Pokemonis one of the biggest franchises around, and as such there have been countless spin-offs from the mainline series. These spin-offs have taken many forms, but one of the most popular is thePokemon Mystery Dungeonseries, which brings thePokemonworld to the dungeon-crawling genre. It is one of the fewPokemongames that puts players in direct control of the large roster of pocket monsters, and it has amassed a decently sized fanbase over many entries.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeonhas seen 11 different titles, but only eight of them released outside of Japan. The series was going strong during the DS era, and it got two new entries during the 3DS era. However, the Switch era has not seen manyMystery Dungeontitles beyond a remake of the original two titles in the series. In the age of remakes and remasters, the rest of theMystery Dungeonseries is just waiting for that treatment. If Nintendo does not deliver a brand-new entry in the series, it should at least continue the remake train.
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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX Was a Great Addition
AfterSuper Mystery Dungeonlaunched on 3DS in 2015, thePokemon Mystery Dungeonseries went on hiatus despite this title being well received by critics. In 2020, the series returned withPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, which featured some brand-new mechanics that were not in the original game but was met with a mixed reception.
Like the mainlinePokemonseries,Mystery Dungeonused to launch with two separate versions.Rescue Team DXtook bothBlue Rescue TeamandRed Rescue Teamversions and remade them for today’s hardware. Fans of the franchise were thrilled to see the return of this spin-off series, and it felt like that would mark the beginning of a new era. However, there has been no sign that anotherMystery Dungeontitle is on the way.
There very much could be aMystery Dungeontitle in the works that fans have not been made aware of yet, perhaps affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A brand-new game in the series could be even better than remakes of the original two, but remakes still should not stop. No matter what form thenext chapter in theMystery Dungeonseries takes, there should be room for even more older titles to return.
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The Mystery Dungeon Series Needs More Remakes
Pokemonis no stranger to remakesgiven many of the mainline titles have been remade, and theMystery Dungeonseries should be no different. It puts a unique spin on thePokemonformula by putting players in control of a Pokemon, tasked with exploring randomly generated dungeons. The roguelike and dungeon-crawler genres mesh well with thePokemonconcept, and it has become one of the most successful spin-off series to date. Remaking the original titles not only allows more people to experience this fun concept, but it also allows the series to stay alive while the next iteration is hopefully in development.
One of the big issues facing the industryright now is video game preservation, and the advancements in hardware make that difficult. So many games are left behind because there is no way to play them on modern hardware, and that is where remakes or remasters come into play. The only way people can play some of these olderMystery Dungeongames outside of emulation is tracking down copies of them with a working DS or 3DS. That can prove difficult as those consoles have been discontinued.
The first twoMystery Dungeongameshave already been remade, so that means the 2007 entries should be next.Explorers of TimeandExplorers of Darknesswere the second games in the franchise, largely similar to the first entries, but with an expanded roster of Pokemon and a brand-new story. There was also a third version released in 2009 under the nameExplorers of Skythat expanded upon the others.
After those two titles, there was the Japan-exclusiveAdventure Teamtitles, which would be the perfect candidate for a remake. Remaking these entries would bring them to modern hardware with a much broader audience to experience them. They were the only entries to really change up the plot by removing the aspect ofa human turning into a Pokemon, and were the first to appear on a home console. People outside of Japan can check out a fan-translated version, but an official version would be better.
The 3DS also saw someMystery Dungeontitles that could benefit from a remake.Mystery Dungeon: Gates of InfinityandSuper Mystery Dungeonwere very similar, also boasting expanded rosters and new stories. The dual-releases went away with these two entries, and they introduced 3D graphics to the series. The future of theMystery Dungeonseries is unknown, but it will hopefully contain more remakes. The majority of this series is unplayable unless people have original hardware, and a remake could fix that. It would also givePokemonfans even moreMystery Dungeonto play, and that is not a bad thing.
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