Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is my second mystery dungeon game and I can't get enough of them! They've both been filled with lovable characters, fun gameplay, and heartbreaking moments.
Something I like about these games are how personal they feel. First it gets to know the player with a personality quiz that helps it pick a pokemon for them. Then you get to name and choose your partner as well. It all ends up making this feel like a journey specifically tailored to you. By the way, I got a Pikachu and my partner was a Riolu!
Explorers of Sky has you joining up with an adventurer's guild after you mysteriously wash up on their doorstep with amnesia and a new pokemon body. Pretty much the same setup from the first game but there is new hidden depth and complexities that make solving this mystery so rewarding. From there you get to meet all of the interesting Pokemon from the guild and the surrounding town. There are some real gems here, one of my favorites being Bidoof, yup yup! The mystery dungeon games have been great at getting me to like Pokemon that I was pretty indifferent on by giving them fun personalities and quirks. By the end the goofy guild and townspeople are going to feel like family. They are a small part of a bigger picture though. They drive the first part of the plot forward but there is a grander overarching thing going on that I won't spoil. That said I loved it and it's set up quite well.
While this makes it difficult to pitch you on the story, thankfully the gameplay is very solid. The core loop is accepting missions through notes on a quest board and then delving into whatever dungeon said mission places you into. You'll explore the dungeon collecting items and fighting multiple pokemon in turn-based style trying to get to whatever floor the note said to go to. Once you're there you do your task and warp on home. Rinse and repeat. It's a really solid formula and there's a lot of quest variety here. You've got your standard rescues and deliveries but now there are bounties! I love these. It basically amounts to you hunting down minibosses that behave differently depending on what the bounty says. They're a blast and are a test of how well you react to situations in combat.
Once you're back from your mission you can explore the town, and man what a town it is! My favorite part is Spinda's cafe. Watching them mix up gummi drinks never got old and there's this new recycle shop inside as well. It's basically a way to declutter your inventory because you're going to be picking up A TON of stuff. You'll be making a routine of coming here after missions to get rid of all the junk you don't need and hopefully get some fancy stuff in return for recycling!
All of this is wrapped in some amazing art direction and music. The pixel art here is top notch. The sprites and portraits are super expressive and endearing. The town is beautifully made with plenty of little details to stare at. Every once in a while the game will cut to a gorgeous pixel landscape shot that sets the mood wonderfully. I couldn't help saying 'Wow!' every time one of these appeared. Pair that with a fantastic OST and you're going to be very immersed. I've gotten chills from the music alone in this game. The pixel art of Red Rescue Team and this game being so well done is why I'm dissapointed seeing the later entries decided to move to a 3D style. I'm sure 3D can be done well but I haven't seen it match how much personality these portraits have or how detailed and impressive a pixel art landscape can look compared to a 3D one. I'll still play them eventually but it's a bit sad. What I wouldn't give for a modern PMD in this games style!
While I've completed the main story there's still plenty to play too. If Red Rescue Team is anything to go by I've got plenty of end game content to mess with so I can't wait to dive into that. It's safe to say that if you pick this up there will be plenty of content to sink your teeth into.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorer's of Sky is a total package kind of game. Incredible art, lovely music, a fantastic story, all wrapped up with fun gameplay that has a lot of depth. It's a must play in my opinion. If you like Pokemon, roguelike's or gorgeous pixel art this is definitely one worth picking up!
Something I like about these games are how personal they feel. First it gets to know the player with a personality quiz that helps it pick a pokemon for them. Then you get to name and choose your partner as well. It all ends up making this feel like a journey specifically tailored to you. By the way, I got a Pikachu and my partner was a Riolu!
Explorers of Sky has you joining up with an adventurer's guild after you mysteriously wash up on their doorstep with amnesia and a new pokemon body. Pretty much the same setup from the first game but there is new hidden depth and complexities that make solving this mystery so rewarding. From there you get to meet all of the interesting Pokemon from the guild and the surrounding town. There are some real gems here, one of my favorites being Bidoof, yup yup! The mystery dungeon games have been great at getting me to like Pokemon that I was pretty indifferent on by giving them fun personalities and quirks. By the end the goofy guild and townspeople are going to feel like family. They are a small part of a bigger picture though. They drive the first part of the plot forward but there is a grander overarching thing going on that I won't spoil. That said I loved it and it's set up quite well.
While this makes it difficult to pitch you on the story, thankfully the gameplay is very solid. The core loop is accepting missions through notes on a quest board and then delving into whatever dungeon said mission places you into. You'll explore the dungeon collecting items and fighting multiple pokemon in turn-based style trying to get to whatever floor the note said to go to. Once you're there you do your task and warp on home. Rinse and repeat. It's a really solid formula and there's a lot of quest variety here. You've got your standard rescues and deliveries but now there are bounties! I love these. It basically amounts to you hunting down minibosses that behave differently depending on what the bounty says. They're a blast and are a test of how well you react to situations in combat.
Once you're back from your mission you can explore the town, and man what a town it is! My favorite part is Spinda's cafe. Watching them mix up gummi drinks never got old and there's this new recycle shop inside as well. It's basically a way to declutter your inventory because you're going to be picking up A TON of stuff. You'll be making a routine of coming here after missions to get rid of all the junk you don't need and hopefully get some fancy stuff in return for recycling!
All of this is wrapped in some amazing art direction and music. The pixel art here is top notch. The sprites and portraits are super expressive and endearing. The town is beautifully made with plenty of little details to stare at. Every once in a while the game will cut to a gorgeous pixel landscape shot that sets the mood wonderfully. I couldn't help saying 'Wow!' every time one of these appeared. Pair that with a fantastic OST and you're going to be very immersed. I've gotten chills from the music alone in this game. The pixel art of Red Rescue Team and this game being so well done is why I'm dissapointed seeing the later entries decided to move to a 3D style. I'm sure 3D can be done well but I haven't seen it match how much personality these portraits have or how detailed and impressive a pixel art landscape can look compared to a 3D one. I'll still play them eventually but it's a bit sad. What I wouldn't give for a modern PMD in this games style!
While I've completed the main story there's still plenty to play too. If Red Rescue Team is anything to go by I've got plenty of end game content to mess with so I can't wait to dive into that. It's safe to say that if you pick this up there will be plenty of content to sink your teeth into.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorer's of Sky is a total package kind of game. Incredible art, lovely music, a fantastic story, all wrapped up with fun gameplay that has a lot of depth. It's a must play in my opinion. If you like Pokemon, roguelike's or gorgeous pixel art this is definitely one worth picking up!