Why You Should Play: Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon (A Game Review)

Instructions

Hello, and welcome to my brand new series, Why You Should Play: (A Game Review). In this review, I will be going over Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon for the Nintendo 3DS and why I believe you should try the game out. (Very slight spoilers ahead!) Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a rouge-like dungeon crawler developed by Spike Chunsoft with Game Freak's collaboration, and it released on September 17, 2015, one of the few years in the 2010's when Game Freak did not release a mainline Pokémon game. This game released approximately 1 year after OR/AS and 1 year before S/M. This game released the same year as Pokkén Tournament for the Wii U. It received mixed reviews (69%) from game critics such as Nintendo Life and Metacritic. Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is the 4th installment in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, preceded by Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red/Blue Rescue Team, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Gates to Infinity. Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon takes place in a world inhabited only by Pokémon. You, the player, awake with no memories, and you discover you have been transformed from a human into a Pokémon either selected by your choice or from the results of a personality test with randomized questions, with a total of 20 different species you can play as, most of which are starters. This process is also done for your partner, who will join you in your adventures. The story itself starts off rather playful, and is rather slice-of-life-y. You are saved from some strange, aggressive Beheeyem by Nuzleaf, a villager from the peaceful Serene Village, and he takes you there after learning you have amnesia and have nowhere to go. You are enrolled into a small village school, run into your mischievous partner, who practically drags you through what they would call a "tour", and go on crazy and fun adventures throughout and around the village. However, as you progress through the game, you, because of your partner's dream and due to a looming threat, join the Expedition Society in hopes of safety and adventure. You gradually piece together the threat of the endangered world as Pokémon are being turned into stone one by one by a mysterious enemy, and you try to find a way to stop it with the Expedition Society. You'll learn more about your purpose for coming to this world, as well as the unbeknownst secrets behind your partner and what their purpose is in all of this chaos, and most importantly, how to save the world from certain doom. You'll encounter story twists you never saw coming (or maybe you did but you thought would be too obvious), and you'll be surprised as to what this world has in store for you. Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is one of my favorite games of all time. The story, while albeit slow and somewhat boring in the beginning, explodes with excitement, twists and gut-wrenching feels that'll make you wonder how a Pokémon game of all things can make you feel this insanely sad. Seriously, I felt more emotion from this game than any movie I have ever seen or game I have ever played. And another thing, the music. Oh my gosh the music. There has never been a game's soundtrack I listen to more than this one's. Every tune fits in perfectly with either the story or dungeon type, and each song is a masterpiece. The gameplay itself can get repetitive and sometimes rather difficult. Fainting in a dungeon is just about the worst feeling since, if you choose not to rescue yourself with a separate team, which has limited uses per dungeon by the way, you lose a bunch of stuff and all your money you have on you. Thankfully there are ways to work around this with item safes in every town as well as "save devices", devices that allow you to save your game in the middle of a dungeon, which can make the game slightly easier, although these devices aren't very common to run into. Also, leveling up you and your partner can feel grindy, and, unfortunately, fighting is the only way to easily do so, unless you have a special item that gives you a bit of XP as you walk. And speaking of items, there are literally tons of items that can confuse, warp, burn, stun, blast, send your opponents flying, show you where the entrance to the next floor is, boost attacks, restore Power Points, revive and heal allies, Mega Evolve, and more. There is also a hunger mechanic in which you'll have to find and eat food to restore or else you'll gradually take damage. This game is jam packed with crazy items to boost your gaming experience and level the playing field against tough bosses and other strong Pokémon. In conclusion, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a fun game. While the gameplay can be a bit of an acquired taste, it overall gives you a sense of satisfaction for making your way through a dungeon and rewards you with a good story and good items. I literally could not have beat this game without the items. And that is why you should play Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon.