A couple of months ago, during the Pokémon Direct that seemed to be intended only for news about Sword and Shield, it was announced as a surprise Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX , remake of the first chapter of the spin-off series Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, released 14 years ago in double version on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. Just watching the trailer honestly thrilled me, as it is a sub-series that, as has happened to so many other people, including my colleague Andrea who wrote a preview based on the demo, I enjoyed very much from a young age. . So yes, this is another of my reviews where you know my final judgment already at the beginning.
Labyrinths in three dimensions
Since the original came out so long ago, it is natural to have a change especially from an aesthetic point of view. No more pixels and two-dimensional graphics, although in my opinion it has aged well: Spike Chunsoft has instead followed the trend of the most recent titles, or a three-dimensional graphics with 3D models, using the much more powerful Nintendo Switch. This is a change that already made several people doubtful at the announcement, but at least as far as I’m concerned I find that from this point of view they have taken us fully. I particularly like the choice of colors, bright almost as if pastels had been used. The style is consistent even in the same interface: just look at different menus, as well as the various objects, for each of which, among other things, the effort was made to create a unique artwork, when previously they simply shared the icon if they belonged to the same category. Ok, TMs have it the same for everyone, but it’s an exception.
The completely revised graphic style gave a new look to the cutscenes.
What a horrible night to become a Pikachu
The storyline of the game has remained the same as the original, with the player who finds himself transformed into a Pokémon, whose species has previously been decided with a personality test (or freely chosen, if the result is not liked!). In this world without humans, the protagonist decides to form a team with the Pokémon that found him to help those in difficulty due to the recent increase in natural disasters, while also trying to understand why it has transformed and what they want. say those strange dreams he has from time to time. The main story is not particularly long or complex, but it is still enjoyable, presenting both twists and emotional moments, well accompanied by the rearranged soundtrack. One could almost say that postgame is the biggest slice of the game, and even there a succession of various events is there, although these are subplots quite unrelated to each other, and more an excuse to unlock new dungeons, especially those related to the legendaries. Unless you were just interested in the history,it’s a bit of a shame to stop after the initial plot is over , because we lose the broader and more stimulating content, as well as the thrill of making our protagonists evolve (mega) or go exploring with Zapdos and Mewtwo. It’s also true that Pokémon Mystery Dungeon can be ruthless when an expedition fails… well, I hope you have someone to send a distress call to, if so!
Sometimes, in order to continue in the plot it will be necessary to do enough missions to rise in rank, also obtaining bonuses when we succeed. Luckily, every time we score points, progress is clearly shown!
A modernized gameplay …
As is normal, since this is the remake of a game between the third and fourth generation of Pokémon, somehow the gameplay has also undergone changes. No wonder, for example, the inclusion of the Kobold type or the Mega Evolutions , both of which already appeared in the previous Super Mystery Dungeon. New moves and items have been added, as well as various quality of life improvements, for example showing the effectiveness on the target during the choice of moves (and so I defeated Groudon seeing that earth does not resist fire), or the fact that, at least in the dungeons of the main story, the positions of all objects are always shown and the enemies on the floor, while in the postgame it was believed that the player will already be skilled enough not to have particular need anymore. Also, probably the feature I find most useful is a huge glossary of every particular kind of term such as moves, items, altered statuses and so on. Whenever a keyword (highlighted by the green text) appears in a menu, it will be possible to select it and access the appropriate page. Given all the existing statuses or moves in this game, it is extremely convenient to consult. The ‘ automatic explorationit is another function that I made extensive use of in the initial part of the game: it makes our leader move autonomously by first making him look for the objects or Pokémon in difficulty on the floor, and after the stairs. If he runs into a trap or enemies, he will automatically stop passing the control to us players. Obviously, going forward it is not always particularly convenient to use it, especially in mazes with many floors in which it is very easy for our leader’s belly to empty, and therefore either bring a supply of apples with it, or give up exploring every single floor at the full.
If a word highlighted in green appears in the description of an object, you can select and open the respective glossary page.
… but the Pokémon are the same
Although in every other respect the gameplay of Rescue Team DX is updated to the most recent times, the cast of Pokémon has not been particularly expanded . If in the original we stopped at the first three generations, the additions here were only any evolutions or baby forms of the monsters already present, plus Riolu and Lucario, the latter having already been a cameo at the time. Obviously, I didn’t expect all the existing ones to be included, since now not even the main series continues to do so, but I would certainly have preferred a slightly more varied selection, even with only new starting Pokémon or a couple of legendaries that gave an excuse add dungeons. Also, they are not real new Pokémon, but for the first time in the series, the chromatic forms have been included! … actually only a little less than thirty species, and as if that weren’t enough it is necessary to use a combination of tools and skills to have a good chance of recruiting them. On the other hand, it is very easy to understand who it is: often in the selection of the dungeons an icon appears that indicates the presence of a Pokémon a little stronger than normal that is prowling as an enemy, complete with a token above the head even when explore: only this narrow category can be found in chromatic form, and it’s particularly frustrating to knock one out without being able to recruit it.
Twice in the same exploration I caught a Shiny Azumarill. Both times I had to defeat him in vain. Of course, he too looks just out of place in a volcano …
Join me, Nidoking
Speaking of recruits, a rather significant change is being able to recruit normal enemies a little more easily, and when you do they add to the scouting team immediately as extra members, being able to reach a maximum of 8 components.. To compensate for this, the “stable” party must be made up of just 3 Pokémon instead of 4, but walking around with all those allies certainly makes things easier, especially against bosses. As in the original, however, it is necessary to have the corresponding Friend Area to add a species to your team, otherwise, once the exploration is over, your temporary friend will greet you and leave. Fortunately, a very useful item has been added in this remake that allows us to access the dedicated shop directly from inside a dungeon, so if you want to join our team someone we hadn’t foreseen, we could make an exceptional purchase … if the money are enough. Normally, in fact, at least I always tended to deposit all my savings at the bank before venturing into a new exploration, because in the event of a game over you lose everything, and the few pennies that are around are often not enough to buy the more expensive Friend Areas. This adds a new interesting element of strategy in deciding whether or not to risk your money with you, in addition to the already present difficulty of knowing how to organize the inventory before each shipment. All this talk to say thatyes, several new mechanics make life easier for the player, but others lead him to have to work harder .
The new addition of the Wigglytuff Sphere allows you to purchase Friend Areas in order to keep new allies recruited in the dungeon… if the money is enough!
In conclusion, I can only be satisfied with this remake, and having already played the original has not affected my experience in the least. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a series that, as I said at the beginning of the article, I have been following for a long time, and honestly I would buy this already valid title of its own even just to give support in the hope that one day they decide to propose again in this renewed guise also the second chapter, even better in my opinion. Since it was announced, however, there is a free demo that allows you to try it out and, if you want to buy it ( Amazon link here ), then transfer the save data to the full version!
DELUXE / 10
- The new graphic style is very well done
- Gameplay revamped and still great.
- Lots of content, even if it lacks many additions.
- It would have been nicer to have more new Pokémon.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX brings the series to Switch with a fantastic throwback, suitable for both old and new fans.
