With all of Pokemons recent failures and the rumors of them attempting scam NFTs. I wanted to go back and play what in my opinion is the best Pokemon game. Released in Gen 4 as a spinoff to Diamond, Peral, and Platinum it managed to surpass the main games and stay to the ideas and themes of that generation. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of the Sky is highly considered not only an amazing game but also a good start on if you want to try dungeon crawlers.

Gameplay

The game is a dungeon crawler meaning you enter dungeons that are randomized. Everything from items to location of the exit is random. There is four members of a party allowed in each dungeon, but the first two will always be the player and their partner. Different moves have different range allowing you to attack things further away. Using too many moves will deplete PP like usual so you need to be careful. Some items can be used as weapons and can be thrown.

Plot

The story is you wake up and are transformed into a Pokemon with no memory. You learn time is getting distorted and even stopping completely in some places. This leads you to try and discover the cause and protect the world. As it is the game is best played blind as the story is its strongest element even having additional chapters to Explorers of Time and Darkness to explain even further.

Conclusion

This game is enjoyable as a dungeon crawler and rpg. It is one of my favorite games and I don’t regret playing it. Sadly it reminds me of how far Pokemon went from a fun game series with a lot to do and creative creatures to whatever you want to call it now. I loved playing this, but it remains as a game that pointed out Pokemons high points and then abandoned those.

Score: 5/10