This is a REALLY fun and well-done remake of Diamond/Pearl. There are people complaining about how it's TOO similar to the original games, but honestly that makes it better as far as I'm concerned.
There are some changes I don't like though. Chief among them being the fact that you can't decorate your Underground Base with furniture anymore; you can only decorate it with statues of Pokemon you dig up. I find this to be pretty whack and it sucks, even though I really like the Pokemon Hideaways. Another big change being that Contests are now just music minigames instead of being as complex as they were before. They're way too easy now, honestly, and I'm most certainly not someone who considers themselves a hardcore player either. I was able to sweep all the Cool ranks in a single sitting just after stuffing my Pokemon full of Spicy poffin. Something else I found off-putting was that a few of the Elite 4 teams have some really insane, competitive-tier shenanigans going, for example Aaron's Heracross or Flint's Drifblim. While overall the E4 was a sterner challenge than I remember the original being, this was a BIT much for me (I still beat the E4 on my attempt though so maybe I'm nitpicking).
Overall, I REALLY enjoyed my time with this game and reliving the nostalgia while having it married to some new features. It's not a perfect game, but it's very solid. I've unfortunately burned myself out about 6 hours after clearing the E4 and finishing the Sinnoh Dex, so I'll be returning to this again some other time for post-game content.
There are some changes I don't like though. Chief among them being the fact that you can't decorate your Underground Base with furniture anymore; you can only decorate it with statues of Pokemon you dig up. I find this to be pretty whack and it sucks, even though I really like the Pokemon Hideaways. Another big change being that Contests are now just music minigames instead of being as complex as they were before. They're way too easy now, honestly, and I'm most certainly not someone who considers themselves a hardcore player either. I was able to sweep all the Cool ranks in a single sitting just after stuffing my Pokemon full of Spicy poffin. Something else I found off-putting was that a few of the Elite 4 teams have some really insane, competitive-tier shenanigans going, for example Aaron's Heracross or Flint's Drifblim. While overall the E4 was a sterner challenge than I remember the original being, this was a BIT much for me (I still beat the E4 on my attempt though so maybe I'm nitpicking).
Overall, I REALLY enjoyed my time with this game and reliving the nostalgia while having it married to some new features. It's not a perfect game, but it's very solid. I've unfortunately burned myself out about 6 hours after clearing the E4 and finishing the Sinnoh Dex, so I'll be returning to this again some other time for post-game content.