Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (2009)

Explorers of Sky would potentially sit right at home if adapted as a Saturday morning cartoon, its entire story and sequential chapters making solid episodic content, especially alongside Sky's new chapter additions that function as side episodes within select characters from the cast. It would join the leagues of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Infinity Train in that regard, because its lighthearted exterior builds a foundation to unravel a story with real depth to it.

That's where most of the appeal of Explorers of Sky comes from, and it certainly had a profound impact on me in my childhood, of which still lingers to this very day with every replay. Every particular scene has charm and real intent behind it, slowly showcasing the epic that is Explorer of Sky's narrative. The music helps too, with absolute bangers ranging from Treasure Town to Through the Sea of Time, emphasizing the emotional weight behind some of these story moments. Not a single hour went by where I wasn't immersed in the mysticism and engaging world on offer here, even shedding a tear at certain scenes.

It's a little disappointing that the somewhat below standard roguelite rpg gameplay that underlines it isn't particularly interesting or good, although I have found it to be less irritating over time. That has more to say about my unapologetic love of the game though than it is to say that it does actually get better. There is postgame on offer that does make use of its sparse mechanics, but generally it is something to give your hands something to do in between scenes. It takes up more than a solid 1/3 of the runtime though, so it's something to consider before jumping in.

That being said, I would recommend Explorers of Sky wholeheartedly. It's still one of my favorite games to this day, and my heart still wails after the end credits. At the very least, I do hope you give it a try, for a grand tale of time and darkness awaits you! (8.5/10)

After playing Red Rescue Team as a kid and rediscovering my love for the Mystery Dungeon series with Super, I decided to replay the 2 installments that I had missed, starting with Explorers of Sky.

Gameplay wise, there are a multitude of flaws. Minor grievances include non-story missions feeling extremely repetitive due to constantly reusing the same Pokemon and dialogue, and the footprint identification minigame feeling extremely unnecessary when forced to play it. But the main problem I had with the gameplay was the difficulty. There are several unfair difficulty spikes throughout the game, and a lot of the game is trial-and-error for those going in blind. This wouldn't be too much of an issue if it weren't for the fact that dying means losing part of your inventory. I normally like it when games have a punishment system, but it feels frustrating here when your death is the result of failing to use a new item properly or being one-shotted because you didn't grind. It felt like I was being punished for the game's mistakes, not mine.

But of course, this game is more about the story than the gameplay. And the story is amazing. Compared to Super, the main campaign does feel a bit simpler, but on its own, it's a brilliant story with many twists and turns (although I personally found several of them to be predictable). The characters in this game are so well designed; each one feels unique, with their own personalities, motivations, method of speech, etc. I grew to heavily care for these characters, so much that [I began crying nonstop during the game's heartbreaking ending]][1] . This is the first time any form of media has driven me to tears, and I will never forget this great adventure.

Explorers of Sky is no where near as polished as the more recent Super, but if you can push through the gameplay flaws, you're in for quite a ride.

Yoom-tah!

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