Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time^[a] and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness^[b] are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Nintendo DS. The two games were released in Japan in September 2007, and in North America and Europe in 2008.^[1][2] A third version, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, was released for the same hardware in 2009.

As a sequel to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, new features include the addition of Generation IV Pokémon, improved Wi-Fi functionality, and more touch-screen options. 491 of the 493 Pokémon are featured, as Shaymin and Arceus were not officially released at the time of the game’s launch.

In terms of gameplay and premise, the Explorers installments are largely similar to their Rescue Team predecessors, where a human-turned-Pokémon joins an Exploration Society and explores shifting dungeons, fighting hostile Pokémon through turn-based combat. The games received praise for their storyline, soundtrack, and Wi-Fi functionality, but were criticized for repetitive gameplay. The three games had accumulated worldwide sales in excess of 5.9 million copies as of 2010, then 6.37 million copies after 2010.^[3]

Gameplay – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

Playable Pokémon – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

As with the previous games, the player takes on the role of a human who has been turned into a Pokémon, whose type is determined by a personality test.^[4] A partner Pokémon is also selected who will henceforth be referred to as “the partner”. Unlike Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team, the gender does not restrict the available selection of Pokémon for either the player or the partner, though both player and partner may not be of the same type. The test sets the player as one of the many natures in the mainstream games, and two Pokémon will be set to that nature, one for male, one for female.

Plot – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

The player is washed ashore by a storm and is discovered by the partner, a timid Pokémon who dreams of forming an exploration team. After teaming up to recover the partner’s Relic Fragment from some bullies, the player, who has lost all memories except their name and the fact that they used to be human, agrees to form an exploration team to piece together their identity. The two enlist at the Wigglytuff Guild and begin training as adventurers. During this time, the player discovers that they can have visions of the future or past.

Development – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

On March 20, 2007, Famitsu teased a sequel in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. The then untitled game would make use of the Nintendo DS’s dual screens and Wi-Fi support. Moreover, it was the first time Chunsoft made a sequel to a Mystery Dungeon game involving licensed characters other than Dragon Quest’s Torneko or Final Fantasy’s Chocobo.^[5] Two months after the announcement, Chunsoft confirmed the sequel to the series with an official title and the games being two versions like the Rescue Team games; Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness respectively.

It confirmed the aforementioned new features explained in March, in addition to featuring Generation IV Pokémon and the ability to choose two of 16 characters; one as the protagonist and one as the partner similar to the previous games.^[6]

Reception – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Time

Publication	Score
Eurogamer	7/10[15]
GameSpot	6.5/10[16]
GameSpy	[17]
GamesRadar+	[18]
IGN	6.5/10[19]
Nintendo Power	7.5/10[20]

The reviews for the games were average to positive. The games were scored as 60 and 59 out of 100 by Metacritic for Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, respectively.^[11][12] GameSpot gave the games a score of 6.5 out of 10, criticising the dialogue and inconsistent visuals, but praising the story, soundtrack, Wi-Fi features and easier difficulty.^[16