Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness

 DS
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 116 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 95 out of 116
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 116
  3. Negative: 7 out of 116
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  1. DoctorPazuzu
    May 7, 2012
    10
    Call me insane, but I'm starting to prefer this simple spin off over the already great original series.
    Why the premise and dialogue is adorably cheesy, there's a rather smart and mature story behind it all, which is something Pokemon needs more of. I found myself deeply caring for the characters and plot, which is rare in my case, especially in a kids game. The gameplay could use work,    Call me insane, but I'm starting to prefer this simple spin off over the already great original series.
    Why the premise and dialogue is adorably cheesy, there's a rather smart and mature story behind it all, which is something Pokemon needs more of. I found myself deeply caring for the characters and plot, which is rare in my case, especially in a kids game. The gameplay could use work, but overall I enjoyed almost everything about this game, a truly underrated title, now if only the 3rd in the series will be in 3d, (and please none of that rumble blast engine crap please.)    … Expand
  2. Jamison12
    Jun 18, 2013
    10
    With this game, Mystery Dungeon puts all other Pokemon spin offs to shame. Mystery Dungeon is improved with more pokemon to play as, larger team space, and an even better plot!
  3. blackabe111
    Jun 30, 2014
    10
    Graphics: Very nice graphics (Going by me... Considering it on a DS graphics are very good and I just happen to love the 2D are style )
    Difficult: It tends to be very hard at some points but still very fun
    Game play: The only thing I did not like is how you had to open a menu and choose attack and then choose which attack... It took very long... But besides that this is a very fun game    Graphics: Very nice graphics (Going by me... Considering it on a DS graphics are very good and I just happen to love the 2D are style )
    Difficult: It tends to be very hard at some points but still very fun
    Game play: The only thing I did not like is how you had to open a menu and choose attack and then choose which attack... It took very long... But besides that this is a very fun game
    Story: Very sad, Great story
    Music: Very very good sound tracks    … Expand
  4. obi12323
    Jun 25, 2020
    10
    Play this game. The characters are lovable and relatable, the music is flawless, the story will make you cry, and the gameplay is so much fun. Could not recommend this game enough.
  5. Krossbone
    Nov 25, 2020
    10
    Has an even better storyline than the mainline Pokemon series, and has just as much depth in combat. Biggest difference is take out the turn-based combat of the main series and give it a top-down perspective. The randomly-generated dungeons make every traversal unique and give the game vast replayability. And even better, practically the entire Pokedex is in this game! (Unlike some modernHas an even better storyline than the mainline Pokemon series, and has just as much depth in combat. Biggest difference is take out the turn-based combat of the main series and give it a top-down perspective. The randomly-generated dungeons make every traversal unique and give the game vast replayability. And even better, practically the entire Pokedex is in this game! (Unlike some modern main series games I refuse to name...)

    Don't listen to the critics on this. This game is a masterpiece of Pokemon, and totally worth your time.    … Expand
  6. DivineStorm
    Jul 10, 2008
    7
    Its a fun game and has a deep storyline and more pokemon from diamond and pearl in it. It also has many dungeons and you can recruit legendary pokemon in some of the dungeons if you are lucky that is. But there are also downsides: You can't roam in town with other pokemon like in red and blue recue team, you also can't swich from leader like in red and blue rescue team which is Its a fun game and has a deep storyline and more pokemon from diamond and pearl in it. It also has many dungeons and you can recruit legendary pokemon in some of the dungeons if you are lucky that is. But there are also downsides: You can't roam in town with other pokemon like in red and blue recue team, you also can't swich from leader like in red and blue rescue team which is sometimes frustrating and there is not much you can do after you completed the game besides recruiting legendaries and stuff I personally think red/blue rescue team and explorers of time/darkness are evenly matched.… Expand
  7. Charmander456
    Apr 2, 2014
    10
    This games is absolutely beautiful. The graphics are excellent, the dialogue is BEAUTIFULLY written and it was a very great experience. The partner was the greatest part. He cares about you more than anything in the world, a true friend. This was my first DS Pokemon game,so I know exactly what I'm saying. Check this game out, don't judge it unfairly. You need to judge not just games, butThis games is absolutely beautiful. The graphics are excellent, the dialogue is BEAUTIFULLY written and it was a very great experience. The partner was the greatest part. He cares about you more than anything in the world, a true friend. This was my first DS Pokemon game,so I know exactly what I'm saying. Check this game out, don't judge it unfairly. You need to judge not just games, but experiences and what an experience this game is.… Expand
  8. RobertTheGreat
    Apr 26, 2018
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This Spin Off Of The Pokemon Series Was A Big Success For Me! I Know It Has The Same Story As Explorers Of Time, But Explorers Of Darkness Is Different Because Of Version Exclusive Pokemon. I Played As Lucario And My Partner Was Charizard Because I Used Action Replay. I Was Like Level 100 When I Went Through The Epilogue Story. It Is Such A Great Game!… Expand
  9. dibdom
    Mar 14, 2017
    8
    Graphics - 8
    Music - 10
    Story - 10
    Gameplay - 8
    Content - 10
    Personal Fun - 8
    Difficulty - 6 .
  10. Shierzhi
    Jul 10, 2011
    6
    Interesting storyline overall, but dated graphics and weird mechanics. Don't play this if you are looking for something that feels like the original games, as it's more of a dungeon crawler. Also the A.I. from your allies will make you cry.
  11. JoeS.
    May 10, 2008
    4
    This is a very poor game with the Pokemon name slapped on it to sell it. The game play is very repetitive, the environments consist of boxes that come in three different shades of brown, and there are only a handful of animations for the moves/attacks. The moves are completely unbalanced, the items do virtually nothing, and all too often you will lose everything anyway. Avoid this Pokemon This is a very poor game with the Pokemon name slapped on it to sell it. The game play is very repetitive, the environments consist of boxes that come in three different shades of brown, and there are only a handful of animations for the moves/attacks. The moves are completely unbalanced, the items do virtually nothing, and all too often you will lose everything anyway. Avoid this Pokemon game, because its not Pokemon.… Expand
  12. Susano
    Aug 25, 2010
    5
    It gets three of that 5 for the pretty good storyline, and some excellent music. Aside from that though, it's a boring game, but will at least last you through the main story, with little replay value beyond that. Very likeable at first, but after completion the dungeon crawling wears thin.
  13. Watermelon789
    Jun 15, 2011
    5
    Nothing new is here, is just a copy,paste from the previous ones , only putting the new pokemons(old by now,because of black and white version) so thats it.
  14. imoviesreview
    Aug 19, 2016
    8
    Like the first game I have not beaten this game yet, but got somewhere to do a review on it. Like the first it has a really good story. However, the story is also the same thing at start. I know the game get's more interesting as you go on, but it mostly the same. The story is still good to say the least. The gameplay is a different story. The gameplay is almost the same as the first game.Like the first game I have not beaten this game yet, but got somewhere to do a review on it. Like the first it has a really good story. However, the story is also the same thing at start. I know the game get's more interesting as you go on, but it mostly the same. The story is still good to say the least. The gameplay is a different story. The gameplay is almost the same as the first game. All of the problems still remain. Some mini games where added here, but they do not really add anything too the game. The only real thing added to the game is that added outlaw missions; where, the dungeon ends with a boss fight. however, the game is still fun through. The game looks better then the first game with more detail. The music is a step up and sounds up to date; however, the music itself is just ok. There are a few good tracks here and there at least. Overall as a sequel it fails as it improves little over the first game. As a game itself it's great. However, if you don't like see the same thing in a sequel I would not suggest paying a lot for this game or just not play it at all.… Expand
  15. Vataro
    Mar 30, 2015
    10
    Eigentlich sollte die Aussage "Unendlicher Pokemonspaß" schon reichen ... Der Soundtrack war legendär und die Möglichkeiten riesig . Ein Langzeitspaß sonderesgleichen ;)
  16. MeowMew
    Nov 4, 2015
    10
    With Mystery Dungeon Games, this makes ALL other Pokemon games look terrible.
    The AI feels like a true person and friend.
    The dungeons vary in hardness and some are optional.
    I don't understand why this is rated low, it should get 10 from everyone.
    I can't even find bugs in this or something to pick at!
  17. Marmite
    Jun 29, 2017
    10
    This is one of the best game series I've ever played.
    Every Pokémon fan probably wanted at some point to play/be a Pokémon, so this is the game to live this craving.
    Story: This is as deep and complex as it could get for it's target audience, the story is one of the best stories (for me more like the best) you could play through. It stars very calm but builds up good tension, as you    This is one of the best game series I've ever played.
    Every Pokémon fan probably wanted at some point to play/be a Pokémon, so this is the game to live this craving.

    Story:
    This is as deep and complex as it could get for it's target audience, the story is one of the best stories (for me more like the best) you could play through. It stars very calm but builds up good tension, as you proceed the story you will encounter some quite severe plot twists which aren't as expected as it would be able to tell but there still are hints hidden to foresee some of the future happenings. The humor of the game is also great (exactly my taste) and always get me to at least crack a bright smile. But as bright as the humor so dark will it go down the emotional spectrum fury, fear, anger, sadness. It will get your feelings down but they will come back up even brighter every time. (That is how every game should achieve it)
    -short summary:
    It is a stormy night thunder is roaring the storm was so heavy that you were separated from your
    partner. As you wake up you lost your memory of everything but your name, but a helpful Pokémon tries to get you back up. A group of Pokémon steals his special stone (Relic Fragment), so you team up to get his Stone back. Afterwards you group up as a Rescue Team at the local Rescue Guild to help other Pokémon and reveal the secret of his "Relic Fragment", as the time starts to stop in some regions your Guild is going to investigate the reason behind the sudden stop of time. So you and your partner go on an unforgettable journey which is bonding both stronger together as you go along.
    -----

    Game play:

    The game play is quite simple, it is a turn based dungeon crawler with random generated dungeons.
    If you move, attack or use an item one turn goes over your enemies move/attack and allover again.
    Your moves are mostly known from the main series with some special mystery dungeon exclusive moves, which exist to give a bit more variation of the AoE.
    Like in its predecessor you won't evolve if you hit the level your Pokémon would evolve normally so it gets a bit harder to the end of the main story.
    If you or your partner goes K.O. you will be ported out of the dungeon but you will lose all the money you carry with you (You could store it at the bank) and half of your items.
    The way you earn points for your rescue rank, items, money and some secret things is the known job system: you search a job of the info board and either rescue, escort, search/bring an item to a Pokémon. But you could also hunt villains (bad Pokémon mostly thieves and -organized- criminality) to boost your rank and make the world a safer place.

    The game play is quite repetitive, yes, but you are rewarded by the amazing story an the tension it builds up so it wont fall into the weight much, I loved it nevertheless.
    -----
    Music:

    The Soundtrack of this game is amazing it pretty much doubles the intensity of the story so that in combination with the wonderfully written story it was until today the only game that made me cry, which is impressive because not even Life is Strange could get me to it even though it would not be a shame to do but it just quite couldn't.
    The Music is fitting for every scene it has all flavors for every situation and it is so well sounding that I almost listen to some of the songs on a daily basis.
    ------
    So if you like Pokémon you should definitely play this game.
    If you want to experience a nice story and you don't mind experiencing it in the Pokémon World, you should definitely play this game.

    The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series is my favorite game series and it has the best right to be, because every title I played told me a great story of which this game had the best.
    -----
    Final Thoughts

    Only negative point is that I was never able to get everything done in the game because I wanted to replay the main and after story too much and even after the like 15th play-through it is still a brilliant game best 40€ my parents could have invested for me. Nowadays I would be willed to pay even more for this totally underrated masterpiece. (seriously why were "Critics" such dicks about this game they clearly did not seem to play the actual game just reviewing and weighting aspects of the game to fit in their rating scheme but don't watch the game as a whole, which makes me very sad about it)

    I might be a huge fan and virtually blind but the game gives you enough reasons to become a fan.    … Expand
  18. kiank
    Jan 17, 2018
    10
    Explorers of darkness was my first mystery dungeon and by far the best. It was such a fun and cute story and I loved the characters and team. It got hard at times but I loved the challenges and the dungeons were so fun!
  19. brendo214
    May 22, 2019
    9
    Explorers of Darkness has a surprisingly amazing story. The gameplay is pretty nice too. Who would've thought a Pokemon roguelike would be this good?
  20. MrGreenBanana
    Jun 11, 2018
    10
    I'm surprised how underrated this game is. It's the best game I have ever played. The story is just beautiful. The characters all have their own unique personalities, and several are expanded on in the special edition, Explorers of Sky. The graphics (not something I really care about) are really nice for something out of 2008 on the DS. The gameplay is way more fun and entertaining than itI'm surprised how underrated this game is. It's the best game I have ever played. The story is just beautiful. The characters all have their own unique personalities, and several are expanded on in the special edition, Explorers of Sky. The graphics (not something I really care about) are really nice for something out of 2008 on the DS. The gameplay is way more fun and entertaining than it should be. Overall, I cannot recommend this game enough. It's just amazing. 10/10… Expand
  21. TommyAlan
    Sep 24, 2018
    8
    bought this game on a off chance ive got a friend who loves pokemon so i got it to see if i like it and its a very good game could be more varied but apart from that a great game
  22. Deay39
    Nov 3, 2018
    10
    This game is absolutely gorgeous in every single part of it. I can't say that much more.
  23. ND-Bringer
    May 21, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm surprised to realize how intellectual this game is. Its jam packed with great writing, even in the post game. And like a good adventure, the further you go the better it gets. Looking back at my progress, Team Endeavor is breezing through challenges that I originally struggled with while playing through this game during my Sophomore year. With a good strategy, it feels like you're on top of the world after clearing a long dungeon. And while this game has several luck-based mechanics, unlike Yo-Kai Watch...there mainly luck based rewards not challenges. Obtaining rare Pokemon or items isn't required to beat the main story. While Yo-Kai Watch may have better graphics, Mystery Dungeon's developers have put just as much care into their own game mechanics & variety. Like using a Gone Pebble makes the inflicted look back at sad memories & they may get the Endure Status if they fight back there tears! That's both touching & hilarious. The whole level stops for a moment just to monologue these kind of events. But even with fun stuff like this, you can't get cocky & speed through the game. It's really important to train your team at the dojo every once & a while, obtain proper equipment, food, weapons, medicine, orbs, cash for Kecleon shops, & create carefully planned move sets. This is a spin-off game, of course some moves are going to have different effects for the better or worse. My personal favorite are the typeless moves Wide-Slash & Vacuum-Cut, perfect for covering weaknesses. Be prepared these dungeons are full of traps that are cable of any kind of irritation. Those PP-0 Traps are the scary as hell. This game has a really good story, but it's important to remember what's necessary in order to progress properly. A newbie player is most likely to rush though the game after getting adrenaline from easily completing a few levels. But if you don't take time to slow down, you're most likely to flip out the moment you get KO'd by a nearby Special Attack sniper. You can't just rush in a dungeon and run away from every single foe, you need that EXP in order to stand up to those bosses. It's easy to get upset with these games when things aren't going your way. Some random bird Pokemon gobbled up your Reviver Seeds? GROW UP! You can always buy more. If your stuck at a certain checkpoint, see if you can head back to town, take the PATH that U-turns back to that check point for training, or use an Escape Orb to add items & cash to your storage using the power of the Kangaskhan Rock. Of course if some levels are taking hours to complete, this game may not be for you. Whenever I found a tough or even terrifying level, I immediately would abandon the game when I was little, because the difficulty in these spin-offs sets it apart from the core series. And that's what I really like about these games, reseting the game and replaying the story helps you really grow as a person. There's several different starter Pokemon to choose from, making each experience feel different. I love uncovering new secrets with each revisit while leading a team mad up of my favorite Pokemon. That's what I dislike about most modern Pokemon games, with rare Pokemon being even more tedious to obtain & difficulty that makes PokePark look challenging, many new players are going to end whining all day long about not being able to defeat the champion, while forgetting the fact that you can simply keep powering-up & healing a single Pokemon over & over again, to sweep though an entire team! Mystery Dungeon is the opposite, decision making is more important than ever & you can use a variety of tactics to get your team out of a jam. And by raising your IQ and stats with common Gummis, you can reach new levels of power & learn all sorts of techniques that can also be turned off just in case they're ineffective against certain foes. Sometimes, the best solution is to just stop & think. Like you Pokemon's increasing intelligence, it feels like these games in particular really help your brain grow. And let's not forget about the theme. In the core series anime, I really enjoyed those quiet scenes of Ash & his friends camping out at night as well as seeing them exploring all sorts of harsh environments. Explorers captures that theme perfectly, especially with the Expedition chapters! With cities in walking distance in the core-series, PMD games actually handle that journey theme better, with levels that separate you from the hub area for a while. I guess my only nitpick in this game is that normally an antagonist team is featured on the covers of classic PMD games. And on Darkness, there's a Gabite, a Steelix, & a Houndoom in the background. What are they? Minor enemy Pokemon! Gabite is a secret boss in an extra mission though. While some days this game feels irritating with every floor packed with dead ends, it's still a solid series. I consider it one of the greatest spin-off Pokemon games with the huge story content & the wonderful level themes.… Expand
  24. Zu343
    Jan 10, 2022
    10
    One of the best games ever with Exploers of Time/Sky. The Story is very great.

Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Most Discussed DS Game of 2008
8
#8 Most Shared DS Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 27
  3. Negative: 5 out of 27
  1. Cheat Code Central
    76
    A complex and challenging dungeon crawler that has a lot to offer. Even though the dungeon crawling aspect is very repetitive, the connectivity features, the vast number and variety of Pokemon, Wonder Mail, hours of gameplay, difficulty, etc. makes this pure kiddy-crack!
    Read full review
  2. IGN
    65
    It’s a dated game design that’s been recycled out of an underwhelming original game from a year ago.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpy
    80
    If you've wanted to play Rogue-like games in the past, but found them to be a bit too unforgiving, this is an exceedingly good alternative to look into.
    Read full review
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