On the occasion of the return of the franchise this March, we review the fundamental aspects of these fifteen years of history.
The last Nintendo Direct anticipated surprises, but the return of Pokémon Mysterious World was – surely – more a collective desire than something highly probable, but it happened. After four years of waiting (five in Japan), Mystery Dungeon was returning, but did so in the form of a restart by bringing back the original delivery in a remastered way. Today we review that saga; since its inception, with all available deliveries and how to access them officially.
Pokémon Mysterious World: origins of the most successful spin-off saga
We have to go back to Generation III, in the final era of Game Boy Advance, when we learned that an adaptation of Spike Chunsoft's already started Mystery Dungeon was going to receive The Pokémon Company's license to work on an original series where Game Freak pocket creatures were the protagonists. This time, Game Freak was left out, as in almost all deliveries derived from the main work.
Given the vagaries of the calendar and to take advantage of the base of players installed in Game Boy Advance, in line with the emerging Nintendo DS (which would receive a year later the first installments of Generation IV, Pearl Pokémon and Diamond), were put to the Pokémon Mystery World sale: Red rescue team and Blue rescue team; the first one, for Game Boy Advance, while the second one did it on Nintendo DS. The West had to wait until the end of 2006, a year later than in Japanese lands, but the success was immediate.
According to official data, these deliveries totaled 2.36 million copies and 3.49 million units, respectively. A total of 5.85 million units to consolidate what was, so far – if we count both together – the most successful spin off in franchise history, surpassing 5.46 million units of Pokémon Stadium (1999, N64).
The concept had worked: an elaborate story, with many questions from the first minute of departure, where a human being becomes a Pokémon, and appears in a world away from human society. The gameplay, on the other hand, did not fool anyone: a manual crawler dungeon with randomly filled floor dungeons; Enemy Pokémon, bosses, items … and leveling up for combat, taking turns being the scenario an environment divided into squares. Concepts such as hunger (which forced you to pay attention not only to life points), side missions and the possibility of recruiting in your team the more than 370 Pokémon available so far (Generations I, II and III plus certain additions that they anticipated the arrival of generations initiated in the Sinnoh region).
These are the deliveries that will become Pokémon Mystery World DX Rescue Team for Nintendo Switch, available on March 6 exclusively for Nintendo Switch with news: it is not just a face lift. The Mega Evolutions of Generation VI and some other Pokémon not present in the original cartridges, as filtered in the code, will be added. We will not break any surprises here. Currently, there is already a free demo available on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
How to play them today:
- Pokémon Mysterious World Red Rescue Team: original Game Boy Advance cartridge / Wii U Virtual Console
- Pokémon Mysterious World Blue Rescue Team: original Nintendo DS cartridge / Wii U Virtual Console
Pokémon Mysterious World: Explorers of Time / Darkness / Sky
For many, the best deliveries of the franchise to date. There are reasons to support that argument, mainly the story, where the most complex, adult and weighed script that had ever been seen in the Pokémon saga was found to be, in essence, so remote from what we were used to. Time and Darkness (2008, this time exclusive to Nintendo DS) raised a continuous idea on the playable level, with small additions such as the extravagant (and unforgettable) Scouts Pokémon captained by Wigglytuff and his assistant Chatot, spokesman for the medium.
This time, unlike the original deliveries, the total number of Pokémon amounted to a hundred by adding all existing ones in the Pokédex to the fourth generation; with the exception of some legendary ones, Arceus and Shaymin, for reasons that now are not relevant, but which responded to a commercial strategy outside these titles. New objects; possibility of rescuing via Wi-Fi; new territories; gender in the Pokémon as an element that could have an impact on combat (such as crush movements); possibility of evolving Pokémon without the need for that teammate to be on our team once we finished the game …
Almost infinite cartridges by the mere approach of its design, where we could always expect an additional challenge, especially once we finished the story. It is, we insist, what was told in the adventure that managed to catch so many people in this pair of deliveries (whose differences were minimal among themselves, with six exclusive Pokémon in each cartridge); but not all the threads were closed, but some aspects were left without all the desired development. That's where Pokémon Mysterious World comes into play: Explorers of the sky.
Explorers of the sky would arrive at the market a year later as a reissue to act as Platinum regarding Pearl and Diamond. This practice, extended by The Pokémon Company for two decades now, included plot novelties and certain changes, but did not allow the game to be moved but was interpreted as a completely new adventure. Therefore, if you came from Time or Darkness, there was no choice but to replay the story until the end to witness those additional episodes of the campaign; a total of five special chapters where he undoubtedly highlighted In a dark future, which tells what really happened during and after the climax of Time and Darkness. If you allow us the recommendation, it is well worth it.
How to play them today:
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Time Explorers: original Nintendo DS cartridge / Wii U Virtual Console
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Explorers of Darkness: original Nintendo DS cartridge / Wii U Virtual Console
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Explorers of the Sky: original Nintendo DS cartridge / Wii U Virtual Console
Pokémon Mysterious World: Portals to Infinity
Portals to Infinity came after a somewhat prolonged pause of the series, which coincided with the end of life of Nintendo DS and the implementation in the market of Nintendo 3DS. For whatever reason, the delivery of Generation V of Mysterious World would be begged until November 2012 in Japan; May 2013 in Europe. First deliveries in three dimensions and the hope of knowing how to take advantage of the hardware features of the stereoscopic laptop. It was not so.
In spite of its visual novelties, the story adopted a much more childish, guided look, with an initial tutorial that lengthened excessively and a series of limitations that broke the canons established by the original title itself more than five years earlier, as the elimination of hunger and the initial personality test. Notably, the arrival of the Team Skills, the paranormal degrees in the dungeons … but only 144 Pokémon of the more than 540 existing so far. If Explorers offered 493 in Explorers of Heaven, this time the figure did not reach a hundred and a half. Another step back was in the number of Pokémon protagonists. The initial 16 Pokémon of Explorers of Time and Darkness were left aside; this time there were only 5.
In short, a step back that was burdened even in sales. Deliveries of Dark and Time Explorers sold more than 4.88 million units, but Portals to Infinity had to settle for 1.37 million copies, even less than Explorers of Heaven, reissue.
How to play it today:
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Portals to infinity: original Nintendo 3DS cartridge; Nintendo 3DS eShop
Pokémon Megamisterious World
Last original installment of the saga. Pokémon Megamisterious World would come out in late 2015 in Japan; February 2016 in Europe. A breath of fresh air that came to relocate the license to its origins – starting with hunger – a much more considerable amount of content and additional modalities that made this cartridge, at a strictly playable level, the most complete so far. His story left much to be desired, although it was more complex than Portals to the Infinite.
Pokémon Megamisterious World
But the figures speak for themselves: 720 Pokémon available, return of the personality test, Mega Evolutions and the Orb Union, which would replace the traditional mission board. As minor extras, the huge Pokémon, the Armband and the iristals … A very extended lore in which we could spend tens of hours without worrying about thinking that the end was near. To put a defect, its difficulty did not get close to two-dimensional deliveries, so the spike is still there, four years later, when fans of Mysterious World expect Rescue Team to serve as a restart in the saga for an eventual new (really new) delivery.
How to play it today:
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Pokémon Megamisterious World: original Nintendo 3DS cartridge; Nintendo 3DS eShop
Rarities: Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Boukendan
There is a launch that never saw the light in the West, a three-game package under the nomenclature of Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Boukendan that was launched in 2009 in the Wii virtual store, WiiWare. Again, Chunsoft to development, with three editions with brief differences. The Pokémon adopted a visual style that would later be inherited in the Pokémon Rumble saga; those dolls like gashapon. One peculiarity, unlike in the Explorer cartridges, is that Arceus did appear and could be recruited after fighting with him. It was a very modest title, with a shy reception; to such an extent that we do not see it in the West.
How to play it today:
- It is not possible to buy it, even if, in the Wii Shop Channel of Japan: Nintendo closed the services of the Wii Shop Channel, WiiWare included, last January 2019.
Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Boukendan
