Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness | |
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Developer(s) | Chunsoft |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo The Pokémon Company |
Director(s) | Seiichiro Nagahata Hironori Ishigami |
Producer(s) | Koichi Nakamura |
Designer(s) | Hiroshi Nakamura Fujimi O-nishi Shinya Yada |
Programmer(s) | Yuji Fukuda |
Artist(s) | Fuyuhiko Koizumi |
Writer(s) | Shin-ichiro Tomie Emiko Tanaka |
Composer(s) | Arata Iiyoshi Hideki Sakamoto Keisuke Ito Ryoma Nakamura Kenichi Saito |
Series | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon |
Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Roguelike |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time[a] and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness[b] are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Nintendo DS. The two games were released in Japan in September 2007, and in North America and Europe in 2008.[1][2] A third version, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky,[c] was released in 2009.
As a sequel to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, new features include the addition of Generation IV Pokémon, improved Wi-Fi functionality, and more touch-screen options. 491 of the 493 Pokémon are featured, as Shaymin and Arceus were not officially released at the time of the game's launch.
In terms of gameplay and premise, the Explorers installments are largely similar to their Rescue Team predecessors, where a human-turned-Pokémon joins an Exploration Society and explores shifting dungeons, fighting hostile Pokémon through turn-based combat. The games received praise for their storyline, soundtrack, and Wi-Fi functionality, but were criticized for repetitive gameplay. The three games had accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 5.9 million copies as of 2010, then 6.37 million copies after 2010.[3]
Gameplay[]
Playable Pokémon[]
As with the previous games, the player takes on the role of a human who has been turned into a Pokémon, whose type is determined by a personality test.[4] A partner Pokémon is also selected who will henceforth be referred to as "the partner". Unlike Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, the gender does not restrict the available selection of Pokémon for either the player or the partner, though both player and partner may not be of the same type. The test sets the player as one of the many natures in the mainstream games, and two Pokémon will be set to that nature, one for male, one for female.
The player may be Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Meowth, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Skitty, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup and Munchlax; a total of 16 Pokémon to choose from. Once chosen, the partner may be any of the above Pokémon, with the exception of Pokémon of the same type of the player, Meowth, Skitty and Munchlax. Eevee, Machop, Cubone and Psyduck were removed as starter Pokémon, though Eevee was again made available in Explorers of the Sky. Riolu was debated for a player Pokémon in Explorers of Time and Darkness, but the idea was eventually dropped, and Riolu was selected for the Explorers of Sky list.
Basic gameplay[]
The basic gameplay is unchanged from Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team - players may use shops in Treasure Town to save money, buy items, store items, and train in special "maze" levels (although the Pokémon running almost all of these shops have changed). Players enter dungeons to complete missions and encounter hostile Pokémon during the exploration. During the story portion, if either the player or their partner is defeated by running out of health, the team will be removed from the dungeon and lose all their money and half (or more) of their items. However, after beating the main story, the team will only be removed if the team leader faints.
New features[]
New to this series is the option to temporarily send a team member to aid a friend who is in need, which allows a team to have more than four members. Defeated teams awaiting rescue may also engage in a "standby adventure" mode in which players may revisit previous dungeons to raise funds and collect items, but without the ability to level up.
Among new items introduced are treasure boxes, which require money to be opened and may contain rare items that may only affect certain Pokémon and can be used to trade for rarer and more valuable items using a new shop. New items are also introduced to account for new evolution methods which do not translate well from the main series to Mystery Dungeon, like Probopass, Magnezone, Leafeon, or Glaceon.
Version exclusives[]
As with all Pokémon games, some Pokémon are exclusive to one version, although they may be unlocked on the other through the exchange of Wonder Mail codes. The Pokémon exclusive to Explorers of Time are Celebi, Combee, Lucario, Pachirisu, and Riolu, while the Pokémon exclusive to Explorers of Darkness are Burmy, Buneary, Lopunny, Mewtwo, and Rotom.
Plot[]
The player is washed ashore by a storm and is discovered by the partner, a timid Pokémon who dreams of forming an exploration team. After teaming up to recover the partner's Relic Fragment from some bullies, the player, who has lost all memories except their name and the fact that they used to be human, agrees to form an exploration team to piece together their identity. The two enlist at the Wigglytuff Guild and begin training as adventurers. During this time, the player discovers that they can have visions of the future or past. Eventually, the authorities alert the guild that a criminal named Grovyle has been stealing artifacts called the Time Gears, which stabilize the flow of time in each region and cause time to stop when stolen. The player and partner attempt to intercept Grovyle, but are defeated. Afterwards, the guild enlists the aid of a famous explorer named Dusknoir, who explains that the player's ability to see through time is called the Dimensional Scream. Dusknoir reveals that he and Grovyle are from the future and that if the Time Gears are stolen, the Pokémon world will become paralyzed and turn into a dark, dismal region filled with scared and corrupted Pokémon. With assistance from the guardians of the Time Gears, Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf, Dusknoir successfully captures Grovyle and returns the Time Gears to their rightful places. Back in town, Dusknoir opens a Dimensional Hole to take Grovyle back to the future to face justice and bids farewell to the villagers, but suddenly grabs the player and partner and drags them into the portal with him.
The player and partner awaken in a prison in the future. After escaping a near execution with Grovyle by Dusknoir, they discover the world is still paralyzed. They learn from Grovyle that the paralysis was caused because of the collapse of Temporal Tower, which also corrupted its head occupant, Dialga, into a tyrannical being known as Primal Dialga. Grovyle exposes Dusknoir as a villainous agent sent to the present to capture him and reveals that he and a human companion traveled back in time to take the Time Gears to Temporal Tower in order to save the world; this human is actually the player. With the help of Celebi, a friend of Grovyle, the group manages to escape Dusknoir's group and return to the present.
Arriving back to the present, the group enlists the help of the guild to take the Time Gears to Temporal Tower to restore time. While Grovyle gathers the Time Gears, the guild investigates Temporal Tower and discovers a way to reach the Hidden Land where it lies, using the partner's Relic Fragment. The player, the partner, and Grovyle travel to the Hidden Land, and are accosted by Dusknoir. He reveals to the player that if they succeed in changing the future, they and Grovyle will be erased from existence. Grovyle sacrifices himself to drag Dusknoir back to the future, and the player presses onward. They and the partner make their way to the top of Temporal Tower, defeat Primal Dialga and restore it to sanity, and replace the Time Gears and stop the planet's paralysis. On the way back, the player says a final goodbye to the partner before vanishing. After the credits, Dialga is deeply moved by the partner's grief over the player's death, and restores the player to the timeline as thanks for bringing time back under control. The player reappears at the beach and reunites with the overjoyed partner.
After the main story, the player and partner graduate from Wigglytuff Guild and move their base of operations to Sharpedo Bluff, the partner's old home. In Luminous Spring, they learn that neither the partner nor the player can evolve due to a distortion in space. After many missions and explorations, it is revealed that Darkrai was responsible for the events in the main story. The team, with the help of Palkia and Cresselia, defeats Darkrai, fixing the distortion and finally allowing the player and partner to evolve.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky[]
showPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky |
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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is an enhanced version of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on April 18, 2009; North America on October 12, 2009; Australia on November 12, 2009;[5] and Europe on November 20, 2009.[6] It has since been re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on July 20, 2016, in North America on June 23, 2016, and in the PAL region on August 18, 2016.
As with its predecessors, the game follows the story of a human who is mysteriously transformed into a Pokémon (determined by a personality test at the game's start-up). Along with the starters from the previous game, five more are included as playable choices; Phanpy, Riolu, Shinx, Eevee, and Vulpix. Some, however, are only available to certain genders; Eevee, Skitty, and Vulpix are always female, while Riolu, Phanpy, and Shinx are always male. However, 2 starters, Munchlax and Meowth were removed and can only be played as the partner.
Explorers of Sky expands on the plot of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and explores the background of several characters. The game also features the event Pokémon Shaymin, located in a new location called Shaymin Village. Explorers of Sky includes other new dungeons and locations such as Spinda's Café and the Secret Bazaar, as well as the Sky Jukebox which allows players to play the game's entire soundtrack. Dungeons are also expanded upon, featuring new enemy Pokémon and item lookalikes, which hinder the player.
Through completing the main storyline of Explorers of Sky, five new Special Episodes will be gradually unlocked at certain points in the game which add unique stories expanding on side characters of the game. They involve playing as the specified characters of the episode as opposed to your main player and partner.[7]
Reception[]
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | 62.39% (Time)[11] 61.25% (Darkness)[12] 55.84% (Sky)[13] |
Metacritic | 60/100 (Time)[8] 59/100 (Darkness)[9] 54/100 (Sky)[10] |
Publication | Score |
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Eurogamer | 7/10[14] |
Famitsu | 35/40[15] |
GameSpot | 6.5/10[16] |
GameSpy | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
GamesRadar+ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
IGN | 6.5/10[19] |
Nintendo Power | 7.5/10[20] |
The reviews for the games were average to positive. The games were scored as 60 and 59 out of 100 by Metacritic for Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness respectively.[8][9] GameSpot gave the games a score of 6.5 out of 10, criticising the dialogue and inconsistent visuals, but praising the story, soundtrack, Wi-Fi features and easier difficulty.[16] IGN also rated the games 6.5 out of 10, criticising the repetitive and unoriginal gameplay but noted the story for its charm.[19] GamesRadar+ on the other hand gave a score of 2.5 out of 5 (below average), saying that "Explorers of Darkness/Time is a rental at best" and that "Pokémon fans are better served by playing more Diamond/Pearl while waiting for the next Pokémon Ranger game".[18] However, GameSpy gave the games a 4/5 star rating, praising them for their "classic dungeon-crawling gameplay, attractive setting and cheerful music".[17] Both Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness have received a rating of 7.5 from Nintendo Power.[20] Explorers of Sky received mixed reviews, with the game receiving a score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic.[10] However, fan reception has been notably more positive, with many considering it a cult classic and one of the best games in the series.[21]
Combined worldwide sales for Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness passed 4.5 million copies on March 31, 2009.[22] 1.40 million copies of Explorers of Sky had been sold by March 31, 2010, bringing the total sales of the three games to over 5.90 million copies.[23] Later, combined worldwide sales for the three Explorers games passed over 6.37 million copies according to Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association; 4.88 million for Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness and 1.49 million for Explorers of Sky.[3] They are currently the best-selling games in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, surpassing their predecessors. They are also the best-selling games in the Mystery Dungeon series in general; surpassing Squaresoft's Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon and Enix's Torneko: The Last Hope, both accumulating 1.34 million and 759,000 copies respectfully.[24][25][26]
Anime tie-in[]
A special episode of the Pokémon anime, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness,[d] was developed based on the game plot. Unlike previous special episodes, this does not take place in any continuity of the main storyline. It was first broadcast in Japan on September 9, 2007, as part of Pokémon Sunday.[27]
A sequel episode, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness,[e] was first broadcast in Japan on April 12, 2009, also as part of Pokémon Sunday.[28]
Notes[]
- ^ Known in Japan as Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Time Exploration Team (Japanese: ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 時の探検隊, Hepburn: Pokémon Fushigi no Danjon Toki no Tankentai, lit. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Time Exploration Team)
- ^ Known in Japan as Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Darkness Exploration Team (Japanese: ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 闇の探検隊, Hepburn: Pokémon Fushigi no Danjon Yami no Tankentai, lit. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Darkness Exploration Team)
- ^ Known in Japan as Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Sky Exploration Team (Japanese: ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 空の探検隊, Hepburn: Pokémon Fushigi no Danjon Sora no Tankentai, lit. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Sky Exploration Team)
- ^ ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 時の探検隊・闇の探検隊, lit. "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Time Expedition & Darkness Expedition"
- ^ ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 空の探検隊 時と闇をめぐる 最後の冒険, lit. "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky: The Final Adventure Crossing Time and Darkness"
References[]
- ^ Emma Boyes (2008-03-03). "Two new DS Pokémon games coming". Nintendo. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ "Nintendo Europe Q2 2008 release list". Nintendo UK. 2008-04-22. Archived from the original on 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b CESA Games White Papers. Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association.[ISBN missing]
- ^ "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon :: DS Game Reviews". Kidzworld. 2013-05-13. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ^ "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky dated for Australia". Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
- ^ Spanner Spencer (2009-09-29). "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky gets European DS and DSi release date". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Special Episodes". www.serebii.net. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time for DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- ^ "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2019-12-09. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ Dave McCarthy (2008-07-04). "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Explorers of Darkness". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Austin Shau (2008-04-29). "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Gerald Villoria (2008-04-23). "GameSpy: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness - Page 1". GameSpy. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Raymond Padilla (2008-03-01). "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness/Time review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Craig Harris (2008-04-22). "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness Review". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2018-01-03.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
- ^ Jump up to: a b "MetaCritic reviews for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, sorted by publisher". Nintendo Power. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
The strength of the first "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon" was its in-depth story, and that's true of the second pair of titles as well. [June 2008, p.86]
- ^ Trahan, Philip. "A History of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series". GameRant. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "Nintendo Co. Ltd. Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2009 Supplementary Information" (PDF). Nintendo. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ "Nintendo Co. Ltd. Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2010" (PDF). Nintendo. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
- ^ "1998年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP100". Geimin.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ "1999年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300". Geimin.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ "2002年テレビゲームソフト売り上げTOP300". Geimin.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 24, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
- ^ "ポケモンスクープ" (in Japanese). Pokémon Scoop. 2007-07-14. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
- ^ "アニメ版「ポケモン不思議のダンジョン」の新作 ポケモン☆サンデーで4月12日放送" (in Japanese). Pokéani. Archived from the original on 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
External links[]
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