Featured Image Credit: The Pokémon Company/Nintendo
The Pokémon Company and Game Freak completely fumbled the remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, but thankfully the fans know ball.
When Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl launched on the Nintendo Switch in 2021, millions were disappointed by what was on offer. Ugly, chibi-style character models, no content from Pokémon Platinum, and mandatory EXP share that made the game far too easy for returning players.
Sinnoh fans at least got Pokémon Legends Arceus a year later, but the damage had already been done.
Luckily, we now have Pokémon Timeless Diamond and Spaceless Pearl to show us what could have been.
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After launching development in 2023, the ROMhack is finally available to play, and while it’s unofficial, it might just be the definitive Gen IV game.
There’s a staggeringly long list of improvements, such as: an expanded regional Pokédex, Pokémon Platinum weaved into the main game, returning legendary ‘mon, 130 new moves, and rematches with all Gym Trainers/Elite 4. If you’ve ever been eager to fight Cynthia again, this is the ROMhack for you.
Some Pokémon have even had their typings changed. For instance, Glalie is now an Ice and Rock-type as opposed to just Ice-type. Those who don’t like the new typings can download a “Faithful” version of the fan-game, which changes everything back to what it was in the original game.
More improvements can be found in the trailer below, as well as links to where you can download it for yourself.
Since it’s a ROMhack, you will obviously have to provide your own copy of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in order to use it. Hopefully, you never sold yours back in the day, as buying a second-hand copy in 2026 won’t be cheap. Remember that simply downloading a ROM from the internet is illegal, so don’t be a pirate.
We’d say it’s a surprise that fans can make better Pokémon games than Game Freak, but at this point it’s not.
There are loads of fabulous ROMhacks out there that both modernise and improve past games, allowing you to go back to simpler times in the franchise with some new content to keep things interesting.
READ NEXT: Pokémon FireEmerald combines all of Gen 3 games into one campaign
Perhaps we’re being a bit too harsh on Game Freak. The biggest problem with modern Pokémon games is that they either take too long or not long enough to develop.
Pokémon Winds and Waves looks like the best game in the series we’ve seen in years, no doubt because it's being made solely for the Nintendo Switch 2.
With an expansive open-world, pretty graphics and a tropical theme to it, we couldn't be more excited to play when it launches in 2027; hopefully for a reasonable price.
While you wait, be sure to check out Pokémon Timeless Diamond and Spaceless Pearl if you’re able to. It’s all we’ve got until either a re-release or a second attempt at remaking Gen IV.
