Pokemon Diamond and Pearl

[Tygore]

So, they're out in Japan. Personally, I'm excited. From what's been released, it looks like this generation is focused on balancing out the gameplay, just in time for online play. The battle system has been tweaked slightly, with moves now having individual Physical or Special status as opposed to being sorted by type (i.e., Fire Punch now uses the physical stats instead of special). Changes can be found here (http://www.serebii.net/diamondpearl/). The games have been upgraded nicely, and I think that this is just what the series needed. Can't wait for the US release.

Also, compare the following images:
Male protagonist of Pokemon Diamond (http://www.gccafe.com/news/media/staff/Images/pokemondp1.jpg)
Revolver Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid 3 (http://i2.tinypic.com/sv2ib5.jpg)
Creepy...

[vegeta1215]

The page you linked says the Day/Night system is back - so I assume they mean the internal clock found on Gold/Silver? That was one of my favorite features of the game, so that is nice to hear (also, the Pokemon games since must have been a big step backwards if they didn't have the internal clock)

I'll have to look into this game, esp since the battery in my Pokemon Gold died. Also, being able to trade Pokemon with people on Wifi is exciting.

[Kairyu]

There is a new type of Pokedex in this game. This dex contains 151 Pokemon, some from this new generation, quite a few from each previous generation.
Until you have captured, evolved, fought, or been shown at least one of each of these Pokemon, you can't get the complete Pokedex which can record all ~500 Pokemon.
Unless you have that Pokedex, you cannot catch OR TRADE for any of the Pokemon exclusive to that dex.
On top of that, the Cubone/Marowak evolution line is not in the initial dex.
So I'm gonna skip this generation out as well, probably.

Other than that, it does sound like there have been some very nice additions. The Wi-Fi connectivity and At/Sp split in particular. Also, Lucario looks cool. I found a neat picture of him doing one of Akuma's winposes.

[Kingboo30]

Is it just me or I find much of the pokemon too childish? I mean, look at Nosepass's evolved form. Did they seriously have to add all that Nosehair?
Same with Magmars evolvtion but that's just plain old creepy. The only one I really seem to like is Lucario, Munchlax and the first ones to be announced in fourth gen.
At least they put focus into Wifi but I would like to be trade with and battle with people you don't know and that they would become a rival of somesort like MPH without using Friend Codes.

[Tygore]

There is a new type of Pokedex in this game. This dex contains 151 Pokemon, some from this new generation, quite a few from each previous generation.
Until you have captured, evolved, fought, or been shown at least one of each of these Pokemon, you can't get the complete Pokedex which can record all ~500 Pokemon.

You only need to see 150, actually. The event Pokemon Manaphy isn't required. Also, the game is set up (from what I understand) to where you can see them all fairly easily by the time you beat the Elite 4. No trading required, although WiFi certainly makes it easier.

Vegita: Ruby and the gang had an internal clock, but didn't have any day or night effects- the clock only affected berry growth and special store events. I agree, it was very much a step backwards, and I'm glad they rectified it for DP.

Kingboo- You can trade and battle with strangers, to a certain extent. One feature that looks VERY nice is the ability to put your Pokemon up for a trade online, specify what you'd like in return, TURN THE GAME OFF, and your offer will still be active. Next time you play, it's possible that whatever you requested will pop up in your box. And don't knock the Nosepass evo. That moustache is awesome.

[vegeta1215]

One thing that has bugged me from what I've read and seen about Pokemon games that have come after Gold/Silver, is that the new Pokemon are starting to look more and more alien, and less like real life animals like from the early games. Maybe they've just run out of ideas? I dunno.

So 500 Pokemon huh? Does that cover every Pokemon from every game thus far?

[Kairyu]

I'm not bothered so much by the ones that look alien as I am by the blatant clones that started popping up in the third generation. Stuff like Zigzagoon (Sentret), Poochyena (just a Houndour without Fire), and Skitty (Meowth).
Yes, every Pokemon from the initial three generations is included in the final 'dex. I think you need to trade with one of the GBA games to get some legendaries and certain other rare Pokemon, though.
That's another thing that bothers me- the inability to trade with anything pre-GBA, and the bizzare, idiotic trading scheme with GBA games. The lack of pre-GBA trades makes sense, since that's a hardware issue, but the way you trade with the GBA games... It's one-way only, you can't trade more than six per day, and it's not so much trading as it is a Safari-Zone style minigame. It really doesn't make much sense.
Of course, I don't have any of the GBA games, but that's still weird.

[Kingboo30]

If that's the case then why not mess around with the DS's clock system so you can trade more than 6 per day? I heard that you couldn't trade anything from Diamond/Pearl, to the GBA games even if it's before 4th gen. They could have done it like they did Gold. If anything, that pisses me off badly. This ain't bad if you got Emerald as you can use that cloning trick but that has risks too.

[Tygore]

The DS clock can be used to manipulate the transfer, yes. I'm not sure entirely why they decided to make transfers one-way. The time machine in Gold was a little bit of a hassle, and there were a few flaws in the mechanics. Also, I really don't plan on playing my 3rd gen games much after I get DP. I'll keep them, maybe play through it again later for fun, but the DS game will be my main. Since it sounds like there are several Pokemon outside the Shinou Dex that become available after the Elite 4, I will most likely only need the old games to transfer legendaries. Plus, since there's online trading, you'll probably only need a few Pokemon from the GBA games. Just make sure to send a Ditto to breed whatever extras you'll need.