Welcome... to the world of Pokémon!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a roguelike dungeon-crawler spinoff of the Pokémon series. all you really need to know -- all that really matters -- is that you get to play as a Pokémon. what more could you want?
the basic premise of the games is that you are a human who wakes up one day to discover that you've been turned into a Pokémon. remembering nothing other than that you used to be a human, you team up with a local Pokémon to uncover the mysteries of your transformation.
the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series is so beloved, because of how fucking good the games' plots are. to this day Explorers of Sky is considered one of, if not the best Pokémon game of all time (at least, by those who have played it! and if you haven't ... love yourself and play Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (2009) for the Nintendo DS). the games also feature a quirky sense of humour, an absolutely banging soundtrack, and -- in the case of the first two installments (Rescue Team and Explorers) -- some of the most gorgeous pixel art i've ever seen in a game.
i've grown up playing the PMD series -- they're the first game i ever truly fell in love with, and they've shaped me inextricably in more ways than i could even begin to list. they were my favourite games throughout my childhood and much of my teens, and though that title has since been claimed by Xenoblade Chronicles, PMD is still incredibly near and dear to my heart. it's no understatement to say i would not be the person i am today if it weren't for this series :'')
i own and have played the following: Blue Rescue Team, Explorers of Time, Explorers of Sky, Super Mystery Dungeon, and PMD: DX. while i whole-heartedly believe that Explorers of Sky is the best game in the series, Blue Rescue Team is probably my favourite. what can i say, i'm a sucker for nostalgia and internal character-focused plots :'')
while i've played through Rescue Team and Explorers countless times, with multiple different team comps, there's just something so special about your first-ever team that can't really be replaced... the following are my OG teams, who i still think on incredibly fondly (and occasionally revive for a fresh playthrough)
- Blue Rescue Team: Eva the Eevee and Chick the Chikorita of Team Evick
- Explorers of Time: Ciara the Skitty and Chica the Torchic of Team Chirika
- Explorers of Sky: Tanee the Torchic and Rory the Riolu of Team Tirade
the PMD personality quiz told me i was "naiive" when i was eight years old and i have spent every day of my life since proving it. Eevee is one of my favourite Pokémon, in large part because she was my player character in my very first PMD team.
