Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is a childhood favourite game of mine. Both the original, the sequel, and Super (not Gates) has all affected me very deeply, but the original has always been something that changed the way I interact with videogames in a lot of ways. It was one of the first games I've experienced with a story, one that I voraciously looked through guides through so I could 100% it, one that made me actually notice videogame music as a thing, and one that resonated with me so deeply it made me cry intermittently for the week after I beat it back in 6th grade.

Because of that, I had a lot of hope for it, and I was very excited to experience an updated version of a game that I enjoyed so much as a child. But at the same time, I was apprehensive and worried, considering The Pokemon Company's track record at the time, and my general apathy towards the franchise. Sword and Shield was a pretty major disappointment, and most of their major works have been phone and gatcha games.

I'm happy to say that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX warranted no such worry (thanks Spike Chunsoft!) and it's a completely updated experience that somehow manages to keep a lot of the core spirit of the original game alive, while at the same time, changing enough that it's worth experiencing all over again.

For anyone who has never played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, its a spin-off that's a dungeon crawler RPG rather than the turn-based, monster collecting RPG the main series is. While the battles are still turn-based, you can move one tile, attack, or use an item each turn, as can the enemy, so you have to juggle both movement and battles while progressing in dungeons with randomly-generated layouts. It's not a genre that's for everyone, and though it's notably a lot easier than most games of the genre (because, after all, it's still for kids) it's still harder than the main series and can get surprisingly frustrating if you don't know what you're doing.

The gist is you get to a floor, try to find the stairs to get further into the dungeon, gather items and beat other Pokemon along the way. There are, of course, bosses to fight at the end of some dungeons, and progressing through them gets you further and further into the story, which is where Pokemon Mystery Dungeon TRULY outshines the mainline Pokemon games.

Full disclosure, Rescue Team, due to being the first of the Mystery Dungeon games isn't exactly the paragon of story telling. It's heartfelt, and cute, definitely, but if you wanted something really deep along the lines of something like Fata Morgana or DDS this definitely isn't it. Hell, it doesn't even stand up that well to the later entries of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon franchise, and that's to be expected considering it's the first one. If you've never played Rescue Team but played some of the later games, then the story will seem awfully predictable and barebones to you. That being said, presentation does a lot for a game, and PMDX has STELLAR presentation.

The art style of the remake tries to recreate the watercolour painting style of the promo images and the menu art of the original game as opposed to the pixel style of the original DS and GBA versions.

From the shading of the models to the subtle movements of the grass and trees in the environment to the colour palette and even the menu UI, everything is just GORGEOUS. It really does feel like playing a storybook and I think that especially makes the story feel even more magical to me. Yes, of course, a lot of it is nostalgia but it's just such a COMFORTABLE game to play. The soundtrack is of course, magnificent, keeping a lot of the feel of the old tracks while adding some modern embellishments to it for the current console age.

It is just a beautiful game, the art direction is just STELLAR despite not being particularly the best graphics-wise, and it's just way more visually engaging than a certain other Pokemon game. Even though the dungeons are top-down, randomly generated set of tiles, seeing the different designs and effects of each tile in each new dungeon, how they inform the environment you're in with such clarity...it's just a treat to go through.

Along with that, there are animated cutscenes and intros for each boss battle, for major story beats, changes in camera angles and movements that make the original scenes have so much more weight to them. The dynamic entries of Moltres and the other birds are MUCH more climactic now, and it makes the eventual boss fights with them so much more fulfilling as a result.

Of course, just updated visuals might not be enough to justify buying a 14 year old game again but never fear! The gameplay has been updated too! While the basics of it are more or less the same, there are a lot of QoL changes like more access to a variety of items, easier ways to level grind, easier access to special skills/abilities and the ability to change them, team building, more robust movepools provided by the modern generation of Pokemon, and evolutions/mega evolutions that didn't exist in generation 3 when the original came out.

You can rescue yourself in a dungeon if you've fainted so you don't lose all your items and money, instead of JUST relying on friends and strangers to do so, there are auto-walk options where your Pokemon would explore the dungeon by themselves until they get close to an enemy, and there's a lot more clarification in how to go about actually playing this game through the tutorials.

Now some people (especially after playing the demo) might argue that this makes the game too easy. I'm here to tell you, as someone who's played both games and went through the same dungeons, that that statement is utter bullshit.

A lot of people tout the original as being incredibly difficult but I personally don't agree with that statement. I feel like a lot of them project the difficulty to be much higher than it actually was due to not having much skill in playing it (due to them being much younger when the original came out) and due to the perception that being able to recruit 8 Pokemon in PMDX in one dungeon makes boss fights laughably easy (which, it does not considering that a lot of the later ones can and WILL spam AoE moves).

On top of that, the robust movepools for the starters means that the enemies have significantly improved movepools too. It isn't uncommon to be utterly wrecked by some random Magcargo spamming Earth Power or being sniped by a Magby using Flame Burst. Having a Farfetch'd use Brave Bird out of nowhere or having your only reviver seed getting eaten by a Weedle with Bug Bite. Even worse, they keep the mechanics of Gates and Super where if that enemy defeats any of your team members, they WILL get super powered and even mega evolve in some cases, wrecking you even more. The hp pool of basically every enemy, bosses included, has also been increased to high heaven while the damage done with moves has decreased, keeping a ratio more similar to Super where you have to engage with the enemy a few times to defeat it, meaning you do actually have to think about every move you make.

I think they excelled in balancing the game around it's QoL changes and ease of access to strong items and moves. While yes, you get way more reviver seeds and max elixirs, you also will end up using them a lot more. While yes, you get access to super powerful TMs early on, it might not be as strong or effective as a commonly used Tackle in longer dungeons because of it's PP cost and the build up of skills the more you use them. While yes, you have way more orbs and disruption options available to you, you WILL have to use them to get through certain fights and the game actively encourages you to use them strategically instead of just blasting through the game with strong attacking skills like in the original.

All this adds to gameplay that, while very similar to the original, feels completely different to go through. Even the bosses require different strategies and ways to beat them because of added mechanics like lava pools with Groudon and a twister that moves your teammates around if they're in certain spots.

And as always, the post-game dungeons continue to be incredibly difficult compared to the main game, with dungeons that force you to lv 1, dungeons that don't let you bring in items, dungeons with 99 floors and dungeons that do all three, with incredibly rewarding goals to aim for like being able to recruit Legendary Pokemon.

The original rescue team, out of all the Mystery Dungeon games, I think has the BEST postgame, being a series of linked events that require certain conditions to be fulfilled and also about twice as long as the actual main story. There's just so much to DO, so much to aim for. So many new dungeons and new bosses and while the difficulty spike might be a bit much, it's just so SATISFYING to play something that really challenges me. Being able to recruit legendary Pokemon and get a special area for them is just so minor but so much more satisfying to fulfil than seeing legendaries just wander around by sheer luck.

I think really, the only reason I'm not shouting from the roof about how everyone should get this is because...it honestly is not going to mean much to you if you never cared for the original games to begin with. If you like roguelike gameplay then I'd recommend it, definitely, but if you didn't care for the gameplay and the story never resonated with your lonely little 11 year old heart, then it probably won't be worth getting.

It's a nostalgia trip through and through, and definitely worth getting if you LOVE PMD but never played the original for whatever reason and want to experience it. But if the franchise was never for you then I doubt PMDX is gonna change your mind much. That being said, if reading this made you curious about this series and want to get into it, then I HIGHLY recommend it. It's a really fun, emotional and a genuinely heartwarming game that just feels nice to play. It highlights what a remake SHOULD be: a game that takes all the charm of the original and builds on it.

Work x Work (localized as Heroland) is a game about... work. Available on the Switch, PC, PS4, it's helmed by some really great names, with Nobuyuki Inoue (director of Mother 3) as scenario writer, Takahiro Yamane (one of the directors of Fantasy Life) as the director, Nobuhiro Imagawa (art director of Mother 3) handling the art direction here, and Tsukasa Masuko (who did a lot of the early SMT soundtracks) handling the OST. Also produced by Takuya Yamanaka, who was the director/producer of The Caligula Effect (+Overdose) so I will be inherently really biased about this game due to Caligula being one of my fave games ever.

Like Caligula, Heroland is a game that sets out to break the mold of what videogames can do, and unrestrained by expectations, with the devs having a huge amount of freedom in how they work on it (at the cost of budget...). While Caligula is a game about escapism, depression, and self-harming coping methods told through the lens of music, Heroland is a story about the trials of the working class and the oppressive nature of capitalism told through the lens of rpg cliches. It's a constant theme that's prevalent through the entire work. In the characters, in gameplay and in constant one-off jokes. It doesn't just bring up capitalism as a nebulous enemy that the protags have to fight, kinda dipping their toes into the message but never actually doing anything meaningful with it (hi Pokemon Sword/Shield), it's what this game Is.

I expect that from Yamanaka though, as Caligula was made with the unique perspective of his experience working as a psychologist, and needless to say, it kinda carried over to Heroland too. With Mother 3 also being REALLY heavy on capitalist critique, having a lot of the same people working on this was even better.

But what is the plot, you might say. The plot of Heroland takes place in an RPG amusement park named... Heroland, where guests can go through dungeons and fight monsters all in a safe environment with guided tours. It stars two characters: Pochio (Lucky in the localization), a young man from a poor family who applied to the titular park and is now a tour guide there, and Prince Elric (also known as Prince 18), the heir apparent of the King of Knowble, who recently fell down to 18th in line for the throne and goes to the park to try and defeat the Dark Lord to regain his place (not knowing he's made-up). You play as Lucky as he works as a tour guide, with Prince Elric leading the story as he drags Lucky around to do stuff for him (as well as other characters that Lucky will have to guide into dungeons).

The game's plot isn't exactly the most mindblowing, as it ends up following the beats of rpg stories in general, but the true appeal of the game for me is just how they play, subvert, and joke about those rpg tropes (as well as running gags within it's own story that become relevant later, which I don't want to give an example of because spoilers) and the characterizations of the cast, who are all quirky in their own little ways.

Beyond Lucky and Prince Elric, there's Lua, a self-proclaimed "Exposition Fairy" that speaks for Lucky and helps him out at his job (as well as making sarcastic remarks about everything around her), Minister Oak, Prince Elric's retainer/manservant who parrots everything as he observes with no will of his own. Miranda, Julia and Mana, a group of 3 friends/groupies of Prince Elric that wants to get his [bleep] and keeps failing, and Phillip, a dog that's 17th in line for the throne. Among many, many others. Each of them has a friendship meter you can fill up, with character-specific sidequests unlocked if you get them high enough.

The gameplay is... not it's highest point. If you ever played a gatcha game and put your units on auto that's basically how it plays (minus the whaling for rare/S-rank units). Since you're playing a tour guide, you don't actively participate in the combat, instead, guiding the characters you take in by choosing a move for them, giving them all a specific tactic, or using items on them. Each of your choices are limited, because after one 'guide', you'll need to wait before you can make another 'guide', and it doesn't become particularly tactical until you gain some levels and cut down the time it takes to make another decision.

There's no exploration like in the Mother games, as it all takes place on the Heroland island, with every dungeon being a tour that you pick from the in-game lobby. The only real variation are forks where you can choose which enemy you want to fight but it goes back to the main road anyway. Luckily there's an option to speed up the combat, and lord knows you'll be using it.

Story dungeons and sidequest dungeons all have specific characters you HAVE to take, and endgame is kinda plagued with several dungeons that have a set party you can't really do anything about. A lot of reviews mention the excessive need for grinding, and that's a complaint I can back up, as due to the ever-changing party members, you'll almost always be below the recommended level for a story game dungeon, and have to play catch-up to not die. The sidequests can mitigate this a bit, especially mid-game, but by endgame, most of them are too low-level to give enough exp (or MonCoin in this universe). It can be annoying, but for me, I usually take the grinding sessions as opportunities to try and get rare loot, like weapons and furniture. That being said, the passive nature of the game and the necessary grinding can be a bit much sometimes, so it helps to have something else to do while playing it.

A part of me wants to say the somewhat unrewarding gameplay was on purpose to back up the theme of the game, much like how Monopoly was intended to show how crushing capitalism can be (before being trademarked by Mattel anyway) and works in the constraints of Heroland's budget of being a Furyu game.

The high points of this game is absolutely the dialogue, which are filled with tongue-in-cheek rpg jokes, references, and memes that somehow don't feel too out of place because everything somehow works(xwork) in it anyway

It is an INCREDIBLY funny game, and despite leaning on some serious and/or heartwarming moments, it's a game that means to make you laugh. Not just through jokes but by resonating with those jokes.

It gives the impression that the devs (and localizers) really enjoyed working on this, and put their heart into it. It dips into moments of absurdity and genuine emotions at once, and can be similar to Mother 3 in that regard. It's a game that feels more like an experience than a game, and I'd really recommend it to people who are even slightly interested in it from what I've said so far.

Work x Work (Heroland) is a labour of love. From the devs retweeting my livetweets of the game, to the constant criticism of videogame crunch culture, it's a game that they WANTED to make, and WANTED to share. I can respect that immensely, and gameplay issues aside, I think it's worth playing for that alone.

The Caligula Effect is a work of art. It's a game created from passion and a true desire to put out a game that's meant to Say something, to make you Feel something. Compared to the overblown cinematic AAA games that people tout as Art, it might not seem like it, but if you go into it with an open mind, you'll find that the sincerity of everyone who worked on it will resonate with you in one way or another.

The Caligula Effect is a game produced by Takuya Yamanaka and written by Tadashi Satomi (Persona 1, 2, and DDS), with character designs by Oguchi. Overdose is an updated rerelease of the original Vita game, remade on a completely new engine, with 4 new characters and an option to side with the Musicians to find out more about them. It's a turn-based rpg, with dungeons modelled after locations in the city, and relationship values you can build up in battle to unlock character episodes with which you can find out more about your high school party members.

"But wow, that just sounds like Persona!" and you might be right in the shallowest sense of the word! Especially since the writer IS the guy that gave birth to it! But far from being a "shallow/worse Persona clone" as many reviewers claim it to be, it's more of a criticism and rejection of what modern Persona games represent- but we'll get into that in a second.

The setting of the game? A virtual utopia called Mobius, created by Mu, the virtual idol (a vocaloid, essentially) who wanted to ease humans from suffering after hearing and singing their songs through the well of human consciousness that is the internet. In Mobius, everyone gets to live out a painless life, and endlessly relive idyllic, happy, high school days. You play as the President of the Go Home Club, a "club" of students who recognize Mobius as a fake reality and all have their own reasons for wanting to go back. The main antagonists are the Ostinato Musicians, a group of composers who write songs for Mu to keep Mobius going endlessly, and who all have their own reasons for wanting to stay despite knowing it's a fake reality.

It's a very multifaceted and unique take on the 'trapped in an ideal world' trope, asking questions like what drives people to such extreme escapism? Is it just to destroy other's happiness for the sake of your own? At what point does coping and enabling your comfort come at the expense of others? Every character is flawed, every character is a bit of an asshole, but they're very well-rounded and feel down-to-earth in just how relatable they can be. It's ESPECIALLY refreshing due to the fact that they all superficially, and initially, come off and present themselves as various common character tropes across anime (and especially Persona games). You have the meatheaded jock, you have the tomboy girl who loves food, you have the beautiful and elegant heroine type, you have the peeping tom, you have the 'Princely' cold handsome guy, and so on and so forth. The precision with which The Caligula Effect turns these tropes on their head and completely changes your perception of them is truly something to behold, and worth playing this game for that alone.

Everyone's reasonings for why they want to stay in/leave Mobius are also incredibly compelling and unique with how much it touches real world issues. I'd rather not mention any in explicit detail because they're all on various levels of spoilers, but it tackles such issues as self-harm, mental illnesses, suicide, sexuality, transgenderism, social anxiety, abuse and so on. Considering that Takuya Yamanaka was a psychology major and wanted to go into counselling before deciding to develop games, and Tadashi Satomi was known for turning Jungian Psychology into a game series, their combined knowledge REALLY shows in this game. It's very very very hard not to find at least one character to resonate with (mine would be Thorn and Kotaro).

The only real complaint, and warning really that I can give is that the way it handles Some of those issues is a little...offputting, especially in the beginning. The game's trans character gets misgendered and outed constantly for a few dungeons near the beginning, and a certain character is very violently fatphobic for a bit too (of course there's a reason for that). Though both issues get resolved eventually, since this happens in the very beginning when you don't get any of the character subversions or the really meaty parts of the plot/character stories, it can be really hard to force yourself through. The game overrelies on slapstick humour and wacky anime tropes for the first 3 dungeons (4 if you're going Musician route, which you should, because you don't miss anything NOT going on it while you miss a HUGE chunk of the plot if you don't go on it) and doesn't truly pick up until the 5th dungeon (7th on Musician). Luckily the game isn't very long and neither are those dungeons, but it can still be a bit of a chore to force yourself to get that far. Luckily once you're over that hump, the game REALLY picks up, hence why I rate it so highly regardless.

As a side note, the game also has incredible music and voice-acting, some of the best I've heard in recent memory. Every single seiyuu TRULY seems to love the role they play, and you can tell through their performances. From Mifue's breakdowns and angry rants, to Thorn's change in pitches, to Shogo's embarrassed attempts in customer service, to Kuchinashi's panic attacks, to Ike-P's bombastic declarations, and ESPECIALLY to Mu's singing, the characters truly come alive in ways that make up for the lacking models. Mu's singing is especially noteworthy here because every single Musician has a character song that plays in their dungeon, each composed by a different real-life vocaloid producer, and sung by Mu's VA Reina Ueda. Every song sounds wildly different from each other, not just in tone, but pitch, delivery and intonation, and it's hard to believe Onboro and Tokimeki Reverie were sung by the same person. If anything else, I highly recommend looking up the soundtrack and listening to it, it's something else.

Overall, this game is an incredibly hard sell. Not just for it's lacking visuals (due to lack of budget) and overall clunky beginning, but because it's really kind of hard to appreciate this game on a purely surface level! You really need to dig deep into how each character is presented and figure out contradictions between how they truly are vs how they present themselves. It's genius just how much character details you can get out of simple conversations or innocuous WIRE answers (the in-game texting where you can ask your party members pre-set questions), and just how much each Musician and Go Home Club member's foil pairs tie into each other. If you're willing to put in the work to get over the wall in the beginning, and really open yourself up for these characters, then this game will truly astound you. Please play the Caligula Effect, or if you gave up on it in the beginning, please try going through it again. The game might truly surprise you.