"Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is Bigger and Better"

-----Nintendo has created games that were always getting better. Pokemon has been getting the attentions of people for decades. With all this power, the Pokemon Company has decided to make a spinoff of the Pokemon series, and it turned out, to most people, that this one spinoff was one of the best games in the Pokemon series. It certainly got my attention. Some people saw its potential and reported the games flaws. One and a half years later, Time and Darkness were released, with more Pokemon, a better story, and more advanced items. That is how the latest Pokemon game became one of my favorites.

----- Story -----
Unlike any of the other games in the series (except Ranger), the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games have developed stories that grow constantly, never letting you put down your Nintendo DS without the desire to continue playing, and does not have any unskippable scenes or tedious dialogue The story follows a human who transformed into a Pokemon who does not remember a thing about his/her past, and a pokemon that justs wants to help and become part of an Exploration team. They have some good adventures and bit-by-bit solve the mystery of the time/darkness gears.

----- Gameplay -----
One of the best factors to a game. The game puts you in a dungeon, which randomly generates each floor, putting you on a chess-like area, with other pokemon coming after you, looking for a turn-based scuffle. It is possible to do damage to them before they even get close! There are lots of dungeons to choose from, each with a different set of pokemon in them. If you are lucky, other pokemon will join your team! You can collect them all! If you fall in a dungeon, you have the option to send for help to another player, no Wi-Fi required! You can even make a living rescuing other players in need of help!

----- Control -----
The controls are beginner-friendly and easy to master, just like in the previous games. You can move around a space at a time, face a direction WITHOUT moving, or use an attack. You can even set a move on a button so you do not have to go to the attack screen over and over and over and over and over again. You even heal automatically every few turns! Now isn't that nice? Although dungeon crawling can be tedious, it is great that each floor is randomly generated.

----- Graphics -----
I think that the graphics in this game are GREAT. No different from the prequels The pokemon look just like they do in the anime, and any mistakes are worked to be unnoticeable. Each dungeon looks different and in its own unique way. Everything is always moving, rather than standing around like statues.

----- Sound -----
The sound in this game is phenomenal. I like it very much. It really adds the situation to each dungeon, which will make you want to continue through them. It will even change to the appearance of the current location. The effects sound lifelike, matching with whatever move is performed.

----- Replay -----
Oh look, you completed the game, what now? The real fun starts! you can play in the post-game, make it to higher ranks, collect rare items, recruit all 490 pokemon, and rescue pokemon from OTHER game files. This game kept me busy for a long time, and still is!

----- Overall -----
Truly a step up from the prequel. If you liked Red Rescue Team or Blue Rescue Team, then you should definitely buy this game, or the other game. Everything is perfect. Good Job, Nintendo.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/08

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