Pokémon Platinum takes everything great about Diamond and Pearl and cranks it up—better pacing, a tweaked Sinnoh Dex, and that sweet Distortion World twist. You start in Twinleaf Town (classic), but things get weird fast when you stumble into a rift in reality. Giratina’s lurking, Cyrus is extra unhinged, and the Battle Frontier makes post-game way more chaotic than it needs to be (in a good way).

Also, your rival actually has a personality now? Wild. The Pokétch apps are still kinda clunky, but at least you can finally run indoors without wrecking the circle pad. If you’ve only played the originals, this is the definitive Sinnoh experience.