Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness Review

Developer: Chunsoft
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: April 20, 2008
Genre: Dungeon RPG
Players: Single player
Rating: E

Intro: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon! Once again, this game appears. Join in on this grand adventure about a human becoming a Pokemon, and you are that human! Play through the game, get through difficult and fun dungeons and discover how you’ve become a Pokemon. Storyline: This is a great story line. Personally, I love it. This story line is like the previous Pokemon Mystery Dungeons; you’ve become a Pokemon and find out why. This is how this pokemon mystery starts; you wake up on a beach passed out, then another Pokémon walks by and notices you. After you and that
Pokemon get through a tough battle together, you two team up and make a rescue team, helping out others and solving crimes. Who knows? You might even save the world. Longevity: This game is pretty long with all the fun and long missions you can’t wait to complete. The game may take a few weeks, or maybe a month, but it’s worth it. The first part (main part) of the story may take 2 weeks, but the stories after the main one are longer and more fun. The game is also fun to replay and pick out the right teams.


"The adventure begins."

Graphics: The games graphics are almost exactly the same to the old Pokemon Mystery Dungeons. The graphics are decent for a DS game though. This game also has great headshot pictures for each and every Pokemon, unlike the first two. The background and level graphics are great too; they have lots of beautiful and neat graphics in this game. It doesn’t push the DS to the limit, but the sprites are great. They’re cute, detailed, and colorful. Plus, each and every Pokemon have their own cool animations.
Gameplay: This game, like the older one, takes place in dungeons. These dungeons are randomly generated and made with various items, enemies, and traps. It’s almost the same as the other Pokemon games and the system of taking turns. You take a turn, they take a turn. Walking a step, attacking, using an item-each uses one turn and allows every other dungeon Pokemon a turn as well. The controls in the game are a bit confusing at first, but are easier when you get used to them. If you played the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon on the DS, it will be easier to play. This game can also be controlled and played by using the stylus, which is a pretty cool feature. You have to use the D pad/stylus to move, and the letter controls to do various actions like attack and use items. There is also a new mini-game where you must use the stylus to play, you must identify the pokemon by looking at its foot prints and find out whose they are. The controls may be tricky at the start, but you’ll get used to

"Your first battle!"

Sound: The soundtrack for this game is great. I like the music; it always fits the moment in the game. The music goes well with the environment too. If there’s a peaceful environment and background, the music is also peaceful. The music is also cheerful (beware of repetition), and has lots of catchy tunes playing throughout the game. The sounds are responsive and nice for the attacks and movements. But the pokemon cries and others aren’t so great, some of them are not as good as the other games, plus, some of them even sound like they were used from the old Gameboy games.

Overall:

This game is a great choice for the young audience, but can entertain older audiences too. Sure, it doesnt put the DS' capabilities to its limits, but it's a still a fun game. The wi-fi feature is pretty cool too as it lets you send out an S.O.S, or a help request. It lets you revive at the place you fainted at. Overall, this game is a recommended buy.

Ratings:
Graphics: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Longevity: 8/10