Stability can be good in certain things, and it can be bad in others. Video games are a little tricky since we don’t want our favourite game to go get a weekend sex change, but at the same time, it’d be nice if they got a new haircut every once in a while and kept their nails trimmed. That specific equilibrium has to be found for each franchise, where certain aspects must remain constant and others a little volatile. With the last four generations of the Pokémon RPG series, we’ve seen a game that has progressed in complexity and is slowly developing into a pointless craze.

Just like when I was twelve-years-old and hated to admit that I played Pokémon, I now hate to admit that Pokémon Diamond/Pearl has become a disappointment. I find this rather ironic since I knew exactly what we were getting into with this latest generation of Pokémon. If you look back at the previous three, not a whole lot has actually changed. The premise of each game has altered ever so slightly, but follows the same basic formula. The visuals and audio have improved with time, and there has been an increase from 150 to 493 Pokémon throughout the games. There have been some large changes to the game series, like the ability to trade Pokémon and battle online with anyone, but this has more to do with changing technology and was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, the changes we’ve seen to the gameplay are lackluster and are more or less there to say that something has changed. But if I want to make poffins, I’ll play Cooking Mama. And digging underground, uncovering gems and building my own secret cave was decent fun for the first thirty minutes, but the charm wore away and I realised that it’s just another gimmick.

Like all other Pokémon games, Pokémon D/P is perceived as a game that your six-year-old sibling plays and yet, it has so much more to it than that. It may seem happy and cheerful (most of the time, anyway) to remain kid friendly, but it does have something that most other games still can’t grasp — the ability to be taken light-heartedly and still satisfy some pretty hardcore gamers. I’ve always been about doing straight-up damage off the bat, which is usually fine against the computer or a dumb friend, but some pokemaniacs out there really plan out in-depth strategies for each of their Pokémon and possible encounters. It’s not always about having an extremely strong or fast Pokémon, but one with a move set that will succeed in most any situation. This is what makes people crazy for Pokémon, for whatever reason. Getting new Pokémon and mastering them, however, I find hard to justify as the sole reason for purchase.

Half the fun of Pokémon now is thinking of what your lineup will consist of. Before Pokémon D/P was even out, thousands of gamers were looking into which Pokémon would form the best team, planning out what moves they’ll give them, and so on. It seems that some people had more fun thinking about playing the game rather than actually playing it. If you’ve played any of the Pokémon RPG series before, all the way through, there will be little satisfaction in beating Pokémon D/P. Unless you’re a newcomer to the series, you’re likely getting it for the new Pokémon and the option of playing online. This does open the gameplay up quite a bit and will leave those who truly love to grind their Pokémon in paradise. Not only can you impress yourself with your team of level 100s, but you can slaughter other trainers all over the world. This is big for Pokémon, and I’m afraid the game would have been a failure otherwise. Even if nothing had changed with Pokémon D/P, millions of people around the world would still have bought the game, which just sends the message across to Game Freaks that they’re still doing it well enough.

The game has that same aroma in the air that was once sweet, but has now turned too fragrant and burns the nostrils. I feel the exact same playing Pokémon D/P now as I did when I first bought Pokémon Red, which seems to be ages ago. This being the first game in the series on the DS, it would have been nice if Game Freaks went that extra length and made it something really fresh and maybe even epic, in its own weird way.

As lovely as it would be, good things don’t last. The Pokémon RPG series used to be something so phenomenal in its beginning. What really bothers me is that this series may continue on using the same method, creating the same experience every time, that slowly dulls, and people will still buy it. Those of us who once loved the series and want to see it evolve into something that could far overshadow the previous games will be left waiting for an unknown amount of time. Buy it if you’ve never played Pokémon before, or just can’t live without Pokémon. Otherwise, you may just want to pass this one up until Game Freaks gets their shit together. It’s the best game in the series. However, it doesn’t exactly feel like it.