After defeating the Elite Four, players also get the Delta Episode giving Rayquaza additional narrative import that incorporates the once-exclusive Mythical Pokemon Deoxys. Latios and Latias are a part of the main plot, unlocking a more immersive fast-travel system called Soaring. They were missing pivotal features from Emerald like the Battle Frontier, similar to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl ignoring elements from Platinum, but had their own ideas to reinvent older content. While many of these changes are enough to make the Switch versions a definitive Sinnoh experience, one could argue Game Freak's take in Legends: Arceus was more in-line with its prior endeavor for Hoenn.

Quality-of-life adjustments abound, like players having 360-degree movement (with Pokemon followers outside Amity Square) as battles run smoother than their infamous Gen 4 counterparts. Sinnoh's Underground is revamped to give players a shot at catching rare monsters, for example.

That's not to say Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are unoriginal. It's a charming idea in concept, one that worked wonders for Nintendo's Link's Awakening remake in 2019, but details like a lack of facial animations left many players underwhelmed given its full $60 price tag. The Switch releases include an almost 1-to-1 recreation of the original Sinnoh map using a toy-like aesthetic to capture the original DS sprites. It makes sense the dev team might have leaned in a safe direction, perhaps using Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as testing grounds.

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