There's Only One Pokémon Announcement That Would Excite 2000s Gamers

Pokémon has had a bit of a resurgence lately with the announcement of the genuinely mind-boggingly good-looking Gen 10 games, Pokémon Winds and Waves. I will be the first to put my hand up and admit I may have been a tad hasty in damning The Pokémon Company and Game Freak to a middling life of disappointing everyone. Still, as much as I am excited to see just how Winds and Waves pans out, I’m not wholly convinced The Pokémon Company is out of hot water just yet. After all, one cannot forget the nightmare fuel birthed from the rotten belly of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, nor the rather lacklustre Legends: Z-A with its over-priced DLC that massively underdelivered.

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So, I turn to The Pokémon Company’s next announcement and what it would need to be to claw back a little of that lost goodwill. Well, frankly, I believe there is but one announcement that could truly win over fans: remasters of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. One may guffaw at the mere notion of remasters, considering both games were remade not that long ago. However, I believe there’s a lot of value in delivering the original experience unblemished by Diamond and Pearl’s admittedly decent remakes and indeed setting an all-important precedent that could lead to the return of several other Nintendo DS gems still trapped on that 22-year-old hardware.

Pokémon Diamond And Pearl Remasters Would Help Close The Gap Between Now And Gen 10

After the somewhat divisive launch of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch, rumors of other GBA Pokémon games have been running amok online. Naturally, everyone’s attention has turned to Ruby and Sapphire, arguably some of the finest games in the entire series, and for good reason, too. They’re the most logical choice for another retro port and are in high demand. However, as much as I would love to see them return, I feel as if Pokémon Diamond and Pearl offer the perfect encapsulation of when the series was at its very best.

Perhaps this is a somewhat controversial take, as I appreciate the love for some of the earlier Pokémon entries is astronomically high; however, Diamond and Pearl perfected the 3D visual style that Pokémon should have maintained even as it forayed onto home consoles. It also has the best region design, some incredible and iconic Pokémon to catch, a decent amount of variety both in mechanical gimmicks and actual gameplay to engage with, as well as one of the game’s most interesting narratives. Diamond and Pearl, and to a similar extent, its successor Black and White, are the perfect distillation of everything that makes Pokémon such a beloved series, while also offering visuals that feel on par with what a lot of other creature collection games are offering today.

Arden from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet looking sad with a glitched player from Pokemon Scarlet behind him as well as gameplay from Pokemon Black and White.

The Nintendo Switch Needs More DS Ports

Art from Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry Skies showcasing the heroes gathering outside of an inn. — Image Courtesy of Square Enix

The majority of Nintendo DS games remain stuck on the platform, likely due to the inarguably complex task of adapting their multi-screen gameplay to a single-screen device like the Nintendo Switch. It is why some of the most-requested Nintendo DS ports for Switch remain unadapted, seemingly destined to be trapped on out-of-print hardware and quickly becoming a rare commodity on second-hand platforms. This is a genuine shame, as so many of those games not only hold up today but are certifiable masterpieces and deserving of a second chance on a new console.

I strongly believe it is up to Nintendo, and by extension, The Pokémon Company, to start the process of porting these games over and adapting their multi-screen functionality for the Nintendo Switch. It would certainly take some work, but it isn’t impossible, as proven by the likes of The World Ends With You. If the studio were to take up the challenge and prove that not only is it possible, but has the potential for success, then I can absolutely see other developers like Square Enix following suit. Even if it were to be an unsuccessful endeavor, I still believe it to be an important one.

A Pokemon trainer with Pikachu on their shoulder from Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu

Video games are the only medium, for the most part, in which works of art are trapped to specific formats and are completely inaccessible today without investing in aging tech that will eventually become unusable. Sure, there are some books completely out of print and films that never moved from film to VHS, or VHS to DVD. However, for the most part, these conversions aren’t as troublesome as porting video games can be, and there are companies dedicated to the preservation of books, film, TV, and music that ensure they’re released on the latest hardware to keep them relevant and alive. Video games don’t really have that luxury, and the speed at which new technology is produced ensures that even games released just under a decade ago can be relegated to outdated hardware.

I’m not suggesting that every developer and publisher, including those now defunct, constantly ensure their legacy titles are kept playable on modern consoles, as nice as that would be. That would be an astoundingly impossible task. However, for studios like The Pokémon Company that make ridiculous sums of money and would likely have the budget to spend on preserving and, importantly, reselling their older titles on modern hardware, it feels like a fair request. I would hope that it is as important to The Pokémon Company as it is to fans to ensure that no one is priced out of enjoying this incredible series, and that none of its entries are lost to time. Frankly, I feel like porting Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to the Nintendo Switch would be a very good way of showcasing that it cares.

Do you think Pokémon Diamond and Pearl should be remastered for the Nintendo Switch? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!