Parents' Guide to

Pokémon Diamond

By Anise Hollingshead, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Classic Pokémon format, this one's worth catching.

Game Nintendo DS 2007
Pokémon Diamond Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 8+

Based on 5 parent reviews

itsrobloxhereyt
itsrobloxhereyt Adult
July 30, 2021
age 5+

le good game

it le good but le slow, get platinum for le fast.
Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of 0-year-old
October 18, 2017
age 11+

Hands down WORST main series games

I played this year's back and even now I don't care for this game. Now I know many people have fond memories of these games but I believe that you should just skip this one and get Platinum Version instead. My issue with this game is the story is just convoluted and mediocre. The bad guys are just weird. And the game play is way too long which can cause a problem nowadays because of it being too time consuming. The story is too bland to have a game take this long. The other games after this don't take nearly as long and are more story driven. I just found this one too long and boring personally and that's why I put a higher age range, not for violence, but because it would bore younger children.
See all 5 parent reviews

What’s It About?

POKEMON DIAMOND (or the sister game, Pokemon Pearl) revisits the classic formula that made the earlier Pokemon games so popular: Collect Pokemon, battle with them, and become the best Pokemon trainer around. You and a friend find a briefcase left behind by two mysterious strangers, and find Pokemon inside. When you return the briefcase to the strangers, one of them -- Professor Rowan, a renowned Pokemon expert -- asks for your help in indexing the various species of Pokemon that live in the wild, and you agree. In order to find and catalog the Pokemon into the Pokedex, it's necessary to explore the countryside and towns, and battle the wild Pokemon.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (5):
Kids say (30):

One major new feature is the ability to play wirelessly over the Nintendo Wi-fi connection, which allows players who aren't close to each other to battle and trade Pokemon over the Internet. They can even use the Nintendo microphone to voice chat, but will need a friend code, which means players can't choose random strangers to play.

The graphics are 2D with some 3D elements. The interface doesn't make much use of the DS touch screen, except during battle when it becomes very handy with large, thumb-friendly icons, which alleviate the need to scroll through choices with the directional pad. Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl are true to the Pokemon franchise and faithfully include most of the features of past games. Deceptively simple in concept, both games are rich in strategy, making them fun for both kids and adults who like the franchise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about why Pokemon is such a popular franchise. Why do you like Pokemon? In this game Professor Rowan is trying to catalog all the Pokemon. Is it important to know many facts about different animals? Why are the trainers fighting each other if they aren't mad at each other?

Game Details

  • Platform: Nintendo DS
  • Available online?: Available online
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Release date: April 21, 2007
  • Genre: Role-Playing
  • ESRB rating: E for Everyone
  • Last updated: December 1, 2016

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