The latest installment of the Mystery Dungeon series from Pokemon was released on November 20th, and I was eager to get my hands on the game. My first entry was from the original Game Boy Advance games, Red and Blue Rescue teams, and I fell in love with the story ever since. Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky were the Nintendo DS successors, unfortunately I missed out on getting them even when I had one at the time. Now, the less than successful Gates to Infinity and the recent Super Mystery Dungeon are the Nintendo 3DS sequels. Does Super Mystery Dungeon hold up well to its predecessors? Let's find out.
Super Mystery Dungeon opens like any previous game. You take the role of a human turned into a Pokemon sent to save the world but when you arrive in their world you can't remember how or why you got there. Before you turn into a Pokemon, you take a personality quiz that helps you define which one you'll be taking the form of. Other games locked you into a set choice based on your answers, but Super Mystery Dungeon will give you the set choice from your answers and the option of refusing it, and choosing between the rest of the starters available. Based on my answers, I got Tepig, however I refused it. I chose Riolu in the long run and my partner was Froakie.
The story already is proving itself to be interesting. Out of nowhere, Pokemon seem to be turning into stone but our heroes are unaware of it. Actually they're too busy being in school. I thought it was a very interesting turn from just having the hero join a Mystery Dungeon Exploration Team, and learn about their mission from exploring. The class learns about Mystery Dungeons and how to function as a team and survive in them. This also works as a great tutorial experience to teach the player about some of the new features in the game.
One of my favorites is the new Looplet and Emera equipment. The Looplet functions as an accessory piece that can equip Emera. There are also jewels that offer different effects and abilities, such as attacks causing status effects or increasing defense or passive abilities. You can also choose to consume the Emera to gain stat boots allowing players to go for abilities or stat buffs. These really help in the grand scheme of things making some impossible fights winnable.
A returning feature from Gates to Infinity is the Team Attack but now known as Alliances. Instead of clearing out a whole room of enemies, this allows the party to surround a single target. It's great for fighting and getting your team together to take out one particular threat in the dungeons. However, be careful because your enemies can use this tactic and destroy you as well. Enemies can also evolve mid battle and turn the tide in their favor.
Another new feature is the Connection Orb, through which all expedition quests get funneled through. As players complete more quests, you get connected to the Pokemon who made the request, also joining your reserve party members and in turn, more quests. It's an expanding web of connection of all 720 Pokemon and getting them on your team. Better online capabilities now allow for players to help each other in dungeons across the world. Players can send a rescue team to help when they are defeated and send a single Pokemon for StreetPass.
As far as the newest entry in the series, Super Mystery Dungeon is one that far surpasses its predecessors and it improves in every way. It includes every Pokemon from every generation while offering an interesting story and deep gameplay. I sincerely recommend getting Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon.
