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.
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.