Pokemon is back!!....in the moderately less exiciting Mystery Dungeon form.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness is a dungeon crawler. It has randomly generated dungeons, but there's practically no difference at all between each floor. There is also no difference at all between the floors when comparing two different dungeons. It feels amazingly repetitive, which is a word you'll be hearing quite a bit throughout this review. The game uses a clunky menu system which you need to use EVERY time you attack, use an item, or just want to check out info or stats. It gets very repetitive. There is a small overworld which is very interesting and fun. All of the shops are run by certain Pokemon. For example, Chansey runs an egg day care, Electivire runs the link shop, and Kecleon runs the shop. It gives the game some personality because the dungeons are so bland. The game is filled with charming and interesting characters too. The dialogue is a tad boring at parts though. Overall, the story is good. Much better than the last Pokemon Mystery Dungeon's story. The gameplay and all does have flaws, but it all does come together.
Graphics:
Nothing much to say here. They're about GBA quality. Maybe a LITTLE better. They're very colorful though, especially in the overworld so it is fun to look at. The dungeons all have the same type of art design. They don't really set themselves apart from each other graphically at all. Very repetitive.
Sound:
I'm not gonna lie, it's not that great. Definitely GBA quality in this department. I guess some of the tunes are a little catchy, but there's nothing too catchy and definitely nothing even close to epic. Also, it's repetitive.
Value:
The game does have a great value. The main story should take you at least 12-17 hours to complete and then there are loads of sidequests to do after. I would actually say that the side quests will take you even longer than the main story did. The game is worth the $35 even though it does have quite a few flaws.
Tilt:
I enjoyed the game quite a bit. That is probably because I'm a Pokemon fan though. I noticed it's flaws and sometimes the game did make me want to throw my DS at the wall because of some annoying things in it like the pacing of going through a dungeon. I feel that it's a little too slow.
All in all, if you're a Pokemon fan this is a must buy game. If not, you should buy it if you're a fan of dungeon crawlers too. It's also worth buying if you just need a lengthy game that is pretty fun too. And as one last note, you better be okay with the game being repetitive.