Pokemon Diamond

As soon as I heard about Pokemon Diamond coming out for Nintendo DS I was so excited that they were actually making a Pokemon game for DS. I had a real hard time waiting until it finally came out because they started to advertise for it a long while before it actually came out. I have been a Pokemon fan for a long time so I was so excited about the game that I went and got it the day it came out. Right from the start I loved the new Pokemon game. It didn't take me long to get used to the new controls since there weren't that many new controls. This game is the best Pokemon game I ever played. To learn more about this awesome game just continue reading my review.

Story

Just like in all the other Pokemon games there is not much of a story to this game. This story starts you out in Twinleaf town where you and your friend live. It starts with you and your friend going up to Lake Verity which is close to your town to see if you could find the a unique pokemon. When he enter Lake Verity you see Professor Rowan and his assistant talking and right after that they leave, but Professor Rowan ends up leaving his briefcase behind. After the Professor and his assistant leave your friend notices the briefcase and you go over to investigate with him. When you go look in the briefcase you are attacked by a pair of Starly which is a new species of Pokemon in the game. So you and your friend have to use one of the three pokeballs in the briefcase. These are the three Starter Pokemon which are Piplup, Chimchar, and Turtwig. Whichever Starter you choose here is the one you will receive when you talk to Professor Rowan in Sandgem Town. After that its just the same as any Pokemon games which is travel the region collecting and training Pokemon while defeating all the trainers and gym leaders on the way. The main goals are to catch all the Pokemon in the game and become a Pokemon Master.

Gameplay

There are many new features being introduced in Pokemon Diamond, which I will explain along with the other features of the game. The Pokedex has been remodeled a bit since Pokemon Emerald. One of the new features of the Pokedex is the Dial which is located on the bottom screen. You use your stylus to rotate the dial which causes the list on the top screen to move back and forth. Just like in all the other Pokemon games there is a bag where all your items are stored. The items are all grouped into different groups which include, Items, TM's and HM's, Battle Items , Medicine, Berries, Key Items, Poke Balls, and Mail. The Pokedex and Bag are just two of the options on Menu Screen. All the items in the Menu Screen are: Pokedex, Pokemon, Bag, Trainer Card, Save, and Options. The Trainer Card is another one that has a new feature added on it. The new feature is that on the bottom screen it shows a picture of all the gym leaders, and if you tap the square below it that it will show the all the badges you have. The badges will actually get dirty so you can make them shiny again by slide over it with the stylus if you really want to.

Another new feature in Pokemon Diamond is the Pokemon Watch (Poketech) which takes up the whole touch screen when not in a battle or in a menu screen. The Poketech has many useful functions which are called Poketech apps and you will obtain them during your adventure from different people. Some of these apps for the Poketech are: Digital Watch, Calculator, and Memo Pad. There are a total of 19 Poketech apps in all including the three listed above.

In all Pokemon games there are two kinds of battles. The first one is fighting against wild Pokemon and the other one is when you fight against other Pokemon Trainers. When you start a battle the pokemon that is in the top left is the pokemon that appears first in the battle. Each Pokemon that participates in the battle that didn't faint will earn a share of experience points. When you are fighting a wild Pokemon who have a chance to catch them with a Poke Ball. In a trainer battle you can't catch the pokemon since they already have a trainer. To engage into a Trainer battle you have to make eye contact with a Trainer or walk right in front of them. Unlike in wild Pokemon battles you can't run from a Trainer battle, which means that battle will continue until someone wins the battle. Now that Pokemon is on the DS the way you choose your commands is different. In this game all the battle commands are done on the touch screen. Just like all the other Pokemon games you have the commands: Fight, Bag, Run, and Pokemon. Now all you have to do is tap the command you want to use instead of pressing all those buttons.

Most of the Pokemon battles aren't that hard unless your Pokemon are not at a high enough level for that area. Most of the time the Pokemon Trainers aren't that much harder than the wild Pokemon. The boss Trainers are always a little harder than most of the other Trainers or wild Pokemon in the specific area.

Everytime you win a battle your Pokemon will gain some experience points. When a Pokemon gains enough experience they will level up and when a Pokemon levels up their stats will get higher. Pokemon will also learn new moves at certain levels. There are two ways to level up your Pokemon. The first way is to battle wild Pokemon and Pokemon Trainers and the second way is to take them to the Day Care Center. Sometimes when a Pokemon hits a certain level they will evolve into a stronger Pokemon. Some Pokemon will only evolve if you use an item on them and some will only evolve if they are traded to another game. If you leave a male and female Pokemon in the Day Care Center at the same time they may make a Pokemon Egg appear which has a baby Pokemon in it. The baby Pokemon that comes out of the egg is same Pokemon as the female except its usually the first stage of the Pokemon. When a Pokemon Egg just hatches it will be a level 1.

There are still Pokemon Contest in this game but its only one building which is in Hearthome City. Just like in Pokemon Emerald, Pokemon Sapphire, and Pokemon Ruby there are fiver competition categories to choose from. The five categories are: Cool, Beauty, Cute, Smart, and Tough. The Pokemon which is entered into one of the five categories listed above will compete in three types of contest which are: Visual, Dance, and Acting. In the Visual Competition you have to dress your Pokemon up with Accessories that go along with the given theme. The more hearts you receive from the audience the higher the score you get. The condition and the way the Pokemon is dressed can effect your score. In the Dance Competition one of the Pokemon is the main dancer and the other three are backup dancers. When your Pokemon is a backup dancer you have to copy the dance moves of the main dancer exactly to score points. When you are the main dancer you can dance as you please, but its best to make a dance that is hard to follow so the other Pokemon won't get a good score. The Acting Competition is where you have your pokemon is their contest moves in order to appeal the judges. The move you choose and the judge you choose to try to appeal to will affect the score. Instead of using Pokeblocks to raise the condition of your Pokemon you use Poffins. Poffins are sweets that increase the condition of your Pokemon. The higher the level of the Poffin the better it will raise the condition of the Pokemon. To make Poffin you have to find the Poffin house and just like when you made Pokeblocks you have to use berries to make Poffins. Once you choose the berry you are going to use to make the Poffin who have to use the stylus and stir the pot in the direction of the arrow to make the Poffin. You don't want to spill any Poffin or make it burn either.

Since you can't connect with any of the other Pokemon games they came up with a new feature called Migrating. With the Migrating feature you can migrate Pokemon from the GBA Pokemon series games. The Pokemon that are migrated from the GBA games are transferred to Pal Park. Unfortunately you can't migrate Pokemon until after you beat the Elite Four, because Pal Park doesn't open until after you defeat the Elite Four. In order to migrate Pokemon from one of the other Pokemon games you have to insert the GBA game pak into the Game Pak slot. In order to catch the Pokemon that were imported you have to go to Pal Park. The Pal Park actually has competition to see how quickly you can catch all 6 of the pokemon that were migrated to Diamond. You are given five pokeballs for the competition, but don't worry the balls you receive will not fail.

You can connect to other DS systems that are close by using the Wireless Communications. While connecting to other DS systems by wireless connections you can go into the Pokemon Wireless Club Union Room where you can do many things. The different things you can do in the union room is greet other trainers in the room, trade Pokemon, Draw, mix records, battle other trainers, and chat with other trainers. You can also meet other people underground which is below the surface of the Pokemon World. The Underground is where you can dig up many treasures and where you can meet other trainers. You can even do multi-player Super Contests and you can make Poffins with other trainers.

You can even connect over the Internet in Pokemon Diamond by using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connections. This way you can battle and trade Pokemon with trainers who may be in a completely different country. You can go to the Global Trade Center which is located in Jubilife City to seek out Pokemon you want. Personally I haven't tried the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or the Global Trade Center yet so I don't have any input for it.

Controls

The control pad is used to move around in the field or move the cursor on the menu screens. The A button is used to select commands, talk to people, pick up items that are on the ground and scroll through text. The B button is used to cancel a command and the X button opens the Menu. The Y button uses a key item which is set to that button. The L or R button cycles through the selections when available. The Start button starts the game, and moves the cursor, and the select button is only used to organize and switch items. The touch screen is used at various times during the game. It is pretty simple to figure out how you use the touch screen. All you have to do is tap on the touch screen where the option is displayed for the option to be displayed.

Graphics

The graphics in Pokemon Diamond are a little better than the Pokemon games on GBA. The Pokemon are a little more colorful and detailed. In Diamond and Pearl they introduced a new way to tell the difference between the female and male version of certain Pokemon. For example the Female Woopers have shorter antennae then the Male Woopers. The Pokemon world in Diamond is a little more graphical than the GBA games.

Sound

The music in Pokemon Diamond is not much different than any of the other games. The music seems to be basically the same for the most part. The music is not much better than the sound in the GBA Pokemon games. The sounds of the moves hitting the Pokemon are not that much different either. Overall the sounds are not really any better than the other Pokemon games.

Overall Pokemon Diamond is a real awesome and fun game to. Anyone who has been a fan of Pokemon should love this game. Its the best Pokemon game in the series. I recommend this game to all Pokemon fans and anyone who has a Nintendo DS.