Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl? If you’re coveting ILCA's recent Gen 4 remakes for Nintendo Switch, then that’s probably the tough question you’re asking yourself.
Offering two versions of the same game is a tradition for the Pokémon series. Overall, you'll find both versions provide a largely identical experience with regards to things like story, map, characters, and price, with the differences between the versions tending to be small. But it’s these minor differences that end up mattering most when you’re struggling to make a decision.
The recent Gen 8 releases, Pokémon Sword and Shield , had some pretty significant differences between versions – including version-exclusive gym leaders and characters – but, fortunately, things are a little more straightforward with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Like the original Diamond and Pearl, the differences largely revolve around version-exclusive pokémon. It might not seem like much but if you have a favorite pokémon, it’s always worth checking if they fall under the version-exclusive banner before you commit.
There isn’t really a wrong choice when it comes to these games but to help you decide if Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl is more for you, we’ve detailed the version differences below, including version-exclusive pokémon and legendaries.
Hopefully, this Nintendo Switch remaster will tide you over until the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet , which could be one of the best Nintendo Switch games .
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl: version-exclusive pokémon
As in the original Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl you’ll find that the main point of difference between the versions is their version-exclusive pokémon, with one version having wild pokémon the other doesn’t and vice versa. These version-exclusive pokémon span multiple generations and types.
It’s possible this really isn’t a big deal for you but many pokémon fans have favorites. If you’re a player who has a favorite, it’s always worth making sure it isn’t excluded from a particular version before you pick it up.
Knowing these version-exclusives could really help you finalize your decision, or, like us, it could see you spiral into a crisis when you realize you’re going to have to choose between Vulpix (Shining Pearl) and Growlithe (Brilliant Diamond).
It is, of course, possible to trade with friends – or even buy both versions – but the easiest path by far is to make sure you pick up the right version for you from the off.
Below, we’ve listed a comprehensive list of the version-exclusive pokémon for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, with further breakdowns following that.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond version-exclusives:
Pokémon Shining Pearl version-exclusives:
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: fossil exclusives
There are some pokémon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl that you’ll be able to add to your team by reviving them from Fossils found in the games' Grand Underground area. While previous Pokémon games have let the player choose between fossil pokémon, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl do things a little differently and there are two which are version-exclusive.
Those playing Brilliant Diamond will be able to revive the Rock-type Cranidos from the Skull Fossil. They can then evolve Cranidos into Rampardos.
Players of Shining Pearl, meanwhile, will have exclusive access to the Armor Fossil which revives the Rock/Steel-type Shieldon. They can then evolve Shieldon into Bastiodon.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: legendary exclusives
The most in-your-face difference between Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is in the legendary pokémon that underpins the story. These pokémon star on the cover of their respective versions and are eventually catchable.
For Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, the cover-starring legendary is Dialga, a Steel/Dragon-type with the power to control time. For Pokémon Shining Pearl it’s Palkia, a Water/Dragon-type with the ability to distort space.
If, down the line, you want to get Palkia into your Brilliant Diamond team or Dialga into your Shining Pearl team, you’ll have to trade them.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: Ramanas Park exclusives
Ramanas Park is an interesting addition to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl that replaces Pal Park in the original releases. You’ll only be able to get to Ramanas Park after you’ve completed your respective version’s main story, defeated the Elite Four and completed the Sinnoh Pokedex.
In Ramanas Park, you’ll have an opportunity to catch additional legendary pokémon that weren’t available in the original Diamond and Pearl but did feature in older Pokémon generations/regions.
Some of the legendary pokémon you’ll be able to catch, however, are dependent on which version you buy, with each version getting four exclusives apiece.
Those who pick up Brilliant Diamond will have the opportunity to catch:
Those who pick up Shining Pearl, on the other hand, can get:
Xbox Series X exclusive faces exodus of senior designers
Upcoming Xbox Series X exclusive Perfect Dark has seen an exodus of developers leave its core development team across the past year including multiple senior designers, raising questions about the current and future state of the game.
As spotted by VGC , around 34 people working on the Perfect Dark reboot at development studio The Initiative have left within the past year, according to its analysis of LinkedIn profiles.
That equates to around half of the development team known to have been working on the game, and includes senior figures like its game director, lead level designer, design director, principal world builder, and a host of other senior technical, animation, QA, and art roles.
Speaking to former employees who had left the team over the last several months, VGC says many of its senior developers were frustrated with the top-down directing style of The Initiative’s studio head Darrell Gallagher and game director Daniel Neuburger.
Neuburger joined the game’s development when Crystal Dynamics - the studio behind the most recent Tomb Raider trilogy and Marvel’s Avengers - was brought in to co-develop Perfect Dark last year, and has also left the project.
Senior team members were allegedly irritated by the lack of autonomy they were given to design the game, describing it as making painfully slow progress because of a splintered company culture.
“Making games is hard enough, let alone when you feel like you can’t get through to people making the decisions that affect everyone,” one former employee told VGC.
Other sources suggested the addition of Crystal Dynamics to the project likely means this reboot of Perfect Dark has itself been rebooted, and is years away from release.
Gallagher told VGC, however, the staffing changes do not mean the development of the game is in jeopardy.
“It’s no small task to build a studio and reinvent a beloved franchise,” Gallagher said. “In creating The Initiative, we set out to leverage co-development partnerships to achieve our ambitions, and we’re really excited about all the progress we’re seeing with our relationship with Crystal Dynamics.
“In this journey, it’s not uncommon for there to be staffing changes, especially during a time of global upheaval over the last two years, and there’s plenty more work in front of us to deliver a fantastic Perfect Dark experience to our players."
Analysis: don’t give up on Perfect Dark yet
A wave of senior departures from any game should leave fans a little wary, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate the project is on the rocks. The arrival of new developers and the departure of current employees indicates, above all, a change of creative direction. That change may very well prove to be fruitful in the long run, even if it creates some teething problems in the short term.
As for what this slate of departures indicates for Perfect Dark, we’d recommend not reading too far into it. Game developers may leave a studio for numerous reasons, from company culture to the competitiveness of their pay. While multiple departures could mean the game’s final form is significantly different from where it started, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be poor.
Although the game’s most recent director may have left, Darrell Gallagher has held his position as head of studio at The Initiative since the game's announcement, suggesting creative continuity hasn’t been wholly lost.
Windows 11 update adds folders to the Start menu
Windows 11 is getting some big changes to its core interface, including folders for the Start menu (at long last).
Microsoft has announced that folders are going to grace the Start menu as of now, with an update rolling out for Windows 11 happening right off the bat (though as ever, that rollout will reach some PCs before others).
We’ve already seen how this feature works, at least in testing, as Start menu folders debuted in a preview build of Windows 11 back in February .
These app folders pretty much do what you’d expect, and mean that you’ll be able to create folders within the Start menu via an easy process. All that’s required is dragging and dropping one app icon onto another, then a folder will be created, complete with mini app icons displayed in the folder graphic to indicate what’s inside. You can also name these folders to help with organizing and seeing what’s what at a glance.
Other nifty features being introduced for Windows 11 with this incoming update include tabs in File Explorer , which facilitate your desktop folder windows having multiple tabs like a web browser, allowing you to keep many folders open within one window.
Analysis: A bit of a head-scratcher, but welcome nonetheless
It’s great to see folders arrive for the Start menu in Windows 11, as they are a useful tool for obvious organizational reasons, helping to keep the menu streamlined.
Indeed, the absence of this pretty basic feature in the Start menu was one of the head-scratchers about Windows 11’s interface, given that this ability was present in Windows 10 (and versions way before that, for that matter, as a fairly fundamental piece of the UI customization jigsaw). Why wasn’t it brought over with the initial launch of Windows 11, and why has it taken so long for the functionality to arrive in Microsoft’s newest OS? Well, whatever the case, it’s here now.
Indeed, it’s here right now, which is another talking point here. We’d expect these kind of interface changes, ones that are fairly big adjustments, to be bundled up in the big annual update for Windows 11 (due in the second half of the year). Mainly because it gives Microsoft lots of shiny new things to point out, in a ‘look at all this load of fresh stuff that’s arrived for our OS’ kind of way.
Still, Microsoft has been moving towards deploying new features outside of the major Windows updates, and we’ve seen, for example, monthly Windows 11 updates bring forth the likes of Android app support (in testing) plus refreshed Notepad and Media Player apps .
More flexibility in feature delivery is doubtless needed now Microsoft’s cadence has dropped from two upgrades per year to a single annual affair – and we’re certainly not complaining about getting important capabilities and introductions for Windows 11 sooner rather than later. But if big chunks of functionality are arriving before Sun Valley 2 , it makes you wonder if the impact that the latter makes in terms of changes will be lessened when it turns up later in 2022.
