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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fresh and new style of Pokémon game sure to keep you busy!, September 25, 2006
A Kid's Review
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team (Video Game)
So, you're thinking about purchasing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Force or Blue Rescue Force. Maybe this review will help you make up your mind. If you've been on the web, you may have noticed that Mystery Dungeon has been getting quite low scores for a Pokémon game. Well, I think those people are just afraid of change, underestimate the games, and expected something entirely different. Trust me; this is a very good game.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon goes where no Pokémon game has gone before--you finally get to become a Pokémon and see life through their eyes. You first take a simple personality quiz to determine what kind of Pokémon you best represent. After being told which one of the 16 possible Pokémon starters you are, you pick an appropriate partner. Then the real story begins, and you as a human are transformed into a Pokémon, you go on rescue missions, set up a rescue force, recruit new Pokémon, and learn why you have undergone these drastic changes.
The story and cutscenes of the games really surprised me. Being a fourteen year old, I expected the meat of the game to be a little corny, especially since it's such an interesting story that they've chosen. Boy, was I wrong, because the intriguing story and surprising turn of events really make the game stand out.
Since the two games are nearly identical, the graphics don't really differ between them. They are very good for Game Boy, and are still pretty good for Nintendo DS considering how huge the games are. The music suits the game very well, and I especially love the boss Pokémon tunes. As far as the replay value goes, the game takes anywhere from 14-20 hours to complete the main story, and another 20 or so hours to do the extra missions. Since there are always going to be missions for you to do from the Post Office and Message Board, the games literally never end.
The games, for the most part, hold true to the Pokémon theme, but put it into a different perspective. There are actually levels, commonly called caves or dungeons, which you traverse through and battle wild Pokémon in them. The battles are actually quite similar, but you stay on the same screen during battle and each move (attacking or walking) in the dungeon is one "turn". There are tons of new items, as well as classic ones, that add a new twist to the games. You need apples to keep from going hungry; rocks and sticks to throw at enemies as attacks; gummies to eat and increase IQ; accessories to change stats or allow certain abilities; seeds to eat and gain abilities or change stats. You can't "catch" Pokémon, you must recruit them by being a high level and having the appropriate "friend area" for them to live in. It takes a little bit to get used to, but once you've got the basics down, they stick with you.
The games are actually pretty difficult in the later levels, and require patience and strategy. Each floor of a dungeon is different, and they change every time you enter them (adding extra replay value), requiring you to traverse the entire floor to find the stairs to the next floor in some instances, or just walking a few steps to the stairs in others. Because it is so random, you should always be prepared! I hate it when I see other reviews saying that the game only has around 16 or so dungeons, because that is ENTIRELY wrong. If my counting is correct, I believe there are 43 or 44 different dungeons in the game. Some of the early ones have 3 or 4 floors, but some of the late ones have 99 floors! The bosses are yes, legendary Pokémon, and they are pretty hard. The boss battles are epic, and once you complete certain circumstances, you can go back, rebottle them, and even recruit them on your team! Hooray! (Once you beat the main story, you have the option to evolve your Pokémon, and play as other Pokémon other than your starter).
The Mystery Dungeon games have nothing inappropriate in them, aren't very violent at all, and shouldn't cause anything bad to enter your household. (Parents, you should pay attention to what your kids are playing!)
If you are trying to decide which version to get, here are some tips. The Red version is for Game Boy Advance, and the Blue is for Nintendo DS. If you only have a Game Boy, buy Red. If you have a DS, which can play Red and Blue, buy Blue because you can use the top screen to keep track of your map.
Overall, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red and Blue are very good games, and should keep you Pokémon fans busy while you await Diamond and Pearl.
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35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is for my nine-year-old son, September 21, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team (Video Game)
My son can't get enough of this game and has gone on many missions. He was particularly pleased about being able to play as a Pokemon instead of a trainer and he has not complained about the dungeons or design. He has both the red and blue games, but has not stopped playing the DS version to try the other, but I would imagine that they are basically the same game.
So, his overall rating is a solid five stars. If he is a representative nine-year-old boy, all young kids should like this game. I don't know about older kids, but he certainly loves it.
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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute but pretty dull, September 25, 2006
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team (Video Game)
Well, there was no way I was going to miss out on this one. I had my copy reserved since August, and on September 19 I was the first one to the store to bring home this game, which I had already determined in my mind as the best game ever. You get to play as a Pokemon, after all!
Needless to say, I was kinda disappointed. But I'll start with the things I liked.
The personality quiz at the beginning is very cool. The questions are random, so it's difficult to cheat, and the results are pretty darn accurate in my opinion. After being assigned my Pokemon (it was Pikachu, if anyone cares), I got into the real game.
The story is very cute, and even has some moments of drama or suspsense, surprisingly enough. All the Pokemon you meet (save for the wild ones you battle) have real personalities, and the best one of all is the special "partner" you get to choose at the beginning of the game, who adores you and follows you everywhere. Overall, it has much more of a plot than the normal Pokemon games, and Pokemon make better characters than humans anyway.
As for the gameplay, the controls are pretty intuitive, and the AI manages not to deserve banishment to the black lagoon (not that it's great, mind you. It's just passable).
So, what don't I like about this game? Well, for starters, it's very repetitive. Since the dungeons are randomly-generated, every adventure amounts to a series of simple enemy-filled mazes. This isn't so bad in the beginning, when the dungeons are small, but towards the end it's extremely boring. The final dungeon in story mode has a grand total of 35 floors, for crying out loud!
Making this worse is that the items, too, are random. You may get several great TMs, or you may wind up with squat. You may pick up tons of food on the ground, or you may starve (which causes fainting). Since some of the missions involve bringing a certain item to a Pokemon, this can get frustrating.
Another upsetting element is the "catching" of Pokemon. This part of the game is--you guessed it--random. After you beat an enemy, it may offer to join up with you. The problem is, this doesn't happen nearly enough. The only way to increase the odds of a joinup is to be at a much higher level than the potential teammate, and by then their joining you will be pointless anyway since they'll be too weak for you. So unless you want to spend hours trying, you'll pretty much have the same basic team for the majority of your play.
Finally, as a reviewer above me mentioned, many things that could have broken up the monotony are "saved" for after the credits roll. Despite raising my partner Chikorita to level 35, they refused to let her evolve even once until the end, when she went all the way to Meganium in one shot! I also never got to control any other Pokemon 'till after the ending, and by then I was bored of the game and didn't care. This really upset me, especially since I was wondering throughout the entire game when I would get to evolve!
So overall, should you get this game? Well, if you're up for something pretty quick (10-15 hours), love Pokemon, and don't mind being slightly bored, go for it. But on the other hand, there are tons of great games coming out this season, and it really might be better to wait for one of them. I almost wish that I had.
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