In 2005, the international juggernaut known as Pokémon joined forces with the folks at Spike Chunsoft to start a new series of spin-offs in which Pokémon would speak like humans and do a lot of dungeon-crawling. This was known as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, with its first pair of releases being Blue Rescue Team for the DS and Red Rescue Team for the Game Boy Advance. And now, 15 years later, the two nearly-identical games have unexpectedly been given the remake treatment on the Switch in the form of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX.
Can we rescue? Yes we can!
The story starts with you waking up to find out that you have turned into the Pokémon of your choosing. After pulling yourself together and meeting the partner of your choosing, a Butterfree immediately informs you that a Caterpie that has fallen into a fissure and needs to be rescued. From this moment, your rescue-team/dungeon-crawling endeavor commences.
Rescue me before I fall into despair
You and your partner accept jobs via your mailbox, and your missions consist of venturing through roguelike dungeons, battling enemy Pokémon, leveling up your attributes, and help the Pokémon in need. You must also take care of yourselves along the way, as you’ll need to eat berries to replenish your HP and other food to keep your stomachs happy. As you complete missions, you’ll be able to recruit additional Pokémon to your team, but you must use tools and money to give them the help and shelter they’ll need. When you’re off duty, you can store belongings in the Kangaskhan Storage, gain experience at the Makuhita Dojo, visit the Pelipper Post Office, and do campsite things at Wigglytuff’s Camp Center. The music is fitting and charming, but I like the graphics a lot more. The watercolor-like style reminds me of something like Yoshi’s Island or the Sonic Storybook series.
Out of the gate
This release may have been something that very few of us saw coming, but Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is an excellent trip down Memory Lane for those who remember this obscure spin-off series. It may not have all the replay-value in the world nor multiplayer of any kind, but it will still satisfy even the most inexperienced roguelike players.
