Two of Nintendo's biggest franchises are Super Mario and Pokémon, and one talented modder created a mod for Super Mario Galaxy that allows players to explore the entire Sinnoh region of Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl as Mario. Pokémon and Mario is a crossover once thought impossible outside the realm of Super Smash Bros., but this mod brings the most ambitious Nintendo crossover to life.
Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl were released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, and one year later, Super Mario Galaxy was released for the Nintendo Wii. While Super Mario Galaxy utilized the Wii's superior hardware to allow Mario to explore 3D worlds, Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl stuck to the franchises traditional 2D pixel art style. When looking at these two titles side by side, it's obvious why no one would think they would make a good crossover. However, seeing them merged with one another, they fit together surprisingly well.
A YouTuber by the name of RiazorMC posted a video titled "Pokémon Diamond in Super Mario Galaxy" in which the player controls Mario while he explores the entirety of Pokémon's Sinnoh Region. In this 17-minute video, Mario travels from Twinleaf Town all the way to the Pokémon League. The map that Mario explores is a perfect recreation of Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl's. RiazorMC was able to preserve the DS game's retro graphics style while giving them a fresh coat of HD polish.
The base game used for the mod is Super Mario Galaxy, and Mario keeps his traversal abilities such as jumping and spinning. This makes it easy for Mario to explore as he is much more agile than the trainers from Gen 4. Mario can effectively skip entire caves or oceans by jumping over them. One of the most impressive features of this mod is how Mario can explore caves or swim in the water if he chooses to. Sadly, the only Pokémon that Mario can encounter is a Staryu that waits for him in front of the Pokémon League.
While Pokémon fans anxiously await the fabled Diamond & Pearl remakes, this piece of art from RaizorMC should hold them over. Sure, it's not the fancy 3D models expected of Game Freak, and the mod has a severe lack of wild Pokémon. But the Super Mario Galaxy version of Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl may be the closest players ever get to Gen 4 remakes.
Source: RaizorMC