Is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon REALLY That Bad?!

[@Brianycus]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky was PEAK FICTION. These critics never understood

[@luckyghost7777]

Omg that story was the first game to have me in my feelings

[@BSNintendo]

As a grown man it's one of the only game's that still makes me cry.

[@kariminyt]

I am playing darkness now days, its my first PMD i afraid i like it as most ppl say gen 2 for the series is best. cause it will be hard to play the other ones.

[@mysetlist2118]

I’ll try it out. I also agree a lot of fun games suffered from meta critic a good example was megaman starforce 1 and 3. Only complaint with 2 was story was disappointing compared to 1 and the encounter rate.

[@RuinerXP100]

I still remember the awful review IGN did on the game here on youtube man he was just put infront of the game with not enough time to enjoy it and just nitpicked all the surface things about the game.

[@THEdemetrishigashikata]

I absolutely love the mystery dungeon series it's a fun series and should make a comeback

[@THEdemetrishigashikata]

I would also say that something like Pokemon Conquest needs to return like Pokemon Tactics maybe 😅

[@wolfer1011]

The Red/Blue Rescue Team remake on the Switch is such a beautiful game. I love the art style in it. Its my favorite game to play on the Switch OLED. Would kill for more games with that art.

[@tobeavus]

I'm surprised no one has made a good indie take on the series either

[@Tranquildbeats]

​@@tobeavus there is a whole lot of mystery dungeon games. Not just pokemon. Chocobo things like that

[@kariminyt]

@@THEdemetrishigashikata +1 that

[@bradywoods6293]

These games hold a special place in my heart. These games are hella underrated

[@CarbajalQZ]

Same here I agree.

[@aqwsderxz]

With a good story

[@Just_Monika0830]

I wish people recognize Pokémon Ranger too 😭

[@grizzlyscalp9506]

​@Austin Fogarty Same last year I played ordered and played through all three. I think guardians was the reason the series died but it was still fun.

[@Venialbartender]

I got to agree with you . What a nastalgic trip when they redid mystery dungeon red rescue team . A lot shorter than when i was a kid but im 31 now and taught my starter cut while i used a mightyena the first time i played emerald so yeah.

[@aryshandono3249]

For Pokefans who dislike Mystery Dungeon, I think that's because spin-off series are not geared towards them. I've seen many of them often say, "Who plays Pokemon for story?" Well, I do, and many other fans. Mystery dungeon has that. It has a lot of going on rather than just beating evil teams, collecting badges, and becoming a champion I dare to say that even Pokemon Ranger is more fun than mainline series lately. Probably because I no longer care about being the best, but that's probably just me

[@axl256gamesx7]

Rangers and mystery dungeons are both better than main games I completely agree

[@Kirbyster]

I played explorers of sky last year for the first time since I was a young child and I did not think highly of the game, not because it placed an emphasis on story (adding story to Pokémon is actually a really nice change) but I just found the story incredibly underwhelming compared to the amount of hype the game gets online. It wasn’t bad, but there is honestly not much going on and the story can basically be recapped in it’s entirety in like three sentences. The art is by far the best aspect of the series imo, and the music also stands out a lot, but the gameplay (which is obviously pretty important in a 20 hour dungeon crawler) is honestly pretty bad. Micromanaging your ally’s is annoying, and if you don’t micromanage them they often aren’t very helpful. And being locked into using 2 specific Pokémon in your party of four for the whole campaign sucks when part of the games selling point is having so many Pokémon that can join your team.

[@user-it2kq4ty9q]

@@Kirbyster summarize it in 3 sentences

[@Kirbyster]

@@user-it2kq4ty9q You, the player character, wake up in a world of Pokémon and have been mysteriously transformed into a Pokémon. You, and a partner Pokémon you met shortly after waking up, go on several “rescue missions” with the local rescue team guild, who soon become concerned when Grovyle starts stealing time gears from nearby locations. You aid the local legend, Dusknoir, in capturing Grovyle, but in actuality Grovyle was misunderstood and Dusknoir is the true villain. You realign yourself and your partner to join Grovyle and take the remaining time gears into the future to prevent the future apocalypse. Ok you got me, it took 4 sentences, not 3.

[@angel_of_rust]

i didn't play PMD Red for the story at first but it was genuinely gripping I just like the fact there's a ROGUELIKE Pokemon game, and it's a surpisingly old-fashioned roguelike now just waiting for a Pokemon RACING game that is good too

[@Keihzaru]

Who even calls Mystery Dungeon bad? wtf.

[@shinybreloom4027]

nobody this video is exaggerating and relying on negative reviews from 2003 from the normies

[@nidohime6233]

Critics at the time didn't understand the games. They are dungeons crawlers which was very popular in Japan, but quite unheard for most americans during the 2000s. At least in Europe they are more liked.

[@klamity2514]

I dont, cause i call it shit

[@edwuano7]

i came here to ask the same thing

[@lionwolf7861]

You'd be suprised people think different types of games in a franchise means bad game but look over the quality of the game itself becuase they think its not what the franchise should be cuz its diffrent from what is established.

[@harshamohite1289]

Mystery Dungeon is special. I remember playing Explorers of Time as a kid and the storytelling was just so unlike anything I had played at the time (mostly other Pokemon and Nintendo games). The ending still hits you in the feels. I started Super Mystery Dungeon a few years ago and dropped it about 10 hrs in cause it was insanely slow, but apparently it's lit AF right after where I left off??? I'm gonna have to dig that out and finish it now. I'm super curious what direction that goes in.

[@nathanielbass771]

It's worth playing through but I wouldn't call it "lit" . I'm biased here but the story begins to jump all over the place and instead of creating an original take, they threw in a random existential crisis which happens based upon an event that makes no sense but can lead to that chain of events. It then takes the "everything can be solved with friendship" approach for the final boss. Play through it yourself and you'll probably understand what I mean for how it seems there was very little effort put into the game compared to the the first 2 games. Ironically, I consider it worse than Gates to Infinity, yet I have never finished GTI due to the game slowing down so much once you start reaching the actual plot

[@huntermorris7421]

I really enjoyed the story from the middle to the end. Once you leave the original village it picks up a lot. The school parts were ROUGH though, ngl. I thought the ending was great, I got a little hype a couple times

[@Infindox]

Super is fine. It takes awhile to get going, honestly. Ending suprised me a bit what happens.

[@djroscurro9859]

​@@nathanielbass771 I feel like it's dismissive to boil the ending down to "everything can be solved with friendship"

[@nathanielbass771]

@@djroscurro9859 "I am the amalgamation of all negative emotions, I will return even if I am destroyed!" ... "I know that, but I am going to do what no one else will. I accept you and want to be your friend" "im...possible. I am the embodiment of all things evil" "I don't care" and the thing proceeds to self destruct as its evil aura evaporates...

[@fizzie6902]

Sky Tower and the Rayquaza fight was so cool to me as a kid. One of the top childhood video game moments next to the Xemnas fight in KH2.

[@zoelindwall637]

Sky tower is even more beautiful in the switch

[@ChrisJZedStormzone-fz8od]

​@@zoelindwall637 I remember rageing on that map until I restart the whole game and got charmander with dragon claw

[@lifeofkai5320]

Fucking same on both

[@BlackdragonTheShadow]

Was Snowrunt in the original Rescue Team games… cause uhh could’ve just went to the dungeon that ended with the Articundo boss fight band got a Snowrunt to DELETE Rayquaza ya know

[@RebelliousTreecko]

Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky is one of the best games in the entire Pokemon franchise overall. Part of that is due to my bias towards the Treecko line, I admit. Also, good taste with Treecko being your fav from Gen 3.

[@flarexero2161]

The Treeko line was always a favorite of mine in gen 3. Especially when there's so many water types and rock types it could just steamroll.

[@YuseiTheSynchroHero]

It was BECAUSE of stuff like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon that I give the Pokemon I use their own distinctive nickname and personalities and even have them living together in that world, working as a large team to solve problems and RESCUE others. Cheesy as flipping burgers but I love them. Explorers of Sky just tipped things over the edge and I genuinely cried at certain moments in the game.

[@infinitecurlie]

Me too! Honestly the endings of the mystery dungeons would always make me cry, I still can't believe how heart wrenching they would make them be.

[@sneko2860]

Spoiler alert But the moment at the end where you die and your partner is just crying makes me cry every time

[@syloui]

The end of Special Episode 5 hits like a truck, effected me for weeks after playing it

[@INhumanLAST]

Man the stories were so unbelievable for being a pokemon game and thinking about it ,this inspired me to get into rpgs

[@SMCwasTaken]

Mario and Luigi Series: I'm 4 parallel universes ahead of you

[@justinarney3050]

while I love the sprites of the OG rescue team DX's art style was just wonderful. The 3d environments and new cutscenes truly do the game justice.

[@axl256gamesx7]

Hope they remake explorers of sky/time/darkness and it turns out good aswell

[@mattgibson9337]

I did not realize it was 3d artwork. I played through the entire game, spent hours on the post game and I thought it was just really good sprite art

[@ProfessorAlexSilver]

I always loved how many starters were available in each game. Super unique.

[@dariusdafigga]

How could anyone hate the mystery dungeon series. Especially explorers of sky, it had the best soundtrack of them all and I definitely cried a few times when Grovyle sacrifices himself and the player disappears at the end of the story. I have never felt such strong emotion for characters we never even hear speak.

[@masonreed6845]

theyre boring as hell , story is only impressive if ur actually a child, repetitive gameplay loop. i dont really see whats compelling about them aside from the art and concept

[@machoke666]

I think the difference between fans who played them vs critics who played them is that most people who played these games played them as kids (kids who already loved pokemon) and these games have very gripping stories, so for many of us this was one of, if not the first games that pulled at our heartstrings. New experiences are more impactful and that's why we remember these games so fondly

[@sebastiankulche]

I played it as an adult and still love it. So no nostalgia involved.

[@Mcpollo_Justdonalds]

I just beat mystery dungeon explorers of sky and it left a big impact on me even if I’m technically not a kid anymore (I’m 17) the personality’s of the Pokémon and the story is amazing

[@fruitful6139]

Forget what critics say, The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series has (way) better stories than the mainstream games, and just amazing stories in general

[@masonreed6845]

theres so many games with stories a million times better than any of this though if thats what you care about

[@PrettyAight]

I played the crap out of these games when I was younger! Great coverage, Matty. I’m glad I’m not the only one who restarted the questionnaire a million times. I’m pretty sure there were “rare” Pokémon your character could be, ones that weren’t featured in the manual.

[@ansonprydejr.1432]

Yeah. The OG Mystery Dungeons (Red and Blue Rescue Team) had 16 starter choices: The Three Starter Trios (Chikorita being female-only and Cyndaquil being male-only) Machop (Male-only) Cubone Eevee (Female-only) Skitty (Female-only) Meowth (Male-only) Psyduck Pikachu Your starter is determined by your answers to the personality test. Also, the partner pokemon are the starter trios and Pikachu.

[@gabytao]

The Mystery Dungeon series is what really made me fall in move with Pokémon. The soundtrack is one of the best in ALL of gaming!

[@brainsmusic6119]

Yes!! Someone who praises the soundtrack. My other favourite soundtracks are Xenoblade and Terraria: Calamity

[@SMCwasTaken]

Best of ALL of gaming? No that goes to the Mario and Luigi series

[@marcusbayley5126]

I remember mystery dungeon being the last gba game at my ebgames and it was cheap so I took a chance on it and loved it. As a kid I was shocked that a Pokémon game could have an interesting story.

[@eeeeggnog._.]

Explorers of sky is still the best pokemon game period. I would take it over any main series game without a second thought. Super was really good too

[@wikiuser92]

Thank you for appreciating Super. It's my favorite PMD game.

[@masonstewart6232]

Thank god someone actually sees the main point of Super Mystery Dungeon. It is my second favorite Mystery dungeon game and every almost every review of this game I've seen hasn't even made it past the halfway point or even the freaking tutorial. This game is a gem I wish more people played and appreciated.

[@masonstewart6232]

@@FlameHricane It just makes me feel sad how little this game is appreciated.

[@sinnis4993]

my parents bought me pmd1 for christmas. i was instantly hooked. for me personally these games are miles ahead of the main series.

[@masonstewart6232]

@@sinnis4993 I have always said this, and I will never stop saying this. The Pmd series in its entirety is way better than the mainline series in its entirety.

[@nathanielbass771]

eh, super is my least favorite. It forces too many things on the player, even the storyline...and the story seems to go "guys, we ran out of ideas! What do we do!?" "I know, go generic, generic works! Throw in something weird and out of place for good measure!" it's still a fun game and story, but they could have done SO MUCH BETTER than what they did

[@masonstewart6232]

@@nathanielbass771 I hear your opinion, and I respect your opinion But at the same time I don't want to respect your opinion

[@nickioleary8577]

I can understand why some people may not like the gameplay of these games (understand, not agree), but in terms of story and characters, especially in Explorers, I think these games are better than a lot of the main series

[@TheLazarusOperation]

Explorers of Time is in my top 10 games ever. I was really hoping for a remake announcement at the direct yesterday.

[@whisperingwooper1763]

Me too! So sad that there wasn’t just recently replayed it too.. probably going to replay super at some point

[@wikiuser92]

Super is better, in my opinion. Both gameplay and story wise.

[@utcgangstaa]

I personally feel the remake on switch looks far better than the originals. It's cool how they used the artstyle from the manual and concept art as a base for the look. As someone who loved the concept/manual art I feel they totally nailed the look, it looks gorgeous. I feel it's the superior version of the first games.

[@BSNintendo]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky is my favorite game of all time, I would highly recommend playing through it in its entirety.

[@sparky6757]

Gates to Infinity is my favorite in the series. It had its issues. It had a LOT of issues. What it also has, is my favorite story in the series, as well as my favorite music. It’s the only one that got me tearing up again in my second playthrough, and the only one that made me ugly cry the first time.

[@davidbeer5015]

“Wrapped In Light” and “The Frism” at the end and reading the messages in the frism -> *tears*

[@CommanderWiggins]

I gotta play that one, it's the only entry in the series that I skipped. (other than the Japan only Wiiware titles)

[@charlieswan1514]

Your channel has really reignited my desire to play more retro games! Thanks for showing me all the cool stuff I missed when I was younger lol

[@retrorebound8887]

Love to hear that. It's my pleasure! :D

[@Alb410]

Theres a reason why PMD is the setting most artists used to choose for their dedicated Pokemon fancomics, excluding nuzlockes.

[@brettmccollum1]

Haven't played Explorers of Sky since shortly after it came out but the twists of the story and the characters still stick with me. I should really play it again.

[@wikiuser92]

You should play Super Mystery Dungeon too. It's an amazing game and my favorite from this spin-off series.

[@infinitecurlie]

I love the mystery dungeon series. The stories in these games are so well done that I wish something similar would appear in regular Pokemon games. 😂 I'm actually such a loser that the ending of the story for each of them would always make me cry especially Sky and Super. 😂😂😂 I wish they would make more mystery dungeon games. 😅 I know we have Legends Arceus but I also wish there would be another Pokemon XD Gale Of Darkness, being able to experience Pokemon the way that you could in XD was just so amazing.

[@nathanielbass771]

those actually AREN'T the endings of the story btw. Every PMD game has post-credits content that often expands upon the original

[@frosted_glaceon5513]

Seriously, I honestly regret not playing these games as a kid. I remember when they were for sale and I passed on them after I was told that they were bad. COVID hit and I decided to try out Explorers of Time. It was frustrating at first because I didn't want to grind so I was constantly under leveled. I put the game down, and picked it back up after a break. I grinded the heck out of it, I creasing three ranks, and finally finished all the way through...and proceeded to cry my eyes out at the ending. Truly magical. I've now played them all, and I now really love these games. They're simple and do drag on sometimes, but at least simple enough to pick one straight back up after a break. Makes me think those critiques only played like five minutes of them, called it a game for babies and chucked it away.

[@085darkstar]

I can't believe he had the Audacity,to do a pokemon mystery dungeon video without completely Finishing Pokemon explorers of sky.😤 Bro words cannot describe my disappointment.

[@natemajor6560]

These games and conquest probably the closest we’ve gotten to an official rogue-like Pokémon game. Mystery dungeons more like the dark souls of Pokémon ngl

[@falconlord7811]

Explorers of sky will forever be a top 5 game for me. So much nostalgia and that soundtrack is top tier

[@goldmemberpb]

The remake looks great though. it is pretty much the concept art visualized as in game artstyle. The game also adds loads of QoL features not in the DS games. The only big thing missing from DX is are friend areas. it is just a menu instead of areas you can move around in.

[@gobblenachname3880]

I appreciate the Menu friend areas. They use DS styled sprites for all Mons (including Sylveon and shinies which never had one before) and the bg artwork for them is soooooo beautiful.

[@DarkEspeon40K]

The remake actually sucks to play due to different gameplay mechanics. Some would say it's QoL, but I disagree. And even then - one thing that drags it down and makes replayability much lower is changed dungeon gen. There are absolutely NO dead ends now, in any dungeon you go. Nothing. Nada. Everything has two exits, so you find yourself lost more often AND the dungeons start to feel samey after a while.

[@gobblenachname3880]

@@DarkEspeon40K Delusional Take if I've ever seen one. Stuff like move quick selections, pushing, Partner AI that isn't broken, more inventory pages than just 2, being able to feed your partner items directly etc are undeniably QoL additions that improve on the gameplay formula of the original tremendously. Also the dead end thing is a very minor and specific thing to rant about? Actually reminds of IGN's Sky review where they complained about dungeon generation generating stairs in the starting room. In general your comment reads very IGN like, yikes.

[@nidohime6233]

The remake added stuff from the last Mystery Dungeons, which for fans who left the series before the 3DS games they felt awkward to use. And there where some changes I personally dislike, like the way you evolve Pokémon. Here they made it dumber by using a magical stone for EVERY Pokémon, missing the point of the series.

[@sebastiankulche]

I can underzand that change though. In the OG it was very tedious to having to select each companion constantly for every mission.

[@nathanielbass771]

Fun fact, the dungeons in at least the first 2 games are not truly random. there are a LOT of combinations, but there are preset map types and if you're way more into the game than you should be, in the first couple of games you can actually CONTROL the dungeon layouts before they spawn

[@AeirEclipseHayastin]

Peeping at the comments, I'm not surprised a lot of folks are mildly upset at how Spike Chunsoft isn't working on a new *Pokemon* Mystery Dungeon, when the franchise moniker as a whole is about to celebrate it's 30th anniversary in September. I'm sure there's gonna be another PMD later on, but this year should be a special one for the franchise as a whole.

[@Victini862]

MAJOR SPOILERS for those who have not played PSMD For how slow the 1st half of super is: I believe it was necessary to build up the relationships that you and your partner build not just with each other but with the rest of the townsfolk. They make you care about these characters enough to the point where it makes you want to save the world from Dark Matter for their sakes. The slow start imo is one of the best bits of worldbuilding in all of PMD

[@scalchopkingrobbert8326]

Explorers of Sky is my favorite game of all time. After all these years and award winning games there has never been a game that felt like EoS

[@jamesflanagan6261]

Pokémon spin off game check list: - Gripping Narrative? ✅ - Catchy and emotionally driven soundtrack? ✅ - More attention to detail and polish than most main-series games? ✅

[@WiiFan20XX]

I think gamers need to recognize that 5 and 6 scores are not "bad" they are average to above average. A 7 is not average

[@Ratsos12]

Gates to infinity was extremely incomplete. Sky… was the charge ya twice remake. Red or blue and time or darkness were amazing as can be though. Guild Master Wigglytuff is my hero.

[@gooma7942]

A lot of professional game critics have no idea what makes a good game

[@zackbiggins2022]

Pokemon mystery dungeon is far far superior to the mainline games. Pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky was my childhood. I really was hoping they'd announce the remake today, but unfortunately they did not. Keep up the good content Matty.

[@nathanielbass771]

Something that's pretty sad as well is that these companies could pretty much resell classics for cheap and millions of copies just by interacting with the emulation community. Instead, we get old games at full price or remakes that often (not always) aren't worth it

[@claudespeed5929]

PMD should've been the approach that Gamefreak ought to have taken in the main series after Gen 5. The PMD combat system alone could solve so many problems that still plague mainline Pokemon (stuff like balancing between singles and doubles and triples is made easy with PMD's battle system). Just imagine strolling through Hoenn or Kanto and fighting with your Pokemon through the tall grass...

[@roy3307]

Glad to see a fellow Super Mystery Dungeon Enjoyer here, that game goes HARD and the amount of post game content is great. The dungeons can be difficult but not really that long compared to Time Darkness and Sky, while I really love them the post game can get tiring with the amount of time you spend in one dungeon at times. There is also the mechanic of Pokemon being unavailable at times, giving them a bit more life by not being at your call all the time as they have things to do. The character development in PSMD is also phenomenal, making you think differently of characters at times.

[@TheoTungsten]

Come on, IGN gave FNaF a 10/10. They're not a good critic.

[@sebastiankulche]

And also "too much water"

[@zeo278]

If you think mystery dungeon is bad, but sword and shield good, you are not sane.

[@usagishade]

There were 3 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games made for WiiWare but they're japanese exclusives. They used the low poly models from Pokemon Rumble. Worth checking out!

[@Charziken]

The Explorers series is quite literally the ONLY game to actually make me cry. The final goodbye felt so real, on top of the absolute gut wrenching masterpiece that is "Don't Ever Forget"

[@wikiuser92]

Play Super Mystery Dungeon, and I guarantee more tears will come.

[@joshchronister2392]

I genuinely love the mystery dungeon games and I'd play them over a normal pokemon game anyday

[@AustinCollects18]

The Explorers series, especially sky, is my personal favorite pokemon spinoff game of all time. Glad to see you talk positively about it!

[@tommytwo-tips5785]

I’ve never played any of these, so glad you made a video for them! I’ll get to decide if I want to purchase them

[@dahfishguy]

God I still remember getting blue rescue team for Christmas. Sneaking my ds to bed for weeks to play way to late into the night. So obsessed

[@XionSteel]

Pretty much depends on the person yeah, can be either an extreme hit or a hard miss. Sadly i lost interest in this style of game due to other dungeon like games i have played before mainly the Fate-Guided Paradox, Izuna and Touhou Gensou Wanderer. All of these have brutally hard early game and unforgiving late games, and even though the mystery dungeon series is a lot more easy, its just not that easy to shake off the frustration of the genre. Wasn't without it's benefits though, after all i kept playing these games despite getting frustrated with them, so i instead got REALLY into the dungeon crawling RPG genre and still like to dip into those games today, just some good old Etrian Odyssey, Persona Q 1+2 and Mary Skelter.

[@DrBob-dl4cy]

I remember how i wanted super mystery dungeon so badly, and when i got it, I spent HUNDREDS of hours on the game, i loved it so much that I'm starting a new save, still love the game to this day

[@babydadoo]

I think the note about “the versions are mostly the same, buy the one for your preferred system” is because the Mystery Dungeon Red version was for Gameboy Advance. My fav Mystery Dungeon for DS was the Shiren The Wanderer remake

[@Spika94]

"Is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon REALLY That Bad?!" WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? Who said that??? The 2 first games, Rescue Team and Explorers, are amazing games that should not be overlooked!

[@blackestyang7528]

wait, what? everyone who's actually played the Mystery Dungeon games always talks about how good they are

[@Minicarrotjuice]

When I was a kid PMD was my first pokemon game and I was slightly disappointed a bit when I found out that wasn't how the main games went. Still enjoyed soul silver and black/black 2 a lot though. Edit: I can't play any of the new ones because of the 3d. I genuinly tried but I was just not feeling it.

[@NathGlitchy64]

I really love mystery dungeon. These games really changed my life.

[@Smoothbone21]

Mystery dungeon was a Gem when it first came out... if you was tired of Grinding and leveling up ya Pokémon this was a great alternative and refreshing take on it.

[@fishrechaun6425]

As someone who loved the original red rescue team and was apprehensive about the remake, I have to say I was actually quite impressed. Aside form the graphics, the remake is actually quite faithful for the most part. If you've never played Poke'mon Mystery Dungeon before, its a solid entry point. The main changes I saw were more ethers instead of the 'basic' attack and that the IQ system was replaced with single IQ abilities per team member. I actually rather like the IQ change, the remake IQ abilities felt more like a team setup decision rather than stacking a single high IQ member per IQ category and being semi-obligated to bring one of them every mission. Difficulty in terms of level scaling was certainly still there I feel, but removing the basic attack and making ethers much more common so you don't often run out of pp often did make the experience easier.

[@hunterstorys9330]

I love PMD. I just have a single problem with the one everyone loves. The explorers trilogy, the problem is in the post game. I really tried to like it. But good part of it is bad, because of a single thing, a single character, and it shows how they made it bad with the addition of shaymin village. One character. The shaymin? no. Cresselia who consume your revive seeds more than you? No. Darkrai who appears out of nowhere to be the mastermind behind everything? NO! It's our partner. The reason is simple. While our character interact with everyone on the post game. Our partner almost never have a single dialogue out of the darkrai arc. And i discovered that because in the middle of the shaymin village dungeon my partner fainted and i didn't go back to the checkpoint. It's like who write the post game story said "F#CK YOU" to our partner

[@tylerkaminski7282]

Hey Matty, Really cool topic. I think it's awesome that you identified the low metacritic scores and investigated. Would love to see similar things in the future! Keep up the good wortk.

[@BeetleBuns]

I've never met a single person that has played them and dislikes them.

[@KingBr33ch]

I have a dirty secret involving this game. I kept starting the game Over until I got a charmander and I feel bad 😢

[@TheLonelyGoomba]

This series never really did it for me. I don't think they're awful but...5/10? Seems kinda fair tbh. It is pretty average. But based on what most review scales, a 7/10 seems more suitable.

[@imadeddineeljamal3191]

I want a mystery dungeon game where you start as a pokemon (not a human that turns to a pokemon) and form a team with another pokemon. After like 2 dungeons you meat a human turned pokemon and the story starts

[@sleepyespurr2922]

I played these games a lot and it made me like other games like this. I feel that Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky is when they ramp the rng a lot with trap tiles and Monster Houses. There are moments in that game that made feel made me go "I'm done." because the rng of the gameplay screwed me over. And that includes making preparations for certain story bits like the endgame and post-game.

[@shadowoflugia]

I only just started playing the game on Switch. And as one who hasn’t played a single Mystery Dungeon game, it was very confusing at first. I’m having fun so far. But now I feel like I have to get a 3DS (which I’ve never owned) to play the Super Mystery Dungeon game!

[@brandongarner4788]

I don't have any of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon video games that aren't in my collection, along with the other Pokémon video games that are for all the other video game consoles that I don't have in my collection at all.

[@battlep0t]

I've only played Red Rescue team on the GBA. Didn't check out Explorers in the Sky but hear it's one of the best narratives in the whole series I genuinely had no idea they did games for gen 5/6!

[@KingBr33ch]

I never knew blue was supposed to Be the same but for a newer device I literally just thought it was the next installment when I was a wee lad

[@Vantoxify]

I played Explorers of Darkness back when I was a kid and I liked the game but didn't love it. I was more into Platinum and Soul Silver when those games came out. Fast forward to 2020 when they introduce the remake and I properly played through the whole game (unlike EoD) and I loved it from start to finish. Fun missions, great story, great music, and I loveeeeeee the art style of the game. I REALLY want a remake of Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky and I would also like to try out the 3DS entries some day.

[@LunaticKD1991]

Any clown telling you Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is bad is just mad that they're a scrub and suck at the games.

[@sebastiankulche]

Only ones who call it bad are IGNorants. Those reviews should be banned from history.

[@arin4395]

only played explorers of sky . i didn't need to play the rest to know this is my absolute fave of the series . it's truly so special , i feel so lucky having this as my 1 n only mystery dungeon game

[@maroonkennedy6213]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and the Mario & Luigi games are perfect examples of 3D making games look worse

[@Some-guy-on-the-internet]

See, the real question you should be asking is whether PMD reviews from game journalists really are that bad. The answer is yes, obviously.

[@DaRealTaylorPlayz]

The Mystery Dungeon series is EXCELLENT! They are SO UNDERRATED! In fact, I actually played Rescue Team DX for a fandub last year and had SO MUCH FUN figuring out ways to not only get to the Pokémon world, but also return home! It was such a great creative opportunity I never would've had without Rescue Team DX!

[@ledizzy2634]

I remember not liking this channel because Matty came across as a grown up acting like a teen. The energy in his videos was way too much for me: "SAULTATIONS EVERYBODY!! IT'S MADDY HERE TODAY!" But for a long while now, Matty has been chill, cool and very enjoyable to watch. Love his content now. I absolutely stand corrected. Completely won me over man. What a way to develop and improve as a content creator! You turned a hater into quite a big fan with that pivot. We all have to admit when we're wrong - I was wrong about Matty. Cool guy.

[@savj]

Blue Rescue Team, and Explorers of Time hold a special place in my heart. I had sunk countless hours into both, during my childhood. I still even have my old save from way back when I used to be hooked on my black DS Lite (I received Blue Rescue Team, as well as Sudoku Master - which I had chucked to the side for obvious reasons - as a bundle pack one year for Christmas), with my gigachad Swampert having, essentially, maxed out stats due to how much time I invested into this series of games. With EoT/D (and, I'm assuming EoS - I never had gotten around to playing that one, much to my dismay), they really polished what worked in Blue/Red Rescue Team and expanded on it so much more, without it feeling "overdone", or "forced", y'know? Like, I love the attention to detail with regards to each Pokémon now having their own "icon", rather than reserving this for the "important" storyline Pokémon only. And the music... Don't even get me started. I could vibe to the music in these games for an eternity and never grow bored. They really pushed the boat out - some real cosy irregular time signatures come in to play which help capture the setting for each dungeon immensely well. I make a special effort to revisit the soundtrack from time to time, and it never gets old. To conclude, Blue Rescue Team is probably the only game where I had genuinely shed a tear after completing the storyline (if you know, you know). It really is moving, and I would highly recommend anybody to check it out, should they get the opportunity. What a masterpiece.

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

As a child, I happened to get Treecko for my first playthrough of Red and Blue, then I happened to find Bullet Seed in Xatu’s desert. Nothing else was ever good enough for me after that.

[@somewackoonyoutube2449]

This is the first time I’ve seen someone call PMD bad

[@sebastiankulche]

IGNorants.

[@somewackoonyoutube2449]

@@sebastiankulcheYeah lol. They are responsible for the “Too much water” meme after all. I also recall several major people in IGN saying the Sonic series was never good, but (regardless of how you feel about the series) the site gave several of its games good reviews, including Fire and Ice which was released after they said that.

[@lizardlucius]

I always thought mystery dungeon is universally loved tbh! Never heard anything negative and to now learn about the critics score...kinda shocks me tbh

[@extrakrispy81]

I've never heard someone whos played mystery dungeon call them bad before.

[@lukebytes5366]

How divisive the gameplay is imo depends on how you approach it. The thing about the randomness is that it takes a "broken beats broken" approach. Monster house? use orbs that neuter all pokemon. Traps? Use orbs to detect traps or to fix problems caused by traps. Need a boost in a dire situation? Use agility items. Can't do any of that and you're about to die? use an escape orb with loot intact. You can theoretically deal with any situation with enough preperation, even moreso with explorers and how many items at once you can have there. The problem is that players who aren't accustomed to this type of gameplay will often resort to save-scumming so they never have to fear losing their items. I've done this myself, and the practice makes dungeon crawling a much more frustrating experience than it should be. What usually happens is that you do the exact same dungeon with the exact same set of items until you beat it, and if bad luck gets in the way, you just try again. This playstyle might grant you a good stockpile of items, but it'll lead you to believe that the luck is unfightable despite that stockpile. To make mystery dungeon fun, you have to be consciously aware of and avoid exploits that make it less fun. I don't think most critics recognized that practice.

[@madeinheaven1860]

I thought I was at work for a second with your background music haha great video though, keep it up

[@matthewesposito6973]

I’m with you. I played blue rescue team, explorers of time and sky. I am actually doing a rerun of sky now attempting to get all legendaries. Even today years later I still enjoy it maybe even more than before

[@belphy205]

Explorers of Time Darkness and Sky made me cry. They are still my favourite games if all time.

[@TheMegaultrachicken]

Answer: No its not, it's a great series. Why is this even a question.

[@anthonycampbell97]

I liked them as a kid

[@jasonch4196]

The PMD series as a whole is one of my favorite game series of all time

[@randysterbentz5599]

Thank you for making this video! I played so much Rescue Team Blue when I was a kid, then kinda phased out of Pokemon in general. Just recently I got an emulation of Explorers of Sky and I am completely enjoying the nostalgia for the mechanics while playing with new Pokemon! I planned to find further games in the Mystery Dungeon series once I finished Sky, so I'm glad I have this video as a reference to figure out what to play next! I think one bummer about Sky is that you don't get to visit the Pokemon who join your team. That was one of my favorite parts of Blue: Unlocking all the lands for friendly Pokemon to live in and visit them. Especially visiting the legendaries in their unique environments. Either I'm missing where to find it, or something similar unlocks later on (I haven't completed the game entirely, only up to beating the Regis). Does this feature come back in the future games?

[@nayrx3202]

This series will always hold a big place in my heart man. Idk how someone could play blue/red rescue team and say the story is bad

[@ChrisAegrim]

I never knew they where that badly rated. I only played time/darkness tbf, but the story was great. And it was so emotional at times it just fucking broke me as a kid

[@glowing_clod969]

This and rangers hold a special place in my heart. Looking forward to playing my copy of the original rangers when it goes finally gets delivered.

[@redxd7108]

To me Explorers of sky and super and equals in the story department,but explorers of sky post game story(and general content)really puts it at the top

[@ChubuPeng]

sure the gameplay can be repetitive but i personally like it. i would spend forever just doing missions on the job board before even continuing on the main story line lol

[@FMeister94]

Gates to Infinity has a soft spot in my heart, twist villain done well, it’s focus the nihilism, the first md game that made good use of the two screens though my favourite Red/Blue Rescue Team as it was my introduction to the series.

[@Pine2142]

Great stuff as always mate loved it. Crazy how I agree with pretty much everything you said about the series. Even though my first time playing most of these games I was pretty young I still enjoy them on recent playthroughs despite seeing more problems throughout the games than back then. I hope you enjoy Sky it's a master piece! Also do you have a video planned for Trails to Azure? I remember you said you'd already played it in your video on Zero and the official localisation for Azure releases in a few days so it seems like good timing. Looking forward to whatever your next video is either way!