Pokémon Pearl (Nintendo DS) - PC and Console Games (Nintendo)

You might not see the supporting merchandise so much nowadays but Pokemon is still the most successful games franchise in history. Diamond and Pearl sold 5 million copies in Japan in under three months and 1 million in America in just one month, breaking all records for the year and the series. At first sight though this looks disappointingly similar to the existing games, with only a subtle 3D effect for the game world and largely static 2D battles. However the gameplay has undergone a complete overhaul, adding numerous new features and reintroducing others from Gold/Silver/Crystal, that had previously been removed.

The basics are still the same though, as you venture out into the world (called Sinnoh this time) in an attempt to catalogue each and every pokemon and battle the evil Team Galactic. Catching and training a pokemon for combat also works the same as before, although beauty and talent contests have been greatly expanded for those that prefer as little violence as possible. The game includes a day and night cycle, which severely impacts the appearance of pokemon, and you are given a new gadget called a poketch which starts as a simple watch but can be upgraded to everything from a scanner to a map. Secret bases are back and considerably more sophisticated than before but the most important new feature by far is the online mode. You can now trade, chat and battle with fans from around the world - proving that progress is not always just a case of better graphics.
Harrison Dent

Customer Reviews of Pokémon Pearl (Nintendo DS)

Leewoo
Stoke-On-Trent
3rd November 2008

Pokemon
This game had HYUGE hype
not quite as good as some of its predecessors
online is a bit rubbish
gameplay does indeed look great but gameplay is the same as ever before and in some aspects not as nearly good
The graphics manage to save this game!

Richard G Elliot (age 10)
Tamworth, Staffs United Kingdom
23rd October 2008

Palkia always Beats Dialga
I don't know WHY everyone always buys Diamond, I mean, if you go into a game shop I bet you'll find loads of Pearls, but only 1 or 2 diamonds. The games are relativley the same, but they both have different pokemon to catch. These are normally just small pokes that are in some long grass somewhere, but the main change is Palkia and Dialga.
I asked some of my friends why they all got Diamond without thinking about Pearl, most of them said its beacause Dialga's Roar of Time KOs Palkia. This is not true, Palkia has Speical Rend which is the same as Roar of Time, except it dosent take a move to recharge!
Anyway, I think I've said enough about Diamond vs Pearl.Pokemon Pearl has a exciting storyline (it's the same with Diamond) that keeps you gripped till the very end, and even after that you still want to carry on because there is the promise of getting more Legendary Pokemon (including god of all pokemon, Arceus). It's well worth your money and time to play, and, even though Pokemon Platinum is coming out in a few months, you still need to play this game!

SciFi/Fantasy Freak
England
5th September 2008

Gotta catch 'em all... gotta love 'em all!!
I'm not afraid to say that I am fast approaching 30 (YIKES!) and I still love the phenomenon that is pokemon! And pokemon diamond and pearl for the DS is fabulous! This is a great game with loads of different things to do, and I love being able to upload critters from my pokemon red (GBA) straight to pokemon pearl without a wireless connection or those fiddly wires! The stylus is put to good use although it could be incorporated more with the throwing of pokeballs and stuff like that... but this game is still great! A definite must for all pokefans and lovers of RPG's!

20th August 2008

BEST POKEMON GAME EVER
Pokemon diamond and pearl are the best pokemon games ever! The graphics are silmilar to harvest moon, however they're lots better. The music is cute. There are loads of pokemon to collect. You get to play as a boy or a girl so i recommend it to girls and boys age 8-14.

*****

12th August 2008

Another part of the sereis greatness
Yes another installment in the well known RPG serie But this time with WiFi connection.But having said that it could be improved. The GTS has really dogy deals (E.G. Give someone a LV 100 Lugia for a LV 1 Magikarp), WiFi involves freind codes a none of my friends have WiFi. The only other negetive thing is they have kept the the staticy growls insted of pokemon saying theyre name like in the anime. Fortunatly the rest is perfected. Graphics are better including 3-D buildings the pokemon feeling is the same apart from gameplay gets darker later in the game and the scenerion is the most oringinal yet. The biggest improvment for me are pokemon contests.They are contests to show of your pokemons, coolness , Beauty ,Cuteness , smartness and toughness. When I had been playing on my Pokémon Ruby contests were just a bonus feature. They were to scattered apart and making poke blocks were a chore. Now in pearl there in my faverite city they are now pokebread (poffins) to make your pokemon look better in contests .Overall apart from WiFi It is a great game hopfully WiFi will be impoved in platnuim the improved remake.