[Review] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX - When Gameplay Isn't As Interesting

When it was first released, Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon was only seen as a game to fill the gaps in the main series that was being worked on. But slowly this game is getting appreciation from fans because it provides character development through a different perspective than other Pokemon games. Revisiting a less popular game and introducing it to a new audience is a great move for spin-off this.

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I’ve always thought that games like this deserve more remakes than games that are already good and well known to everyone. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of the Red/Blue Rescue Team of GBA and DS that was released 15 years ago. With the second chance given, has Spike Chunsoft managed to make the best version to start playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon for newcomers like me?

Yes, I myself have never played this series before. I’ve always been interested, but never got around to the sheer number of other games that became backlog. It might sound bad when the review is made by someone who has no experience of the original game, but instead I see this as an opportunity to give a pure opinion and not based on mere nostalgia. Therefore, here are my views on this game.

A premise that is not executed properly

You play as a human who has just turned into a Pokemon. Which Pokemon you change depends on the personality quiz the game does at the beginning of the game, or you can choose manually if the results are not satisfactory. After choosing your new persona, you will later choose a partner who will later invite you to be part of the rescue team. With no memory of what happened and who you were when you were a human, you slowly try to unravel the mystery behind the transformation while doing your job as a Pokemon rescue team that is somehow addicted to getting lost in the dungeon.

gimmick The biggest thing about this game is the system procedural generation possessed in the dungeon. This makes each of your explorations not the same conceptually as a game rogue-like. But in reality, only the layout has changed. The experience of entering a dungeon is always the same once you get to know the format: Empty spaces connected by narrow corridors where wild Pokemon go around to invite fights with your team, and at the end of the dungeon there will be stairs that lead you to the next floor. This is the only thing you do throughout the game, a fetch quest which was repeated hundreds of times without major changes to the mechanics or game design.

As usual, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX has a combat system turn-based, but the difference is that you will remain in a top-down perspective when doing so. At the beginning of playing, the combat game system might be a little confusing because the location of the Pokemon positions is the key in this game but how to control and perform actions is a little more complicated than it should be. I understand that the game tries to distance itself from the main series as far as possible, but I prefer Pokemon’s traditional combat system over the tiles like this because the game seems not designed for this kind of combat.

The majority of attacks will only be carried out when you are next to the enemy, because the Pokemon Companion only follows you from behind, the majority of the battle is that you attack the enemy, try to position the companion so they can help, then be late for any action because the enemy has already been destroyed by my Pokemon . Not to mention when in a narrow corridor, Pokemon companion really can’t do anything because they are not in a proper position to attack unless they have an attack that is far away.

So yeah, the majority of the “help” you get from companion Pokemon is only when they still have PP for ranged attacks. When the PP for the attack runs out, they are almost useless unless there is an enemy with thick HP like a boss.

To overcome the fairly stiff movement, the game adds an “Auto mode” option which, as the name implies, the game will run your character automatically. He will always prioritize the objective, then the items that are in the level, then head to the stairs. Auto mode will stop when you encounter an enemy, so you’re still playing the game and don’t completely leave the computer to take care of the mission. If I’m being honest, this became my way of playing for most mid to late dungeons. The game is already too repetitive after the introduction session because the formula is so-so without any new challenges or new mechanics introduced by the game. Maybe without this mode, I’ve given up playing especially when entering a mission where the location is on the 20th floor and above.

In addition to the 2 companion Pokemon that you invite, you can recruit Pokemon in the Dungeon to temporarily join your team. Pokemon can be recruited up to 5 in one dungeon mission, but again you will not use this system properly because of the system tiles that the game brings and I’ve explained how this system doesn’t work at all with the controls and rules that the game enforces. So why are you recruiting Pokemon other than making the screen fuller and slowing down your exploration? You can permanently recruit them later as long as you have a base for them to live in.

Otherwise, they’ll give you enough coins for your team’s needs, and they’re also useful against bosses so you can probably finish each boss in a matter of minutes because you gang up against them. So maybe in general there are many benefits from this recruiting mechanic, but it still gets stuck again because of the fighting system and movement designed by the game.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX tries to create its own premise that sets it apart from the typical Pokemon series, but the execution is still half done and even with this second chance, Chunsoft doesn’t try to improve the game’s main core.

Emotional conclusion to a simple ending

With you trapped in the body of a Pokemon with no memory of its previous life, you inevitably have to live your new life. In this new life, you will meet a collection of Pokemon with trope typical of anime characters. Merchant characters who are so innocent, stereotypical characters of dojo teachers, a group of evil teams who will mischief along your adventures, a team that many people idolize because of their strength and wisdom and they become role model for your team later, as well as mysterious characters who never want to give direct explanations.

The story offered is also basically not so special at first. You only help the lost Pokemon until a real conflict arises where you and the other characters must find out the reason behind the natural disasters that often occur in their world. From this point on the storyline begins to attract attention because you believe the conflict has something to do with the transformation of the main character into Pokemon. Even with the repetitive gameplay and dungeons that the game offers, the mystery behind this story is the main motivation why you want to keep playing.

Even with trope clichéd, there’s an impossible-to-hate feel to the game’s story. Seeing Pokemon act and interact like humans in general provides a unique perspective seeing that so far we’ve only seen them as nothing more than collectible pets and fight only under your command. Indeed, there is nothing special in terms of character development, but the longer you play you will get closer to each of the main characters in the game. When the conclusion of the story arrives, you will find it difficult to contain your sadness at the end of the long journey you have passed. Even if you have guessed what the ending of the game will be like from the start like me, the game still manages to provoke your emotions through a mix of music and dialogue between your character to your partner and other Pokemon.

Artstyle and Endgame

Let go artsyle pixelated in the gameboy and DS versions, Rescue Team DX carries a visual style like a painting. I have nothing to say about this aspect other than praise. Artstyle makes you feel like you are in a dream or a story in a fairy tale. That’s what I caught from the game’s visuals and if that’s what it was intended for, the developer managed to execute it well.

After you finish the main story, you will be presented with endgame content. As you’d expect, the endgame content is just more quests to do but as a bonus you’re also given the opportunity to evolve your character or the team you have as long as you meet the necessary conditions which of course means more grinding. If somehow you haven’t tired of the repetitive gameplay given over the last 30-40 hours, this endgame will probably satisfy you but for me personally I’ve had enough to finish the main content.

Verdict

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a sloppy remake. The game has a lot of potential with its new perspective where you play as a Pokemon, unfortunately that potential has to be undermined by poor execution mediocre. Rigid animations, a combat system that’s more annoying than fun, dungeon formulas that get repetitive quickly and all quests are just fetch quest without variety makes the gameplay of this game difficult to recommend.

The story and visual aspects are strong aspects that the game offers, but they are not enough to carry the burden of all the weaknesses that the game has. You may have a different opinion and have nostalgic memories of the original, but from what I’ve seen of this remake, it’s still hard for me to recommend it with other newcomers like me.