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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX Review: A Monotonous Adventure

"Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The DX rescue team is wasting its charming premise with repetitive gameplay."

• Colorful pictures

• Lovable story

• In-depth team building

• Boring design

• Repeated fight

• Bulky party size

• Overly simplified new features

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Rescue Team DX is a colorful remake of a Game Boy Advance dungeon crawler from 2005, which is dedicated to the entertainment of the franchise's youngest fans. But it is also a concrete example of the tension that the entire Pokémon franchise faces. Developers strive to find a balance between young players who learn the ropes and veterans who grew up in the original games.

Similar to Pokémon Sword and Shield, this means making sacrifices that could annoy fans looking for an experience that grows with them. While some fans complained about the easy difficulty of Sword and Shield, others defended Game Freak's decision with a simple rally cry: These games are for kids. The same goes for the new Nintendo Switch game, but the case is less convincing this time.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a monotonous, but undeniably charming game that focuses so much on simplification that it forgets to have fun.

Just tap A.

Instead of following a beaming Pokémon trainer, Rescue Team DX throws the player himself as a Pokémon – or at least as a human being trapped in a Pokémon's body. Players assemble a team of friends and set off to rescue other animals from randomly generated dungeons.

This is more exciting on paper than in practice. Most of the game is spent crawling floor by floor with a team of up to eight Pokémon through indistinguishable card layouts. In each level, players collect resources, save Pokémon by speaking to them or delivering an item, attacking enemies and looking for an exit. It's a rinse and repeat flow that quickly feels like a Pokémon version of Groundhog Day.

With this change, Rescue Team DX feels less like Pokémon, with its talent for finely tuned battles, but more like a mobile game.

The lifeless dungeons and repetitive gameplay loop don't do the game a favor, but combat is its main weakness. The game clumsily drops turn-based battles into exploring free roaming and creates a start-stop pace that feels like a constant stutter. It doesn't help that the game still uses jerky movements in four directions in dungeons, even though players outside of these rooms have the full direction.

It's easy to attribute this to the rusty design of the 15-year-old game, but the Rescue Team DX only aggravates the problem when trying to modernize the original. In the Game Boy Advance games, players fight by choosing their attacks from a menu and carefully planning each action, as would be the case in a normal Pokémon fight. While this style of play is still available here, with a new primary control option, players can simply press A to launch their Pokémon's strongest attack. This means that many battles can be won by pressing a button until the enemy is defeated.

With this change, Rescue Team DX feels less like Pokémon, with its talent for fine-tuned battles, and more like a mobile game where thoughtless knocking will ultimately lead to victory.

It's a shame because the rest of the franchise's ingredients are there. There is a satisfactory "catch & # 39; em all" mechanic, classic type advantages and a team building aspect, all of which should form the basis for a well-known spin-off that playfully experiments with the genre. Instead, it sucks the childish miracle out of a funny premise by making Pokémon's secret life seem deeply boring.

New but not improved

The one-button combat system is not the only change to the remake. The Rescue Team DX is equipped with new features and quality of life improvements that are designed to improve the experience. Adding shiny Pokémon and Mega developments makes collecting exciting. There are more moves available, a passive bonus system and new ways to amplify Pokémon and their attacks. All of this adds a little more depth to team building.

Not every new function improves the experience. The remake increases team size from six to eight and allows players to randomly recruit defeated enemies in dungeons. As the group size increases, the gameplay changes from a tactical grid-based fight to a chaotic mosh pit that is difficult to master. As soon as Pokémon are in the mix again, the game plays almost automatically. Most encounters end before the player even has the opportunity to start their own attack.

It's a bit like an older brother giving his sibling a disconnected controller and making them think they are playing. I often felt like this unsuspecting child when my teammates attacked enemies and moved in a way that felt completely out of my control. If I tried to escape a situation so I could team up with my rescue team, my character would stop so the camera could go back to other Pokémon that were having a blast.

Rescue Team DX feels less improved than a misguided pivot that confuses the ease of accessibility.

It's a change that feels like it should make the experience easier for children, but it goes so far that it's almost condescending. There's even a new auto mode that allows the team to move around the dungeon independently by pressing L.

The design choices are a bit strange considering that kids had no trouble clinging to Pokémon Red and Blue when the series came out. Despite Game Boy's limitations, Game Freak provided a complex but accessible role-playing game that everyone could enjoy. The Pokémon Company has always struggled to restore the same magic in spin-offs.

Rescue Team DX feels less improved than a misguided pivot that confuses the ease of accessibility. The result is something that feels so cautious when it's child-friendly that it threatens to alienate everyone else in the process.

Full of charm

Despite its dreary gameplay, Rescue Team DX is a vibrant adventure full of Pokémon charm. The Game Boy Advance sprites are replaced with a pleasant hand-drawn style reminiscent of Kirby's Dreamland 3. It's a relaxing look that makes the world of Pokémon appear colorful and inviting.

With no people in sight, the playful dialogue gives creatures the opportunity to show their personality. High-spirited Alakazams, mischievous Gengars and wise Wiscashes populate the world of the game, making Pokémon feel more clearly and less like interchangeable fighting animals.

His story delivers a kind message that teaches children the value of teamwork.

The story itself is a standard adventure rate, but offers moments of genuine empathy that fit well into the franchise. In other Pokémon games, Man and Monster work together to defeat everyone on their way to championship gold. The DX rescue team is less controversial and focuses more on how the power of friendship can be used to help those in need. Sure, it's cheesy, but the narrative delivers a positive message that is easy to get past.

Here Rescue Team DX is a child's play with greater appeal. His story delivers a kind message that teaches children the value of teamwork. This is a simple concept that adults sometimes need to be reminded of.

The idea of ​​child-friendly gaming shouldn't be about watering things down to automation. It's about giving younger players the right motivation and fun, flexible ways to learn lessons. Rescue Team DX provides only half of this equation.

Our opinion

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a monotonous task that spoils its charming premise with weak villain-like design and repetitive battles. The colorful, new graphics and endearing story give the remake a welcome dose of character, but the additional features over-simplify the adventure. It may be enough to keep the franchise's youngest fans busy for a few hours, but there are many other Pokémon games on Switch that offer a more satisfying experience for all ages.

Is there a better alternative?

Pokémon Quest is a free mobile and switch game with similar mechanisms that makes better use of its small requirements.

How long it will take?

The main story takes 15 to 20 hours, but finding a full collection can take at least a dozen more.

Should you buy it

No. There are many Pokémon games for all ages that don't compromise on fun.

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