The gripping story keeps you hooked on this otherwise simple game
The game starts with a personality test - and using the results will tell you which Pokemon you are most like and will be playing as throughout the game. You then also get to pick your partner Pokemon. Candidates for player and partner Pokemon are: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treeco, Turtwig, Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, Vulpix, Pikachu, Shinx, Riolu, Skitty Eevee, Meowth and Munchlax. Though there are some restrictions, say if your pokemon is fire type, you can't have a fire type as your partner. And some pokemon aren't candidates for a partner, but are for a hero.
The story is that you have mysteriously been turned into a Pokemon and are found by your partner who aspires to join Wigglytuff's Explorer Guild, but hasn't quite got the guts to go on it's own so turns to you to ask the favour. So you form an exploration team. However, lately there has been an increase in the number of villanous Pokemon appearing. Time Gears are being stolen causing the flow of time to stop in some regions, your Pokemon learns of a mysterious ability to see into the past and future. Mysterious Pokemon from the future appear. The story is very gripping, allthough somewhat predictable and takes a while to pick up, and had me hooked from when it picked up until the end.
After the credits, you unlock more dungeons. I don't know if it's all just a bit extra or if it furthur develops the main plot, but it gets too difficult too quickly after the credits, so I just can't be bothered and would rather just start again.
Gameplay is simple. You go through randomly generated Mystery Dungeons collecting items and fighting Pokemon with your partner. You have a basic attack and moves from the mainstream games such as Scratch and Ember. Move Linking is a feature. A bit later on, you can go to the Electrivire Shop in Treasure Town (teh hub world) and link moves so they can be used one after the other, which will massively go in your favour during boss battles. Later on As you progress you level up and get stronger. Later in the game you get to recruit Pokemon you defeat in the dungeons. Sometimes when you defeat them, they will ask of they can join your team.
You can utilise items to help you; you can use items against enemies such as Sleep Seeds. There is some strategy with items as you can only carry a set amount and so will need to think about what you need to take when you go out on an adventure - when you die, you loose half of your items so will need to store important items away.
In addition to going through dungeouns just to advance the plot, there are times where you will have to take some time out to complete some missions in the dungeons which normally amount to saving a pokemon or finding an item. There are boss battles which sometimes occur at the end of a dungeon.
Additionally, there are special episodes you can unlock when you play through the game which can be accessed on the main menu. These have you play as other Pokemon who appear in the story, such as Bidoof.
The graphics are okay, it's all just sprites. Nothing amazing. The music is quite nice to listen to.
The best part about the game is the plot. The story is thoroughly entertaining and encourages you to keep playing. The game play itself, is on the shallow and repetetive side, but it is fun. The game is decent overall. It is unfortunate that the story stands out more than the gameplay and is the thing that kept me hooked. The gameplay does become a bit stale towards the end and after the credits. If you didn't like the first Mystery Dungeon games, this one won't make you change your mind. But worth checking out if you're a Pokemon fan.
- Milesprowe2k9 Original Reviews