Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Full Comparison

The Pokémon series has a long history spanning almost three decades of popularity now. It’s amazing to see how far the games have come in that time, resulting in releases such as the immensely popular Pokémon Sword & Shield and Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl.

We’ve done plenty of comparisons looking at older games vs newer games, such as our Pokémon Gold & Silver vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl comparison. Here, we’re actually looking at two of the newer releases in the franchise, Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, to see how they differ in just a few short years!

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Release Year and Platforms

Despite being released around the same time, Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl actually have some huge differences in design, which we’ll get to soon enough.

Pokémon Sword & Shield were released in 2019, kicking off Generation VIII of the series. Notably, they were the first mainline games in the franchise to come to the Nintendo Switch, marking a move for Pokémon off portable devices, and onto home consoles.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl arrived two years later in 2021, also for the Nintendo Switch. These games are a remake of 2006’s Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, which were originally released for the Nintendo DS. Equipped with new 3D graphics, these games were extremely faithful to the originals.

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Sales

In theory, comparing the sales of remakes vs a full release will always be harsh. Naturally, gamers are going to be more curious about a new Generation, as opposed to one they already played 15 years ago. However, the numbers are closer than you might think.

Pokémon Sword & Shield currently stand at 25.9 million copies sold. This puts them second in the entire series, only behind the original Pokémon Red, Green & Blue. These types of numbers for a release 23 years after the original are an impressive display of the legendary longevity of the Pokémon franchise.

Meanwhile, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl sold 15 million copies. When you consider that they’re a remake of games most fans of the series had already played, it’s not a bad tally at all.

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Available Pokémon

Like any other new Generation, Pokémon Sword & Shield introduced a bunch of new Pokémon for you to meet, catch, and battle against. Despite the quantity of new designs here, there are some out there who feel that Generation VIII is where the lack of fresh ideas really began to show. One thing this Generation did introduce were Dynamax and Gigantamax evolutions, which are temporary changes to Pokémon mid-battle which give them new powers and buffs.

The available Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl are exactly as they were back in Diamond & Pearl. The remakes decided against making any new additions, meaning Generation IV is just as you remember it.

Sword & Shield Pokémon

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Pokémon

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Main Characters

The protagonist of Pokémon Sword & Shield is either Gloria or Victor, depending on who you choose at the beginning of the game. You can fully customize them throughout the game, which really adds to the RPG nature. Despite being released two years later, the main character in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Lucas or Dawn) isn’t customizable at all. This is perhaps one instance where the game was too faithful to the original Diamond & Pearl, as it’s a great quality-of-life feature to include.

By taking a look at the side casts, you can really see how story-focused Pokémon has become over the years. In Pokémon Sword & Shield, you’ve got a huge cast of characters. There’s your rival, Hop, who challenges you throughout. Then, there’s Professor Magnolia, as well as his assistant Sonia. Rose is also introduced as the chairman of the Pokémon League, and Champion of Galar Leon also pops up throughout. Bede, Marnie, and Team Yell all serve as antagonists throughout. You can really see just how much work has gone into the characters in Pokémon Sword & Shield.

The cast of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl looks small in comparison. Barry is established as your rival early on, and Professor Rowan serves to begin your new adventure. There’s a strong selection of villains here, with Team Galactic having all of Cyrus, Commander Mars, Commander Jupiter, and Commander Saturn to defeat throughout the game. Ultimately, none of these feel quite as fleshed out as the alternatives you can find in Pokémon Sword & Shield.

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: Pros and Cons

Pokémon Sword & Shield Pros

• Exploration is more rewarding than ever
• Character customization is great
• Cooperative Raids
• The Wild Area is a great addition
• Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon bring new life to old designs
• Poké Jobs are a great RPG mechanic
• Regional forms of older Pokémon are extremely interesting to see
• Plenty of additions in the new Generation of Pokémon
• The Champion Cup is a good change of pace from the Elite Four

Pokémon Sword & Shield Cons

• The decision to remove a lot of older Pokémon from the game was bizarre
• Restricted Pokédex holds back the entire game’s scale

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Pros

• 3D graphics look and feel great, and a big improvement over the original sprites
• Generation IV is very well-balanced in general
• Extremely faithful to the original Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
• HMs no longer need to be taught to Pokémon
• Autosave is a great quality-of-life addition
• The Pokétch is much-improved here
• Battles now show type differences
• You can access the Pokémon PC from anywhere now
• Pokémon can walk alongside you during your adventure
• Pokémon Contests are now massively enhanced
• New activities in the Grand Underground

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Cons

• Very little substantial new content
• Constant EXP Share means your Pokémon can be over-leveled in the endgame
• No character customization despite it being part of the series at this point

With some of the newer releases in the franchise, we’re getting to a point where Game Freak is taking more risks. Some pay off, and others don’t. However, it does give us plenty more to discuss when talking about these games. These releases in particular are an interesting case – Pokémon Sword & Shield take a more modern approach, while the design of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is very much rooted in 2006. Even still, there’s very little to separate these games, so we’d recommend you give them all a fair shake.

Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: The Final Details

There’s so much about these games that we’ve already discussed, but we’re not done there yet.

Next, we’ve got to talk about the regions featured in Pokémon Sword & Shield and Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. In Pokémon Sword & Shield, you’ll explore the Galar region, which takes heavy inspiration from Great Britain in its design. This really sets it apart with a unique visual aesthetic you won’t find anywhere else in the series. In comparison, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl bring back the Sinnoh region from Generation IV. Sinnoh is based upon real Japanese locations, in the same way that Generations I, II, and III were. This means that it resembles some of the other games in the franchise, which takes away from the uniqueness. Sinnoh is still a joy to explore, but Galar is simply more interesting.

The next major detail for comparison is the gym leaders. After this series staple was bizarrely removed in Pokémon Sun & Moon, they made their return in Pokémon Sword & Shield. These battles are the perfect mechanic to track how your team is progressing throughout the game, so their return was very much welcomed. They’re present in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, too, having been a key part of the originals. Here are the gym leaders you’ll face by playing through these games:

Pokémon Sword & Shield Gym Leaders

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Gym Leaders

One of the biggest departures from the franchise in Pokémon Sword & Shield is the Champion Cup. Usually, the end of every game in the series ends with a battle against the Elite Four. In Pokémon Sword & Shield, this is replaced with a tournament format, which results in you having far more battles than you would against the Elite Four.

Here is everyone you’ll face during the Champion Cup in Pokémon Sword & Shield:

Pokémon Sword & Shield Champion Cup

Comparatively, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl take a more traditional approach, seeing you face off against the same Elite Four that were present in the original Diamond & Pearl. It’s more in line with the wider series as opposed to Sword & Shield‘s Champion Cup, but it’s totally subjective which format you prefer more.

Here are the Elite Four battles that will test your mettle in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl:

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Elite Four

That’s it for our full comparison of Pokémon Sword & Shield vs. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. We love all of these titles, with each providing a thoroughly modern Pokémon experience. Even now, it’s hard for us to choose – they’re simply all worth playing at least once!