Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team [DS]

Poké Alone

Given the strong emphasis on multiplayer that past Pokémon RPGs have had, it seems strange that the concept is almost ignored in Mystery Dungeon. You can't link up for battles or trade Pokémon. You also can't link up to other Pokémon games to import or export the critters. About the most you can do is swap items and some rescue missions. There is, however, one extremely cool multiplayer feature that can help you avoid the "lose everything when you lose" rule. When your party faints, you can opt for a "Friend Rescue" instead of restarting. This will send an SOS to your friend's game. Assuming that they have access to the dungeon where you were defeated, they can retrace your steps in their cartridge and save your team. Upon receiving confirmation that they've done so, you'll be able to continue from where you left off with full health. If your friend is extremely cool, they might also send over a new Pokémon to help you finish the stage.

Nintendo is quick to point out that there are very few differences between Blue Rescue Team on DS and Red Rescue Team on GBA (the company even spells it out on the back of the box). If you have the option to get one or the other, the DS version is the way to go. The touch screen controls are kind of lame and feel tacked on, but the second screen comes in quite handy. Normally, the dungeon maps are superimposed over the action, but you can choose to have them (along with your party's health bars) appear on the top screen, which by default just displays your party's status. With the DS's wireless capabilities, you can also avoid having to deal with passwords when you want to play with the multiplayer bits.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team may not be a typical entry in the long-running series, but it's an interesting new direction for the franchise. Quite frankly, it's a nice change from a formula that has, admittedly, grown a bit stale over the years. It may confuse some and frustrate others, but its addictive nature should keep you hooked until you learn to appreciate the art of the dungeon crawl.

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