thing for pokemon, but I don't think we've ever had a remake that leaves out so much and contributes so little.

[@oscarzxn4067]

The issue is that Platinum was the third version that improved the game the most, Yellow barely improved anything, Crystal's new stuff was not super note worthy, Emerald was great but still it wasn't like a must buy if you had the original and didn't care about the Battle Frontier, but Platinum just fixed a lot of isses with the games and added a lot of content making them obsolete and was worth buying even if you already had DP.

[@bugjams]

I'll die by the idea that HeartGold/SoulSilver was the best Pokemon game. That was when Gen 4 was at it's peak. I'm STILL playing it today. The amount of features it has are absurd, I just wish it had some sort of battle frontier. And I'm a sucker for the pixel graphics (I think Black/White2 looked the best of all the DS games, love those moving pixel sprites). It just feels like every since HG/SS, Pokemon has just been _cutting_ cool features from the game. The occasionally add something back in to make up for it, but it's never enough. I need a Pokemon game with: A battle frontier, re-battle-able trainers and gym leaders, ball capsules, a fashion contest, good post-story content, a safari zone, a bug-catching contest, events that change with every day of the week, daily challenges, camping and cooking, an undergound, secret bases, alternate regions to explore, AND multiple side-stories. That _sounds_ like a lot, but we've had ALL of that across the various generations in some form or another. Is it seriously impossible for them to make a Pokemon game with EVERY good feature, or is every new Pokemon game always doomed to lack many of these features? Hell, just having 5 or 6 of them would be nice, but we don't even get THAT much anymore.

[@Alex-ur7gk]

Agreed

[@spectrumblastgaming]

You still would have been upset if they added all the stuff from platinum to. Truth is they could have remade the game from the ground up and people still wouldnt have been happy. Not defending pokemon or game freak just been around this rodeo many times

[@oscarzxn4067]

@@spectrumblastgaming Every game in the world will let at least some people unfatisfied no matter what, but probably if they added the Platinum content less people would be unsatisfied, and maybe if the remake was a bit more ambitious, at least at the level of Let's Go with a bigger Pokédex and regular mechanics, even less people would be unsatisfied.

[@Bluefire397]

I played Shining Pearl through a copy my friend lent to me free of charge and I still felt robbed.

[@TheNuts1225]

You were robbed of your time and of what it added to your electric bill.

[@_eriklopez_]

LMFAOOOOOO

[@futuregenesis97]

The sheer level of entitlement gamers have these days.

[@RJS2003]

​@@futuregenesis97You say this here, the ONE scenario where it's completely justified. Typical.

[@ichigokage]

@@futuregenesis97 these remakes are lazy. This isn’t entitlement whatsoever you buffoon.

[@sk00ks41]

This SHOULD be seen as unacceptable, but for some reason it isn’t. Why should it be seen as wrong to have minimum expectations for a fully priced game? Compare this to nearly any triple A 60 dollar game and its incomparable. Even older Wii games look better! Battle Revolution IMO is STILL the best looking pokemon has ever been, and that’s just depressing. It’s over 10 years old at this point.

[@Bracketmeister]

Have you played New Pokemon Snap or the Pokepark games? I think they look pretty good.

[@Nintendotron64]

I think the reason is because Pokemon has no real competition. Many other franchises have tried to outdo Pokemon, and they all have failed. Want a good monster catching game? Pokemon is your option. Nothing else.

[@qwertygutierrez1293]

@@Nintendotron64 there are many many reasons why Pokemon games but there being no competition definitely isn't

[@Sharkwizard]

@@Nintendotron64 nothing quite to its level for sure, but hopefully with the advent of TemTem and Nexomon they’ll push Pokémon Company to do more. Legends Arceus is switching up the formula a bit to where some people are uncomfortable but that means they’re at least experimenting and changing.

[@themanbehindyou.216]

And if you tried to criticize the pokemon company for the blatant half-assed work they put out, what do the fanboys say? "If you don't like it, don't buy it". This is why pokemon is going to continue to become shittier and shittier.

[@jeremyelkayam]

The thing Arlo didn't mention about this game that has really been bothering me is the lack of multiplayer modes. The original Diamond and Pearl really went all-out with multiplayer with the GTS, Union room, underground, poffins, and more. In this "faithful" remake, they've removed all functionality from the Union room except battling, trading, and mixing records. No drawing, no chat, no spin trades. And it's limited to 2 people now, a limitation that not even the GBA games had. Underground multiplayer might as well be singleplayer because they've removed almost all of the interactions that you can have with other players. Wi-Fi Plaza minigames are also totally gone. If this is supposed to be a "faithful" remake, they could at least do the bare minimum of including everything that was there in the original. They've said the GTS is coming down the line, but at this point the game's multiplayer is already starting to die off. Even if they fix the multiplayer, it won't be enough to get people playing the game again.

[@DeadBaron]

Nintendo is allergic to multiplayer for some reason. Just look at how you need a smartphone app for basic chat in some games. While other consoles since the Xbox and PS2 have had far better experiences.

[@urm8matt156]

You're right I knew these games wouldn't be holding VGC tournaments and stuff, but I was hoping they would have their own in game ranked leader board and the options to customise the rules. Instead from what I've seen in videos it's stuck to 6v6 singles and doubles with the 20min timer. Also they left out the CTF mode in the underground. The online multiplayer in the grand underground feels really lackluster. I miss being able to talk to other trainers to view their trainer card or ask them to battle/trade.

[@masterhack5767]

The games actually still have all of that but its locked away at the moment. Not overly sure why. 😕

[@nascour5991]

No there is poffins, don't get me wrong though ur right about everything else. It's really sad to see how far Pokemon has fallen and how people can still defend this bs

[@tomcoop9750]

Yeah… They removed multi-battles from battle tower so I couldn’t play together with my brother like we do every Christmas.

[@sokumotanaka9271]

"But a remake should enhance and modernize a game so if feels like the original of the original were made today!" *THANK YOU!*

[@AndroidHarris]

I agree it's not much of a remake when I can say the original is not just arguably but pretty obviously better and platinum as objectively better. To make a good remake you need it to be objectively better any argument about it shouldn't exist. Links awakening and ORAS even fails at this as somethings are arguably better in the originals. However Link between worlds and heartgold and soulsilver are great remakes as they are objectively better.

[@b10productions24]

Honestly, I didn't care about this part of the review because Arlo does not bring up examples of good remakes to prove why Pokemon BDSP is a bad remake. By this logic, Bomberman: Act Zero should be considered a good game.

[@honorous4840]

@@b10productions24 Yakuza Kiwami, Kiwami 2, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Resident Evil2, 3, Halo CE Anniversary, Halo 2 Anniversary, Mafia Definitive Edition, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, Black Mesa, Shadow of the Colossus etc. I could literally go on for hours. Arlo haven't said any examples because literally every other existing remake out there is a better example how to make good remakes than BDSP.

[@b10productions24]

@@honorous4840 I forgot about the RE remakes. I only complained because the opposite extreme came first in my mind. Maybe I should have said something like "if Fate/Extra: Record not only plays nothing like the original Fate/Extra, but was also photo-realistic."

[@chrismdb5686]

@@honorous4840 FF7 Remake isn't a remake, it's a parallel universe sequel or whatever crack was being smoked during its development. It's deceptively titled 'Remake' both to make people thing it's a remake and buy it but also because the cast is rewriting their fate.

[@thatonecommenter7169]

So not only did they take Cyrus's nose, his name is also gone Lmao

[@nmikk10]

I genuinely didn't know they called Cyrus boss in the games. I'm dumbfounded as he was such a big part in platinum. You get more fights and more dialogue with him in platinum so going back to dp just feels like a conscious giant leap backwards. What's the point of removing features from a game of it was already close to perfect!

[@AndroidHarris]

I thought even in dp he was called cyrus. I dont know what these remakes are doing. The exp share and love in battle is not faithful and make a challenging game extremely easy yet they do really weird stuff like "boss".

[@jettlucashayes8508]

@@AndroidHarris the og diamond and pearl are easy until the elite four but that’s just because of the 20lv jump or something crazy like that, it’s almost like people forgot tamishia existed

[@AndroidHarris]

@@jettlucashayes8508 nah dude the gym leaders are tough in the originals. Candice abomasmow was like 5-10 levels above me. Not sure why your spending hours grinding on 5% chanseys in routes 209 and 210 or how many vs seeker battles you do but my team was never overleved and this remake was made like 10x more easy. The originals weren't ever like super hard but they were challenging like playing a zelda game or something. E4 is tough first go especially since Aaron as a bug user has a drapion which isnt a bug lol.

[@AndroidHarris]

@@AlphaXXI oh ok yeah I knew the originals called him cyrus. Such an odd choice for remakes to do. It's like if you remade castlevania 2 Simon's quest but kept all the terrible translations and grammatical errors. I sure do love to *prossess* draculas heart. It's a weird but a very gamer reference.

[@Buglin_Burger7878]

This is similar to Person 2 where a certain WW2 leader was revived... but in the remake they gave him sunglasses and refused to call him buy name using the equivalent of "Boss" (I have to refer to it like this because KZbin doesn't like calling these things by name.)

[@ThatBugBehindYou]

How convenient that such a faithful remake doesn't carry a faithful pricetag.

[@clownfish92]

The original DS versions are just as expensive actually.

[@robomushroom]

@@clownfish92 they weren’t the price went up since release

[@Chance57]

@@robomushroom the value of the dollar has gone down since it's release. It's still comparatively more expensive than the original, but not nearly a bad as it's made out to be without considering inflation.

[@OmnigmaTheMaster]

I love how this upgrade kill the orginal. In most cases you loase abillity to buy orginal. This "definitve" versions most time bring new bugs to the table. Most important thing for me is when prize rise but other than visiuals upgrade there is no new or better content. I can mod most games for free...

[@rantradio]

In a age of Wonder Trade and GTS trading, I'm with you 💯. Pulsating Platinum with all it's newly added content from the original should've been a thing, bit consumers do what they do best.... Consume.

[@bradyseigfried2395]

The problem with the forced EXP share is that it is forced. There is no reason for there to remove the option to turn it on and off.

[@gryffehondor4236]

That's what makes it even worse for me : THERE USED TO BE AN OPTION THERE. It's not like it'd need extra development time, it was already there !

[@16BitKamek]

Yeah. In the other games, they at least had Pokemon's levels accommodate for the exp share some, but it's worse in BDSP because they are the exact levels as in the originals, and not changed to accommodate the exp share. Forced affection bonuses also didn't go either.

[@Commander6444]

I wouldn't even say _that's_ the problem. Plenty of turn-based RPGs distribute EXP to all party members without breaking the game. And honestly, I'm thankful for that. Does grinding _really_ test your skills? Or does it test your ability to wait for a ride at Disneyland? I suspect the latter. No, the real problem is the way that Game Freak overhauled the EXP system _without_ rebalancing the fights in any way. The EXP Share certainly makes the game easier, but there's no reason the battles can't be adjusted accordingly. Then we would get the best of both worlds: less grind, but still a reasonable challenge. Unfortunately though, Game Freak appears interested in only one half of that equation, upsetting the whole delicate balance. 'Tis a shame.

[@reginlief1]

Yeah, removing options from a player is ALWAYS a downgrade. I have a party of about 12 and im still laughably overlevelled right now. It really freaking sucks. I was worried this would happen in S/M, but they actually balanced the encounters in that game with relative success. Here, though, I’m their obsession to provide “faithful” remakes, they’ve missed the entire point of what being faithful means; not exactly the same, but in the same spirit.

[@AndroidHarris]

@@Commander6444 I disagree grinding can be fun to build a team that your proud of. I dont think excessive grinding is good at all but an hour grind every so often in a big rpg is more fun to overcome a hard boss than just winning all the time. It makes your team more personal to you as well and sometimes going out of your way for a tm or item to supercharge your pokemon can be really fun. Storytime and example: I love in bw when I used a drapion with sniper, gave him scope lens, and use night slash, cross poison, ect to maximize critical rates and do more crit damage as well to obliterate certain pokemon. It's fun creating a build your proud of even if some of them arent as good as you expect them to be lol. The first 5 gens are great for this while new ones are just too easy I cant really have any fun or connect to my pokemon. SM is the only exception as some things were tough and I turned exp share off. I had a cool build on incinreoar and my minior. Still was missing something the old ones had though.

[@ladylucyofNewEngland]

I will say right now that when people talk about the greatness of gen 4, they are usually referrng to platinum, whihc was more fleshed out and more balanced than diamond and pearl. That is the main reason why so many people were disapponted with these games being essentially graphically better games with some new moves and new types. I also think that part of what made gen 4 so coveted is that it was more difficult than many of the other games, which is why a lot of the newer additions like locked exp share hinder the game

[@cirkleobserver3217]

I think gen 5 had higher difficulty than 4 tho

[@zjzr08]

@@cirkleobserver3217 Some say Gen 5 is easier with some having less Pokemon in the party and also having the Lucky Egg easily available.

[@SereKabii]

honestly with how harsh he was towards the region i feel like not even Platinum would save his opinion of gen 4

[@BushSage]

@@cirkleobserver3217 its crazy that they included countless issues with Diamond and Pearl as opposed to including the improvements from Platinum. Its actually mind boggling.

[@rantradio]

The thing is, if you do a rating of the first 5 gen Pokémon games, D&P would come in last. It definitely was my least played and least favourite Pokémon game.

[@brownranger1797]

The $60 cost for a remake that adds nothing and sometimes even detracts from the original game is such an obvious cash grab I couldn't clutch my wallet any tighter.

[@SquaulDuNeant]

"Detract" you meant "downgraded" .

[@ChaudTheGamer]

Well my cousin got Brilliant Diamond for me for my Birthday so I am grateful for it. But I do agree that this does seem like a cash grab! Not a terrible game though but...I miss my old Diamond game since it was stolen and was the only Pokemon game I maxed out the hours on.

[@joguttum108]

Just gonna emulate. Can’t have my money >:)

[@airbull6570]

How is it a downgrade

[@WildDogGamerBoy]

And some people will still complain about Metroid Dread being full price while willingly supporting this game

[@peterjack1.0]

“Boss” is actually Cyrus, not exactly sure why the Team Galactic names weren’t mentioned in the remake Also, will add that I think Diamond and Pearl are good games made great with Platinum, and they were a huge part of my childhood. I love classic Pokémon. These remakes were so, so disappointing because I was really hoping for a new twist on my childhood Pokémon game, like HGSS and ORAS did to their respective generations. Especially because DPP could’ve used some big improvements to story and world design, all entirely possible and done in past remakes. Such a missed opportunity.

[@schwinxd1832]

Yeah, what the heck? That threw me off

[@AlphaladZXA]

That was super weird to me too

[@JasonDS64]

Are you serious?

[@TheRubyGamesOG]

Did they not? I thought I saw the names Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Cyrus

[@HankTank81]

@@TheRubyGamesOG might be the updated thing

[@MrBytorr]

The worst part is like... Remember when you were a kid, and you thought "I can't imagine what pokemon will be in 10 years! 20 years!" And here we are. And it's the same. The potential is so great and the product is so mediocre and lame and just bad. It bears repeating that Pokemon is THE HIGHEST SELLING MEDIA FRANCHISE OF ALL TIME. But here's some old games that look marginally better lol. It's just sad.

[@ManectricReturns]

I think it's a combination of having immovable deadlines and the desire to spend as little money and energy as possible. Why spend all this time innovating (and using money for that) when you can crank out another safe game that will make millions. I think this game made 6 million dollars in the first week if I'm not mistaken. I'm not looking forward to Legends Arceus for the same reason, I'm sure it will be a rushed game.

[@emmareiman64]

Freaking Mood. There are Tons of amazing ideas people have and bring to the table in comments and their own fanwork. If you think of things and ways to improve you're bound to find a good few things you'd enjoy seeing implemented But we're just... not getting that. Sure there have been a few really cool things (regional variants, the ability to take care of your pokemon (that I wish there was more on), limitless TMs (oh boy...I wish) etc.) - but there's also not so good things. No-one asked for Dynamaxing, or hallway simulators, or 'new gimmick every game, throw out the old one' It really is sad

[@martin2424]

It’s not the same, it’s worse!

[@YujiUedaFan]

It's not the same though, it's WORSE than it was 10 years ago.

[@spritemon98]

They make billions of dollars every year but they're so cheap that they cant put any effort besides the bare minimum for each new game

[@phantomstrider]

I just wanted the catharsis of Arlo's frustration even if I'm not the pokemon target audience 😆 because I was very frustrated by the game too. It continues to puzzle me how 2021 first party nintendo games that make so much money can look this terrible 🤔 or never ever change the same battle music for 40 hours of play. Though as Arlo said, we all know what we're in for with Pokemon. Still, cathartic review 😄

[@jacquesmassard9226]

why spend any money on it when it will still make tons of money if you do zero work or/and spend any money?

[@phantomstrider]

@@jacquesmassard9226 sadly so 😔 I'd love to see a company like ubisoft in charge of a pokemon game as I'm sure they'd put a massive team behind a game this profitable

[@Matanumi]

@@phantomstrider ubisoft would do the same thing. Pokemon is a cash cow that can be milked to death reguardlesa of quality

[@KhaySem]

Huh, didn’t think I would see you here…

[@NapaCat]

I fell out of love with Pokemon because of their shift from quality to crap. Now I'm almost glad I did because of games like BDSP.

[@AkaiAzul]

I love how Arlo was able to save people time and be completely honest with the thumbnail alone. Arlo, I clicked because I simply enjoy hearing you and your thoughts, even if we both know what's going to be said.

[@ThePokestopPapi]

Arlo is the people's champ

[@666slateran666]

Nothing positive because he thrives on negativity and negative content

[@Smokey1419]

@@666slateran666 ....You must be new here

[@666slateran666]

@@Smokey1419 Not really, I've been following him for about two years now. His whole happy kid friendly Muppet angle is contrasted hard by how jaded he is. It's a outlet for a man child to whine, I just liked his news updates which he isn't even doing anymore.

[@666slateran666]

@UC3hbT4og8WsAS-qhnzbMj2Q Metroid dread is a outlier and the other two aren't Nintendo games. By and large he is negative about most nintendo games, I've watched all his videos man. I've even watched all his arlo casts, I liked his gimmick but now I'm even tired of his self proclaimed cynical attitude. *cough* Paper Mario *cough*

[@smileyplays9109]

Honestly the No. 1 thing that Pokémon needs to include moving forward is OPTIONS. How difficult would it have been for them to include an option to turn the exp share off? How difficult would it have been for them to include an option that removes friendship benefits from battle? How difficult would it have been for them to remove the cutscene of Dawn/Lucas catching a Pokémon for the very first time? As disappointing and frustrating as these games are, I know the public outrage would not be as bad with any of these games moving forward if you just give us some options on how we want to play the game.

[@kutaoizumi4189]

Reminder that some of these things and more have been done by fans in fangames and romhacks now as well. If a bunch of kids still going through highschool/university can implement things like difficulty options, exp share switch and even what type of dialogue you get in a game, why the heck can't Pokémon do better? I'm not even asking all these improvements NOW, but sheesh...they've had plenty of time to introduce these features little by little.

[@LikeATruck666]

@@AlphaXXI true. fine-tuning it and giving gradually less exp for having more pokemon in your team would be the best middleman.

[@sovitus5991]

the majority of people who wanted sinnoh remakes probably wanted platinum remakes. Sure Nintendo wants the money but I can't imagine it being that hard to incorporate an early soothe bell and move tutors. the move tutors alone would make this game have lots of replayability for nuzlocks or challenge runs.

[@heroicgangster9981]

they did want platinum remakes, it's just cheaper and faster to crank out Diamond and Pearl remakes than try to Heartgold and Soulsilver gen 4.

[@AsianRailgun]

Even if it was a Platinum remake, it's still gonna be a game that cuts corners like how BDSP currently is. Like a faithful remake of Platinum with absolutely no creativity. People will still be disappointed.

[@666slateran666]

I wanted a diamond remake, never played platinum. Different strokes I guess

[@LinkNinjaMaster]

@@666slateran666 If you had played Platinum, you would have probably wanted a Platinum remake as well tbh.

[@666slateran666]

@@LinkNinjaMaster All I know is I dumped hundreds of hours into diamond and it was the last one I was really into before growing out of them. I wouldn't have wanted anything but a faithful remaster, same with Diablo 2 or shadow of the colossus. These games are classics for a reason, don't need them tainted with mega evolutions or whatever else is in newer entries.

[@Malisteen]

Most people with shining memories of diamond & pearl are actually remembering platinum instead. Still kind of a generic pokemon adventure, but a significant step up from the original g4 games. Larger regional dex so not as many repeat encounters, more interaction with the enemy team leader to make him more of a character, revised progression route through the map to reduce backtracking, bug fixes to speed up gameplay (the only bit to make it to the remakes), several revised interior locations including some improved gyms and a better villain hideout, the entire distortion world sequence, battle frontier... It loses something with the multiplayer elements largely gone, but if you ever get the chance to go back and try platinum, it's worth the look. Certainly better than these remakes. Such a shame.

[@Fatblue246]

tbf Cyrus was still somewhat fleshed out in the original D&P games, the remakes were an actual regression. Obviously he wasn’t as fleshed out as he was in Platinum, but they straight up remove his name in parts of BD&SP

[@Purple_Sloth]

Idk, outside of the battle frontier and a few new Pokémon returning, I still personally see BDSP as definitive in terms of gameplay over platinum just because of the grand underground and the few extra features they added in BDSP. The other area and story changes feel almost insignificant to me considering how much of a “one and done” they are.

[@xbrandon2252]

No, I never played platinum and everything I remember about gen 4 is pokemon diamond and pearl, the shows and the games. Diamond and pearl are iconic. Platinum might be cool but DP is where it's at

[@IceBlueLugia]

@@Purple_Sloth Grand underground is very insignificant compared to the battle frontier though lol

[@Purple_Sloth]

@@IceBlueLugia yeah who could forget Battle a Pokémon Battle a Pokémon but longer Battle with Pokémon that aren’t yours Battle with one type And battle with effects like “hold a berry instead.” I think people just hype of the battle frontier like it’s this amazing genius use of game design when really it’s just “Fight a pokemon.” with a random attachment to it. That compared to basically having a much more larger access to pokemon that you can’t get normally in a play through gives much needed team variety in the Sinnoh games that isn’t just “Bibarrel, Staraptor, Starter, Luxio, Lucario, Garchomp”

[@xXRaisinCakeXx]

As someone who was greatly looking forward to the “idea” of Gen 4 remakes, BDSP has been a massive letdown. I can hardly even bring myself to finish it.

[@_Tzer]

Tbh your better off playing renegade platinum.

[@Dr.J42]

try the league tho... it's something else

[@charliez077]

@@Dr.J42 league is good but that's like 5% of the game.

[@DjVader112]

They should’ve did what OR/AS did, it was a remake but not a complete copy paste just turn everything 3D sort of thing

[@ParaFox404]

I didnt even buy it and this was my year, waiting for the game planning to finish my trinity botw gen4 and spyro... and I had doubts, and it came out just in time for christmas, and I checked the mob opinion to see what the go was if it was an uninspired lazy copy with shit graphics that was exactly the same, which I was almost willing to buy for $70 aud, which is bad, but they fucked even that up because they changed all these random fuckin things and made the gameplay different, so it lost all its charm, and the gameplay loop I had been longing to get back to all it had was the level design and roster... an old roster, and a level design WHICH I OWN FOR 3 FUCKIN DOLLARS ON MY DS its just... tragic BUT I didnt buy it, and instead grabbed metroid dread... which turned my trinity into a whatever the word for 4 is because that game is top two easily and maybe even the best every I am not sure yet.. so if you need a game to play I cant say you will love it but I adore it, and it might be nice to play a nintendo game that had a scrap of care behind it

[@bluefalcon3629]

‘It’s hard to take anyone serious when they look like a funko pop knockoff’ THAT IS SO UNBELIEVABLY TRUE

[@velvety2006]

It looks like someone crossbred animal crossing and pokemon

[@sylvyboi]

@@velvety2006 Gone terribly wrong

[@creditguys1358]

I dunno why but it annoys me that FunkoPops, are all people compare these too, when really they look closer to Nendoroids, which are just generally better than FunkoPops, but I never understood the funkopop craze, anyway, cause FunkoPops just look soulless and ugly

[@luiss428]

@@creditguys1358 frankly, funko pops and nendoroids are two sides to a coin, i wouldnt knock one over the other. and funkos are more popular in the west so of course thats their point of reference.

[@solgerWhyIsThereAnAtItLooksBad]

The biggest problem ive felt is that its forcing a 3D world into a 2D game. The player constantly snags on walls and has poor movement This is especially bad in the tree maze and ice gym

[@latenight7528]

Yeah I just beat the game in the morning and legit I was constantly bumping into stuff and getting stuck in corners all throughout the game and only got progressively worse because the paths only got more and more narrow

[@sk00ks41]

Yep! Full analogue control on a map that’s still grid based for some god forsaken reason. The fighting gym and the little area above a ledge where you use rock climb for the first time in Mt coronet were awful. So hard to line yourself up correctly.

[@LinkMountaineer]

@@sk00ks41 You know, that’s an easy thing to fix if you move a bit slower when you’re trying to line yourself up for something specific. Just don’t tilt the stick the whole way. They teach you that at the beginning of the game.

[@FaolanHart]

Oh god yeah the movement is so unbelievably clunky. Really frustrating at times.

[@solgerWhyIsThereAnAtItLooksBad]

@@LinkMountaineer or maybe they could just make it work like it did in the original game as in, at all

[@masonharvath-gerrans832]

This game was a faithful remake, except where it counts. Even so, Pokémon’s remakes were known for being 1) developed by Game Freak itself, and 2) integration of the current generation’s mechanics. BDSP was outsourced and lack any real innovation.

[@jmurray1110]

And adding stuff from the enhanced edition

[@Fatblue246]

yea but Gamefreak didn’t wanna make these remakes nor did PCI really want them handling it. Gamefreak has been trying to do something different and get out from under the thumb of pokemon for forever. It’s why there was no sequel or continuation to Kalos, as they were busy developing other games at the time and it’s why they were working on LoA instead of these games. After the mess of controversies that was SWSH many many mfs were saying they wanted a “faithful remake”, discourse that is often forgotten and overlooked now.

[@courage1363]

Lets not forget about adding more Pokemon that wherent in Gen 4 especially regional forms AND their evolutions.

[@Shadar22]

I love how characters in cutscenes forget they can walk diagonally.

[@melvint-p9500]

You actually can't move diagonally on the grid.

[@The_GlitchWitch]

In regards to the design/art style of the games, I was disappointed that it didn’t take the approach of the other remakes, like Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, in which they used the designs from the current gen games of that time, in this example X & Y, to make the remakes feel like they belong in the current gen. While I’m not particularly thrilled with how Sword & Shield look, I would’ve appreciated these remakes taking the approach to match that style more than this chibi/cartoon look it has.

[@loztpm]

That’s what I was expecting since that’s what they’ve done for literally every remake up to this point, but then it wouldn’t be “faithful” or some bs

[@nathangamble125]

There was too much backlash against sw&sh's style... but it was never about the style, it was the implementation that was bad. A world with no spirit. I think you're right, D&P in sw&sh's style would have worked. Oh well, at least there's "legends".

[@rachadlendar4918]

@@nathangamble125 true

[@faezor3326]

its cause they fricken outsourced this

[@Tomyotan]

Of all the games to redesign the characters, never moreso was I excited than for gen 4. Half of the characters are dressed in very iconic Japanese fashions at the peak of their popularity (gyuar, lolita, etc.) and it would of been so exciting to see how they modernized that or maybe even how they could've worked in Hokaido patterns. I knew for years this was the last game of the remakes or maybe even the entire series that I was going to be exited for and the first trailer ruined whatever last experience I might of had with Pokemon.

[@scottsimm9707]

I love Gen 4, but everyone has a right to express their opinion. I’m saddened that the Pokemon fandom has gotten toxic to the point you had to put that lengthy disclaimer at the start, when your criticisms of the franchise in general always seem justified to me at least.

[@tylerensminger]

The way I look at it is that for everyone who hates the direction that pokemon has gone there are those who like the recent games. Problem is no one can seem to have a civilized discussion anymore

[@_Tzer]

sacrifices to the church of nintendo.

[@mattjindrak]

It's how every Fandom is because it's how people are yet there's still people that go on a fanbase by fanbase basis. Silly.

[@freekill1018]

Lol that's what happens when a group of people are ignored year after year with no end in sight bitterness is natural at the point we're at it's pretty much the only thing they even acknowledge I mean come on how hard is it to listen to your fans or at least hear what they think all those minds and ideas wasted

[@PaperFlare]

While late to the party, one thing I think MUST be pointed out because of how utterly tragic it is: The dev (ILCA) obviously had passion for this game. More-so than Game Freak does, for absolute sure. You can see the little peaks of creative freedom they were granted through how they handled the Grand Underground and the post-game rematches. The underground straight up feels like a different game with the amount of care, love, and detail that was put into its design and mechanics. As for the post-game rematches, the gym leaders and E4 (and rivals) all become sweaty metalords who have some of the most hilarious teams I've ever seen. Cynthia's paraflinch Togekiss. Volkner's Raindance team. Candice's hailvasion team. THIS is the kind of end-game content players have clamored for. Truly meaty, challenging battles that utilize the true potential of pokemon's battle mechanics. And it's a shame that, while many people recognize the shortfallings of the game are TPC's fault for being greedy and controlling, many more will blame ILCA for what a disappointing game this turned out to be. Which is unfair.

[@bluebaron6811]

And TPC's stubbornness to *not* let them expand the story and Pokédex like they did with ORAS really hurts the remake, too. They could've expanded the story to include oh I dunno... *ACTUAL LORE,* and not just Cynthia stans arguing that there *is* story. Because there is no story. One of my friends called DP a "demo for Platinum", and that Platinum was a "demo for HGSS", And sadly, I agree with her.

[@charzinc3492]

@@bluebaron6811 At first when BDSP initially released I was in denial and pretended to like it. In retrospect looking at it now, gen 4 stans like me were done dirty, I was always wishing for an oras style remake for gen 4. But at least we got PLA, even if it was something completely different from expectations. But now we sadly will not be able to see the potential of what gen 4’s original games could have become

[@BASCILLICUS]

huge disagree. underground was better in the original. it's a glorified mobile "port" of DP.

[@woodyblox7724]

If i compare BDSP to PLA I am very certain that GF shows more passion than ILCA. At the very least ILCA severely lacks skills in Game Development apart from Design.

[@WinterShorts0]

0:34 Nope, not annoyed. Games like these NEED to be criticized. NOTHING is above criticism. I come to this channel to hear you voice your opinion. It's pleasant music for my ears while at work.

[@SilverSpireZ]

This is the perfect way to end the year. We need more people standing for quality. Pokémon and its fans deserve so much better. Let’s just hope GameFreak somehow manages to Legends Arceus actually awesome.

[@MystiaLore]

I have high doubts at Legends Arceus being actually that good. The trailers, in my personal opinion, are all over the place. Can't have new content, must be related to old stuff and known characters. It could work for the hero, but when 90% of the characters are "It's XXX's ancestor". I have worries. And that's only one of theses issues.

[@BUGHUNTER6]

Arceus is kind of a step in the right direction but it's not the leap in quality we need. Pokémon is always gonna be behind on the current gen, way below the standard at this pace. So that dream game we've had since... Well, 15 years ago, it's not gonna happen. Not until it's too late, when it won't matter anymore. Not unless the people in charge change and/or the business formula changes. To catch up to reasonable expectations, they just progress too slowly. We need a BOTW-like breakthrough.

[@xlbthedemigod5662]

I’m not sure about Legends

[@kickitsmooth]

It’ll be a step in the right direction but ultimately mediocre. The core fans will love it though lol

[@DirectorOFun]

@@kickitsmooth The core fans will love literally anything if it has “Pokémon” written on it.

[@ladamisg9351]

I appreciate him staying true to himself and giving his honest, unfiltered opinion even though he knows he's likely going to get flack for it online

[@Daniel328DT]

Arlo said what I expected him to say. People were gonna say it's trying to be faithful by not including Platinum stuff and Pokémon is for kids and not adults. Like it's the same routine with the fandom. They'll be the first to buy two copies regardless of quality and then call people entitled.

[@RoastedJustice]

@@Daniel328DT Pokemon Fanboys have no standards

[@Fuiger]

​@@RoastedJustice Probably because most of them play nothing but Pokemon so their sense of taste in games is unironically fucked.

[@AMVmushroom]

Which is Sooo dumb! They are bad games. Why are pokemon fans like this

[@RoastedJustice]

Nostalgia... Even I started with Pokemon Yellow on Gameboy Color, but I know the series hasn't evolved in 20 years

[@MrKlausbaudelaire]

as of now, I will only refer to BDSP as "Barely Diamond and Sorta Pearl".

[@emotivesneeze5418]

Honestly, I think I needed this perspective. Diamond and Pearl are what I grew up with, so it has been very hard for me to look past the nostalgia. Those rose-colored glasses warped my perspective tremendously, only letting me see the exceptionally bad cuts like the chibi models or the lazy Pokémon follow sprites (See Milotic in the video for that). But the rock textures, the entry points for areas, the bland town formation... I couldn't see it. I didn't even think to look for it. I just, man I wish I didn't have to be this disappointed. I waited over a decade for this game. So many people waited over a DECADE for THIS game... just think about that. I could've waited another decade if we got even something close to ORAS, but now this is what we're left with. Instead they cut every corner imaginable, they didn't strive for innovation. They didn't go, "Man, what would fans love? What would make this remake a true love letter to Sinnoh and make it memorable amongst the crowd?" No, they went "Eh, copy paste scale that hastily done Dawn model... ayyyy, we're good to go, time to print some money!" You're the owner of the highest grossing media franchise of all time GameFreak, please act like it... just please, even at half effort you could do so much more. Cheers Arlo, thanks for the eye opening. Here's to a new year and a hopefully at least decent legends Arceus.

[@longtong9039]

Gamefreak doesn’t own pokemon i’m afraid. It’s a cog in the pokemon company machine for lack of a better term. Regardless of their intention, they’re at the beck and call of investors to pop out mediocre titles to generate fat stacks. Bdsp beat s/s’ first week sales so the trend is upward despite the criticism. No one wants to make a bad game, but when your higher ups look at games that take minimal resources and sell more copies than most games in the year, those same higher ups will never push for innovation as long as these games sell (and like i said, they keep selling more and more every title regardless of the quality) Worst part is, even if every single person on youtube criticising pokemon simply didnt buy the games (which would never happen, clowns keep buying the damn game despite shitting on it for a gestation period pre-launch) it would barely affect sales, we’re a drop in the bucket of sales afterall

[@jamesb.6177]

@@longtong9039 agreed

[@JGr2000]

I feel the same way. I loved Diamond and Pearl so I had a really good time with the remakes. I never thought about a lot of the things he talked about in this video, but this review was eye opening about just how bad these remakes are. It’s so sad to see a franchise you grew up with fall from grace so badly

[@YujiUedaFan]

@@longtong9039 And if you try to revolt by making fan games, Nintendo sue you for "damages".

[@psychokinrazalon]

Maybe if the fans weren’t clamoring for the remake already TPC would actually care about making it look good to better sell it to them. Edit: The chibi models themselves are fine, I’d say. Off-putting is the switch between them and the realistically-proportioned in-battle models.

[@duhimdave]

To the pokemon apologists that think we should stop complaining: you HAVE to admit that the series deserves to be taken care of, right? Like, can we agree that this game is not up to the bare minimum of what it could and should be? It just deserves better.

[@komaytoprime]

Like, I'm a Pokemon apologist, yet I agree 105%. What an absolute letdown. For every step forward they made with these remakes, there was just another step back. They have all the power in the world to make these games absolute top-quality gems, but they just....don't. 😞

[@van5316]

Yes in a sense I agree with your statement, it deserves better. But, this video is still rambling petty nonsense consisting of about 5% accuracy.

[@chadmagnus5850]

@@komaytoprime Sounds like you wanted more of a new game, rather than a remaster.

[@Silverdap92]

@@van5316 nothing like someone airing out their feelings and having their feelings be called petty. Only on the internet

[@xlbthedemigod5662]

Consoomers won’t listen to anyone nor do they care. They just consoom and get excited for the next product.

[@cv7368]

Whenever I fantasized about playing Pokemon on my TV on a powerful home console, I never once thought it would be the equivalent of using a Super Gameboy with a DS game. Did anyone expect the home console era of Pokemon to be so underwhelming?

[@psychokinrazalon]

GF has always maintained that Pokemon wasn’t a series that belonged on home consoles. And I get the feeling that they aren’t really excited about working with more powerful hardware.

[@YujiUedaFan]

I mean Colosseum and XD came before and they were WAY better and they didn't even have Gyms...

[@Fantallana]

@@psychokinrazalon I wish they would get the hell over it and let Pokémon grow up like other franchises.

[@ethancampbell9096]

I fully expected people to be disappointed and it to not live up to expectations. You can't expect developers who've been stuck on solely handhelds for 20 years to jump right into consoles and be among the greatest. But I was expecting more than THIS. Experiment with lets go and legends arceus? Sure, go ahead! Cut the dex and make a bland swsh and bdsp? What are you doing! Those are literally safe games, at least make them live up to previous ones if you're just doing the same thing over again!

[@psychokinrazalon]

@@Fantallana I imagine they had to fight tooth and nail to get the greenlight for Legends Arceus. That game’s probably the first time in a long while they’ve actually cared about making a Pokemon game besides making money.

[@Stathio]

Oh... it just struck me why they made the absurdly dumb decision not to remake the far superior Platinum- I think it's literally only because Platinum is one game instead of two... selling more games = more money. Yet another greedy, anti-consumer decision. I genuinely can't think of another good enough business reason why they'd choose this path. Yikes.

[@StarMiners0416]

At least there's a fan mod that tries to make the base games of BD and SP (which apparently share the same ROM anyways) more like Platinum. They got to the point of changing the textures and colors of UI panels, character skins, and the intro menu screen, last time I checked.

[@2810Mad]

@@StarMiners0416 too bad you need a modded switch to play that

[@j.echevarria8630]

Yeah but ORAS were meshed versions with elements from Emerald. No excuse. They are just lazy.

[@kirbynat493]

HeartGold and Soulsilver on the DS had all the elements of Crystal each AND the battle frontier from gen 4 in each... They could've done it, told the dev team to do that, whatever, they just...Didn't. Maddening

[@scootermcpeanuts6699]

@@j.echevarria8630 Certainly not an excuse, but stathio definitely has a point. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this was the reason platinum got completely shafted like it did, especially with the current state of modern Pokémon games.

[@stevenmattrell3448]

Arlo: *Claims I’m going to be annoyed Me: “Oh no.” Arlo: *Says he liked Gen 5 Me: “I thought you said you were going to annoy me, not appeal to me.”

[@AndroidHarris]

@@CyberKnightProbably I would've been first in line if I could train a zoarark in sinnoh games or even have a cofrigigas or bisharp. I love gen 5 pokemon and have always wanted to have those pokemon in my sinnoh games. It stinks this game doesnt offer anything appealing in regards to the original and definitely not platinum.

[@theelitemyt]

Gen 5 is excellent. If it wasn't for my love for Johto, the BW games would be my favourite.

[@Pioxys]

I will say it. I wish Gen 5 was the only region I wish I’ve haven’t hated back then. When it first came out, I wasn’t into the overworld, graphics in battles felt worse, and getting out the way, I hated Gen 5 pokemon, and barely remember them. Wasn’t too into team plasma as well. *YEARS LATER THOUGH,* black and white 2 is what got me going back, and falling in love with the series. I appreciated the darker tones the story had. The extra content it brought in post game. The PTW was a dream for me. I grown to really love N compared to back then. Most of all, animated pokemon sprites both front and back! Overall, Gen 5 wasn’t perfect for me, but it hit all the right marks of pokemon heading towards the right direction. Even to say happy that it was the Gen that marked an end of an Era.

[@DERADI30]

@@CyberKnightProbably It was an interesting idea, but combined with the pokemon designs of the generation it might just be what made people dislike those games at that time. If you look at all the pokemon sorted by generation you'll notice that gen 5 doesn't have a lot of cute pokemon compared to other generations. In all the other games you could make a team of really cute and cool pokemon at the start and would add the more quirky ones as you were looking to fill specific roles in your team. Once you decide to add a weird pokemon to your team by yourself and see what i can do for you you'll become endeared to it. In BW you might just catch the things that are available, end up with a Pignite, a Watchhog, a Simisage, a male Unfezant and a Boldore, look at your team, and realize you don't actually like any of the designs.

[@majamystic256]

​@@DERADI30 I actually thought Gen V had a lot of good Pokemon designs personally

[@Missiletainn]

When a game is advertised as "faithful", it's shorthand for lazy.

[@sheaskateboarding]

Despite knowing we would receive remakes at some point, it is disappointing the fans waited this long to see this as the remakes. Feels like a slap in the face after getting games like FRLG, HGSS, and ORAS.

[@KOOPAS1234]

Well, what did you expect from the same company who made the crappy Godzilla PlayStation game?

[@Lordodragonss]

ORAS, isalso considered bad. No Dexnav does not make it good xD

[@cookiy1354]

@@Lordodragonss Before BDSP I considered ORAS kinda lacking. Now I think its actually great

[@kirinchecker]

@@Lordodragonss i believe ORAS to be the last good Pokemon Games after Gen 5. X/Y was okay, the only saving grace for those game was the fact, that they made the jump into 3D.

[@WarpChaos]

I know. Gen 4 is my favorite Gen, and I've been waiting for this since before ORAS, and I feel so jipped.

[@Retro83638]

It is super sad they didn't get the OR/AS treatment. Gen 4 while objectively not the best is one of my favorites because it was the first gen to draw me in with the interesting Pokémon, bits of lore and other things spread out in the world (even if the main story was just bad guys bad go stop them). Then to have that expanded on even more with Platinum was even better, especially considering (like pointed out by a few comments) a lot of Diamond and Pearls issues were fixed in Platinum, not all of them but a good amount. This being based on the original Diamond and Pearl is even more frustrating for that very reason. When OR/AS came out I was super eager to see not only my favorite Pokémon game but one of my favorite games ever, get a remake and breathe new life into it, really make it look like how we all imagined Sinnoh to look like. Then we got this, a remake that claims to be "faithful" as an excuse to cut corners. It is a super big letdown for sure and unless this game is on a huge discount (which it being Pokémon it probably won't at least for a while) I will not give money to this laziness.

[@jaretco6423]

Definitely agreed. This makes me worry about the Gen. 5 remake more because if they do exactly like BDSP does, than I'm done with Pokemon.

[@nicd10541]

Arlo: "I need to stop pushing myself, I'm overworked" Also Arlo: *uploads 3 videos back to back during the holidays* Get some rest buddy... You deserve it

[@2figs4u]

It’s probably still on his backlog

[@firebal6129]

He most likely worked ahead a good bit, but yeah, rest is good

[@elizabeth7sj222]

He’s way too good to us

[@ericlundquisthere]

Post-production takes a lot of time, even when you have editors on staff. Stream-of-consciousness videos like what you're referring to only need to be sliced up a little, but full reviews like this need to be written, recorded (with some discarded takes, I'm sure), and then put together with appropriate video. So his "confession" video was probably recorded a day or two before its upload, while something like this may have been mostly done on his end weeks ago. But I've been there too - I produce and edit videos for my employer, and though I'm not in nearly as deep as Arlo, I understand feeling burned out while still on the home stretch of multiple projects. He absolutely deserves the rest.

[@officernealy]

I can't believe there was a time that I thought Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire were "the worst remakes." Sure, the removal of the Battle Resort stung, but it also added so much quality of life improvements, new content, AND actually incorporated the Emerald content back into the main plot. If Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are what I can expect for Gen 5 remakes then count me out.

[@MasterJongXG]

ORAS literally gave old Pokemon megas, changed the story, characters and gave us even a bonus Emerald story. I get it they removed the battle frontier but they gave us a far better story. At least ORAS did far more than SWSH and BDSP.

[@phineas81707]

@@MasterJongXG My memory of the Battle Frontier was that it was way too powerful to reasonably complete from the position you ended the rest of the content on, and never really understood the reason people miss it so heavily that they dock points on ORAS for it.

[@phineas81707]

@@Spantzcatdog They're competitive-level trainers and Pokemon builds, and you have to win 50 battle streaks in order to challenge the Frontier Brains, many of which are under various restrictions (like "only using Rental Pokemon" or "having to fight off status conditions imposed through random chance" or "fighting the whole thing with just one Pokemon".

[@phineas81707]

@@Spantzcatdog Not really? They're more like Gym Leaders, but no type specialties.

[@rachadlendar4918]

It really feels like the games are getting worse

[@DistantKingdom]

arlo was more savage than I was LOL

[@ct2xperience749]

🙃

[@Laughy-Flaaffy]

Yeah, but Arlo’s complaints were a little silly. He said Cyrus had no name….which he does, and he said that wild encounters were outdated…while it’s a remake of the originals. DistantKingdom, you’re criticism was actually really good. I think you did a better job than Arlo on this one.

[@lukebytes5366]

Lion lion lion when both of these things were changed in a remake over a decade ago, which had the same hardware limitations, it's outdated no matter "faithful" you want to be. If they wanted to be faithful, they shouldn't have chosen the version the developers basically disowned.

[@Gaudimann]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/maDYeHqefreasNk The thing is, it COULD have been like this! From Johto Jonny btw.

[@AlejandroRodriguez-cy8ee]

@@Laughy-Flaaffy both of them had there own criticism and i think both are valid. but arlo went for the fukin throat got damn

[@maverillion4610]

Quite sad, I thought, after playing gens 6-8 I felt that I was getting too old for Pokémon. Then I found some fan games, and found myself feeling the same amazement as I did when I was 6 when I got Pearl for the first time. I find it absolutely insane that fan mades, with teams of 10 or so people can create games with great mechanics, polish, difficulty, story, etc, meanwhile a company as large as Pokémon and all its subsidiaries can’t create something that is unique, challenging, or interesting. Bdsp really was, just bland, it was disappointing. They could have made this the best remake like hgss did. But no, they had to just do the “can I see your homework” meme but on Pokémon games. I really hope legends arceus listens to the fans… and personally I hope to the Pokémon overlords they do not remove abilities, abilities is such a core aspect to each unique Pokémon.

[@professordreadwin7959]

That's because fan game developers don't have profits on the mind like game companies

[@ryanignites5923]

YES! I have had more fun playing rom-hacks in recent yearts that offer new stories, environments and pokemon than I have since Gen 5. It makes me genuinely sad that pokemon is in the state it is in.

[@maverillion4610]

@@ryanignites5923 have you played the reborn and rejuvenation series? They are god tier games honestly, and they still developing it, the devs are also humble about their amazing creation I love it

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

@@professordreadwin7959 People often say “but companies need to make money!!”, yes but they don’t need every penny in the world, and they still need to put in some artistic integrity. Are those soulless pigs we call shareholders and corporate big wigs gonna die if they don’t get their three bucks and a subway coupon? Are they gonna die if they don’t get their inflated paychecks and bonuses at their highest possible gain? I know you didn’t justify it mind you, I’m just saying

[@SquaulDuNeant]

Honestly how could it be good ? They again rush the release and already annonce it even tho it should be the new era of pokemon games no more lazyness and the true experience like we dreamed as kid with great charcters and world interaction and freddom still now like SS it look really blend and ugly and rushed. I don't belive in the : "but they will change it before realese" im sick of this industry and wasted universe.

[@estebanfumero3728]

I stopped playing Pokemon after Ruby and Sapphire so I bought these games to see what gen 4 was all about. I'm in Victory Road now and I can safely say I've gotten the same pool of 25 Pokemon for about 75% of my wild encounters. I genuinely thought my game was glitched.

[@thelegendofstonecoldstevea3205]

Funny. When I reached VR I had seen 146 Pokemon and captured over 100 of them.

[@saltyralts]

Can you play Pokémon Black & White? It's tied with Ruby & Sapphire in my opinion, as somebody with larger nostalgia goggles for Ruby & Sapphire.

[@VioletLunaChan]

Sword and Shield are better games and more worth your money. There, I said it.

[@jacobflowers0529]

@@VioletLunaChan Which is a god damn shame too

[@zjzr08]

Platinum was much better with 210 Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex but maybe that's few for you compared to the 400 or so of latest gens.

[@avarasrandomstuff1536]

Pokémon is literally a part of my life but I unironically love it when people like you roast the franchise to an oblivion. Keep doing you Arlo!

[@moosesues8887]

I hate Pokémon too

[@mightyfist10]

I think this comment closely represents the average Pokemon fan. It doesn't matter how little has changed. "At least we can collect more cute or cool-looking monsters."

[@turtlenator6249]

@@mightyfist10 Yeah, that’s basically me. Can play other games, but always come back to Pokémon.

[@Smashfan258]

This is me, but starting with Sword and Shield I’m just…… not doing that anymore. I’m so horribly saddened by my favorite game franchise falling into such a low point and I’m so sad to see it go further and further down and knowing it just won’t get any better. Hoping for a better gen following Arceus….

[@avarasrandomstuff1536]

@Thorozak_ I definitely feel you. Personally for me, the National Dex drama was when the reality of the state of the Pokémon franchise really hit me in such a negative way. In the end, I’m glad for the wake up call but it was a harsh one lol. I now just numbly accept the franchise is not full with enough passion like it once was. But I really hope Legends changes that.

[@ColinTheFedoraGuy]

I literally can’t believe how deeply soulless this game was. genuinely one of the most pitiful first or second party nintendo games i’ve ever played.

[@ja1799]

Soulless is the word I've been looking for

[@TheQuestion27]

Correct. Lack of soul, lack of heart, lack of genuine quality

[@YujiUedaFan]

I've even heard people asking for ILCA to remake HGSS and all other Pokémon games... wow.

[@shepherdstar14]

they had 3 chances to make a “good” moderb pokémon game in HD. I remember being a kid and excited for how pokémon could look eventually, I wish I had beeb excited about other things back then.

[@POISON_IVWY]

Agreed. At a time I would’ve considered myself a die hard Pokémon fan but these games lacked so much care and effort that I didn’t even by them. Instead, I just played the far better designed and enjoyable rom hack, Renegade Platinum and I wholeheartedly believe that I had far more fun playing that fan hack than I think I ever would’ve had playing these soulless “remakes.”

[@toshineon]

My favorite feature of these games is definitely the bugs that were fixed in Platinum, but are somehow still present here. I don't even understand how that can happen unless the code is literally copy-pasted from the DS games.

[@keefy3482]

Funnily enough, they literally did copy and paste the code from the originals. To the point of being able to replicate the void/tweaking glitch.

[@DerekSquirreltail]

I was pretty underwhelmed with the remakes soundtrack. There's a decent amount of songs in the original games I really love, but they tend to be the quieter songs; Eterna city, Pokecenter night, Route 209, etc. But in the remake it's just a bunch of really noisy instruments drowning eachother out. Route 209 is honestly a great example, especially considering we have the Brawl remix of the track to compare it to that keeps all of the subtleties of the song intact.

[@TheChildofAuraReborn]

Gosh, thank you for saying that. Every time I've commented on the soundtrack comparisons, I get attacked by people saying either I'm not a true fan or my nostalgia goggles are on too tight. Which, 1) I've played the game since I was a wee lass, and 2) I've heard GREAT remasters so far, Braxton Burks makes some amazing remasters, especially Giratina's theme; he gives it a really creepy choir.

[@YujiUedaFan]

They used the same songs, just changed in midi instruments and the arrangements are the exact same too. They basically Sonic Chronicles'd it and hoped nobody would notice. The Brawl version on the other hand is made from scratch.

[@crimsonhawk52]

@@YujiUedaFan they also messed with the mixing. Some of the best parts of the soundtrack are totally washed out and back in the mix now. The counter line in the Galactic Grunt fight theme, off the top of my head. The guitar stings in Route 226. I'm just super glad they included the DS Sounds key item like they did in HGSS so I can listen to the original music everywhere.

[@SmartSmears]

Route 209 is one of my favourite tracks in all of Pokemon, the thought that they messed it up is pretty sad EDIT: yeah I listened to it and its alright but damn are there way too many instruments. Very underwhelming

[@cashcloakburmy]

I felt this with the Dialga/Palkia thene. The original felt quiet and contemplative, which made it more dramatic and tense imo. They made it way too over the top, and butchered it in the process.

[@parkerbrandner9428]

I didn’t know they put boss instead of Cyrus lol. That’s awful and yet hilarious

[@cliffturbo2146]

He was born to be a leader XD

[@Vexal50]

17:35 Not so fun fact; when using the dpad, you can't move diagonally. so the easiest way to use walking speed *locks you into four directional grid based movement.* If you do attempt to move diagonally with the dpad, it prioritizes horizontal movement over vertical too, rather than being based off the order the directions are pressed. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the studio that made this remake had originally intended for the game to not have 360 degree movement considering the weird issues it has whenever you run into a wall/cliff when moving diagonally, and all the objects you mentioned

[@MustacheDLuffy]

It’s not that. The 3ds games have the same feature in them it’s just sword and shield do not.

[@Vexal50]

@@MustacheDLuffy I distinctly remember being able to move diagonally in the 3DS games. Regardless, even if that was the case, there's no excuse for not having it when SwSh already had diagonal movement

[@melvint-p9500]

You can move diagonally on a grid in every mainline 3ds pokemon game

[@Vexal50]

@@melvint-p9500 There's a difference though; the game's geometry in the 3DS games are designed with 360 degree movement. This is why you don't come to a halt (or massively slow down) at every little corner in those games when moving with the circle pad. This sadly, was not the case with BDSP

[@maxalmonte14]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT!!! Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum are the most bland of the franchise, I stopped playing the main series game after gen 3 because I was poor and there was no way in hell I as a kid could have afforded a DS + games back then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Now as an adult a couple of years ago I bought a New Nintendo 3DS XL and pirated the crap outta those games, I pick up right where I left and decided to play Pokémon Diamond to start and I gotta say, what a "Meh" game, like for real, you know is a Pokémon game, all the elements are there, but it's just so unremarkable that it's sad! I thought maybe I was just old and Pokémon was just not the same to me anymore but guess what, I played HeartGold and loved it! But yeah, it was a remake, maybe I was being nostalgic, no, not at all, totally loved Black and Black 2, hated the guts outta Pokémon Y, and so far I'm having a blast with Alpha Saphire, so apparently yes, I'm still capable of judging when a game suck ass. As Arlo said I guess if Diamond or Perl was your first experience playing Pokémon then it's OK, and even if it wasn't your first game, you are allowed to like whatever you like, but for people like him or me that started with gen 1 and saw the series develop game after game, Diamond and Perl didn't really offer that much.

[@edwardsaldana2534]

Yep, DP were duds, BW were my introduction and far better than that crap

[@EliteWizzerd946]

This game is an actual embarrassment. This isn't the remake that we begged for so many years.

[@666slateran666]

Me, looks good to me. Really don't get the complaints besides seeing a ton of manchildren whining

[@Daniel328DT]

@@666slateran666 It's valid complaints because there were already subtle improvements in Platinum that barely show up in BDSP. Music and design is subjective of course. I love Pokémon games, but even I have to call out laziness when I see it. Pokémon Company can do better than this for their product of games. What's funny is Gen 4 used to be my favorite generation. To see it not get the treatment in the fashion of HGSS and ORAS is downright disappointing. Faithful doesn't do any favors when it's a literal mess and doesn't have the great improvements Platinum fixed.

[@666slateran666]

@@Daniel328DT Agree to disagree here because I feel the effort was made for these remakes. Arceus looks like it's truly cutting corners and not up to snuff.

[@Daniel328DT]

@@666slateran666 The effort of a poor team rushed to push games out for the holidays. So much to the point it was almost mandatory to have a patch make the game function at the start of a session.

[@666slateran666]

@@Daniel328DT Day one patches in this day and age is par for the course. And game freak wanting a stocking stuffer for the holidays for all the little tikes?? What a surprise!

[@dognut7289]

It's basically a DS game that costs 60$ And funnily enough, there's a better version of it that came out 13 YEARS AGO (platinum of course).

[@ma99954]

and it only cost 40$ when that came it

[@AndroidHarris]

Funny enough even the original 15 year old game has better graphics with unique spritework not seen in any other gen and more challenging gameplay.

[@magnus5747]

Eh I liked it and it fills my time till legends arceus releases. I liked it more then d/p but less then platinum.

[@pc-u-18]

It’s so weird to me that this is pretty much the EXACT same game as Diamond and Pearl but with updated mechanics and a bit more postgame. Even things like the Team Galactic building in Eterna City and the Pokétch having one button were retained from DP for the sake of being “faithful”. Even though Pearl was my first game, I’ve gotten so used to Platinum. While I haven’t played the remake, I have watched other people play it, and it’s kind of weird to see the story to play out differently than I’m used to. I can’t even remember there ever being one button on the Pokétch or the Team Galactic building in Eterna City being a generic apartment building or the Hearthome gym having a math puzzle. Platinum made so many improvements so for few to none of them being implemented for the sake of being “faithful” is very disappointing.

[@turtersvongenbu]

There are a few strange Platinum elements that made their way over. The Galactic Eterna Building still has the Rotom room, Charon's journal included. Even though I think Charon was the least necessary addition to platinum, it still feels weird that he gets referenced despite not existing. The Great Marsh guy reverts to the DP bait/mud mistake as opposed to the also wrong PT bait/mud explanation. E4 rematch teams are more akin to those seen in Platinum.

[@aperson6512]

Thing about the popups is, they existed in gen 7, however you actually had to enter the side mode where you could pet your Pokémon in order to get its affection stat high enough. Now it's tied to the friendship stat. Which raises every time you walk with that Pokémon in your party.

[@donovanjoseph737]

So not only was the mechanic/extended text completely optional, but was designed as a reward for going out of your way to treat your party members as actual living animals instead of pawns with stats on them. So disappointed they butchered that system

[@pokaay3163]

My god, are you serious? I appreciated that system before because it felt like you earned something for spending your time with your pokemon, and was a completely optional part of the game that slightly enriched the experience. Now it’s just a glorified easy mode that you CANT TURN OFF. Just like the shared exp. why cant pokemon just.. give players a choice to make their games less easy???

[@aperson6512]

@@pokaay3163 hey I recently heard that they (GameFreak) saw Nuzlockes on the same level as ROM Hacks.

[@acornmaybe]

@@aperson6512 That's because they thought all nuzlockes were randomized, so modifying the game, which game freak doesn't like

[@smileyplays9109]

I was more excited for these games than anything else this year, and I left this feeling emptier and more frustrated than any game has ever made me, and that’s what pisses me off the most about these games. It was so easy for them to get it right and they couldn’t even do that.

[@xdragoonzero0]

It really puts it into perspective when they couldn't even be bothered to put a forward/back button on the Poketch like in Platinum.

[@mrwho995]

Sorry but why were you excited? This is exactly as you should have expected, it's a modern Pokemon game, therefore it will be bad.

[@BaalFridge]

New Pokémon Snap is the best pokémon game on the Switch and is the one game freak had the least direct involvement in... Coincidence?

[@smileyplays9109]

@@mrwho995 I was mostly excited to go through Sinnoh again as an adult whith more knowledge of Pokémon. I didn’t expect the games to be masterpieces or anything, but I expected them to be fully serviceable and just fine, and they weren’t even that

[@juiceboxhero182]

@@mrwho995 lol based on your vast pokemon understanding then when was it a good pokemon game? You see people usually say the first three but I grew up playing them all and to say they were the good ones feels a bit too much like nostalgic bias

[@Jackathem]

I was super excited that the gen 4 remakes were coming after Sword and Shield. Gen 3's remakes took a ton of the (then) new features from X and Y, and I was looking forward to a similar treatment for gen 4. But then they came out with the basic, penny pinching, exactly the same visual style game with nearly no improvements. I'm flabbergasted at how lazy such a wealthy company can be, so I'm just emulating platinum on my phone. Literally better features than this remake

[@spectrumblastgaming]

gen 3 remakes honestly were a disappointment and i saw that pokemon was going down hill from there honestly

[@Shnarfbird]

@@spectrumblastgaming Based Also, there's this kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXemZ6B6gKtgZsU

[@_Tzer]

actually why not settle for something greater than platinum why not renegade platinum sure its a romhack but its closer to what a remake for diamond and pearl should be.

[@ATLDASH]

Try a hack called renegade platinum. It's better than the og imo

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

Arlo: "Don't watch this video" Everyone: Watches the video

[@azellumius8835]

Reverse physiology at its finest

[@tscream80]

But of course.

[@scottysnintendoreviews3510]

He's arlo how an I not going to watch it

[@anthyguard]

Seriously this is one of the best “clickbait” videos I’ve seen. 😅

[@InnerRise]

@@anthyguard clickbait gets you to click on a video BEFORE it starts. If you're already watching the video, he already had you BEFORE saying dont watch so you were watching already anyway

[@c2thamax246]

Let’s talk about the real villains here: everyone who buys games that are obviously terrible. It’s not like the Pokemon Company is going to invest in making anything beyond mediocre garbage while they’re already so busy gathering the money players keep shoveling at them.

[@colepuryear2271]

Im fully convinced that the Pokemon Company have all but stopped caring about quality. As long as they can get a game out on the yearly, throw graphics and good design to the wind because as long as it's got "pokemon" in the title it'll sell like hotcakes. I can not tell you how heartbroken I am that they did this to D/P. Platinum was my very first pokemon game and I LOVED it, so to see the game that got me into the franchise turn out like this sucks. I'm not sure if I will be buying anymore of the mainline pokemon games anymore. The quality has been on the decline since Gen6. Guess its fitting that I quit the pokemon franchise on the gen that got me into it...

[@charlotteartist6606]

This has been my exact thoughts since sword and shield, and those sold amazingly (sadly). Pokemon have literally no reason to put more effort in, cause the fans have showed them with their money that they'll eat up absolutely anything they put out. Sad to see the games go this way but oh well, there's plenty if other games that are much better to choose from.

[@maxxor-overworldhero6730]

Masuda seems to be at the core of the problem.

[@nmotschidontwannagivemyrea8932]

And that attitude will be what ends up killing their brand.

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

@@nmotschidontwannagivemyrea8932 killing their brand? I doubt it. Fervent defenders and blind consumers who just buy for the brand will probably sustain it for quite a while.

[@rantradio]

They don't care.. as long as these mindless consumers continue to bend over and pull their own pants down asking for the no vaseline treatment, Pokémon Company and GF will continue to bloom. I mean, Pokestans and Poketubers made Sword & Shield the best selling Pokémon games ever. 😒

[@mugiwara1730]

Don’t think Arlo has ever done a review I agree with more. I was a fan of Sinnoh growing up, but playing these remakes in the last week has just been a terrible experience, and you’ve outlined every single thing that’s been frustrating me about it.

[@zeitGGeist]

“Terrible experience” hahahahahaha

[@blackdot105]

@@zeitGGeist And what's funny here?

[@Duenschissdoktor]

@@blackdot105 are they just bad remakes or bad games? like can i enjoy it when i've never played a pokemon game and only have to pay 30$?

[@blackdot105]

@@Duenschissdoktor I'd personally say they're incredibly sub par remakes/games. The best experience for Sinnoh is Pokemon Platinum, a fact which is... disappointing, being that it's a DS game from 2008. If somebody bought and enjoyed this game, that's good for 'em - although, I'd suggest for them to play something for either Gen 3, 4 or 5. I'm personally not gonna belittle 'em for liking the game.

[@shuheihisagi6689]

Except the fact that Arlo hated the original Gen 4 and you didn't.

[@ChrisPickaxe]

I never planned on getting BDSP (especially since I had recently gotten Platinum for my birthday), but a friend "accidentally" bought the double pack because they wanted the special pins that came with it. I originally offered to buy Brilliant Diamond off of them for $60, which they said they wouldn't sell for more than $30, but ended up just giving it to me for free because of how bad the game was. They're the type who likes to look at the good of even the worst games and THEY were calling this game bad. I played like 20 minutes of BD before going back to Platinum.

[@AmineSamus]

Where did you get platinum? I can’t find a legit copy anywhere that isn’t obscenely expensive

[@internetguy7319]

@@fluffernutter792 It's a like 8 hour experience what

[@Trashley652]

"Most of the time it doesn't look broken or anything. You're not seeing stock unity assets, things aren't glitching all over the place." Well I guess pokemon's hit a *new* new low

[@SupremeMarioGamer]

The irony, because EVERY Pokemon fan needs to watch more critical good-faith reviews concerning how mainline Pokemon games have declined.

[@landfish7a]

if people enjoy something, they don't NEED to hear about why they shouldn't.

[@landfish7a]

but i agree that this was an excellent good-faith review

[@kyotheman69]

what happens when company is pretty much forced to make same times of games over and over again, you will get burn out

[@bert7651]

@@landfish7a Drinking.

[@landfish7a]

@@bert7651 false equivalence

[@Narvre]

The way the following mechanics worked in Let's Go are completely different from how it works now. They used to be leashed to a set distance behind you and their animation was gridlocked to your chatacter so they were always the same distance froom you and always behind/you would ride them, so they never got in the way. When they readded the feature to sword and shield with DLC they did it in a rushed way that just allowed them to dump the 3D models in the world with their premade walk cycles, and coded it so if they got too far away they automatically teleported to you. The way it was impleented in Let's Go was incredibly thought out and had much more effort put into it to make it feel natural and fun. When they added it back in they didnt want to have to put all that work in for all like 900 pokemon, they pretty much threw some code together and dumped the models for whatever mon you had out on the field. Its super janky and i hate it.

[@zjzr08]

Funny thing is we only have 600+ Pokemon in SwSh as of the moment...

[@YujiUedaFan]

It's sad that GF went through the trouble of butchering the Gen 1 following mon in SwSh and BDSP too.

[@charanth182]

Size mattered in let's go too

[@MegabombGamer-rb5kh]

I hate the Swsh following system, especially how some Pokemon walk slower than you. One of my favorite Pokemon is Cursola, but whenever I have it follow me I feel awful because Cursola moves at a snail's pace so I always leave it behind.

[@Lordodragonss]

@@MegabombGamer-rb5kh Its also weird because ghost CAN FLOAT

[@rg03500]

Imagine how incredible a Pokemon remake would look in that HD2D system that Octopath or Triangle Strategy uses.....how freaking cool would that be? Too bad Pokemon is just a small indie series who can't afford that, they don't have near the money that gaming juggernauts likes Octopath traveler has

[@ilyashuster3447]

Oh that’s a really good idea, that would look so cool

[@chloukscolor7905]

I really, really want this style for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, to be honest. I think the 3D style really doesn’t do justice to the story or charm or gameplay. And I liked PSMD!

[@takeruashi]

I love how brutally honest Arlo can be in his reviews

[@TheDiego908]

"I'm not going to give it credit for being at least as fun as any other Pokemon game, because how far can that excuse go?" And God said "let there be light". And there was light

[@caseybell8861]

I can’t believe this game cost £50 - the same price as breath of the wild. I could buy a DS and Platinum for that price. I was tempted to get the game but only if it was cheaper which I knew it wasn’t going to be. It is the first time I have not bought a Pokémon game and I will never get it unless it was a fifth of the price. The game is such an obvious money-grabbing scheme that is more expensive than the better original. It is also ridiculous that Exp share can’t be turned off. The game is almost entirely worse than platinum. Very much looking forward to Legends Arceus as it should be so refreshing.

[@newkindofkick2432]

Yeah have fun getting plat for less than 80

[@CrazyRiverOtter]

Okay $60 is train robbery but you're not getting Platinum for 50 euros, let alone with a system to play it on during a chip shortage.

[@Monafide3305]

@@CrazyRiverOtter You're on point about platinum being pretty pricy these days but the chip shortage isn't responsible for an increase in DS prices. If they have gone up at all it's due to the state of the retro game market getting inflated by idiots who want to make them display only investment pieces and cash in on a trend, and even then they are dirt cheap.

[@astracrits4633]

@@CrazyRiverOtter You're right, but you could totally also just play it through "other" means.

[@totan3992]

@@CrazyRiverOtter I got platinum for £45 the other week legit with the box manual and everything

[@neverritt]

It's sorta funny how fans have been begging for Gen 4 remakes forever, and this is what they get. While also being based on the inferior versions lol. I like to imagine that Game Freak is actually trying to subtly sabotage and escape from the hell of rushing out the same derivative games for infinity.

[@SirSoloSoul]

Game Freak didn't even make it :p They hired a different company to do it. Game Freak is clearly trying to save time and resources for a better game. Hopefully that game is Legends Arceus.

[@valzy2267]

​@@SirSoloSoul how is the Pokemon company sabotaging their own games so other games can be good a good thing? funny enough Legend Arceus looks ugly

[@SirSoloSoul]

@@valzy2267 It's not shocking that gamefreak is getting sick of being forced to create the same game over and over again. They're clearly yearning to take pokemon in a new direction where the franchise can grow, while still releasing the same recycled game for the man children that refuse to grow up and only play for nostalgia. At least now you can keep playing the same game you've been playing for the last 25 years if you bought diamond and pearl, because I can guarantee there's nothing new that makes the game worth buying. Edit: Spelling

[@morganqorishchi8181]

Game Freak didn't make this. Nintendo outsourced it to other people who could get it out quickly, since Pokemon titles are now annual. So it's not GF trying to be bad, it's other people botching up a bad Switch port of an old game and going, "Sure there's glitches and you can softlock yourself in Candice's gym, but hey, we got paid and we made the deadline."

[@neverritt]

@@morganqorishchi8181 Thanks for correcting me. Never would I imagine that a Pokemon game, of all franchises, would be outsourced. Still a funny example of expectation vs. reality, for everyone who wished for Sinnoh remakes.

[@TotallyAtopiaYT]

Finished the game and went blind into it I can’t believe this game is literally diamond/ Pearl in 3D nothing more I still think that the originals hold it better than the remakes I am planning to sell this mess of a game I am slowly starting to lose interest in the Pokémon franchise I still love to go back to gen 1-2-3-4-5 hell I played gen 3 so many times and never getting bored - battle frontier challenge - complete Hoenn + gen 1-2 Dex - connecting with colosseum / XD We are truly living in a greedy era

[@gankgoat8334]

The fan artist and community really is the only thing keeping this Franchise going.

[@MrManiac360]

you forgot the fake reviews and the youtubers constantly being impressed by cute Pokemon that's aren't even cute every 10 seconds ...

[@Galavantworks]

But mostly speculation videoes and “leaks”

[@Summer_turtle_]

@@MrManiac360 do you call every review you disagree with fake?

[@MrManiac360]

@@Summer_turtle_ no but there is so many fakes reviews this days, In my opinion they are either very biased or fake, just look at IGN reviews it's a joke when they give the last forza game such rating when there are only 2 good thing in it, the graphics and open world, most others stuff are either very badly done or the bare minimum. This days unless the game doesn't work at all like the last GTA remake the game get good reviews. IGN is the most obvious one but a lot of reviewers are biased, they get paid from good reviews so most prefer not to give bad reviews. It is now on youtube very hard to find reviewers that aren't doing reviews only for a quick buck. Either that or most reviewers are getting blind and failing to see the game bugs and badly done stuff. I think I have played at least 7 games this year (2021) that the reviews was hugely hype, even FF7R which is still a good game but most reviews missed the bad in it.

[@Acacius1992]

@@MrManiac360 Like Mimikyu?

[@Nova-gh5yr]

5:35 And time to take that credit away -Hau is The grandson of a kahuna, it's not the same as the champion but just like Hop it actually gives him a reason to strive to be the best. -Lusamine did the whole secret villain thing first and was far better at it. -Team Skull, they may not be in love with a gym leader but let's be real Team Yell is like a less charming version of them. Sword and Shield feels like sun and moon but even worse in these aspects.

[@digitaltailsmon4096]

I would argue against that with Hop as I felt like he was a better version of Hau in terms of having an arc involved in losing and trying to figure out what to do after that. Heck actually story to game integration is done were his team changed multiple times almost like he was having a crisis of what Pokemon to use. Can't defend Rose on that one but I actually like the idea of his motivation being noble but in the end to far sighted and slightly greedy with the idea instead of Lusamine's more selfish desires except USUM but you mentioned just base Sun and Moon. As for Team Yell, while yes they are goofy like Skull I actually liked how they represent fans who get more rowdy and prideful in someone they like, it made it feel sweet in a weird way. Not to say Skull is bad but I really think their more so equal.

[@Nova-gh5yr]

@@digitaltailsmon4096 Well, I guess Skull and Yell part is a bit more subjective. However with Hop, even that arc isn't original. It's the same as Bianca's and personally I think Bianca was done better.

[@digitaltailsmon4096]

@@Nova-gh5yr That's a fair point I feel Bianca's is still the best arc for a friendly rival but I kinda like all of them a lot so I can be kinda defensive. Sorry if I was mean at all

[@Nova-gh5yr]

@@digitaltailsmon4096 Mhm, striving to be a trainer only to learn not everyone can be strong and then ending up being a professor's assistant is just the exact same thing. Also you don't need to apologize, you weren't mean in the slightest.

[@skyhawk9710]

Honestly, having both Affection and EXP Party Share becoming mandatory is what's killed the franchise for me with the move to Switch. In the 3DS games, affection was a separate mechanic you could only access with the Pokemon Amie mini game, and at least when they gave you the EXP Share in Sun/Moon it was able to be turned off. Both of these mechanics, as well as the ridiculous OP Exp Candies in SwSh, make both of the main series Gen 8 Pokemon games stupid easy. At least Let's Go has some interesting mechanics with the capturing and is fun/easy to Shiny hunt in, I would genuinely rather play Let's Go than try playing the main story of Sword again. Also it's refreshing to hear this take, I struggled immensely to get through Brilliant Diamond cause it just felt like the same song and dance. I had to give my Pokemon bitter medicine to make the game harder for myself cause I didn't want to steamroll the whole game with the broken affection system. I almost thought that maybe I was outgrowing the series, but no, what you saying is way closer to how I feel. I want to enjoy Pokemon again, but's it hard to enjoy a game when any real challenge is thrown out the window.

[@16BitKamek]

I agree that I agree the exp share and forced affection bonuses in newer games aren't great, but to then say something about SWSH that's optional like the exp candies is an odd choice of words. Plus at least SWSH's affection bonuses were still optional.

[@near5280]

The main story isn't why you'd even play pokemon sword or shield the story is bad but the gameplay after is outstanding. having XP candies and bottlecaps and mints means ANY wild shiny pokemon you find can be viable and used online against other players, swsh has the vitamin cap removed so EV training is better than ever while also adding lady clear to clear all EV's in isle of armor. the people like you who don't like it are casuals who'd never play it the right way and then complain when they don't like it, I spit in your direction.

[@LinkNinjaMaster]

@@near5280 "95% of all the game's content isn't why you play the game" is essentially what people are saying when they argue that the main story is not the reason to play a Pokémon game. If the only goal was to build competitive teams to battle other players, Game Freak should just make battle simulators. It's a horrible excuse to justify the main game for being badly designed, be it on a gameplay or story point of view. Also, I do agree the Exp. candies are great for quickly training new Pokémon, but they're just so easy to get during the main story that it makes it equally easy to just grossly overlevel one Pokémon and sweep a significant portion of the game before falling back into the leveling curve, where it'll be just as easy to obtain a couple more candies and repeat the process. I know they're optional but they're so easy to obtain that it's hard to ignore them unless you decide to not use them at all during the main story. They really should have made them harder to obtain during the main story and just greatly increase their availability once you became the champion. That way they don't break the leveling curve while still allowing people to train a lot of Pokémon quickly for competitive play.

[@twigz3214]

@@near5280 So what you're saying is that it's good to waste 30 hours of the player's time before they start doing what they wanted to do? If you want a battle sim pokemon showdown is just better.

[@near5280]

@@twigz3214 30-40 hours? I had the main story done in 10 and I have over 500 hours total in this game. I'd put my friend code on here to prove it if I don't have to accept everyone for them to see.

[@GiftOfKnowledge-np9vg]

Frankly, I think the fact that I came away from this whole experience wanting; not the next gen games, and not a gen 5 remake, but instead still wanting a gen 4 remake, really points to how much of a failure BDSP were. At the very least it means they failed to satisfy me, and I'm the exact type of gen 4 fan that you'd imagine gen 4 remakes were made for.

[@pkmnproductions7461]

To late babes Gen 5 is Next 😝

[@markkart]

As a gen 5 fan, after seeing this, they better keep the PWT Is all I'm saying. The better not fuck up gen 5

[@mediocrehyper7358]

I really hated the chibi style when the reveal came out and people were really confused by it so it’s nice to see I’m not the only one

[@aaronpeterson7185]

I’m surprised no one mentioned surf and rock break are used by a random wild Pokémon helping you even if a party Pokémon knows the HM. Saved them from making animations for surfing/flying etc. That was the grossest lazy part I hated seeing every time I had to use a HM

[@MrManiac360]

Even worse when the pokemon doing the animation is one of the worst.

[@Begeru]

@@MrManiac360 don’t you dare disrespect Bibarel like that

[@MrManiac360]

@@Begeru I dare say it's not pretty, the whole diamond gen is a mess, it's not luck that they didn't invest in it because the design was a mess already, there is barely 5 to 10 nice looking in this gen. People may get used to how ugly it is as they play it, especially if they didn't know better or were little kids but for me it never got pretty even years later. Every times I see pokemon from this gen I get bored, Even the pokemon parody fangame with fakemon has better nicelooking in it and it was meant as a joke (don't rememeber the name)

[@ZenGaming-kn7mx]

You're being very generous by calling it an animation, but I agree with you fully. It's Pokemon. They have the budget for it. How cool would it have been to A: have an actual animation and B: if you have a Pokemon who knows the move, have them do it

[@eddiedead2702]

Since it completely fixes the HM problem in its entirety, I can't hate it. I'll take that over having to waste move slots for the likes of defog literally any day of the week. Embrace the power of Bidoof.

[@SmartSmears]

Its perfectly fine if people like these games, but I think that some of the fans of this act odd. It makes perfect sense that people may have wanted the games to take the content from Platinum, or for a more traditional 3D art style like the other newer games. These are just wishing that the new game would be consistent with older releases. To treat these things as extremely selfish, entitled unreasonable wants is incredibly weird and I wish Pokemon discourse wasnt so toxic sometimes.

[@biggs2560]

Pokémon clearly isn't interested in catering to older fans over children. Older fans need to accept this or move on.

[@Zenithal1843]

@@biggs2560 Age groups have nothing to do with what they said. You’re acting like they’re asking for a mature story with Dark Souls difficulty lol

[@biggs2560]

@@Zenithal1843 No, but older fans are asking for things that Pokémon's general audience clearly doesn't want or need. If you want games with more difficulty or challenge, the Switch alone has numerous options to choose from. Why should Pokémon cater to an age group outside of their demographic, especially when the sales strongly suggest that people eat these easier games?

[@pk6546]

​@@biggs2560 You know the sales show mostly adults plays pokemon. Majority of switch players are adults shown by nintendo official data. Why do you think the most popular and profitable game in the franchise is pokemon go ? Being a game for children doesnt excuse its flaws. especially if any improvment wouldnt deter to the experience and only aims to improve it

[@mb778_]

@@biggs2560 Who's saying that that needs to be the default? Black and White 2 had an optional hard mode unlocked after beating the game once. Now, it should have been unlocked from the start (the easy mode has this worse, by the way. Unlock easy difficulty after beating the game on normal? whyyyyyyyyyyy), but hey, it's a more difficult experience for those who want it, without alienating the audience who doesn't care for it. I'm not upset that the games' default difficulty is too low for me. What I am upset about is that I have to go out of my way to get a more difficult experience when they have done hard modes in the past. I just want consistency with prior entries.

[@imasamuraiyounimrod421]

29:06 This quote from Arlo really stood out to me. It perfectly encapsulates how I feel about the modern Pokemon games, and how the problems of the games are easily overlooked by the fans because "the battle system is still fun".

[@kurtschneider2106]

I love it how Arlo is super honest about his opinions. It makes me feel like I can really trust what he's saying and that he's not just bandwagoning or playing to sponsors. Keep it up! Arlo if you read this what Pokemon game is your favorite?

[@666slateran666]

Jaded blue puppet is yelling at the clouds, nothing surprising here.

[@theoaremevano3227]

@@666slateran666 : Imagine if he made an actual jade colored Arlo puppet for when he's feeling really jaded about something. XD Of course he could probably do that with a video filter much easier... and it would be done "using the sponsor of today's video: Filmora 10"

[@kylebarnes5251]

@@666slateran666 I went through a good amount of comments as a brief test, and low and behold you are spamming on so many of these comments. Can I ask you what your goal is? This amazes me the amount of time you take to spread negativity and just waste your time doing this. Take your opinions and go make your own content and talk about why this remake is so faithful.

[@irisheagle]

He is bandwagonning. Pokemon has hardly improved or gotten worse over the years. To ride this, "haha new Pokemon is SO BAD guys" trend is 100% bandwagonning. It makes me upset because he is such a talented and entertaining KZbinr. No clue why he thinks videos like this are necessary

[@montyspa6950]

@@irisheagle instead of accusing him of bandwagoning, argue against his criticisms

[@driedmango1914]

The sad thing is the games still sell like crazy even with this bare minimum level of effort. However I think this approach will slowly but surely harm the Pokémon brand and cause people to abandon the series.

[@constancies]

Maybe. Considering how well Sword and Shield sold, though, it feels like Pokémon can’t be stopped, no matter how little effort they put into their games.

[@alfiegordon9013]

@@constancies idk, I think pokemon sword and shield was _barely_ enough to be worth getting, but this is just inexcusable, and more and more people are just gonna go "nope, not getting (new game) because (previous new game) sucked"

[@2figs4u]

The brand will not be harmed. Only the games will be. Even if people stop buying the games, the merchandise is why the franchise is the highest grossing ever. They’ll chug out as many games as possible, no matter the quality, just as an excuse to make a plushie

[@bubblegodanimation4915]

@@alfiegordon9013 Personally Sword and Shield were my favorite games by far.

[@Chachi97]

I've seen people buy these games JUST because they're Pokemon games. I know Arlo touched on this as well, but if this is the standard the fanbase has for the series now? We're gonna be waiting a long, long time before Game Freak's approach to the series does any real harm to its reputation with the casual fans.

[@MiraBoo]

Faithful can only go so far. If it’s too “faithful,” then it stops being a remake and ends up being a port. Ports are great, especially when it comes to maintaining a game’s longevity, but it’s not a remake. If the remake isn't enhanced/updated appropriately, there’s no point in remaking or playing it. Just re-release and play the original.

[@zena2239]

That's the point of a *remaster*, when a game is perfect the way it is, all you have to do is give it better graphics, higher quality sound effects and music, don't change anything else, unless you plan on adding and not taking away or changing things. I wasn't a fan of gen 4, but as someone who has played platinum for quite a while, I can tell how much they butchered the game with these hideous remakes. Worst part is, this isn't the first time it happens, but people continue to buy the awful remakes game freak sells, so they'll continue to put less than the bare minimum effort into their games, both remakes and main line games.

[@Alaneeeeee]

Port / Re-release: The exact same game, as in code. Same graphics, same gameplay, but in a different platform. Example: Doom for the Switch. Remaster: The exact game as the original, but with touch ups here and there in gameplay, graphics, etc. But overall, it's the same product but better, even if it uses the same assets or code as the original. Example: Skyward Sword HD, Xenoblade Chronicles DE. Remake: a recreation of a game built from the ground up. Everything is done from scratch, which allows to refresh the experience in more significant ways. It often has extra content or features, but that's not what makes it a remake. Example: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Link's Awakening for the Switch and Pokémon BDSP.

[@Frogadier_00]

@@Alaneeeeee BDSP may technically be remakes, but they feel way more like remasters

[@Alaneeeeee]

@@Frogadier_00 I get what you're saying, but that's not the correct term. Some remasters add a fair amount of content like Xenoblade's, some even change their engine like the GTA Trilogy, and some barely change anything at all, like Super Mario 3D All Stars... And all of these rings true for remakes as well. It's not the extra content or quality of life features that make them remasters. It's the prrocess, and it's always noticeable when it's one thing or the other.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

When "be faithful to the source material" is not exactly a good thing. And on the other end is final fantasy 7 remake.

[@ThatLuckyBear]

Counterpoint: Diamond/Pearl for Switch is the perfect sleep aid and I haven't made it past the 3rd gym because I fall asleep instantly after booting the game.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

It's funny you say that about the music because for me, diamond pearl and platinum have always had the best music in the entire series. I love the way the piano strokes carry the music up and down as if to simulate the hustle and bustle of a city, or the mixed feelings of excitement and unease of an adventure. And when you get to more important thematic areas, it slows down and focuses on more somber and mysterious melodies, as if to tell you that this place is a place of reverence and should not be taken lightly like any other place. And the battle music with the legendaries always felt to me as if they were trying to tell you with just the music, that battling them and trying to catch these Gods was crossing the line and a mistake to be feared. And if youve ever heard the Arceus theme, like wow. That music is so tribalistic, like there's some kind of ritual going on between the 2 of you and God himself is judging you the whole time. Arceus's theme makes sure you know that this isnt something to be tampering with.

[@jadedjimmy]

Right??? I mean hey I respect Arlo for being so bold in his opinions & feelings, but damn I was surprised to hear him say that! Its true though that nostalgia plays a hugeeee part in the music, so for a lot us I’m sure we grew up listening to this. Not for Arlo though. But D&P truly have some of my favorite video game music of all time, hands down, no comparison

[@ulzrintheswift715]

Excuse me, this thread is about shitting on Pokemon. Please take this valid criticism somewhere else!

[@Alex_Barbosa]

@@ulzrintheswift715 Hey I've hated the direction the company has been taking for a while now, but good music is good music lol

[@videogamemusic2962]

I prefer Gen V, but also those are the games I grew up playing, so I'm almost certainly biased. Not saying Gen IV has bad music, just that I prefer V.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

@@videogamemusic2962 oh yea gen V has great music too. Pokemon has always been top notch in music. Even the recent games with all the problems I have with them, the music is still great. I've just always though the tunes of gen 4 we're the best to me

[@hueytannerphotography3308]

I went from buying every single entry without a second thought to waiting a month or two for the hype to die down to see if it’s worth it. Seriously so disappointing. I still have love for this series, it’s just a shame that the company in charge clearly doesn’t. Legends of Arceus will be no different. I will patiently wait a month or two, and all the while try to convince myself that I don’t secretly have my fingers crossed

[@TheJmack90]

Pokémon used to have A LOT of personality, character, and just overall charm. It’s one of the main things that’s been lost from these games throughout the years

[@raniberenfeld936]

I agree that Pokémon has lost some stuff in the years, but charm is definitely not something they lost

[@TheJmack90]

@@raniberenfeld936 We can disagree on that. I’d argue that the last time the characters and Pokémon had any real charm was Let’s Go. Sword and Shield had it in spades, but not enough to compel me to keep playing. Nothing is drawing me to Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

[@TheMasterd333]

Rose tinted glasses. They've always been cheap looking games even for the standards of the handheld consoles they were on, except maybe for gen 5 which truly pushed the envelope for what the DS was capable of. Now they don't have the cover of being on underpowered portable systems anymore so the flaws of their business model (cheap games coming out every 1-2 years) stands out more.

[@TheJmack90]

@@TheMasterd333 I agree with you actually. I only REALLY have rose tinted glasses for gen 1 and 2, but I also know how to be impartial. They never pushed graphics. Like EVER! Even as a kid in the 90’s it was obvious there were games that looked better. Hell even THEN they couldn’t hide behind an underpowered console because there were games ON THE GAMEBOY that looked better lol! I wasn’t referring to graphics. I meant character. Charm. Personality. Even though the story was never all that strong, the Pokémon themselves…their over-exaggerated animation, the zany dialogue of the characters, the maze like structure of the world and how every town was a clear stand out location, how everyone pushed in on being the best Pokémon trainer and drove to catch every Pokémon, it all had a little extra “oomf” to it. A little more edge. A little more style. There was an appeal to these games that kept you glued to them. And there was a consistency to them all the way through gen 5, like you said. After that…it started to feel like just a product. Sterile. Safe. Every Pokémon has to look exactly like “this”. The rival has to be your friend. You’re told exactly where to go and what to do. You’re handed items just for walking to a new area. No problem solving. No hardship. No life lesson. Just spam the A button to get through the game.

[@lukebytes5366]

They just never adapted to the hardware like other big franchises. On top of their unnecessary restrictions like having every pokemon which they're trying their hardest to tip-toe around.

[@paperip1996]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, ever since X/Y and the move to 3D graphics, Pokemon has been the undisputed champion of one step forward, three steps back. Pokemon Diamond was one of my most formative games growing up, so I even had the advantage of extreme nostalgia going into Brilliant Diamond and started feeling like the game was more of a chore around Iron Island. I think most disappointing was as a player with heavy nostalgia, there really was nothing new to experience. FRLG, HGSS, ORAS, and even LGE/LGP added new content, improved storytelling, and updated the pokedex to include new gens. Here the only thing that's really new is the endgame park where you catch legendaries in what is maybe the most boring legendary pokemon farm in the series.

[@jerryborjon]

I don’t personally have a problem with 3D Pokemon, I mainly have a problem with Sw/Sh and maybe X/Y. I still consider Pokemon Sun/Moon and ORAS to be high up there with the rest, and even much better in quality than some fan favorites like FR/LG, D/P/Pt, and even the original R/S/E.

[@paperip1996]

@@jerryborjon ORAS is definitely the best of the 3D-era games, I won't argue that. If my 3DS hadn't been stolen, those are probably the games I'd still be shiny hunting in. Sun/Moon, I cannot forgive the constant hand-holding and the way it will tell you three or four different times what to do next; it left very little feeling like I was exploring Alola and more like I was taking a guided tour. The excessive amount of long, unskippable dialogues and lack of mazelike dungeons to conquer, imo, really wasted the potential of one of the best designed gens.

[@jerryborjon]

@@paperip1996 - I didn’t personally have a problem with Sun/Moon. It sounds like it just wasn’t what you were expecting. It was just more linear than other Pokemon games, which is fine. Linear games aren’t inherently better or worse than more open games.

[@GumCow]

I disagree. Usually the first game on a new console sucks. Personally I thought sun and moon was the best pokemon game ever, but XY sucked

[@TheGalaxyWings]

@@GumCow nah xy was fine, it's on the same level as ruby/sapphire and diamond/pearl except it didn't get a 3rd version

[@sharkjack]

My girlfriend bought the game, and I've been doing a Nuzlocke on it. The one small animation thing that really bothers me is that trainers will come in with a nice pre-battle pose, and then the camera will cut away because their 'throw a pokebal' animation doesn't sync up with that initial pose. That is just such a basic thing. All trainers of the same type start the same too so it's not a 'unique pose for every trainer' problem. The way the game doesn't quite get the diagonal walking right suggests to me that it was added in WAY late into development. The fact that NPCs just do not respond properly when you're too far off grid, the way they always walk in grid patterns, it all makes sense if this feature was realized late. Had it been developed earlier, we would probably have seen more rounded corners on things like trees, rocks, and walls to facilitate smoother traversal of the square like environment The one redeeming feature of this remake is that it lets Arceus Legends be free to experiment. I really believe that that game started as the Sword and Shield style remake, and they realized that the remaking of a gen4 game got in the way of innovating features. If Arceus is truly innovative (and it looks like it is), then that is in part because this game took the heat off for having to be a faithful remake. The thing that scares me about that is that if Arceus is not properly polished, that might send the message that lazy remakes will sell, but innovation won't be worth it, and if there is one lesson the pokemon company does not need it, that would be it.

[@AllonBachuth]

Regarding the EXP Share: If you can have an option for Battle Style to be "Switch" or "Set" to adapt the gameplay slightly to your preference, there's no reason you can't have that for EXP Share. 14:00 Kudos for the commentary on location design, how adapting towns tile by tile fails to capture what they were supposed to represent. Even if I'm already in agreement on the overall quality of the game, that's an eye-opener!

[@Crazybark]

@@BlueAizu_ thats exactly what gamefreak would take away from this comment isint it

[@unofficialmeme5972]

And that's why ORAS handled EXP Share better than BDSP.

[@maj.peppers3332]

I had no gripes with EXP share being permanent...until I realized that I wanted my Chimecho to have specific moves (I think Wish or something? I don't remember), and in order to do that, I needed to evolve it sooner. But, the EXP share made it so I couldn't run around with my chingling AND prevent it from leveling up too much to avoid losing those moves. I'm sure there are ways to increase friendship outside of walking/lvling up, but I don't have infinite money for vitamins, or time to walk around in the park endlessly doing nothing...Had to resort to using a Heart Scale which took too much damn time looking for in the Underground. Honestly, the underground digging mini-game is awesome when you aren't actively looking for ONE thing, at that point it becomes soul-crushing.

[@happiestaku6646]

@Unofficial Meme hell, Let's Go did it better as well along with the Pokémon following you as well.

[@unofficialmeme5972]

@@happiestaku6646 Ehhhhh

[@Xainthejust]

Wow, my memory had it that the Let's Go games had the same chibi style as these remakes. To see those older games far more developed, style-wise, really makes these remakes look poor. I ave become increasingly disillusioned by the Pokemon since Sword and Shield. Upon refection, it was a complete disappointment and these poor remakes of the gen I loved the most is completely disheartening.

[@davosmando]

Agreed, they should have at least used the style and models of Let’s Go

[@RedHerring1290]

Sun and Moon did it for me. The tutorials killed any modicum of fun.

[@rainpooper7088]

As much as I didn’t want to play it when it first came out, Let’s Go looks freaking fantastic next to BDSP. While the overworld perspective wasn’t as dynamic as SM, all Pokémon were properly scaled both in battle and in the overworld, followed you around properly/were rideable and all wild encounters appeared in the overworld, including whether a Pokémon is shiny or not(which for whatever reason was removed in SWSH). It also had a really nice color palette compared to the muddy colors of SWSH. Also, the ghost Marowak cutscene was actually immersive and didn’t get ruined by the cheapness Pokémon is unfortunately known for nowadays. If LGPE wasn’t as gimmicky as it was, I‘d call it the definitive version of Kanto.

[@TsubasaNoAMV2nd]

Plat has the better story over Diamond and Pearl. It fixed a lot of the issues the original two Gen 4 games had.