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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team has launched in
the UK as one of the NintendoDS’s big Christmas titles. With the
absence of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl – now
 set to arrive in Europe in mid-2007 – Nintendo have seen fit to
release Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team almost as
a “fill-in” treat for all the die-hard Pokemon fans out
there disappointed by yet another delay in the evolution of the
franchise. However, this appears to be the title’s own undoing, as
many have unjustifiably classified Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue
Rescue Team as purely that – a cash-in on the franchise which
otherwise would’ve suffered throughout this Christmas period – of
course, forgetting that Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue
was always intended to arrive before Pokemon Diamond and
Pokemon Pearl and simply suffered the same localisation issues.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team plays similar in
many respects to the traditional Pokemon titles; each
Pokemon has a maximum of four moves, each with their own allocation
of PP (representing how many times the player can use them). Each
differing Pokemon type retain their strengths and weaknesses, use
Berries to heal and other special items in order to either increase
abilities, protection or other statistics. However, a major change
to the formula precedes all this, and one that you will no doubt by
now be familiar with: no longer do you play as a Pokemon Trainer,
instead taking on the role of a human turned into a Pokemon, with
no recollection of your previous life.
Your main quest within the title is, of course, to revert yourself
back to human form, however, it’s not quite as simple as it may
seem. After a series of questions to determine which Pokemon you
should play as, you awaken in a world unlike our own. A Pokemon
world in which only they are allowed, and whilst many have
interacted with humans, humans themselves never venture here. The
land is under rule by Pokemon folklore and freelance Rescue Teams,
fixing problems and
 rescuing Pokemon for a hefty fee. The character
you play as has inadvertently become part of a legend the Pokemon
in this land hold dear, and the legend spells a bad end.
Twists-and-turns along the way ensure that things never stagnate,
and progression is always the ideal.
As you awake in your new form, you are instantly gifted a friend –
who influences you to help him form your own Rescue Team. Taking
jobs from the local Bulletin Board, a variety of Rescue Missions
sees you travelling through many different locales. The game is
established through the use of a HUB. The HUB consists of no more
than eight screen-widths, yet allows for much of the organisation
of play including areas to buy, sell and store your items and
money, and the option of “linking” moves. Gathering new Rescue
Missions, visiting other Pokemon who’ve opted to join your Rescue
Team, tips on how to play the game and even some advancements in
the storyline also take place in the HUB.
When venturing from the HUB into any Dungeon, the desired area is
selected from a list, and travel is instant. Arriving in the
specified dungeon, players traverse through randomly-generated Maps
to ascend to the required Floor in order to complete their Rescue
Mission(s) – each Rescue Mission specifies objective, location and
Floor prior to acceptation – or the full height of the area should
it be a story-based objective. The most complicated aspect of the
title is the in-game procedure when on a Rescue Mission – the whole
adventure plays as a quasi-turn-based concoction of combat and
exploration. The entirety of every Dungeon is divided into a grid,
upon which each square represents a phase. Every time you move a
square, your team-mates will, and so will the enemies. However,
this doesn’t make for a slow-pace, as in turn it allows for
fluidity when enemies aren’t directly in the vicinity, yet also
allows for a much more calculated
 approach to combat when enemies
become a bit too close-for-comfort. The combat is wholly
turn-based. When enemies approach, once in the next square pressing
the A Button will execute your basic attack, whilst holding the L Trigger and pressing A will perform your “Set Move” – any other
move your Pokemon has at its disposal, manually set in the in-game
Menu. Once your move has been performed, any other members of your
team may have their turn, and so will the enemy.
As per-the-norm, each Pokemon is limited to a maximum of four
moves, and any new moves learnt will result in the removal of a
previous move, should the Pokemon already be at their limit.
However, a unique option within the title would be that of
“linking” moves. Visiting the shop at the HUB (or finding the Link
Box item in a Dungeon) will allow you to link suitable moves for an
additional layer to your strategy; got a Mudkip with Bide and
Mudslap? Link the two, with Bide being the first move in the linked
combo, and Mudkip may still dish-out damage whilst conserving
energy in the process of unleashing the Bide manoeuvre. Many
combinations can be created, often helping to gloss-over a
Pokemon’s weaknesses with over-powering aggression.
Pokemon RPG games typically plot landmarks in the
progression a player has made through the use of Gym Leader
Battles, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
emulates this with a more classic Boss structure. The Boss Battles
at first appear quite confusing, and the Boss’ will often take up
more than one square on the Map. While players are still adapting
to then title’s grid-based structure, it may often appear that much
of the tactics employed when fighting regular enemies are now
defunct. However, once the player has established a small amount of
knowledge of the workings of the title, Boss Battles are one of the
most enticing opportunities of the title, and though few, rarely
disappoint.
The titles 2D pastel-shading does little to promote itself in
screenshots, however, in effect is pleasing and animated well.
Equivalent to many of
 the infamously quirky Nippon Ichi
PlayStation2 releases, and yet looking identical to the Game Boy
Advance’s sister-release, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue
Team, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team excels
above offerings from most modern 2D developers, yet falls short of
some of Nintendo’s own NintendoDS releases – including it’s
in-house 2006 Christmas competitor,
Yoshi’s IslandDS.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team may have been
unjustly judged by much of its audience, and the media, but the
effort to work through this is incredibly rewarding. The link-up
features between the NintendoDS and Game Boy Advance options are
intriguing, though minimal. Two-players cannot interact
simultaneously, but can, however, aid each other’s progress at
times. The feature certainly won’t compel a player to buy both
versions, but would interest a friend enough to get the alternative
instalment. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team isn’t
the best release for the NintendoDS, nor the best Pokemon
game, but with the immense amount of competition in both these
fields, the game still needs to be incredibly well designed to even
be considered for these titles. |
