is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The game is an enhanced version of the 2006 titles Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and is part of the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series. It was released in Japan in September 2008 and internationally throughout 2009.
In Pokémon Platinum, players control either Lucas or Dawn and begin with one of three Pokémon provided by Professor Rowan. The mascot Pokémon is Giratina, which plays a central role in the story. While Giratina had only one form in Diamond and Pearl, it gains a new "Origin Form" in Platinum, introduced alongside the Distortion World, a new area featuring altered physics compared with the Sinnoh region where the game takes place. Gameplay follows traditional Pokémon mechanics: players explore towns, caves, and outdoor environments, capture and train Pokémon, and engage in turn-based battles.
Pokémon Platinum received generally positive reviews, holding aggregate scores of 84 on Metacritic and 83.14% on GameRankings. Critics praised it as one of the stronger entries in the series and noted the additions and refinements made over Diamond and Pearl, while some criticized it for being too similar to those games. Publications such as IGN, Nintendo Power, and GamePro highlighted its improvements; IGN ranked it ninth on its list of the best Nintendo DS games and nominated it as one of the best DS role-playing games of 2009. It was the fastest-selling video game in Japan at the time of its release and had sold 7.06 million copies worldwide by March 31, 2010.
Gameplay
Pokémon Platinum is a role-playing video game with adventure elements. Its basic mechanics are the same as those found in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, with the exception of a few bugs and glitches. For example, the void glitch was patched out because many people lost their save files. As with all Pokémon games for handheld consoles up to that point, the gameplay is in third-person overhead perspective, and consists of three basic screens: a field map, in which the player navigates the main character; a battle screen; and the menu, in which the player configures their party, items, or gameplay settings. Players begin the game with one Pokémon and can capture more using Poké Balls. The player can also use his or her Pokémon to battle other Pokémon. When the player encounters a wild Pokémon or is challenged by a trainer to a battle, the screen switches to a turn-based battle screen where the Pokémon battle. During a battle, the player may use a move, use an item, switch the active Pokémon, or flee. Fleeing is not an option during battles against trainers. All Pokémon have hit points (HP); when a Pokémon's HP is reduced to zero, it faints and cannot battle unless revived with a Pokémon skill or an item. A reviewer from Games for Lunch noted that, while Platinum retained much of the core gameplay from Diamond and Pearl, refinements like quicker menu response times and improved AI made the experience feel noticeably smoother for returning players. Orland, K. (2009, April 8). Games for Lunch: Pokemon Platinum Version’. McClatchy - Tribune News Service.
If the player's Pokémon defeats the opposing Pokémon by causing it to faint, it receives experience points. After accumulating enough experience points, it will level up; most Pokémon evolve into a new species of Pokémon when they reach a certain level. Apart from battling, capturing Pokémon is the most important element of Pokémon gameplay. Although other trainers' Pokémon cannot be captured, the player may use Poké Balls on a wild Pokémon during battle. A successful capture adds the Pokémon to the player's active party or stores it in the PC if the player already has the maximum of six Pokémon. Factors in the success rate of capture include the HP of the target Pokémon and the strength of the Poké Ball used; the lower the target's HP and the stronger the Poké Ball, the higher the success rate of capture is. Platinum features largely the same Pokémon as in Diamond and Pearl, with some added and some missing. Platinum features the Pokétch, a wristwatch-like device, introduced in Diamond and Pearl. It features simple applications such as a calculator, map, counter, and drawing pad. Platinum also features the Underground mode, where players can dig for spheres and Fossils.
New features Platinum adds an area called the "Wi-Fi Plaza", which features several Pokémon species-themed mini-games and allows up to 20 players to be present in it. Platinum also introduces the Vs. Recorder, which allows players to record battles held in the Battle Frontier or on Wi-Fi. The Global Trade System (GTS), a service that allows players to trade anonymously over a Wi-Fi connection, returns in Platinum; one change to the GTS system allows players to be notified via email when a trade has commenced, though, outside Japan, this feature has been reduced to being merely a message on the player's Wii. To access all of these Wi-Fi-related features, you will need to have a network with a WEP key security. A variety of changes have been made to the appearance and availability of Pokémon; Giratina, Shaymin, and Rotom all have new forms, with Rotom having four new forms. New items are also introduced to facilitate Pokémon form changes. Giratina and Shaymin's new forms can be achieved using the Griseous Orb and Gracidea Flower respectively. The trios of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, along with Regice, Regirock, and Registeel, have been added to the game as well. The game also adds the Battle Frontier, a feature first introduced in Pokémon Emerald. Platinums Pokémon Contests play similarly to Diamond and Pearls; they feature four stages, awarding ribbons to Pokémon for having the best result. Baked goods called Poffins can be made from berries and fed to Pokémon to improve certain traits, depending on the kind of Poffin made. In addition to compatibility with Diamond and Pearl, Platinum is also compatible with the third generation Pokémon role-playing games available on the Game Boy Advance through the DS's Game Boy Advance slot. Players can also upload Pokémon from Platinum to the Wii games Pokémon Battle Revolution and My Pokémon Ranch, though the latter is only compatible with Platinum in Japan. Two new characters, Looker, a police investigator on the trail of Team Galactic, and Charon, a Team Galactic admin, are introduced. A significant addition is the Distortion World, which features distorted physics versus those in the standard world. Compared to Diamond and Pearl, many popular Pokémon become accessible much earlier in the game as well, such as Togekiss, Gliscor, and Electivire.Woodrick, Sam. "Pokemon: All the Similarities and Differences Between Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum" , Game Rant, April 14, 2021, retrieved September 18, 2023 Pokémon Platinum also adds new elements to the post-game, including the player being given a Villa to decorate.Steel, Tom. "10 Ways Platinum Is Different From Diamond & Pearl" , CBR, October 20, 2021, retrieved September 18, 2023
Setting and story
Similar to Diamond and Pearl, Platinum is set in the fictional region of Sinnoh. Platinum features slightly different environments, there is snow on the ground in locations where it was not found in Diamond and Pearl, to reflect this change the player characters and the player's rival are dressed for colder weather when compared with their designs from Diamond and Pearl.
Like its predecessors, Diamond and Pearl, players of Platinum revisit familiar locations from the Sinnoh Region, including Twinleaf Town, Pastoria City, and the Resort Area.Anderson, Zuri. "Pokemon: Every City In Sinnoh, Ranked" , The Gamer, October 4, 2019, retrieved September 18, 2023 However, many of these locations have experienced design improvements and changes from Diamond and Pearl.Steel, Tom. "10 Ways Platinum Is Different From Diamond & Pearl" , CBR, October 20, 2021, retrieved September 18, 2023 Similarly, Platinum also features the return of several popular characters from Diamond and Pearl, including Sinnoh League Champion Cynthia, Elite Four members, Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian, and Gym Leaders, Roark, Gardenia, Fantina, Maylene, Crasher Wake, Byron, Candice, and Volkner."Platinum Gym Leaders & Elite Four" , Pokémon Database, n.d., retrieved September 18, 2023
Pokémon Platinum, while keeping to the same plot as Diamond and Pearl for the most part, introduces several new elements to it. Two new characters are introduced - the first being Charon, a scientist in Team Galactic as well as the fourth and newest commander alongside Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, and the other being a detective investigating Team Galactic under the codename "Looker". Giratina is also the focus of the plot, whereas Dialga and Palkia were the focuses of Diamond and Pearl, respectively. However, the player can still obtain both Dialga and Palkia once completing the game, whereas, in Diamond and Pearl, the player could only catch Giratina and the respective game's mascot. The player has multiple chances to catch Giratina during the game, with this being the first instance of the game giving the player the chance to catch a Legendary Pokémon again after defeating it.
New scenes were added into Platinum's plot in order to advance the story and give it more depth. One of these scenes includes the player character sneaking into Team Galactic's headquarters alongside Looker and witnessing a speech performed by Team Galactic's boss, Cyrus. In this speech, Cyrus depicts his plan to use the Legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia to create a new world without spirit.
As in Diamond and Pearl, the Starter Pokémon are the Grass-type Turtwig, the Fire-type Chimchar, and the Water-type Piplup, which evolve into Torterra, Infernape, and Empoleon respectively.
Development
When trying to determine what content to change from Diamond and Pearl, game designer Takeshi Kawachimaru felt that the designers should focus on changing only the most important things to make sure that it was not too different from the original games. Game director Junichi Masuda commented that since they designed the original two games as the "ultimate" Pokémon titles, they had to make Platinum even stronger than them.
Giratina's design change was one of the first things revealed about Platinum in February 2008. In designing the new form, they paid attention to the details; the designer redrew Giratina several times, attempting to make it look different from its form in Diamond and Pearl. They finalized its design as an "antimatter Pokémon". Masuda explained antimatter as well as the mass-energy equivalence to the developers. He also explained the "Reversed Mount Fuji", which is what they call the reflection of Mount Fuji. While Kawachimaru did not understand it at first, he later incorporated them into the game. The Distortion World was based on these ideas, described as the "core concept" of the game. They also added the Wi-Fi Plaza and Battle Frontier modes to improve players' ability to share information with other players. An idea that the developers wanted to include was to allow players to communicate with family and friends more easily; the developers felt that the Battle Frontier realized this idea.