Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team^[a] and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team^[b] are a matched pair of Pokémon video games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, respectively. The games were developed by Chunsoft, published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo. Red Rescue Team was the last Pokémon game released for the Game Boy Advance. The two versions are mostly identical, with Blue Rescue Team taking advantage of the dual-screen features and increased graphical and sound capabilities of the Nintendo DS. The game has six Pokémon exclusive to each version.

Similar to the other Mystery Dungeon titles, the roguelike gameplay revolves around randomly changing dungeons which need to be explored by the player and their partner Pokémon using turn-based moves. The story focuses on the player who has been turned into a Pokémon and has developed amnesia who later joins a rescue team with a partner Pokémon while finding out who they are. As of July 25, 2007, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team had sold 3.08 million copies worldwide. Two sequels, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, were released in Japan on September 13, 2007, and in North America on April 20, 2008. They featured Generation IV Pokémon, improved Wi-Fi features, and more touchscreen options.

Gameplay – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team

The player starts out as a human who turned into a Pokémon, which can be one of sixteen Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Pikachu, Meowth, Psyduck, Machop, Cubone, Eevee, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip and Skitty) and is determined by a personality quiz taken at the beginning of the game.^[1] The player chooses a partner Pokémon which is one of ten Pokémon (which excludes the last six stated above and the Pokémon of the same type).^[1]

The game is mission-based with many jobs, which can be found on the bulletin board, requested by mail, or initiated through story events, and include rescuing Pokémon, delivering items, and escorting clients.^[1] If the player successfully completes a job, they receive a reward, and Rescue Points, which increase a team’s rank.^[1]

Development and technical issue – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team

First revealed in August 2005,^[3] the Japanese release date was announced in September.^[4] More details were released later that month, showing information about the gameplay and plot.^[1] In November, Nintendo announced a bug in the Blue Rescue Team version involving its connectivity with its GBA counterpart, Red Rescue Team, which would completely erase the contents of any other Game Boy Advance game besides Red Rescue Team that was loaded into the system. Nintendo quickly patched the bug upon discovering it and issued a new shipment of replacement DS cards with the patch on December 8.^[5] At E3 2006, Nintendo announced the English release of the games^[6] and revealed the release date later that month.^[7] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team.

Reception – Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team

Publication	Score
	DS	GBA
1Up.com	A−[10]	A-
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.2/10	N/A
Eurogamer	7/10	N/A
Famitsu	35/40	N/A
Game Informer	3/10	N/A
GamePro	5/10	N/A
GameRevolution	D-	N/A
GameSpot	5.2/10[2]	5.2/10
GameSpy	[11]
GamesRadar+	6/10	N/A
IGN	6.5/10[12]	6.5/10
Nintendo Power	80%[13]	80%
Official Nintendo Magazine	7/10	N/A
PALGN	6/10	N/A
Pocket Gamer	5/10	N/A
VideoGamer.com	7/10	N/A

The game has received mixed or average reviews.^[8][9] IGN rated the game a “Passable” 6.5, feeling that the DS version could have been better if it did not have to be made for Game Boy Advance. They stated, “For a game that encourages team play, it’s amazing that Chunsoft missed the boat when it comes to exploring dungeons and finishing missions with a friend”.^[12] The game has been criticized for its visuals, with reviewers stating that the DS version does not improve graphically on the GBA version.

^[12] GameSpot gave it a 5.2, stating, “No matter how much you claim to love Pokémon, you should probably skip Pokémon Mystery Dungeon”, further stating, “Chunsoft’s dungeon hack game wasn’t that good to begin with, and the injection of Pokémon elements hasn’t done a thing to change that”.^[2] Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team.