Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Diamond/Pearl remakes get release dates

By Giovanni Colantonio Published November 11, 2021

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokémon Shining Pearl, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond all have official release dates.

Nintendo announced all three games at a Pokémon Direct earlier this year, but only gave release windows for each. The new dates line up with those original projections.

Recommended Videos

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is scheduled to launch on January 28, 2022. The new title is an open-world twist on the franchise that looks closer to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild than a traditional turn-based RPG. It will retail for $60 and pre-orders for the game are available now.

https://twitter.com/Pokemon/status/1397539085921800194

As expected, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are coming out just in time for the holiday season this year. Both titles will launch on November 19. The anticipated games are remakes of the classic Pokemon Diamond & Pearl. Fans of the series had been begging for an update on the games for years prior to its announcement. Pre-orders are open now and each game is $60.

Fans who want to buy both will be able to get a double pack. The Nintendo online shop lists the price at $120, so there doesn’t appear to be any extra savings for buying the bundle vs getting each game separately.

The surprise announcement comes ahead of Nintendo’s E3 plans, which are still unknown. The company usually broadcasts a digital Direct showcase around E3, but it has yet to confirm that. An announcement like this would usually be reserved for E3, raising questions about what Nintendo plans to do for the show. Considering the news, it seems likely that all three games could get more information during the event.

Giovanni Colantonio

Former Senior Gaming Editor

As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…

Topics

Gaming

Bizarre Pokémon Scarlet and Violet glitch doubles your running speed

Four character run in different direction in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are among 2022's glitchier video game releases due to issues with constant pop-in, camera clipping, multiplayer, Koraidon getting stuck in a handstand, and more. Now, players have found a glitch that allows the player character to walk around much faster than intended. If you're not riding or dashing on the back of Koraidon, walking around in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is pretty slow. Reddit user hamsterhead64 discovered a strange glitch that will speed up the player's exploration, though. By simply connecting a second controller to the Nintendo Switch while playing Pokémon Scarlet or Violet and pointing both left control sticks at an angle, the player character will move faster in that direction. You can see this glitch in action in the video below, which was reposted to Twitter by @Munosnail.
https://twitter.com/munosnail/status/1594292538898321414
Independently verified by GameXplain and the team at Digital Trends, this glitch is an easy way to get a notable speed boost in the open-world Pokémon games, at least until Game Freak patches it out. This method does not work while riding Koraidon or Miraidon.
Pokemon's transition to a more open-world format hasn't been the smoothest one. Pokémon Legends: Arceus also had its own traversal glitch. In that game, players could climb up steep slopes by quickly aiming and canceling a Pokéball throw. The limits of the Nintendo Switch and Game Freak's game engine are clearly starting to show in the latest Pokémon games, but this is likely something that will be fixed eventually in a post-launch patch.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

Gaming

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (AKA Breath of the Wild 2) has a release date

Link on island in the sky in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

During the September 2022 Direct, Nintendo announced the title and release date for the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Titled The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, this game will launch for Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Coming May 12th, 2023 – Nintendo Switch

Gaming

Pokémon Legends: Arceus: All save file bonuses

Getting a special package from Anthe.

While each Pokémon title has built off the previous one, it hasn't been until recently that the series has been able to take advantage of modern technologies to really encourage and reward longtime fans of the series. Sure, the games can't support including every single Pokémon from the entire series anymore, but the more streamlined roster found in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is still impressive considering how far the game pushes the series in every other respect. Even with the new open world, revamped battle system, and overhaul to how the main story and quests are presented, it is still the drive to catch and catalog every Pokémon that is at the heart of the experience.

Before the Switch, it was difficult for older Pokémon games to recognize your previous experience with the series. There were some little rewards here and there, but the developers didn't really make a major point of giving out special bonuses to anyone who played the previous games until Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Depending on which games in the series you've played, you can unlock some special, exclusive items and content. If you're curious about what each safe file bonus there is, and how to claim them, in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, we've broken them all down for you here.