Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
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| Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team |
|
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Chunsoft |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Release date(s) |  November 17, 2005 September 18, 2006 September 28, 2006 November 10, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | |
| Rating(s) | CERO: All Ages ESRB: E PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance (Red) Nintendo DS (Blue) |
| Media | Cartridge |
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 赤の救助隊 Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon Aka no Kyūjotai?) and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (ポケモン不思議のダンジョン 青の救助隊 Pokemon Fushigi no Danjon Ao no Kyūjotai?) are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS, respectively. These two games were developed by Chunsoft and were published by Nintendo.
This game is the ninth entry in Chunsoft's Fushigi no Dungeon series (which began on the Super Famicom with Torneko no Daibōken). It is a semi-turnbased dungeon crawl; a graphical roguelike. The two versions are compatible with each other through the Nintendo DS dual-slot features, where information may be transferred from one game to the other.
The two versions are mostly identical, with the Blue version taking advantage of the dual-screen features and increased graphical capabilities of the Nintendo DS (thus the team's condition can appear on one screen in Blue while playing in the other, while this screen must be accessed through a menu in Red). The game also begins with six Pokémon exclusive to each version. Unlike other games, however, players may unlock these exclusive Pokémon through Wonder Mail missions.
A 21-minute TV special based on the game, entitled "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out Of The Gate!", aired in the USA on September 8, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay and Mechanics
The game begins with the human main character turning into a Pokémon. The starter Pokémon is one of sixteen Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Chikorita, Cubone, Cyndaquil, Eevee, Machop, Meowth, Mudkip, Pikachu, Psyduck, Skitty, Squirtle, Torchic, Totodile and Treecko) and is determined by a personality quiz taken at the beginning of the game. The partner Pokémon is one of ten Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Mudkip, Pikachu, Squirtle, Torchic, Totodile and Treecko) and is chosen by the player. The player's gender also factors into what Pokémon the player is. If the player chooses to play as a boy, he cannot be Skitty, Chikorita, or Eevee (but he may still choose Chikorita as a partner). Likewise, if the player chooses to play as a girl, she cannot be Cyndaquil, Machop, or Meowth (but she may still choose Cyndaquil as a partner). Also, the Pokémon type of the partner cannot be the same as the type of the player. For example, if the player is a Mudkip, he/she cannot partner with a Totodile.
The main gameplay mechanic is the Rescue Team. It initially consists of the main character and his or her partner. After a successful battle, other Pokémon have a chance of joining the rescue team if the player owns that Pokémon's "Friend Area." Friend Areas can be acquired through completing certain missions and bought from Wigglytuff in the Pokémon Square. During a mission, the most a player can bring is three Pokémon; the fourth slot is reserved for an escort Pokémon or a fourth Pokémon that wants to join the team. Another factor is team size. Every Pokémon has a body size of one, two, three, or four. The maximum team size is six, including new recruits, so if the player has a size six team to begin with he or she cannot recruit any more members.
The game is mission-based with jobs. Jobs can be found on the bulletin board, requested by mail, or initated through story events, and include rescuing Pokémon, delivering items, or escorting clients. If the player successfully completes a job, they are given a reward. They also earn Rescue Points, which can increase a team's rank. Each mission also comes with a Wonder Mail password. In the main menu, players can input passwords for other Wonder Mail missions, so players can trade Wonder Mail passwords online.
In the regular games, Pokémon moves were judged solely by their attack power and effect. However, the combat has been altered to accommodate the dungeon-style gameplay. For instance, Sleep Powder would only hit one opponent, but it will now put any opponent surrounding the user to sleep. Other attacks, such as Razor Leaf, have a much larger range, able to hit any opponent in the room or from a certain number of squares away. The number of opponents that a move can hit is often related to whether or not it could hit both opponents in a double battle in a previous game.
In addition, the player also wields a number of items. Some items, such as Gummis, are exclusive to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, while others, such as TMs and Berries, appear in earlier games. All TMs are the same as in the previous games and there are four new ones. A standard 'A button' attack, which can be used instead of a Pokémon move, was introduced in this game, as well as the ability to throw items such as Gravelerock (a rock that deals damage) or healing Berries (to heal partners).
IQ is also a new feature to Mystery Dungeon. IQ can be increased by eating Gummis. There are seventeen different kinds of Gummis, each corresponding to a Pokémon's type. When fed a Gummi, a Pokémon will either enjoy it to certain degrees depending on their type. The better the match, the more IQ is received. If a Gummi is given to a Pokémon while it is in its Friend Area, it may be granted a stat increase.
As IQ rises, a Pokémon can learn new IQ skills. Some skills can give the Pokémon helpful attributes in battle, such as ones where the Pokémon becomes better at evading attacks and moves and one where the Pokémon's belly empties slower. Other skills affect a Pokémon's behaviors and responses in battle when controlled by the computer, such as stopping the use of a move when it runs out of PP, or not being able to attack allies accidentally. In some cases, Pokémon can only learn certain moves if they are at a specific IQ level.
Evolution is mostly the same in Mystery Dungeon, but during the course of the main story, natural disasters have prevented the Pokémon from being able to evolve. However, once the player has cleared the main storyline of the game, he/she is then able to go to Luminous Cave to the north of the town. Providing he/she is alone and his/her Pokémon meets the level requirements, he/she will be able to evolve his/her Pokémon. Items such as Link Cables, Stones, and Metal Coats can also be found in certain dungeons, which will allow the player to evolve the Pokémon that would need an item to evolve in the standard Pokémon games. Friendship evolutions from the main games have been replaced by IQ based evolutions, so Pokémon like Pichu, who depend on trainer happiness to evolve into Pikachu, will instead need a high IQ to evolve. Items also exist for evolution styles that don't exist in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon. For example, in the main games, a trainer would have to increase a Feebas's Beauty stats to the maximum to evolve it into a Milotic. Instead, the Beauty Scarf can be found and given to a Feebas to make it evolve.
Certain legendary Pokémon are battled in the main storyline and at that point, the player cannot recruit them into his/her rescue team. After they are defeated, he/she cannot encounter them again for the rest of the main storyline until the credits have passed. At that point, the legendary Pokémon that were encountered in the story mode will return to their dungeons, and are at much higher levels. Unlike previous Pokémon games, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon allows the player to battle legendary Pokémon as many times as he or she likes until they join his or her rescue team. If the players defeats them, the next time he or she returns they will still be in the same spot where he or she defeated them. In addition, should the player say farewell to any legendary Pokémon, they will reappear in the place they first appeared in and can be recruited again, rather than disappearing. However, Latios and Latias are recruited in an event, and thus cannot be recruited again if the player says goodbye to them.
[edit] SOS
If the player faints in a dungeon, the game will give him or her the option of sending a distress call. For Blue Rescue Mission, this call can be sent wirelessly to another local Nintendo DS game; Red Rescue Mission features similar capabilities with a link cable. Also, with both blue rescue team and red rescue team can be put in at the same time into a DS to get help for Red rescue team. The player may also get a 54-character password to paste online. When the rescuing party receives the SOS, they will go into the same dungeon and rescue the original player's party. They will then get an A-OK password to give to the SOS party.
However, in certain dungeons, and certain situations, it's impossible for the player to use this command. For instance, the player cannot use the distress call after being defeated by a massive surge of Kecleon in a dungeon for stealing their goods. They also can't use it in any boss battle, or in any of the small dungeons after a save point that lead to the boss.
[edit] Story
The main character wakes up one day to find that he/she has been transformed into a Pokémon in a world devastated by natural disasters. After meeting up with a partner Pokémon, a distressed Butterfree asks their help to find her child Caterpie in the nearby Tiny Woods. After the rescue, the player's partner suggests that the two of them should join forces and form a rescue team. The player agrees, and the new rescue team is formed.
The team soon grows in numbers when Magnemite is convinced to join the rescue team after the team's first official mission, which involves saving Dugtrio's son, a Diglett, from a vicious Skarmory. The team also befriends other rescue teams, including a top-ranked rescue team consisting of Alakazam, Charizard and Tyranitar, named Team ACT. (This name is not specifically given in the game, but rather the anime special based on the game.) The team also makes enemies with another rescue team, Team Meanies, consisting of Gengar, Ekans and Medicham, who seek world domination under the disguise of a rescue team.
[edit] Ninetales legend
The bulk of the game story revolves around a legend first told to the player by Whiscash. In the legend, a human had deliberately grabbed the tail of Ninetales, a Pokémon known for its longevity. In retaliation, Ninetales laid a curse on the human, but the human's Pokémon companion, Gardevoir, selflessly put herself in the way. Ninetales, feeling sorry for Gardevoir, asked the human if they wanted to do anything to help Gardevoir, but the human had already abandoned Gardevoir and fled. Ninetales predicted that the human would eventually turn into a Pokémon, and that the natural balance of the world would be upset as a result.
In the quest to discover the player's lost memory and purpose as a Pokémon, the team quests to the Hill of the Ancients, where the fortune-teller Xatu resides. Xatu is quick to realize that the player was once a human, and tells that the player's human-to-Pokémon transformation is tied together with the natural disasters. It also warns that the world's balance must be restored, or the unthinkable shall happen. Unfortunately, this goes eavesdropped by Team Meanies' Gengar, who reveals the player's secret to the townsfolk and quickly convinces them that eliminating the human-turned-Pokémon in the legend would bring everything back to normal.
The partner, in unwavering support of the player, doubts Gengar's assertion, but the player finds himself/herself unable to speak in his/her defense. Thus, Gengar convinces everyone else that the player is the cause of the world's balance being upset and of the natural disasters. The team is attacked and quickly retreat out of Pokémon Square. The partner complains at the player for not defending himself/herself, but then the player tries to convince the partner to end the rescue team, saying that the reason for this is because he/she is privately haunted by the notion that he/she may be the human from the Ninetales legend, a notion heightened by the fact that the Pokémon in his/her dream had revealed herself to be Gardevoir. This depresses the partner, whose sadness quickly turns into anger, as the partner knows that even the player's dream couldn't help him/her remember what he/she was like as a human, so he/she shouldn't remember what happened. They are then confronted by Alakazam, who says the Pokémon held a town meeting on what they must do to save the world: they must kill the player, and anyone who sides with him. They give the team a generous head start though: they have until dawn to make a getaway before the hunt begins.
The two leave Pokémon Square as fugitives and make their way to the ends of the world in an effort to elude the teams that are now hunting them down. Along the way, they encounter the legendary birds Moltres and Articuno, who also feel the effects of the disasters in their respective areas. They also befriend an Absol who seeks to find the true cause of the natural disasters. The trio reaches the top of Mt. Freeze only to be cornered by Team ACT. They get ready to finish the player and partner off, but mere seconds after the battle begins, they are stopped by Ninetales. Ninetales reveals that the player is not the human in the legend. The partner is overjoyed by this news, and Alakazam apologizes to the team. Ninetales also says that the human-to-Pokémon transformation is not tied together with the natural disasters at all. However, Ninetales also reveals that the world is in greater danger caused by the awakening of Groudon.
Team ACT proceeds to try and stop Groudon, while the team heads home to clear all remaining suspicion at Pokémon Square. When they arrive, Gengar attempts to rally the townsfolk into destroying the rescue team once and for all. Fortunately, Pelipper delivers a paper exposing Gengar's malicious lies and declaring the player's rescue team innocent, and the town turns on Gengar.
[edit] Completing the Rescue Team Base
Shortly after being declared innocent, Gardevoir reappears in the player's dreams. She tells the player that he/she has a certain role, but despite the player's questioning, before Gardevoir can say anything else, the dream is interrupted by an earthquake. The next day, the partner sees the player is looking worried, but assumes it is because of the earthquake earlier, which leads to the partner getting a bit worried too, about Alakazam's team not having come back from going to quell Groudon.
Immediately after that, a Wynaut and Wobbuffet ask the team to punish a gang of bad Mankey in a forest. After defeating them, the Wynaut and Wobbuffet give the player a peeled Chestnut as the reward for the mission because they don't have any money. The Mankeys return seeking their revenge, but a fight is avoided due to the fact that Chestnuts are their favorite food. They offer to help construct a rescue team base for the player and partner, with the help of Caterpie, Metapod, Wynaut and Wobbuffet. However, eventually the Mankey gang get tired out, saying that should the team want them to keep working they must get more Chestnuts. They do so, and the base is soon completed at long last: a huge replica of the player. Unfortunately, the Mankeys realize that now that the base is done, they will not get anymore Chestnuts, and start attacking the base. Thankfully, the team manages to calm them down.
[edit] Battling Groudon and rescuing Team ACT
Team ACT has gone missing in the mission to stop Groudon. The partner and player want to rescue them, but Lombre refuses to let them go, saying there are plenty of tougher Pokémon than them. Shiftry convinces three of the best Pokémon, Team Hydro's Blastoise, Team Constrictor's Octillery, and Team Rumblerock's Golem to form a special rescue team and rescue Team ACT. Soon after, the special team returns defeated, not even having gotten far enough to even reach Groudon. Gengar shows up to discourage the Pokémon at the square even more, but the player and his/her partner are able to get everyone's spirits back up, and volunteer to rescue Team ACT themselves. That night, before setting off, Gardevoir reveals to the player that his/her purpose as a Pokémon is coming to its end.
When the team reaches Magma Cavern they find Charizard and Tyranitar defeated, with Alakazam fighting against Groudon alone. However, Alakazam is defeated. The team takes matters into their own hands and defeat Groudon. They return back to town as heroes, but their celebration is short-lived as grave news arrives from Xatu via telepathy: a huge meteor, revealed by Xatu to be the cause of the natural disasters, is heading for the world, threatening to destroy it. The only way to stop it is to ask for help from the sky guardian Rayquaza. But to send Pokémon to the sky requires the combined psychic powers of both Alakazam and Xatu, leaving the player's team the only ones capable of heading into the sky and seeking Rayquaza's aid.
The night before setting off, the player starts to feel horrible, as the shades in his/her dream are purple instead of green: Gengar is looking into the dream with Dream Eater. However, a light descends on the player, causing Gengar to flee and the dream returning to normal. The player then learns from the spirit Gardevoir that the player's purpose as a Pokémon is to save the world. The player willingly turned into a Pokémon as a test of courage, being told the truth only if the player passed the test. Now that the star is hurtling towards the planet, Gardevoir reveals that only after saving the world could the player return to human form - yet to do so would be parting ways with the partner, who had stuck beside the player through the hardest of times.
Alakazam and Xatu, along with an unnamed ghost Pokémon accomplice, complete the Teleport Gem allowing the team to reach the Sky Tower. Once there, however, they find that Rayquaza is less than cooperative. They are forced to subdue Rayquaza in order to force its cooperation, and Rayquaza agrees to use its Hyper Beam to destroy the meteor, despite its warnings to the player and partner that their being so close to the Hyper Beam could kill them.
[edit] Peace restored
Adrift within the star's explosion, the player finds him/herself in a dark fog. Gengar tries to drag the character into the dark world as revenge. However, Gengar ends up taking the wrong path, not being able to see a thing within the fog, so he lets the player go. The team reawakens on the ground, surrounded by their supporters, where they find that the world is safe once again. The partner states that Gengar tried to do the same thing, but also went the wrong way, revealing that Gengar was actually saving the two, possibly because of remorse for Gardevoir. Soon enough, the natural disasters plaguing the world of Pokémon will come to an end. However, the player realizes that with peace once again on the horizon, he/she must return to being a human and leave the Pokémon world behind.
The Pokémon are shocked by the player's sudden departure, and realized that the player had changed all of their lives in some way - none more than the partner. The player, too, feels remorse in his/her heart for having to leave behind a dear friend. Just after the player departs, he/she goes back on the decision and wishes to return to the wonderful world of Pokémon.
At a gathering in front of the now-empty rescue base, the team and supporters are surprised to see the player return in Pokémon form, and a celebration begins.
[edit] Continuing story
A few days after peace is returned to the world of Pokémon, the player awakens to be greeted by the partner. Outside, they encounter Caterpie, who is saying that something is amiss. The twosome will discover that Snubbull has somehow evolved into a Granbull. The platform near Whiscash's pond has unearthed Luminous Cave, which was closed up because of the natural disasters. This cave allows the Pokémon to evolve once again, although only one Pokémon can evolve at a time. Because of this, later that day, the partner convinces the player that due to new challenges ahead and growing team membership, the team should appoint different Pokémon for different missions that require the specialties of specific team members - prior to this, the player and partner were part of each and every mission taken.
It is later revealed that the human from the Ninetales legend is, indeed, Team Meanies' Gengar, who, after encountering the spirit Gardevoir in the player's dreams, and overhearing her line about having a lifelong friend, being Gengar, is filled with mixed emotions. In an effort to redeem himself, he asks the player to escort him to Mt. Freeze to ask Ninetales how to end the curse. After receiving a special crest from Ninetales, the player and Gengar go to Murky Cave, where Gardevoir's physical body is held. Upon placing the crest in a slot, Gengar is told by an ominous voice that it is time for him to begin his chance for redemption. However, the player is the one who will be answering the questions instead of Gengar, who is having an internal conflict. Despite the player's answers, the voice declares Gengar unfit to break the curse. Gengar then pleads, explaining that the reason he fled from Gardevoir was because he was deathly afraid that the curse would fall on him, and he had to get away at any cost. He finally appreciated his friends' gratitude; both of Gardevoir sacrificing herself, and of the player's team escorting him to his destinations. This sense of gratitude proves to be the final key to unlocking the curse. Gengar is redeemed, and Gardevoir is free. However, she loses memory of Gengar being her partner. Gardevoir and Gengar meet again, and re-introduce themselves to each other. The next day, Gardevoir appears in Pokémon Square and asks to join the player's rescue team. It is never said if Gengar remains a Pokémon or not.
[edit] Possible sequel
In March 2007, online game magazine IGN reported that Chunsoft was developing a second Pokémon game, one which would not be in the main RPG series (including games such as Pokémon Diamond and Pearl), and that this game would be released in two different versions. They were not able to confirm or deny that it would be related to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.[1]
[edit] External links
- Nintendo official site (Japanese)
- Chunsoft official site (Japanese)
- Chunsoft official site (English)
- Pokémon Official site (Japanese)
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Official site (English)
- Personality Quiz (English)
