Pokemonremakes are one of the most anticipated parts of the franchise. There aren’t many, but most of them serve as not only graphically updated remakes, but also mechanical iterations of the currentPokemongeneration and expansions to the original games sometimes comparable to the special third releases.Pokemon FireRedandLeafGreenbroughtRuby,Sapphire, andEmerald’s visuals and mechanics back to Kanto, and added new late-game and endgame content.HeartGoldandSoulSilverwere big hits with fans, thanks to combining everything great about the generation 2 titles with the generation 4 ones.Omega RubyandAlpha Sapphireeven went as far as making the third-generation titles 3D to matchPokemon XandY.
Fans were left waiting on the expected generation 4 remakes for a while.Pokemon Let’s Gowas another take on the first generation, but it took a new approach. Unfortunately, these much-anticipated remakes released asPokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl. They were a massive step back from previous games, and one of the biggest complaints about them is that they were too faithful in recreatingDiamondandPearl. There was a glimmer of hope in the form of anotherPokemongame announced at the same time, however, and that game wasPokemon Legends: Arceus. It came as a shock to many fans, as it was also set inDiamondandPearl’s Sinnoh region, but in the distant past as the Hisui region. ComparingPokemon Legends: ArceusandBDSPdemonstrates that a remake doesn’t need to keep the same map to impress fans.
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Pokemon Legends Reinvented the Sinnoh Region
The Hisui region found inPokemon Legends: Arceusis a radically different take onDiamondandPearl’s Sinnoh region. Being set a seemingly long time in the past means that human civilization has not spread throughout the world yet, and even native trainers haven’tadopted Poke Balls for managing their partner Pokemon. Because of this, many of the human settlements and installations found in the fourth-generation games don’t exist. Apart from a few temples, small villages, and a considerably different Jubilife, it’s mostly just the player exploring untamed nature. That’s what allowsLegendsto break away fromPokemon’s usual formula, however.
Pokemon Legendseschews the standard format ofPokemongames, getting rid of routes, towns, andeven the Wild Areasin favor of one hub town and several semi-open world maps. While the shape of Hisui is the same as Sinnoh, and all the ancient caves, temples, and lakes are still around, the layout of every area takes liberties in arranging a play space. The region is designed aroundPokemon Legends’ new gameplay loop and mechanics, ensuring that it is a more distinct and memorable experience. The Hisui and Sinnoh regions are clearly linked, but no one will mistake one for the other.
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Legends’ Hisui Compares Favorably to the Generation 4 Remakes’ Sinnoh
The true brilliance of the remade Hisui region is more apparent when a rather underwhelming remake of Sinnoh is brought into the picture.Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearlhave been criticizedfor many things, but their aggressive imitation ofDiamondandPearl’s world is one of the most popular complaints. Instead of presenting a Sinnoh remade to resembleSwordandShield’s Galar region, all the old games’ art assets were simply remade in a similar chibi art style.BDSPlook like 3D versions ofDiamondandPearl, right down to repeating the same tree in backgrounds throughout the game.Pokemon Legendscaught flack for its trees, but at least it had several kinds per area.
However, it’s not just the visual similarities that makeBDSP’s 1-to-1 map recreation upsetting; it’s how the old design fails to accommodateBDSP’s new features. Some new things were introduced in these remakes, including diagonal movement for players, follower Pokemon, and summoned hidden move Pokemon. The last addition is particularly annoying, as dealing with roadblocks without needing aparty Pokemon with a specific hidden movemakes field skills feel pointless. Coupled with new camera angles focusing on the chibi models robbing otherwise identical cutscenes of their gravity, these features highlight the missed potential ofBDSP.
BDSP and Legends’ Similarities Reveal A Better Path
Perhaps the most condemning aspect ofBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare the few new areas they did add. Ramanas Park sports some impressive rooms in the postgame, but long before then isthe Grand Underground. The original games’ Underground has been completely rebuilt into six different zones containing many caves. These caves accommodateBDSP’sonly non-random encountered Pokemon, and their contents can be further modified by how the player sets up their secret base. This proves everythingPokemon Legendsdid right with its new map: there is a new sense of discovery, and the environment meshes with new mechanics. IfBDSPhad more areas like this, it would be better received, even with the same art style and buggy launch.
It’s a shame that fans ofPokemon’s fourth generation will have to dig outPlatinumor play the radically differentPokemon Legendsfor a revitalized Sinnoh, but that’s the cards they’ve been dealt. IfPokemon BlackandWhiteremakesare still on the table, then hopefully the Pokemon Company has learned that it needs to dedicate the proper time and resources towards building a familiar but new experience, rather than an old one with some new things attached to it. At any rate, revisiting Sinnoh throughPokemonBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearland seeing its past throughPokemon Legendshas been a fascinating experience despite some missteps. WithPokemon ScarletandVioletnow on the horizon, fans are hopeful that Game Freak will continue to iterate on every newPokemongame and bring their innovations back to old ones.
Pokemon Legends: Arceusis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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