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Incredibly Boring

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Pros:

+A Surprisingly Interesting Story
+Very Colorful
+Tons of Missions

Cons:

-Bland Dungeon Designs
-Repetitive Gameplay
-Very Stale and Boring Gameplay
-Far too easy
-Not too big on the graphics
-A Very slow story

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team (Or Red, depending on which version you had) was not exactly a great game. While it sold very well, it wasn't even close to touching the surface of what other traditional Pokemon games have done. Blue and Red Rescue Team weren't that exciting, they had boring gameplay, were incredibly repetitive and just all around bland. Sadly, Chunsoft didn't really do a whole lot to improve a severely flawed game. In fact, it suffers from many of the same problems as the other Mystery Dungeon games.

Just like the previous one, you are a human that one day wakes up as a Pokemon. You get a partner based off the questions you answer at the beginning. Same basic principle as the first. Then you'll go on missions where you will hunt down outlaw Pokemon or rescue other Pokemon. It's simplistic stuff. The story actually isn't so bad. It's a very slow story, but for Pokemon you're actually getting something good. You won't see a trainer throughout the game. At all. This is all about the Pokemon.

On the other hand, the story and flow of gameplay is repetitive. Seeing the same cutscene before and after each mission over and over and over again gets very annoying when you just want to jump into your next mission. However, it's easily the gameplay that's the worst part of the game.

Just like the Rescue Team games, the gameplay is incredibly stale and boring. You go into a dungeon and explore floors that are randomly generated until you get to your objective. The floors are all very bland and boring. The biggest problem with the random generated floors is when you enter the next area and you're right next to the exit. It happens from time to time. Then again, most of it you'll want to get through quickly, anyway. The environments are so bland and devoid of details that one floor doesn't feel any different from another. It's like walking through an endless dungeon. They have their own themes, but no real design.

The combat is worse. When you approach a Pokemon, you'll engage them. There are no random battles, but that doesn't mean it'll play like an Action RPG. At first glance, combat really doesn't seem all that bad until you realize there's no strategy involved whatsoever. What makes the traditional games addictive, other than catching them all, is the surprising amount of depth that goes into each battle. This is exactly what the Mystery Dungeon series lacks. It quickly becomes a button mashing affair with no real thought or strategy. The game is also unbelievably easy. Even boss battles are an easy, button mashing affair to see who can get in the most attacks. Even though you're given a set of moves you can use, and there's a little bit of strategy here, you'll find that you never actually need it. There's hardly an incentive to pick moves over another. You'll go exploring with a party of four, and you can control their moves as well, but mostly, you'll find you need just one Pokemon to get much of the job done. Combat is just boring.

Much like the previous one, you can get wild Pokemon to join your rescue team. You can only have four in your party at a time, however, but nonetheless you can still get them to join.

What would a Pokemon game be without two versions? With this duo you have Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. Much like all the duo's, the games don't have that many differences, but you'll need both to uncover and unlock everything. This means you'll either have to buy the other version or convince a friend to do so. Should the worst ever happen and you actually get taken down in a dungeon, you can send out a distress signal in hopes that a friend will come by and rescue you. Unfortunately, you're probably better off accepting your fate.

Pokemon has never been a game to push graphics and sound. Mystery Dungeon is no exception. It's a very colorful game, but hardly takes the DS to the standards it can accomplish. Much of it looks like it belongs on the Gameboy Advance rather than the DS. And with the boring design of the dungeons, there's really nothing here to look forward to in terms of graphics. As I said, however, Pokemon has never been a graphical powerhouse. It doesn't really sound great either. Much of the music is forgettable.

If you enjoyed Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team or Red Rescue Team, then chances are you'll like this one as well. It's essentially the same game. So if you did like Blue and Red Rescue Team, then you can very much disregard this review. If Blue and Red Rescue didn't do much for you, don't expect the latest release to turn you into a fan.

There's just one big hitch...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 10, 2008
Author: Amazon User

When you (or your partners) faint in a dungeon, you lose all your money (not such a big deal) and "some of" your items. If you have a particularly difficult dungeon to get through and you faint repeatedly, your chances of making it through the dungeon get lower and lower each time, because you finally get to a point where the only items you've got are the ones you find IN THAT DUNGEON. So, you're going through this horrible dungeon, and you find TMs that you can't use, Bands to hold to boost attack (or whatever), Cheri berries and stuff, but no Oran berries, which are the only things I know of that restore HP. Walk into one Monster House room and you're doomed. I've been in the same dungeon for three days now and it doesn't look like I'll get through it anytime soon. Otherwise, a very enjoyable game for people who like closure (like me), because you can totally sweep the floor of a dungeon and make sure you've gotten every item and explored every corridor.

A New and Improved Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm a middle-aged lady who adores Pokemon, and I've also become addicted to Mystery Dungeon games. I loved the first two Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games (Red and Blue Rescue Teams). I wondered if it was worthwhile to purchase this game, since it would probably be a reworking of those earlier games. (Nintendo seems to prefer updating their Pokemon franchise games, rather than discovering new approaches. We're still playing the equivalent of the original Pokemon Red and Blue, but with two screens and better music!)

Anyways, I was delighted to discover that the story mode in this game is about three times as long as in the previous games. And that there's a second story mode which begins sometime after the first story ends. Lots of new dungeons, and all of those rare Pokemon from Diamond and Pearl.

I've read that this game is excessively talky, and I agree with that. Too much time is spent on clicking through cutscenes and conversations. And yet, when I reached the end of the first story mode, I was so deeply moved that I cried.

Even though I finished both story modes about a month ago (and something like 100 hours of non-story playing time), I am truly enjoying the challenge of beating Zero Isle (the equivalent of the previous games' Purity Forest, etc.)

If I could ask for only one thing... I wish that there were X-Ray Specs in this game! I miss the thrill of sniping those random Kecleon Shops!

This game is more challenging in several ways. For instance, gummies and Reviver Seeds are much more rare. After feeding my Pikachu every Yellow Gummi that I can find, she is still a three-star IQ.

I love the smoother graphics, the wide variety of previously-unseen Pokemon, and the warmth and kindness of the characters' relationships.

My only complaint is that they should have found something better to do with the second screen, instead of just leaving a set of basic instructions there. The dual-screen format is meaningless in this game, because it plays exactly like the GameBoy Advance version of Rescue Team. All of the action is displayed on the bottom screen, and there is no touch-screen activity at all.

I do recommend this game for Pokemon fans, and for people who'd like to try a fairly simple but addictive Mystery Dungeon game. I've truly enjoyed it, and I will pass it along to my niece who is getting her first Nintendo DS later this summer.

For my little sister

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: May 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I ordered this game for my younger sister. She really seems to enjoy playing and has managed to balance playing with schoolwork. She plays by herself or invites her friends to play. She says that the graphics are pretty good and the missions can be interesting, but can sometimes be frustrating.

Great game!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is really fun according to my 8 year old son. Some of the dungeons are a little hard, such as Concealed Ruins, but the tasks are interesting and the music/storylines are great. The game is not too long or too short and it isn't too hard either. The scenery is very good. Overall, we recommend this game.

A Seven Year Old Boy's Opinion

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I think this game is great because you can make friends and you go on lots of missions. Later in the game you will find a treasure and battle legendaries. Some places like Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff are a little weak. Other places are harder.

Mystery Dungeon review

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

My grandson, for whom this game was purchased, would give this game at least four stars.

Even better than the mystery dungeon blue rescue team

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 17
Date: April 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

In this game, you play as a Pokemon and have another Pokemon as a companion. You enter dungeons with randomly-generated floor plans, collecting items and fighting Pokemon as you complete tasks. The fighting is turn-based, as with most other Pokemon games. One advantage is that you regenerate HP as you walk. However, you need to keep a supply of apples with you because you also get hungry as you walk and if you get too hungry, you faint. However, this is better than not regenerating HP until getting to a town, in regular Pokemon games.
So far, I have only played this game about 10 hours, (in comparison with over 100 hours on mystery dungeon blue team), but I prefer this newer one. Obviously, since I have played it so much, I really like the first one, so this is saying quite a lot (I am a fan of Pokemon games, in general). Here's why I like this one better:
1. you can hold more items in dungeons (and this number increases as you progress)
2. you can recruit new Pokemon even if you have 4 in your party already (and they are automatically sent out of the dungeon)
This may not seem like a lot, but these two facts alone make the game much more enjoyable. Here's the one thing I have discovered that I like less than the blue team version:
1. You see your team members' HP as a ratio without also seeing a meter-bar to give a quick visual gauge of your team members' HP (although you do get the meter for your team leader).
This is a rather small thing, but without the meters, sometimes I don't notice how low the HP of some of my team members become and so I faint from carelessness, rather than 'real' danger. Perhaps there is a setting to remedy this and I just haven't found it yet.
I will update this review after I finish story mode.

They got it right this time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: April 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game is a GIANT step forward from the GB Advance version! This is the game that that one should have been. I am really not too knowledgable about the Advance game, since I put it aside as borderline unplayable and a major disappointment. The new version is vastly improved. The following areas are its strong points:

First and foremost, a good combat interface. In this version, your head Pokemon can select one of four moves, just as in the regular Pokemon games. And there is no burdensome double-button punch to use a move. You can also choose an ordinary attack, which is not a move, to save moves: a welcome Pokemon innovation.

Attractively drawn dungeons

Good and varied music

A good story line

Lots of interesting tasks and situations

The real comparison is with the recent Shiren Mystery Dungeon, also a Chun product. This one is less brutal and much larger-scale, though both are excellent games.

Highly recommended for roguelike fans.

I assume that this rating and description can also apply to the "Explorers of Time" version of the game, since the strategy guide says there are only minor differences.

Mystery dungeon greatness

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I honestly feel that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is MUCH better than I expected! I mean, I thought that it would be the same as Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team, but it was better and then some! I must say that one of the best new features would be sentry duty, as it is like a minigame and is like a break from the dungeons. I wish I would have known how easy it was though. I mean, I got it a week after it came out, and four days later, I was working on the final mission before the post-ending. I feel that that isn't that a big of a deal though, and I still think that it is the best pokemon game that doesn't involve catching and training Pokemon like usually.

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