Not going to give this a "real" review: I'll save that for when I dig into Platinum one of these days.
What I will say is that this isn't outright bad, simply by the virtue that, at its core, this is still Sinnoh Pokemon and Sinnoh Pokemon is good. They also made one very solid change: the new Pokemon in the Underground remedy the original's Dex issue. No longer do you have to pick Chimchar or get saddled with Ponyta if you want a fire type: get yo ass a Houndour. Cool (ignoring the fact that if you really care, you can set up trades).
BUT: secret bases are ruined. Contests are ruined. There's no Battle Frontier. The graphics are ASS. No, I don't hate chibi on principle, this is just really bad chibi. You can argue whether or not it was good to not choose to incorporate newer mechanics such as Mega Evolution or Z-moves, but at least the former's inclusion in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire made the game a different experience than the originals.
The worst thing that can be said about Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is they don't have any real reason to exist beyond Platinum being a bit expensive on the secondary market now. Sinnoh but worse is still Sinnoh, but what is the point in playing this when there are better alternatives?
What I will say is that this isn't outright bad, simply by the virtue that, at its core, this is still Sinnoh Pokemon and Sinnoh Pokemon is good. They also made one very solid change: the new Pokemon in the Underground remedy the original's Dex issue. No longer do you have to pick Chimchar or get saddled with Ponyta if you want a fire type: get yo ass a Houndour. Cool (ignoring the fact that if you really care, you can set up trades).
BUT: secret bases are ruined. Contests are ruined. There's no Battle Frontier. The graphics are ASS. No, I don't hate chibi on principle, this is just really bad chibi. You can argue whether or not it was good to not choose to incorporate newer mechanics such as Mega Evolution or Z-moves, but at least the former's inclusion in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire made the game a different experience than the originals.
The worst thing that can be said about Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is they don't have any real reason to exist beyond Platinum being a bit expensive on the secondary market now. Sinnoh but worse is still Sinnoh, but what is the point in playing this when there are better alternatives?