| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon | |
|---|---|
 TheMystery Dungeon logo used inPokémon Mystery Dungeon | |
| Genres | Roguelike,Role-playing |
| Developer | Spike Chunsoft (formerly Chunsoft) |
| Publishers | |
| Creators | Koichi Nakamura Seiichiro Nagahata |
| Writers | Shin-ichiro Tomie Emiko Tanaka |
| Composers | Keisuke Ito Arata Iiyoshi |
| Platforms | |
| First release | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team andRed Rescue Team November 17, 2005 |
| Latest release | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX March 6, 2020 |
| Parent series | |
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon[a] is aspin-offvideo game series from the mainPokémon series developed bySpike Chunsoft (formerlyChunsoft). The games feature the fictional creatures calledPokémon who have the ability to speak human language navigating through a randomly generated dungeon using turn-based moves, common toMystery Dungeon games. As of March 2020[update], there have been eleven games across five platforms, as well as several manga adaptations andanimated specials.
These games are based in dungeons (“mystery dungeons”) where a floor map is randomly generated. In the dungeons, players fight other Pokémon while obtaining items and finding stairs to the next floor, exiting the dungeon after a fixed number of floors. Across all installments, the series has sold over 17.26 million copies.[b]
Although there are different features in each of the titles, the major aspects of gameplay in each title are the same. It is also generally seen as an easier edition of the otherMystery Dungeon games.
The player assumes the role of a Pokémon that was transformed from a human, found by the player's Pokémon partner in the start of the game. Before the game starts, the player will need to go through a personality test; this will decide which Pokémon the player is in the game with the exception of theWiiWare games andPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, where the player may choose their starter. InPokémon Super Mystery Dungeon andPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, one can choose a Pokemon to be after the personality test.
Gameplay is based on a classic roguelike game, with the player navigating the randomly generated dungeon with their Pokémon team. Movement and actions are turn-based; the player can use basic attacks, Pokémon moves, and items. The game starts with one partner Pokémon, but the player can recruit other Pokémon that they meet in the dungeon into their team soon after the first mission.
Tsunekazu Ishihara has worked previously with Chunsoft. One of the company's work wasTetris 2 + BomBliss, where Ishihara was the game's producer and metKoichi Nakamura, who was the game's director. Prior to the development ofPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, Ishihara had played a few games from theMystery Dungeon series, namelyTorneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon, and was impressed with the genre's depth and quality. The game's development started after Seiichiro Nagahata andShin-ichiro Tomie approached Ishihara and agreed with working on an easier version of the genre for the mainlinePokémon fans.[1]
| 2005 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team |
|---|---|
| 2006 | |
| 2007 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky |
| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventure Squad | |
| 2010–2011 | |
| 2012 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity |
| 2013–2014 | |
| 2015 | Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon |
| 2016–2019 | |
| 2020 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX |
The games are developed bySpike Chunsoft, formerly Chunsoft before the merging in 2012, and published byNintendo andThe Pokémon Company.
The first game released in the series wasPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team in 2005 in Japan, then worldwide in 2006. The duo were released on two separate platforms;Red Rescue Team forGame Boy Advance;Blue Rescue Team forNintendo DS. A free Korean promotional demo titled "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gold Rescue Team" (Korean: 포켓몬 불가사의 던전 황금 구조대) was later released in 2007 forWindows PCs to promote Blue Rescue Team's South Korean release.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness for Nintendo DS were then released in 2007 in Japan, then worldwide in 2008. Starting fromPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky in 2009, the sister game andenhanced remake ofExplorers of Time and Darkness, the series would not be released in Taiwan and South Korea. Additionally, due to a production shortage,Explorers of Sky had limited circulation throughout Australia. Most retailers in Australia stocked UK-imported versions.
Shortly after the release ofExplorers of Sky in Japan, thePokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventure Squad titles were released for theWiiWare exclusively in Japan. As such, they are the first and onlyPokémon Mystery Dungeon games to never be released overseas. They were initially revealed as logos on pamphlets given out atMcDonald's.[2] These games utilize the 3D models fromPokémon Rumble andMy Pokémon Ranch, making them the first games to use models instead of 2D sprites. This was done in an attempt to make "something that resembles a picture book".[3] The three different versions have various differences, like starting points and initial Pokémon choices.[3] They are subtitledFire Adventure Team,Storm Adventure Team, andLight Adventure Team; the Starter Pokémon available in each version depends on their color (red, blue, and yellow respectively).[citation needed] There is a rescue feature where players can request for friends to revive their team.[4] By usingWiiConnect24, new missions are added to the game while the Wii is asleep, and players can share save data throughout all three games.[citation needed] Unlike otherPokémon Mystery Dungeon games, the player controls a normal Pokémon rather than a human turned into a Pokémon. It also features a mechanic called "Pokémon Tower", which allows the player to stack their Pokémon to do a special attack.[5] The player can also use a Nintendo DS as a controller, the handheld's touchscreen allowing them to select Pokémon techniques.[6] All three versions received an unofficialfan translation into English on April 28, 2020.[7]
In 2012,Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity was released for theNintendo 3DS in Japan, before being released worldwide in 2013.[8] From there on, the series use purpose-made 3D models, as opposed to 2D sprites or 3D models from other spin-off titles.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is the latest non-remake release in the series, released in 2015 on Nintendo 3DS, then in 2016 in PAL regions.[9][10]
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is the latest title in the series, released onNintendo Switch in 2020.[11] It is a remake of the originalRescue Team games on Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, united as one game, with a complete overhaul of the graphics and reworked gameplay.
Manga and animated episodes adaptations of the series were made for each title throughout the years.
ThePokémon Mystery Dungeon series is regarded as the most popular branch of the widerMystery Dungeon franchise, with it taking over 70% of copies sold in grand total and a more active and broader community worldwide thanks to the crossover with thePokémon franchise.[b]
During the development ofRed and Blue Rescue Team, Kouji Malta, one of the programmer for these two games, and contributed previously onEarthBound andShiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion, stated the company went through bad business performance, as employees from Chunsoft would leave the company progressively due to this issue. The game's success not only helped to give more popularity to theMystery Dungeon franchise, it also helped Chunsoft avoid bankruptcy after years of severe financial issues.[12] The series later broke the 10 million copies sold barrier beforeExplorers of Sky was released.[13]
『ポケモン不思議のダンジョン』とかも作りかけていたけど、おそらくこれも売れないだろうし、先行きの見通しがない状況だったと思うんです。でも、なんとその後、その『ポケモン不思議のダンジョン』が大ヒット。あんなにたくさんの人が辞める必要はなかったんじゃないかな、と思いますけど。で、ぼくも他の人と同じように別の開発会社に転職してテレビゲームの開発を続けるかどうかを考えはじめました。でも、その前にそうとう泣きましたよ。
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