Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released earlier this month as generally well-received remakes of the Nintendo DS classics. They both successfully managed to capture the feel and tone of what it was like to play the fourth generation of Pokemon on the DS back in 2006, while also modernizing the experience for modern audiences playing on the Switch. While the two remakes' general quality isn't up for debate here, the sloppy implementation of the Poketch certainly is.

In the games, the Poketch is a Pokedex-like watch that has several apps on it which give the player information about their party, the time, as well as plenty more. In the originals, it took up the entire bottom screen on the DS. In Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the Poketch is displayed at all times at the top right corner of the screen and can be enlarged by selecting it. This isn't a huge dealbreaker for the games, but its implementation does feel a little bit sloppy, with it seeming like the studio behind the remakes needed a quick solution to the lack of dual screen functionality provided by the Switch. It is emblematic, however, of a problem that Nintendo has run into with its current model of hardware: the Switch isn't a great platform for DS remakes or remasters.

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The Unique Potential of the Nintendo DS

nintendo 3ds

When it arrived on the gaming scene in 2004, the Nintendo DS was completely novel, using two screens to innovate gaming and allow developers to get unique with their takes on design and mechanics. The DS gave birth to plenty of great ideas and franchises and hosts a lot of classic games that wouldn't have been possible without the functionality of the DS's two screens. When looking at the rest of the gaming landscape, the DS and all of its spinoff hardware is completely unique and hasn't been replicated by any company outside of Nintendo. As it's gotten older and less accessible, however, many fans have been asking for DS remakes and remasters to make their way to modern Nintendo hardware.

Despite its flaws, the WiiU was a great home console for Nintendo DS games to be ported to because of its nature as a dual-screen device. When played on a TV, the TV could function as the top screen on the DS, and the gamepad was the bottom touch screen - allowing for Nintendo to port some of its older classic DS titles. The Switch, however, is a completely different story.

The Issue of Porting DS Titles to the Switch

Promotional art of the Nintendo Switch OLED in front of a TV on a red background

While many Nintendo fans often like to say that the WiiU was a prototype of sorts for the Switch, that isn't true when it comes to screen economy with Nintendo's most recent hardware release. Even when docked, there isn't a way to recreate the dual-screen functionality of the DS with the Switch, meaning that ports of DS games need to rework their systems to be compatible with only one screen like in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Unfortunately, a lot of titles made for the DS were made specifically with the dual-screen functionality in mind, meaning that they can't be removed from that setting for a Switch port. While the DS and its many spinoff releases had a long life cycle, a lot of games locked themselves on the ecosystem by leaning into the design functions of the handheld. Some games can easily do without the dual-screen, but many titles can only exist on the DS and can't make the jump to the Switch. Hopefully, Nintendo comes up with some sort of fix to this. However, with Nintendo not having a great track record of supporting its older titles and a fix likely to be costly, the company may see it as not being worth the effort.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are available now for Nintendo Switch.

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