Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon Reviews
The best entry in the series, but very far from being super – as the excitement of discovery is replaced with the drudgery of repetition.
Despite some mild improvements over the last entry in the series, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a bland and uninspiring slog that is unlikely to please anyone but the most ardent of fans. 3DS owners would be far better served waiting for the remastered versions of Pokemon Red and Blue than touching this with anything but the longest of barge poles.
"Dungeon crawling is getting old, but Pokemon have feelings too."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Mystery Dungeon DX gets the story right, but ultimately fails to deliver on everything else.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon has a really rough start. It tries to set itself up for a grand adventure, but comes across as plodding and aggravating for the first several hours. While not an absolute deal breaker, it does make for a hard sell for those who aren't totally committed to the series. For fans of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, however, there's a bevy of new customisation options, new Pokémon to meet and recruit, and new challenges and dungeons to explore. It may not be quite the comeback some were expecting, but it shows that the series still knows its roots, and that there's still room to grow from here.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon has good lessons to learn, but chief among them might be persistence: dungeon crawling is tiresome.
There's loads to do but it's all too samey
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon takes time to grow on you and many will give it up before it truly attaches itself to you. But if given a chance, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon can be and is a solid RPG will plenty of depth in terms of story and fun.
All in all, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a game that never quite manages to escape bouts of tedium. Repetition that's present in nearly every aspect makes for a game that can sometimes feel like a chore rather than a form of entertainment. All the same, the amount of things to do is staggering and the new form of recruitment through missions makes for a streamlined means of achieving the goal of catching 'em all. We'd recommend this to those of you who don't mind a lot of grinding in RPGs, as there's plenty to enjoy here if you can push on through the copious amounts of padding. If that doesn't sound up your alley it may be best to pass and wait for the next Pokémon game.
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon makes attempts to evolve this Pokemon spinoff to a new level, but for the most part feels very much the same. The gameplay that meshes the classic Pokemon formula with dungeon crawling works very well and the inclusion of the full lineup of Pokemon is very impressive, but the pace of the story surrounding the gameplay is so off in the early game that it can take a long time to really get invested in Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon.
If this goes out to someone who is familiar with past titles in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, then it's all aces. The elements of the past games are in the latest iteration, from the popular personality quiz to the familiar tactics of movement and team attacks, and if one can survive the almost criminally-awful first third of the game, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon does improve significantly and reveals a decent little game while waiting for the next core release.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a bit of a mixed bag. While it excels in keeping (and sometimes improving) the elements that fans adore from its predecessors, these same elements can result in a dated gameplay design. Newcomers that would have probably enjoyed the wonderful plot and presentation that earned the series its current reputation might be put off by the game’s archaic gameplay. Grindy combat and bland dungeons hold it back from reaching its fullest potential. It’s disappointing to say, but both Rescue Team DX and the Mystery Dungeon series as a whole require a bit more of leveling up before they truly amaze.
The promise of seeing all 720 Pokémon is tempting, but the experience can't escape the dull combat and bland environments
Though the story takes a while to get going, it does have the same charm I've come to expect from the franchise. It's more of the same, but it's a lot more and fans of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games should appreciate most of the new gameplay tweaks and a colossal range of dungeons to dive into.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a beautiful homage to the games that started the Rescue Team franchise.
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a very welcomed addition to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon world. Its marvelous visual portraying, a staggering set of 720 Pokémon available and its very long lifespan will be cherished by fans of the series, despite its dialogues and plot being perhaps too much to handle for less committed followers.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
A pleasant little entry that can provide hours of entertainment, but is weighed down by it's unfair difficulty spikes and tedious formula of dungeon-crawling.
Vibrant and full of personality, but has also tightened up the series gameplay so you'll actually need to pay attention, strategize, and conserve your resources to defeat its challenges.
When I think of the positives, I find a game that is mechanically decent but presents an interesting narrative worth experiencing. For me, however, the dungeon exploring became stale very quickly, and I only forced my way through the game because of the plot line.
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is a fun game, but it still has its frustrating moments. The tutorials seem to drag on forever, the leveling system is kind of imbalanced, and the difficulty can go from normal to frustrating depending on who you encounter where. However, if you can get past those shortcomings you'll find a pretty fun game and a fairly solid entry into the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series.