[Review] Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
System: 3DS
Release date: November 20, 2015
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher Nintendo
In a world where the characters typically can only just speak their own name, having a game that features 720 different Pokemon with their own personalities and jobs is a feat in and of itself. But once you mix in the addictive dungeon crawling mechanics of the Mystery Dungeon series and all the other elements that make Pokemon titles the iconic series it is, you are given the definitive Mystery Dungeon title and one fun RPG.
To start out Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, in order to choose which Pokemon you’ll be controlling during the extent of your adventure, you are asked to answer some questions about yourself. Once complete, the game will select a Pokemon it feels best suits you. Of course, you can choose others if you wish and overrule their pick, but it feels more personal if you just agree with the pre-selected ones. You are also given your partner at this time, and it will be the first Pokemon to join your team – one who will stay with you for the whole duration of the game. There’s a wide range of starters to pick from, and because all of the different generations are represented, you’ll definitely have the opportunity to create a team you’ll be satisfied with.
Most of your time spent playing Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon will be crawling through dungeons filled with treasure and enemies for your team to tackle. The game holds your hand for quite awhile, but as soon as it’s finished guiding you through every one of its mechanics, you’ll be having a ton of fun watching any combination of Pokemon you can think of dominating enemies in their path. It’s not too different from a normal dungeon crawler, but with a mixture of the paper beats rock system from Pokemon and randomly generated dungeons that change every time you enter them, it becomes a whole new level of addictive. I found it was a lot more enjoyable to go through dungeons in order to complete small tasks simply because the randomly generated system kept the experience engaging.
There are a lot of ways to play through the dungeons as well. You can either spend a bunch of time finding each item and exploring every nook and cranny, or you can just speed to the stairs to progress and get the big rewards at the end. Going through dungeons using the speed system can be a bit annoying at first due to its clunky nature, but once you get the hang of it you’ll find yourself in complete control of your party. And as soon as you enter a dungeon, a lot of things begin happening. Not only do you have to ensure that your different team members stay alive, you also have to do so while making sure they’re clear of status effects, keeping the hunger meter full, and being aware of the amount of PP (how many times a move can be used) the Pokemon have so they’ll remain able to fight alongside you. As complicated as this sounds, I can assure you it all works in tandem and never becomes overwhelming.
You can enter dungeons in a lot of ways, most of which will be through the story mode. Another way is through an online and StreetPass central called “Pelipper Island”. The island, devoted to everyone’s favorite seagull Pokemon, allows you to choose from any dungeon you’ve previously explored or some special ones you can only find there. There are other SteetPass and SpotPass elements, but the biggest draw is the Connection Orb. Here you can look up and find any Pokemon through one huge web and complete certain objectives to add them to your party. This adds an insane amount of content to an already lengthy game and allows you to obtain Pokemon you wouldn’t be able otherwise in the story mode. In previous entries it was always not so simple to get a Pokemon to join your team and was typically left to chance, so this improvement is very much welcome.
Speaking of story mode, let me say that I’ve been most impressed with my time spent on it. Thanks to the cute visuals, along with surprisingly humorous writing and interesting story topics, it will quickly become another great way to keep you coming back for more. While it starts off slow due to the need to teach the basics, it quickly rewards players with a much faster paced and compelling second half. It was enjoyable exploring the dungeons and then sitting back and viewing more of the story.
The visuals also hold up well, with every Pokemon looking super crisp and clean. The colors provide another batch of eye candy as they are incredibly colorful and make the various environments feel vibrant. Plus, no RPG would be complete without some great music to accompany it, and this one is no exception. The soundtrack works in perfect harmony with the graphics, making everything come together really well. Basically, what I’m saying is that this game is cute as heck.
One of the few problems I can think of with Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is that the beginning of the story – the first few hours or so – felt quite dry. However, once you’ve come far enough, the amount you can do and how much the world opens up is impressive. I also never really found myself using all of Pelipper Island too much, leaving a bunch empty space that probably could’ve been used for better mechanics. Other than that, this title holds as a great entry to the Mystery Dungeon series and will surely keep players entertained for hours.
As someone who previously was not too familiar with the Pokemon world, thanks to the quirky and unique personalities of the Pokemon and fun dungeon crawling mechanics, I felt right at home with Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon. The game has a little bit for everyone and had me constantly wanting more. 3DS owners looking for an addictive title to keep themselves entertained at those awkward family get-togethers will find that this is the perfect match here.
