4. Shiren the Weepinbell: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team

I am not too familiar with the Pokémon mystery Dungeon series, and only played a demo the most recent entry on Switch. Funnily enough, this most recent entry is infact a remake of this game and it's companion game, Red Rescue Team, smooshed together.

Blogger doesn't let you put images side by side and I am too tired to open Photoshop

These are games that a lot of people around my age have nostalgia for from playing as kids. I however, never got into the Pokémon games. I imagine if I'd been a Gameboy kid things might have been very different. I watched the heck out of the anime though!

Icons

I understand it is relatively simple: you answer a series of tests to be assigned a Pokémon that represents your "personality" before delving into a standard mystery dungeon game. This would certainly explain why people might be keen on the game! Getting to play as a Pokémon that is ostensibly linked to your personality sounds like a fun time!

As far as the Mystery Dungeon series goes, I've only played Chocobo Mystery Dungeon, and only for a few hours. I recall be very annoyed that the game only allowed movement in the 4 cardinal directions. At least in this case, the original DS featured a D Pad only for movement, so it would be understandable.

Before getting into the game, I figured a flip through the manual would be of interest. I miss the days of game manuals, and while I understand their removal was necessary to create a product with a smaller environmental footprint, they've never been replicated in game in any meaningful way (with some 3DS manuals being an exception). A such, a lot of art that used to accompany manuals isn't as available as it once was. This manual is no exception, with a gorgeous 2 page spread at the start, and full colour pages filled with screenshots and character art. There was a certain charm to the Pokémon art and design in these earlier times that has been somewhat lost in modern designs.

Gorgeous stuff

And so, time to be psychologically analysed by a video game. Here's hoping I'm at least a cool Pokémon! And apologies, I don't have a capture card, so these screens are taken with my phone.

So, what do you have to say about me Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Blue rescue Team for the Nintendo DS?

I mean.... I guess from a certain perspective..... maybe?

Hey look, I've been trying to do that less, videogame, and I thought I'd made good progress..

Oh well, now that is 100% accurate.

Uh..... what? Hey, this is getting a bit accusatory, videogame aimed at children!

...Arrogantmon? Jerkachu?

....oh, huh. Didn't know the grass gecko was apparently a bit of a dick.

Anyway! With the insulting psychoanalysis out of the way, I began my hour in Mystery Dungeon.

The game is split into two discreet game types, overworld and dungeon exploration. They are so very different that it almost feels like it is made by two different teams, with the only constant between them being the spritework.

Treecko is constantly T posing to asset dominance

The story is simple and somewhat messed up if you think about it for even more than a second. After you've been Isekai'd into a Pokémon, you quickly take up the job of rescuing Pokémon from various dungeons around the local area. As you delve into the caves in search of the lost Pokémon, you'll encounter other Pokémon who you need to defeat in battle. What is particularly messed up though, is the reason that these Pokémon attack you, that recent events have driven them to attack is typically the same reason given that the Pokémon needs to be rescued. So I guess we've got to kill 40 to rescue 1!

The Dungeon gameplay comprises the majority of the game (as the name would suggest). The dungeons are all randomly generated from a relatively limited tile set to create a maze to be navigated to reach an exit to the next floor. Frustratingly, it was this gameplay that I found to be particularly tiresome. Character movement is extremely slow to begin with, moving gridwise one step at a time. The quirk that the game does not tell you for some time is that every time you move, which necessitates the slow movement. Eventually the game lets you know you CAN move faster, but is not simply faster movement between steps and instead effectively a warp to as far as the character can move in the given direction. This is disorienting enough, but becomes inadvisable to use when combined with the combat.

The dungeon designs are extremely basic.

The combat is basic Pokémon combat initiated once the players Pokémon intercepts a wild Pokémon within the dungeon. It is effectively a basic back and forth attack, with very little fanfare as the tiny sprites bounce back and forth with minimum animation. It is often, however, difficult to engage in combat without the enemy having the first attack, particularly when using the afore mentioned fast movement that guarantees you run into enemies when moving down corridors.

The music within the dungeons is possibly the worst part, being extremely simple and short loops.

Good lord this is bad.

In contrast, the overworld section, while comprising the smallest part of the game, is better in almost every way. Graphically, given it is not needing to be randomly generated, it is far more colourful and complex, with the area not needing to be comprised of only 90 degree corners.

The music is also far better, and perhaps most jarringly, the movement is much faster and fluid. And so, the area you spend the least time in serves to make the area you spend the actual game in seem far worse by comparison.

At the end of my hour, I certainly wasn't interested in coming back to this game again, although I suspect this is more a function of it being a Mystery Dungeon game. But also, because, Treecko? Come on, I'm clearly a Mudkip.

Next time is... oh no.

Shrek the Third for Nintendo DS.