Pokémon Shining Pearl is a fun though somewhat dated remake of one of Pokémon’s more divisive entries. There are a good deal of things to do and postgame content, but the lack of Platinum content and the simplistic visual style may put you off. Even then, what’s present is great, whether or not you’ve played the original games.
Pokémon Shining Pearl
Developer: ILCA
Price: $70
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was supplied with a Switch code for review.
I have fond memories of playing Pokémon Pearl when I was 10 or so, as many others do. I always look forward to Pokémon remakes, as they present a chance to explore the concepts of previous games with the developments that have been made in the industry since the original’s release. In some ways, Shining Pearl succeeds in this, though I wish it went the extra mile and brought in content from Pokémon Platinum.
The start of Shining Pearl is rather familiar for anyone who has played a Pokémon title. You’re a young, sort-of customizable kid who lives in a quiet little town. While exploring the nearby lake with your friend, you’re attacked by Pokémon and use the local professor’s own creatures to protect yourself. You end up keeping your new partner and get sent off into the wide world of the Sinnoh region to defeat the 8 Gym Leaders, complete your Pokédex, and save the world from the evil Team Galactic.
It’s a standard narrative for Pokémon, but it has some interesting characters sprinkled throughout the story. Cyrus is a stoic villain who, despite the lack of Platinum story content, comes off as intriguing from the start of the game. Your rival this time around is a nice mix of amicable and competitive, and the champion, Cynthia, is one of the best champions in the series. It’s not the best story in the franchise, but it serves its purpose and has some exciting moments.
“You could easily spend more time in the Underground and doing contests than playing the main game.“
It’s through the gameplay, and slight additions to the remake, that Shining Pearl truly shines. One thing that’s hard to criticize about the original games is the diverse range of content available to players, which is still present in the remakes. There’s the usual Gym/Pokémon League challenge, as well as Super Contests, which test your Pokémon’s various aesthetic qualities. Then there’s the huge Grand Underground to explore, where you can find exclusive Pokémon, dig for treasures and fossils, and make your own secret base full of treasures– all with friends or by yourself. You could easily spend more time in the Underground and doing contests than playing the main game.
Not that you’d necessarily choose to, as the main game is a blast. While you’re a bit overpowered for most of the game (even without any grinding,) the Elite Four and Champion battles provide some thrilling moments that require real strategy if you’re the average level. Even after beating the main story, there are lots of Legendary Pokèmon to catch and a Battle Tower to conquer, where you consecutively fight against foes. I’m 40 hours in and still playing, and that’s without any IV or EV team creating, so you could definitely sink some time into these remakes.
There aren’t a ton of mechanic-based changes from the original games, but the ones that are present go a long way in making the remakes smoother. The best addition is that random wild Pokémon will use HMs for you, meaning you don’t need to teach any of your Pokémon any HMs, freeing up move slots for actual attacks. This is a huge improvement over having to dedicate at least one party member to being an HM slave, and grants you much greater customization in your party. Other things are kept the same, like the somewhat convoluted Union Room. In order to trade with and battle with friends, you meet them in the Union Room. It was a fun idea on the Nintendo DS when wireless communication was novel, but it just feels like an extra step this time around.
I do wish that these remakes had the added content from Platinum, the improved-upon third Sinnoh DS game. Things like the Distortion World and Battle Frontier feature memorable content that really helped to round out the Sinnoh experience, and it’s a shame that they didn’t include any of this in the remakes. This inclusion would have made these remakes the definitive Diamond and Pearl experience, so I wish they went the extra mile here.
“So many of the battle tracks have this energetic feeling to them that gets you hyped up to battle, with the Team Galactic battle theme standing out as a highlight.“
Shining Pearl’s visual style is likely the most controversial part of the remake, given its overt simplicity. Rather than the pixel art of the original game, or the taller 3D models of the recent games, Shining Pearl opts to transition the pixel art’s style into 3D models. Everyone is chibi outside of battles, with fairly basic expressions on their faces. I don’t hate the style, but it does feel a bit lacking. I think a bit more effort could have gone into the expressions, as there aren’t many and they’re pretty boring.
On the other hand, the music is excellent. So many of the battle tracks have this energetic feeling to them that gets you hyped up to battle, with the Team Galactic battle theme standing out as a highlight. The new versions of these tracks are great and maintain the vibes of the original songs. I mean, a dope soundtrack is practically a given with a Pokémon game, but it’s still worth pointing out.
The Final Word
Pokémon Shining Pearl may not be the perfect remake, but it does a pretty good job of bringing the Sinnoh region to a new generation. The variety of content and postgame experience go a long way in making this feel like a fully-fleshed out game, even with the missing content. Whether you’re new to Sinnoh or a returning Trainer, I’d say you shouldn’t hesitate to check out Shining Pearl.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
