I've been thinking a lot about Pokémon Mystery Dungeon recently. Maybe it's the list of spin-offs I recently wrote up, which reminded me just how many excellent/terrible Pokémon spin-offs exist out there, or maybe it's the fact that when I was writing my answer to the question "What Pokémon game should be the next basis for a Legends game?" my thoughts went immediately to Mystery Dungeon, before realising that, actually, I just wanted another Mystery Dungeon game.
Either way, that's the truth at the heart of the matter: I think Pokémon Mystery Dungeon needs to be pulled out of the Pokémon archive, dusted off, and given new life. We only have one PMD game on Switch, and it was just a remake of the first game, and it wasn't very good, so I can see why Nintendo might be unwilling to invest so much time and energy into commissioning a new one from developer Spike Chunsoft — but you have to admit that the pitch behind the games is brilliant, and deserves more than just a second look.
Much like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series are all isekai — a story centered around a character who gets transported into a new world (and a new body!), and has to figure out what happened and how to fix it. The player, of course, is a human turned into a Pokémon, determined usually by a personality quiz, and has to work with other Pokémon to get back into their human body (and save the world along the way).
This leads to a story about actual Pokémon, allowing us the greatest insight into the creatures since the anime gave Pikachu a personality. The games usually treat our cohort of pocket monsters as generic animals that are often cute, often cool, but never talkative — but in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, we get to learn about them as individuals. And who hasn't ever wanted to be able to talk to their pets?
But folks, this is a talking point, and that means it's down to you. Here's a little poll for you to voice your opinion — and head down to the comments so we can discuss, too!
Comments 62
Nintendolife polls:
Do you like candy?
-Yes, I like candy.
-Yes, it's nice.
-Yes, candy is good.
-I like eating candy.
-I am eating candy right now.
-What is candy?
-No, I don't like candy.
-Candy is not something I like.
-I don't eat it.
-I don't eat candy.
-I don't eat candy but I do eat other foods.
Yes or no sometimes suffices!
I own every Pokémon Mystery Dungeon game and loved the remake of the first one on Switch (Although I liked the original better, which I do with almost all remakes of games). So yeah I would love another on Switch, preferably with Pokémon up to gen 9.
only if they bring back the base pressing a attack move instead of requiring you use the pp moves
Yes, whilst Rescue Team DX was welcome, it made a couple of small changes that weren't welcome like removing the neutral attack and auto-picking super effective moves.
Understandable of the remake, it only featured the same Pokémon originally available in the original GBA game, but did go beyond and offered up new evolutions for Pokémon from those games, and mega evolutions too!
A new entry that is feature and roster-complete like Super Mystery Dungeon was at the time, and with an intact Wonder Mail (password) system would be amazing.
I prefer spinoff called Beatmania Pokemon DX.
That's a world class subheading right there. Excellent work.
These are not even done by GF if I recall correctly, so yeah, that would not mean any workload for them. Getting one up to gen 9 would be great, last gen we got was 6.
If I'm allowed to ask for impossible things, complete roster and shinies like older entries.
Hey, I take offense at that Mystery Dungeon DX jab. Love that game. Its only flaw is that they didn't recreate all the pokemon camp environments. But yeah, I'd take another sequel. Though the other entries I've played were a bit middling, so I'm not sure what I really want out of a new one.
To be honest, I forgot the DX games existed on Switch. I'd probably play a new Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, but I haven't finished the last couple. People say they loved Super now, so maybe I just didn't play enough for it to get good. But what I'd really like to see is a remake (or dare I say sequel?) of Pokemon Conquest.
Imho it was a repetitive slog, I would not play any other again probably.
With the amount of games and particularly dungeon crawlers on Switch, it might be arrogant to claim we need another PMD. But would it be just as welcome in my book (and wishlist) if it happened? Definitely. Even if I didn't care for dungeon crawlers, us not needing something isn't a reason for it not to exist either - Fiction would be a barren realm making the Moon look like a rainforest in comparison if it took cues from customer demand alone.
a new game would be great, making use of the newer gens and possibly modernizing the gameplay the same way main pokemon has
Do I need my huge bowl of vanilla ice cream after lunch? Absolutely no. Do I enjoy getting my huge bowl of vanilla ice cream after every lunch? Hell yeah!
I also have to add that the remake was a good game with a fantastic, meaty postgame.
Truth is probably not. I dearly love the Mystery Dungeon series but I believe it's time Pokemon retired it, there's practically nothing left in the tank for these games. However, I seriously think it should have one last hurrah with a Time/Darkness/Sky remake.
I enjoyed Blue Mystery Dungeon on the DS back in the day, but I never checked out the remake. I feel this is one of those franchises where my nostalgia glasses make it appear better than it actually was.
I'm sure people would buy a new entry, though. Pokémon spin-offs usually don't hold a candle to mainline games, but I think 2-3 million copies sold for a new Mystery Dungeon would be good.
Still have to play the remake (got a copy, but was distracted by other games at the time, definitely want to play it at some point), but absolutely would love to see a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and also remakes of other games in the series on Switch!
Blue rescue team has one of the best story arcs I've seen in a video game, it's somewhere in the middle of the game
I kinda like mystery dungeon, but I think I'd rather see (after the addition of BW remake) the Pokémon franchise carry on on the future Nintendo console
I need a new F-Zero, Pilotwings, Metroid, Star Fox, Wave Race, Eternal Darkness, Stunt Race FX etc. That's the kind of new games I want.
Not a 500th Pokemon title on Switch .
No.
I enjoyed the remake - not as much as the original, but it looked nice. Even the 2D art was good! My only issue was the removal of explorable friend areas.
A remake of explorers of sky would be fine for me. I know there has been so many Pokémon added since the 3DS days, but the earlier games were far better.
@Fuecoco This made my morning! Thank you.
@dkxcalibur I'm sure the writers are trying. Just a little thing that bugged me for a while and seeing this just set me off.
@Luminous117 took the words right out of my mouth lol
I'd also add that any new entry should address the repetitive nature of mystery dungeons as a concept. I don't know how I would do it, but I'm sure there's ways to make the core formula feel fresh with every dungeon run
I tried one a while ago, don't even remember which. But all I could think was "meh..." so I personally wouldn't care if they stopped making them
Yes it deserves another game but please make it go back to being a guild wanting to explore new areas and rescuing pokemon. And the main heroes learned through experience.
I haven't finished it yet but Super Mystery Dungeon putting you as a child that literally goes to school to learn this stuff, just didn't gel with me at all. It felt like a group of 1st graders with the dialogue especially when it involved the bully. I feel like the Rescue Team/Explorers entries had more nuance to it
I want a new one and I want them to at least triple the animation budget because seeing stiff puppets going around is just not done anymore. Otherwise I didn't mind the last one overly much, but then I only finished the story and didn't bother with much else.
To be honest, I think we don't need any more Pokémon games on Switch.
They have been released way too inflationary.
I've not played any of them. But from people who talk about these games, definietly sounds like a good idea to make a new one. As long as they can make it a good game and I believe they can.
@Fuecoco IT'S FINE I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING
you are right though 😅
@Fuecoco I mostly pretend the polls aren't even there. Any opinion I have that's worth sharing is worth sharing in my own words.
As someone who's tried several different flavors of Mystery Dungeon, from Shiren to Pokemon to Etrian Odyssey, the style of game just never quite clicked with me.
It's an interesting concept, but has always had this awkward flow to it and I could never quite nail down. But I commend the effort on the part of developers to add their own flavor to it with their respective series. It reminds me a lot of Musou games, and how each feels uniquely tailored to the partner franchise, from Zelda to Dragon Quest to Fire Emblem.
As for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon... I got Super Mystery Dungeon on 3DS many years ago. I played it for 10 minutes and never went back. I don't think we need another one for a long time, if ever, but I'm clearly not the target demographic for the series.
@Anachronism Polls are a good, efficient and quick metric to gauge the wind direction at that point in time.
Honestly, I just want a new Mystery Dungeon game. It’s been almost three years since the last MD game, and 8 years since the last original non-remake launched in the west (2015... 2017 saw Etrian MD2, but that was a Japan exclusive).
I'd love to see either a new one or even a remake of Explorers of Sky in the same engine.
@Fuecoco I suppose, but any poll on a site like this is going to see some heavy biases that aren't representative of the dedicated gaming community as a whole, never mind the casual market. This community is too small to have much influence outside itself and too large for me to have a significant impact on it as an individual, so knowing the average opinion here is a lot less interesting than seeing and sharing individual opinions.
I look back on the first two very fondly. They are some of the few spin offs I considered on par with the main series for a time.
But if they where to bring it back I'd want a bit of a revamp. Maybe even bring in a new dev (stuff like customizable bases would be cool. And more modern dungeons).
But the main spin off I'd like to return would of course be Pokken Tournament. A fighting game I actually felt competent at.
@Judal27
Super gets much better after you get out of the school period, it’s personally my favorite out of all of them if you can weather the storm of the first bit.
No. People wanting more should graduate to Shiren the Wanderer, which is a million times better than any PMD.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is one of my favorite spin-off franchises, and it deserves a proper chance on Switch. I feel as a budget title, it would get more attention, and I can’t imagine that tile-making is that taxing on the developers.
I tried the Rescue Team DX demo and just couldn't really get into the feel of the game (particularly the dash, which felt extremely clunky). If a new Mystery Dungeon felt more refined and maybe tried to incorporate more unique ideas across the dungeon themes, I'd bite, but it seems like the overall series has been stagnant for ages now, so I probably can't expect much
It wouldn't be my first choice, as far as sequels to Pokémon spin-offs go, however, I also wouldn't say no either.
How about Pokemon Battle Revolution 2?
@JakedaArbok that's reassuring to hear. I plan to finish it eventually cause I still really love the gameplay. But the story, at least as early as I'm at currently, just put me off from finishing it sooner
The switch has enough Pokémon games, game freak needs to put some time into their next mainline game instead of pushing five games out every year.
@RupeeClock I was more annoyed by the forced items and enemies showing up on map without orbs, ntm rapid early game move powercreep
@InTree they aren't gonna do that as now it's on the same system as the main series so any improvements raise question of why isn't main game able to be like this
@Fuecoco unlike your examples these vary in intensity and rationale, which provides more meaningful insight
@Dragnoran
I forgot about that, giving you an innate X-Ray glasses without actually having to get the accessory.
Sure, but I think it’s also time to bring back Pokémon Conquest. 🤞🏼
Shiren 6 please!
That reminds me, i still have to play PMD DX! (Curse you backlog)
Pokemon Myster Dungeon always felt like a watered down Mystery Dungeon game. Shiren the Wanderer is THE mystery dungeon game to play. 1 and 5 specifically imo.
@Herna You're not alone, I also usually like Pokémon spin-offs more than the mainline games (although I still enjoy those, too)!
@Browny @Diogmites I'd recommend trying other games in the series because I agree with @Judal27 that storywise the previous games were much better (earlier in the game, I definitely agree also with @JakedaArbok that Super improves a lot later) so they might grab you more even just for that.
Do we NEED one? No. But if Nintendo wants to release one and people want them, sure, go for it.
I played a PMD game once, and all it did for me was make me wish for a new game much like Azure Dreams, with town building elements in it. So they're not for me.
@JohnnyMind
That wasn't the only Pokemon version I tried. I played the original GBA releases as well (which I believe were the ones remade for Switch?) and still no dice. Mystery Dungeon just doesn't appeal to me, despite all the pros it's got going for it. And if the Etrian flavor didn't grab me (with Etrian Odyssey being among my favorite game series ever-- see my profile tag stating I'm an SQ fan), then it is what it is.
@Browny Yep, they remade the GBA ones on Switch.
Completely fair if Mystery Dungeon doesn't appeal to you, that's one of the reasons why I'd love to see remakes or, even better, new games in more than just that Pokémon spin-off series (happy that so far we got at least a new Snap, too)!
Yes, being that this is a remake of the worst game in the series
I haven’t played much of them, but I wouldn’t mind better entries than the last ones.
@RupeeClock I mean sure have it, but let me turn it off if I want, I feel it undermines the should I advance or check one more area, mystery around every corner aspect of the game
PMD on Switch kept me warm and comfy for a couple months during one of the lockdowns so I have a soft spot for it (the game not the pandemic 🙃)! Would like it to be a little more complicated though. Definitely keen for another entry!
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