There were many expectations cast upon the Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes when they were first announced. A nostalgia trip with a new coat of paint, Pokemon fans seem to at least be enjoying themselves with the Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl games. Even as a great entry into the RPG series as the original Diamond and Pearl were, there were some unavoidable technical issues of the time. One fan made a comparison video showing off how far the community has come in terms of what they had back in the day, and what they have now.
YouTuber DIstantKindom uploaded a side-by-side comparison of a Pokemon taking Super Effective damage on the Nintendo DS version of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl and compared it to the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl editions. The opposing Pokemon was a Level 99 Blissey, one of the tankiest Pokemon in the entire franchise, against a Pokemon with a Fighting move. In the Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl version, they are using an Infernape. Both moves in the experiment seem to be Close Combat, one of the series' strongest Fighting-type moves.
When the attack animation is finished, a timer shows up at the bottom of each video with the total amount of time it takes for the Blissey to faint. On the Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl version, it takes seven-tenths (.706) of a second for the Blissey's HP to empty. On the Diamond and Pearl version, it takes an eye-watering 20.746 seconds for the opposing Pokemon's HP to finally hit zero.
The result of the experiment isn't all that surprising, given that the Nintendo Switch is an up-to-the-times console with better processing ability than the 2004's Nintendo DS. But when compared side-by-side, the contrasts are striking. The Switch looks like a supercomputer while it seems like the Diamond and Pearl version is doing the calculations by hand on a pre-calculus test it wasn't prepared for. The top comments roast the left Blissey's time-to-faint, comparing it to some old viral clips of exaggerated deaths like Flanders shooting Homer Simpson in an attempt to prevent him from pressing the Core Destruct button. Some fans have gone the opposite way, calling the slow tick of the health bar an added layer of immersion and anxiety for whether or not a Pokemon with a type weakness would fall in one hit.
The faster battle screens are an upside to the remakes as they can cut down on some of the grind time for training and foregone conclusions when fighting trainers with a type disadvantage. It's a first-world complaint in a Pokemon game with other issues, but it's more of a playful complaint, rather than something game-breaking.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are out now on Nintendo Switch.