Parents' Guide to

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Fun, gratifying Pokémon tale in new adventure setting.

Game Nintendo 3DS 2015
Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Game: Screenshot #1
  • Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Game: Screenshot #2
  • Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 1 parent review

Holly R.
Holly R. Parent of 0-year-old
December 20, 2017
age 9+

Needs a higher positive message rating

This is the latest installment in the spin-off crossover series of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and it's one of the preachy ones. In this game you are turned into a Pokemon and must discover why you were turned into a Pokemon and also why Pokemon are mysteriously being turned into stone. A mild spoiler alert is that negative emotions are destroying the Pokemon world and in the end good triumphs over the negativity because even though you cannot rid the world of negative emotions like feeling doubt and anger and sadness, acknowledging that those emotions exist but not letting those feelings control you and have power over your life in a bad way, but instead growing and becoming positive about things is what saves the day. I would say that while the game is not my favorite in the spin-off series overall, it's still a very good game with a wonderful and much needed lesson about letting negative emotions control your actions and the value of friendship and never giving up. I love this game so much. In many ways the Mystery Dungeon spin-offs are far better than the main series games because they are story driven and teach a moral lesson while also having fun game play.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

POKÉMON SUPER MYSTERY DUNGEON is the latest in the best-selling Japanese role-playing game franchise and lets gamers play as fan favorites, including Pikachu and Riolu, who embark to discover a mysterious force that's turning Pokémon into stone. Though you can play as 20 different Pokémon, each with its own unique skills, all 720 Pokémon make an appearance in the game, allowing you to battle alongside both Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. Played from a top-down view, with many towns to visit, this game houses dozens of randomly generated dungeons, so no two games will play out exactly alike. As with previous Pokémon games, battles take place in classic turn-based style, plus there are many quests to find people or items and other challenges and collectibles.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

Though it doesn't mess with the formula that made its Mystery Dungeon predecessors so popular on Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, this role-playing game won't disappoint. Gamers should love the sheer number of Pokémon available, to find, talk with, work for, and battle alongside. Because of the huge cast and randomly generated maps, there's a lot of content to keep fans glued to the portable device. The turn-based combat is fun and challenging, with a variety of offensive and defensive plays to use up per turn to emerge victorious, and you can collect items to equip ahead of battles to help you in the heat of the fight.

A giant map called Connection Orb connects you with other Pokémon and shows you new quests to complete as you work through this large adventure. The 3-D effect for the game works well, and compliments the catchy music, but be aware there will likely be some frame-rate issues when you advance quickly through areas; at least the choppiness ends quickly. With its intense turn-based battles, huge cast of characters, and high replayability, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is highly recommended for fans of the franchise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violent content in Pokçmon Super Mystery Dungeon. What are your thoughts on using Pokemon for battle? Is it an OK way to resolve conflict? What might other options be?

  • Talk about branding and franchises. If you weren't interacting with and collecting recognizable Pokémon characters, but instead they were a group of random characters, would you still play the game? Did you want to play the game because it featured Pokémon? What makes them so popular and engaging?

Game Details

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