The sequel to the critically a'shamed' titles Blue and Red Rescue Team comes back with more than just a bang!
Graphics may not seem like an improvement at all in this title, but even still, who said they had to do anything with the graphics? They look very crisp and solid, along with keeping the charm of the Pokemon series to life. Regardless that most of it looks like it came off the GBA like it's predecessor Red Mystery Dungeon, a lot of things in this game would be hard to reproduce on the GBA like the finer detail and dual screen scenes.
The story is very much improved than the last game. After finishing the main storyline and then some, this game has to offer at least 15+ hours on the main storyline alone, most of which being series of plot events rather than doing mindless roaming around a dungeon for a job. Even after the main storyline is over, there is still much more to be offered by this title throughout its entire post-ending gameplay. Spent 25+ hours overall in the game, and I still haven't seen all that the game has to offer storywise. ;)
Difficulty is just something that can't be explained in a couple of words... The game offers for the most part a pretty balanced difficulty when traveling through the dungeons, though during the main storyline, even grinding levels isn't necessary for the most part. Though some of the dungeon lay-outs can be pretty frustrating, especially when you take a step onto one trap to another. The luck factor with you and the enemies can be unfair also, resulting to a frustrating demise. Also, during the final boss fight, there is an immense gap between difficulty when in battle, seeing how the boss has the power to destroy you in a single blow, also to remind you that your partner cannot fall in battle either... Though the dungeon before it is fairly easy to traverse through without much problems. For high and lows, it sort of balances the game out, though it would have been better for a better balance on difficulty...
Gameplay is very similar in this game as it was in the past, but this version has more to offer. With 490+ Pokemon offered and the immensely long storyline, the game lasts much longer and performs much better than the past title. The mini game does offer a light stray away from the dungeon crawling experience, but it's not much when it gets tiring after the fourth time around. The wireless connection modes really offer a much more efficient use of the games rescue services, seeing how entering a 24 character long code can be a bit of a pain. The wireless feature offers more than just rescuing, but also seeing other people's teams in battle at the dojo. The touch screen control seemed like there was effort put into it, but this can easily be forgotten since the buttons provide a more fluent experience of the game. Though typing in passwords for wonder mail is much easier with the touch screen than the use of buttons.
The music in the game is very well refined. It sounds much more clear and there is so much variety to match with the moment and dungeon. Can't really say much here, seeing how that's all I can really define the music as. If there were to be another Mystery Dungeon title, the developers should really look back at this title for music inspiration.
All in all, regardless of the ups and downs the game contains, this title surely offers enough to deserve its $34.99 price tag. Same refined gameplay, good graphics, excellent music, very variable difficulty, and a very fine storyline gives this title an 8.5 from me.
~SomeOddGuy