Common Sense Media Review
By David Chapman
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Spin-off remake is cute, but easy and repetitive.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
What's It About?
POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: RESCUE TEAM DX is an enhanced remake of the classic Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team. You begin your adventure waking up in a new world, with no memory of your past or how you got there. Stranger still, you've somehow been transformed into a Pokémon, with the ability to understand and communicate with other Pokémon. Around the same time as your mysterious transformation, this world is rocked by a series of natural disasters. This leads to the formation of rescue teams, which are groups of Pokémon that work together to as a unit to investigate the source of the disasters while saving other innocent Pokémon that may be lost or trapped in the destruction. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, you form a rescue team, starting your quest to solve the mystery of your past and uncover the possible link between your transformation and the fate of this world.
Is It Any Good?
While this spin-off of the Pokemon franchise is fun, it's repetitive, simplistic play keeps it from being loads of fun. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a remake of the original games. The originals rode the wave of Pokémania back in 2006, with spin-off titles for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS. This game features enhanced graphics and sounds, extra content, and new features. While it accomplishes what it set out to do, Mystery Dungeon gets carried away with trying to make itself more accessible. Players can just hold down the L button to automatically navigate through the random dungeons, and when in combat, simply press the A button to automatically select the most effective attacks. Although it's purely optional to make use of these features, it's still hard not to feel like the game could just about play itself, with the player's only real purpose being to hold down a couple of buttons.
From a presentation standpoint, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX pulls out all the stops. The updated visuals manage to stay true to the original game, but with color and detail that pops on the screen. Combine that with the original story, and you genuinely feel like you're a part of the Pokémon community. Unfortunately, the gameplay's repetitive and formulaic. Although the dungeons for each mission are randomly generated, there's a limited number of mission types and goals. It's not long before you start to get a sense of déjà vu. Couple that with the automatic navigation and combat, and it won't be long before you find yourself just going through the motions.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about friendship and teamwork. What are some behaviors that can encourage positive interactions with others? What are some ways that working together with others can help to overcome obstacles, both in games and in the real world?
What's the appeal of revisiting games from the past? How important is it to try and improve on a classic experience?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Nintendo
- Release date : March 6, 2020
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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