I never played the original Diamond/Pearl so I have no nostalgia for them. I have played each entry in the series since BW, and I played Yellow back in the day. This remake feels a bit undercooked. There are a few good QOL improvements but it’s strange that they didn’t make it look nicer and didn’t take any liberties with cutscenes or aesthetics or anything. Everywhere feels mostly the same. And the trainer battles leave a lot to be desired. It satisfied the Pokémon itch at some level but it feels old. Only recommended if you’re a big Pokémon fan, imo.

I enjoyed this game so much more than I expected to. It honestly felt like what a modern Telltale game should feel like. The story was surprisingly good and the characters and their nonstop (truly nonstop) banter worked well, against all odds. It may get a little annoying but each character gets substantial development. I actually cared about Drax and Rocket and Gamora. And Mantis is probably my favorite character in a long time. Fundamentally, I found the combat and general gameplay a bit lacking, just kind of simple and not overly exciting. But that didn’t matter much in the end because it was good enough to be the ride that got me to spend more time with these characters and this story.