Copies of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have been leaking online it seems with dataminers quickly uncovering all sorts of information about the games before it is official release.
One of the more interesting discoveries relates to the games’ development. As the first mainline Pokemon games being made by a studio other than Gamefreak (ILCA), Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are also notable for being developed in Unity as opposed to the usual engine.
This discovery was shared by Pokemon dataminer Kaphotics;
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are made with the Unity game engine! This has resulted in a lot of structural changes with how data is stored compared to Sword & Shield's data storage.
— Kurt (@Kaphotics) November 9, 2021
Certain spoilers beware
For the general public, this news might not necessarily mean anything, but it does have some interesting implications for the extensive Pokemon romhacking scene:
@Kaphotics: What does the games being made with Unity give us?
Full code symbols. Unlike Unite which had some obfuscation, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl have no obfuscation and minimal sanity checks… allowing for fun tweaks and edits for ROM hacking enthusiasts.
Another interesting tidbit shared by @Eclipse on Twitter is the discovery that Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl both share the exact same ROM, and can be switched back and forth by altering a flag in the code. Once again, this is unlikely to affect the general public, but is an interesting choice on the part of ICLA and The Pokemon Company that could have implications for how dual versions may be handled in the future.
About Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl
Adventures will take place in the familiar Sinnoh region. Rich in nature and with mighty Mount Coronet at its heart, Sinnoh is a land of many myths passed down through the ages. You’ll choose either Turtwig, Chimchar, or Piplup to be your first partner Pokémon and then set off on your journey to become the Champion of the Pokémon League. Along the way, you’ll be able to encounter the Legendary Pokémon Dialga.
Adventure together with the Pokémon that appear. Players of the original games can revisit familiar places and relive familiar scenes, while first time players can enjoy plenty of fun encounters and surprises that the Sinnoh region has to offer. The original story and the scale of the Sinnoh region’s towns and routes have been faithfully reproduced. This remake has also been revitalized with some of the player-friendly features of modern Pokémon games and up-close-and-personal Pokémon battle scenes.
Whether you played Pokémon Diamond Version or Pokémon Pearl Version back in the day or you’re encountering these games for the first time, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
