How a Pokémon Spinoff Game Made Me Love Storytelling
/Although the main Pokémon games are developed by Game Freak, the game publishers at The Pokémon Company often give the Pokémon license to other game companies to let them create the spinoff titles. This has been done since the early days of the Pokémon franchise; did you know that Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap was developed by HAL Laboratories, the creators of the Kirby games?
This time, the license was given to the company Chunsoft, who were best known for their work on the first five Dragon Quest games. The mission was to create a crossover game with Chunsoft’s roguelike series Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer.
Source: Spike Chunsoft
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Thus, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team was created, and it was released in North America on September 18, 2006. Two version of Rescue Team were released: Red Rescue Team for the GBA and Blue Rescue Team for the DS.
I got Red Rescue Team as a Christmas gift that year, and, as a young Pokémon fan, I enjoyed this new take on a favourite franchise a lot. Getting to be a Pokémon, exploring procedurally generated dungeons and rescuing other Pokémon from peril felt like a grand adventure to eight-year-old me.
The Rescue Team games were a pretty good time all around, but this story isn’t about those games. Greater things were coming for the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series: we’re here to talk about the sequels.
Sequel Detected!
Source: Spike Chunsoft
On April 20, 2008, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness were released in North America for the Nintendo DS. I was now nine years old, and I was excited for a new adventure in the Mystery Dungeon format. What was waiting for me in the journey ahead?
It turned out that the sequel was everything that I wanted and more. The main story in Explorers was twice as long as the one in Rescue Team. This made for an even bigger adventure, not only across the Pokémon World, but through time as well. Smaller missions also made a return from Rescue Team with a fun new addition. Not only could you save Pokémon in need, but now you could take on outlaw Pokémon: minibosses that gave rewards should you beat them in battle. That’s just scratching the surface of new things that Explorers introduced.
You might be thinking, “It sounds like you had fun with the game, but how did it make you fall in love with storytelling?” I could tell you about the narrative while treading carefully around spoilers. You wake up on the beach and meet a Pokémon that ends up becoming your team partner. Together, the two of you learn how to always be brave, no matter how big the challenges are. I could talk about the excellent plot twists that shocked me when I was a kid, and I believe that they still hold up well.
But what really made me love the story was the heart that was put into it. The storytellers behind the game really knew when to pull at the heartstrings to further engross players into the game’s world. They knew exactly when to make the player laugh, how to rile up their anger, and when to have a more introspective moment. This all lead to an ending that left me and many others in tears. It was clear that a lot of passion was put into the story, and it made me want to create stories with just as much heart poured into them.
Source: Spike Chunsoft
Source: Spike Chunsoft
Wynaut used Encore!
That wasn’t quite the end of this tale. A year and a half later, a definitive version of the games known as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky was released. It contained brand new content, including a sub-story involving the Pokémon Shaymin, many new dungeons, and five “Special Episodes” that put the player in the shoes of the supporting cast.
If you haven’t played the Explorers games before, this is the version I recommend playing; the additions are worth it. If you are a Pokémon fan, or just enjoy roguelike games with a good narrative, then this is a great game to give a try.
Danica Best
Danica “Dani” Best is a 20-something Professional Writing student that loves creating stories and worlds almost as much as she loves gaming. If she isn’t writing, working or playing video games, she is probably asleep. Can be lured out with tasty desserts.
