Off the Shelf Media

What if you woke up one day and became a Pokémon? That’s the question and initial premise of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon™: Rescue Team DX. 

For those who did not grow up in the Game Boy Advance SP and DS era, Rescue Team DX is actually a remake of the 2005 titles, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. 

When I was younger, I was actually a big fan of this spinoff series from the original Pokémon games, if you can call it that. In fact, I still have my DS copies of Blue Rescue Team as well as the sequel games, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, which I would argue are actually better than Red or Blue Rescue Team. But I digress. 

So, when I purchased my Switch during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was pretty excited to see what Nintendo had done with a series that I had always thought didn’t get enough love from the fandom. 

Gameplay: 1

The gameplay, similar to the originals, is nothing groundbreaking. 

Rescue Team DX, in short, is a rogue-like dungeon crawler. That essentially sums up everything you need to know about the gameplay. 

When the game begins, players will engage in a personality quiz that assigns them to one of 16 Pokémon. Here is a guide if you want to dictate further the Pokémon you are assigned. Once the game begins, you are also assigned a partner Pokémon, which is determined based on the player’s assigned Pokémon. 

You and your rescue partner go out on adventures to rescue Pokémon in the various dungeons and caves in the region. As you progress, you can also recruit new rescue team members by defeating them in a turn-based battle and bring one chosen team member along to tackle these dungeons as a team of three, occasionally recruiting temporary members as you go through each floor. The dungeons are procedurally generated, and the events that occur are random, such as stepping on invisible tiles that could cause damage, and where items to be collected are found. 

The battles themselves are nothing impressive and not at all like traditional Pokémon games. Essentially, you approach possible enemies and click a button to attack in a turn-based fashion. That’s it. You can try to strategize the type of attack used, but often, you really don’t need to. You also will use up energy as you go and occasionally need to eat, but this is minimal and almost a complete non-factor until late game, if that.

The environment of the dungeons may play a role as well. For instance, if your Pokémon is a fire-type, expect some added difficulty from the environment if exploring an ice dungeon, and so forth. Throughout the game, you’ll gain experience and level up, allowing you to traverse harder and harder locations while going up against legendary Pokémon at times. You can also collect and use items to aid in your journey.

Train in the dojo or cut your teeth in the dungeons. Either way, progress is slow but easily achieved with a bit of grinding that fans have come to expect from any Pokémon game. 

While the gameplay is fun, it is incredibly repetitive, and it gets very long with few changes. Of course, as you progress through the game, the difficulty of the dungeons and your opponents increases, but it is never out of reasonable reach. 

Story: 2

Though I sense I may be a bit of an outlier here, I actually really enjoy the story of these games and always have. Pokémon, in my view, tends to stick to what they know a bit too much, so if you’re used to playing the regular games like Pokémon LeafGreen Version or Pokémon: Brilliant Diamond, this one feels like a breath of fresh air. However, it’s worth mentioning that this story is not different from the originals it is based on. Even still, I enjoy it compared to other titles in the main series. 

You are transformed from a trainer into a Pokémon for reasons not yet understood. Unfortunately for you, you awaken with no memories of your former life, with no idea of how you came to be turned into a Pokémon in the first place. After being helped by a passerby, who then recruits you into forming a rescue team with them, you discover that a series of unexplained natural disasters has been occurring, which is causing defenseless Pokémon to become trapped in caves and dungeons. 

The world you explore is entirely run by Pokémon, and humans feel like all but a long-forgotten myth in this world. 

As you progress through the game, you’ll discover more about the secrets behind your sudden transformation. You continue to try to regain your memories to discover how you came to be in this position. All the while, you and your team will continue to rescue the Pokémon in need as you aim to discover why the balance of nature has been disrupted.  

If you want more on the plot, you’ll have to play the game. No spoilers here! 

Atmosphere: 2

One area where this game really stands out is the art style. It was, by far, one of my favorite aspects of the game. The designers built upon an already great atmosphere in the prior versions and really took it up a notch. 

Everything about the music and the art design is perfect. While traveling through the town, it features a 3D watercolor look. Once in the dungeons, however, it adopts a smaller, 2D look more similar to older Pokémon titles, which I love. It brings in the best of the newer and older looks of Pokémon into one cohesive title. Arguably, I think it is one of the best-looking Pokémon games to date. 

Nintendo is by no means a perfect publisher, but the atmosphere of its games always impresses. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Nintendo title that lacks in this area. 

Value: 1

At full price, this title is a bit steep for a remake. While the playtime is long enough and the art style is superb, it still isn’t a wholly original game, and it really doesn’t break ground anywhere. A much fairer price, in my view, would fall closer to $40, but Nintendo isn’t known for straying from its price or for offering discounts often. 

Duration: 1

To finish the story of Rescue Team DX, you will probably only need to dedicate around 20-30 hours if you’re playing fast. If you’re like me and want to accomplish as much as you can, you can certainly commit to a 100+-hour game; however, the gameplay loop is extremely repetitive, and the grinding to get there actually takes away from how much fun can truly be had. 

For me, this game is simply too long and too repetitive. It’s fun, but I find myself only able to play in short spurts before I feel the need to put it down from boredom. 

Total Score: 7/10

In truth, this game is nothing like what I would normally purchase or enjoy. I am not keen on turn-based or dungeon crawler games, so if that is your niche, perhaps take my opinion with a grain of salt. However, the other way to view this is: I generally dislike most features in this game, yet still find it to be enjoyable and fun. Is it enough to sell me on similar titles? No, absolutely not. 

Without the intellectual property of Pokémon attached to this, I would not care nor enjoy it. Despite that opinion, I do think this game is a fair iteration of a former series that is often overlooked in the Pokémon franchise as a whole. 

And, in case you’re wondering, the personality quiz dubbed me a Charmander.