Today's Pokemon Presents presentation had a slew of announcements for the current titles, such as Pokemon GO and the recently released MOBA Pokemon Unite. But the main thing fans tuned in for was updates on the upcoming new games: Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. There has been little news on either of them since they were first announced, but the presentation thankfully had not just new footage but some announcements regarding gameplay.
With Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl being remakes of the original Nintendo DS games from 2007, some fans expected there not to be many changes made. But it turns out these remakes had a few surprises up their sleeves, with the new footage revealing some returning features and how they're being revamped.
Firstly, the Underground is coming back, although it is now called the Grand Underground. Using the DS touch screen, players could chart a map as they explored this area while also mining for items and creating secret bases. While these features do return, a big difference is that players can encounter wild Pokemon in Pokemon Hideaways. The Pokemon that appear will depend on what statues are in a player's secret base and some Sinnoh Pokemon can only be encountered in these areas.
Secondly, the games will feature customization options. Special stickers can be obtained and placed on Poke Balls, causing special effects to play whenever a Pokemon pops out of one during battle. It's a neat little touch, but the real surprise is that players can change their Trainer's clothes, similar to Pokemon Sword & Shield. The customization options do appear to be more limited (e.g., players can't change individual pieces of clothing), but many fans are sure to be pleased that this feature has been added to the remakes.
Thirdly, contests are coming back, now under the name Super Contests. Originally, in order to win, Pokemon would need to perform moves to wow the judges and score the most points. But for the remakes, it looks to have been changed into a rhythm game, albeit a very simple one, where players need to press buttons in time to the music while also performing Contest Moves.
And lastly, the Union Room is coming back and it looks like it will function no differently to how it did in the original games. The Union Room is basically where players must go to enjoy Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's online and wireless features, namely online battles and trading.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl release for Nintendo Switch on November 19th.
Source: Pokemon