The Pokemon franchise may be filled to the brim with turn-based RPG action, but it also has a lot of fun distractions. In Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, players could compete in athletic competitions with their Pokemon, while Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald premiered the fashion-centric Pokemon Contests. In Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, fans can compete in similar Super Contests with their Pokemon, but there’s another much more relaxing distraction that players can opt into. Just north of Hearthome City, gamers can find Amity Square, a quaint little park where they can walk around and hang out with some of their cutest Pokemon.
Amity Square is frankly pretty easy to miss. It’s not a part of the plot in Diamond and Pearl, and it’s hard to even call Amity Square a minigame, since strictly speaking there’s very little to do there. It’s just a calm place where players can hang out with their Pokemon. There’s definitely some mechanical benefits to the park, though. What’s more, it looks like ILCA is enhancing these benefits in the upcoming Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes of the original Generation 4 Pokemon games. As such, anyone interested in picking up Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl should make sure to check out Amity Square.
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The Benefits of Amity Square
The concept of Amity Square is simple. When players arrive, they can take their Pokemon for a stroll, so long as the Pokemon belongs to a certain list of cute Pokemon. Most of these Pokemon are native to the Sinnoh region: the three Sinnoh starter Pokemon, Drifloon, Pachirisu, Buneary, and so on. Notably, while Diamond and Pearl only allowed players to walk around with one Pokemon, the BDSP remakes allow up to six Pokemon to join the player in Amity Square. In the original version of the square, Pokemon could find items and gift them to the player. It seems likely that this mechanic will return as a valuable source of Berries.
That’s because Amity Square actually serves a new purpose in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Visitors to the square can now find a pot where they can bake Poffins, a Berry-based treat that comes in a range of flavors and raises certain Pokemon stats relevant to Super Contests. Diamond and Pearl introduced Poffin making previously, but cooking them with one’s Pokemon is new to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It sounds like a great way to unwind in-game and bond with Pokemon.
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Diamond and Pearl Nostalgia
It’s worth noting that, in a way, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl don’t really need Amity Square. The site’s main attraction is the ability to walk around with Pokemon, but in the BDSP games, players can have one of their party members follow them around in the overworld. Even so, it’s a good thing that ILCA kept Amity Square in the game. Fans who played the original Diamond and Pearl took a liking to the novelty of the park, so lots of fans playing the remakes will surely want to return to Amity Square out of nostalgia. The square was one of Diamond and Pearl‘s most unique bonus features, so the remakes wouldn’t feel complete without it.
Still, it is hard not to wonder if ILCA has any more Amity Square upgrades in store. Aside from baking Poffins alongside Pokemon, there’s definitely a few ways that the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl developer could spruce up the place. For instance, mayne it has expanded the list of Pokemon that players can take into Amity Square, or maybe there’s some rare new items that Pokemon can find while wandering around with their trainers. Regardless of any secret changes, it’s just great to know that Amity Square will be in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as it’s a piece of the Sinnoh region that’s more than worth revisiting.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release on November 19, 2021 for Nintendo Switch.
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