Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team

 DS
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 195 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 143 out of 195
  2. Mixed: 37 out of 195
  3. Negative: 15 out of 195
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  1. bknuryuu
    Nov 24, 2015
    7
    This game is decent. Not great, but not terrible.

    The gameplay is pretty repetitive, and fairly punishing. Not hard, but if you faint in a dungeon, you have to start over, which is really frustrating. It's a high price to pay for a misstep or errant twitch that pushes a button you didn't mean to. Doing the same process of "dungeon crawling" got pretty boring pretty quickly. It was fun    This game is decent. Not great, but not terrible.

    The gameplay is pretty repetitive, and fairly punishing. Not hard, but if you faint in a dungeon, you have to start over, which is really frustrating. It's a high price to pay for a misstep or errant twitch that pushes a button you didn't mean to. Doing the same process of "dungeon crawling" got pretty boring pretty quickly. It was fun for the first couple hours, but it didn't have me hooked.

    The music is nice. It's very Pokemon-esque, but it's a whole different kind of adventure-type music characteristic of the normal series. I felt sound effects were nailed on the head; hits and attacks felt pretty satisfying when they landed on an enemy, as well as using items.

    What really sold me was the story. The introduction and quiz really made me feel like the Pokemon I got was something based on my personality, making the protagonist someone I really got involved in. In the end, the story was what pushed me to get through the game. The repetition and grinding was almost worth it in the end thanks to the touching ending. It was an experience I'll never forget, and hit me harder than I expected. Kudos to the dev team for making such a heartwarming conclusion.

    7/10 overall. Gameplay is repetitive and punishing, but the story is definitely top notch.    … Expand
  2. VideoGameCritic
    Sep 24, 2013
    7
    The issue with this game isn't that its not fun, its not that its horrible in anyway but the issue is that its doesn't fell like a Pokemon game.Its an awesome dungeon crawl that has fantastic music and really good graphics but its far from a typical Pokemon game. The best part from this game is the end when you evolve not because I hate been in the first evolution but I really dislike thatThe issue with this game isn't that its not fun, its not that its horrible in anyway but the issue is that its doesn't fell like a Pokemon game.Its an awesome dungeon crawl that has fantastic music and really good graphics but its far from a typical Pokemon game. The best part from this game is the end when you evolve not because I hate been in the first evolution but I really dislike that I'm level 90 and a weak charmander. That's just me tho, I really do like this game its not bad at all. The reason that I gave it such an average score is because that its not really that amazing. The whole game is just ok not great not bad just a good game. Its like Pokemon pinball, the game is a really good time killer that you can play at a doctors office but to be honest I would never of played this game if I was not 11 when it came out. Regardless I still recommend look at this game and trying this out.… Expand
  3. Chammy
    Feb 2, 2013
    6
    The story is really nice and the game is fun. However the interminable dungeons become repetitive after a while and when you die and have to restart at the beginning it gets frustrating.
  4. Watermelon789
    Jun 15, 2011
    6
    Repetitive experience is found here, all you do is going to Dungeons that never change, making every level the same. The story is nice, and thats a high point in the game.
  5. Susano
    Aug 25, 2010
    6
    Though it offers much to please die-hard Pokemon fans, your much better off with the GBA version, as this didn't need to be on DS. Theres some nice sprite work here, and fairly satisfying dungeon crawling, but when it gets so boring so fast...youre going to run back to the superior games, that being the main series.
  6. CazC.
    Jun 22, 2007
    6
    Extremely cute and cuddly version of Pokemon where you become the actual pocket monster yourself. Pretty random and repetative at times but fun to complete and definately worth trying it out.
  7. srx
    May 2, 2021
    7
    Having replayed this a few years back after playing the other 3 entries, I realized that this game really falls short. That is not to say the game isn't great, but this game has by far the worst story in the series. It's linear and non-sensical, but is interesting and still moving. One of the biggest qualms I have with this game is how the partner pokemon turns into some random guildmateHaving replayed this a few years back after playing the other 3 entries, I realized that this game really falls short. That is not to say the game isn't great, but this game has by far the worst story in the series. It's linear and non-sensical, but is interesting and still moving. One of the biggest qualms I have with this game is how the partner pokemon turns into some random guildmate postgame. That's so lame. This game still has great gameplay, spritework, and soundtrack to warrant a solid 7/10.… Expand
  8. sebastianali
    Jul 6, 2019
    6
    El juego es increíblemente divertido, sin embargo es la misma version de GBA puesta en DS. Sin mejora grafica ni nada. Me atrevería a decir que incluso es peor, debido al mal esquema de controles y la poca utilización de la pantalla táctil, siendo prácticamente inútil. El no haber solucionado los errores de la version de GBA y trasladarla asi nomas le quita varios puntos.
  9. clem666
    May 28, 2021
    6
    'Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team' started on a strong basis: interesting mechanics, amazing story, the possibility to (eventually!) play as a Pokémon, fight and fraternize with other Pokémons, ... On the sketches there were terrific ideas. But sooner or later, you'll get over the "wow" effect, and you'll give up because the disillusionment is horribly hard to surpass.

    I would    'Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team' started on a strong basis: interesting mechanics, amazing story, the possibility to (eventually!) play as a Pokémon, fight and fraternize with other Pokémons, ... On the sketches there were terrific ideas. But sooner or later, you'll get over the "wow" effect, and you'll give up because the disillusionment is horribly hard to surpass.

    I would say the major flaw of this game is its infinite repetitiveness. Get a team, enter a dungeon, look for goals to achieve, succeed without any effort or get wasted for nothing, go home and repeat. Over and over. As I said I also hate the fact that dungeons can be really punitive. The percentage of success or failure depends too much on chance. If you walk on a bad trap, if you are hungry of if the person/Pokémon you have to save dies like a nothing, it's over. And god, AI is not that great in this game. Opponents can be really smart but once you hired them they become stupid as hell.

    From a certain point in your progression the next thing you will have to do is go on a journey for a dungeon long of something like 50 levels. And if you die for stupid things like the ones I described, it suddenly becomes the height of frustration. Conclusion: rage quit. I played it a lot when I was a kid and re-tried it to write this review but it seems that I have reached a point of insane difficulty. Too bad because the story looks really promising. I'll wonder forever if it exists a true end to this.    … Expand
  10. BellamySacir
    Nov 8, 2020
    7
    This game is the reason I love Mystery Dungeon so much! This is just pure nostalgia!
  11. Satsoku
    Jan 8, 2023
    7
    A solid game like any other in the Mystery Dungeon series. It is arguably a fun to play game if you are a fan of the genre. One issue I had to do with it was that the side quests are very similar and repetitive without giving good enough rewards, so you might want to skip them.

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Best DS Game of 2006
5
#5 Most Discussed DS Game of 2006
3
#3 Most Shared DS Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 34
  3. Negative: 5 out of 34
  1. Armchair Empire
    80
    Overall, it’s a satisfying Pokémon romp. The perspective is a little different but the addictive turn-based battles and exploration are in full effect and still lots of fun.
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  2. PGNx Media
    72
    Only the most diehard Pokemon fans should ever consider picking this game up. The gameplay isn’t especially interesting, the game makes poor use of the Nintendo DS hardware, and the presentation is seriously outdated.
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  3. Pocket Gamer UK
    50
    Compelling for a while, eventually Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team casts a powerful sleep spell over the toughest of pokéfans.
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