"Being a Pikachu Was Never This Fun"

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was such a fun game, so of course they made a sequel. I was so happy when I went to my local game store and got a copy of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time. So, how is it compared to the last game, and is it worth buying? The answer is it's better and worth it, but I'm supposed to convince you, aren't I?

Story

Once again, you're a human who became a Pokemon, and you can only remember your name. The Pokemon you select as your partner finds you unconscious, and after the two of you explore a small dungeon together, you join Wigglytuff's Guild. There, you form your own exploration team as apprentices and begin doing missions for Pokemon in trouble. But, before too long, a mysterious Pokemon shows up and begins wreaking havoc by stealing Time Gears, stopping time in certain areas of the world. So, it's up to you to explore new dungeons, stop this thief and many others, and figure out what you're doing in the Pokemon world in the first place.

Gameplay

Gameplay is pretty much the same as it was before. You start most days by accepting missions, preparing to leave, and then completing those missions. The missions all take place in randomly created dungeons, multi-level mazes filled with items and feral Pokemon. You and your team fight through the mazes and take staircases until you hear a chime that sounds a bit like the first three notes of The Legend of Zelda's Sun Song, which lets you know you've reached the right floor. And from there, you explore until you find the thief, scared Pokemon, or item you need to collect. Then you can keep exploring or warp out of the dungeon. It's up to you. But when you get back to the guild, you're rewarded with money and items to help you in more missions. Finally, the guild eats dinner and you go to bed.

But exploring would be hard if you didn't have enough Pokemon, right? Once you reach a certain point in story mode, you can recruit Pokemon for your team. If you're fighting in a dungeon and your leader makes the final blow, the Pokemon may ask to join you. Once it has joined, you can drag it along for the rest of the mission. But unlike in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, you can send your Pokemon right back to the guild, making it easier to recruit several Pokemon in one dungeon. Plus, when you finish your work for the day and go to sleep, all of your team members are still in your party, so you don't need to go get them again. What a nice change! Oh, and dungeons aren't the only places to get Pokemon. If you gain the respect of your client, it may ask to join, or even give you a Pokemon egg. Nice!

Items are another important part of the game. You need to eat to keep yourself from fainting from hunger. You can pick up technical machines to teach new attacks to yourself and your team. You can stock up on Iron Thorns and Sticks to throw at enemies in the distance. You can paralyze your opponents or put them to sleep with seeds. And now, you can carry more items. As you do better in the game, you earn the ability to carry more items and leave more items in storage. Speaking of storage, it's now much easier to remove several of one type of item at once. Yay!

Finally, the battle system remains almost the same. All Pokemon have attacks with different ranges and effects, and you can also find ammo. The terrain and weather can change the outcome of a fight, too. Really, you've got much more to think about in this game than you do when you play the trainer RPGs, just like last time.

Controls

The controls don't seem to have changed from the last game. They still make it easy to fight and use items quickly. Well, the stylus works better in dungeons than it did last time. So, the controls are great.

Graphics and Music

There are some minor improvements in detail when you compare the graphics of this game to those in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Also, Pokemon have genders again, so Pokemon may look different based on sex. For example, there's a little notch in my Pikachu's tail. Other than that, not much has changed. The graphics still fit the game very much.

The music in this game is much nicer. The music in the last game was good and usually fit, but sounded a bit harsh. But the old tracks are not dead. Some dungeons have great remixes of the more interesting and catchy tunes of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.

Play Time and Replayability

Story mode is long. If I had put this much play time into the original Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, I'd nearly be done right now. But this game seems twice as long. I'm not saying it isn't fun, however. The story flows so well and the dungeons steadily increase in difficulty, so Pokemon can gain experience at a steady pace. A major improvement!

I'm only halfway through the game, but I'm having so much fun with it. So, I suppose it would be worth playing over again.

So, anyway....

If you're looking for something fun, cute, and slightly challenging to kill time, this is another game to add to your collection. Don't rent it. Buy it. And remember to take a break from your adventures once in a while. I know it's hard, but just do it. Your eyes and thumbs will thank you.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/08, Updated 04/28/08

Game Release: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (US, 04/20/08)