Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness - Review

Pokemon games sell a lot of copies. A lot of copies. It’s hard to deny this when every new addition to the series is released alongside a nearly identical version, and both games top the charts for weeks. This sales phenomenon continues to get more and more stupefying with the success of each set of sequels, which are almost indistinguishable from their predecessors.

All of this repetition is sure to make even the most diehard Pokefan anxious for something new, which is why it is so refreshing to see these pocket-monsters starring in spin-offs. This is especially true when the spin-offs are actually fun, unfortunately, in the case of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness, the game is only slightly refreshing.

The main purpose of the game is to give fans of the franchise a new way to play with their favorite character, and it succeeds at doing so. It is great to see the Pokemon in a new setting (some more than others…who really cares about some of the newer additions like Croagunk and Corphish?), and it is fun to be able to directly control a Pokemon rather than its cookie-cutter trainer. While the concept behind the game is swell, the actual game is less successful.

The gameplay is split into two locations. The first is within Treasure Town, the central-hub where most of the game’s forgettable story is told. While in city limits, players can use their time to purchase items, choose their teammates, and receive jobs to be completed in the second location: the dungeons.

Dungeons are where the majority of the game plays out. Players will travel through multi-level caves and gain experience by fighting wild Pokemon. These battles will be foreign to those used to the combat in the regular Pokemon games. Rather than having random encounters and separate battle-scenes, fighting Pokemon in the Mystery Dungeon games takes place in an almost real-time fashion with enemies that are visible outside of fights. Though characters still take turns attacking or using items, the actual skirmishes happen much faster than in traditional RPGs.

This system has its advantages and its drawbacks. On the plus side, taking the time to partake in battles to increase your experience is a much faster task and is less likely to become a chore than it is in traditional Pokemon games. Unfortunately, this method only allows control over the main character, leaving all actions of the supporting crew up to the computer. This lack of control can be nice on unimportant battles, but the computer is more likely than not to make some bad decisions during struggles with more difficult enemies.

Also, in an attempt to make the battles flow better, attacks are mapped to button commands rather than through menus. However, there is only room for one of the character’s four special attacks in the control scheme, so menu access is necessary quite often. The menus are a little too difficult to manage for simple tasks that would ordinarily be done efficiently. To perform the average task of choosing an attack that is not assigned, a player must enter four different menu pages. There were times when I chose to ignore my fight strategy and just use the assigned attack, rather than go through all that trouble.

In a game that is fun to play through, however, these complaints about the fighting mechanics can be overlooked. Unfortunately, the dungeons aren’t terribly fun to experience.

All of the game’s dungeons are randomly generated. This is generally thought of as a great way to keep players interested in levels after playing through them. Since the terrain is created on the spot by the computer, the experience of exploring a cave is never the same twice. The problem with this system, however, is that it prevents the developers from creating worlds that are worth exploring at all. With no interesting environmental sights or puzzles, the emphasis of playing through the game is put back onto the flawed battles.

Obviously, there is a lot to complain about with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness. Of course, some people do appreciate what randomly generated dungeons add to a game. These people will definitely find some worthwhile content in this title. There are also the people that will buy anything that has a Pikachu in it. These people will find even more to like about this game. However, those who have only a passing interest in RPGs or Pokemon should check out Pokemon Diamond or Pearl instead. It’s not like it will hurt Nintendo at all; the game is still going to sell a ton of copies.

Score: 6/10

Nintendo's Forgotten Gems

ELECTROPLANKTON (DS)

Electroplankton might seem like an odd choice for a Forgotten Gems article. For one, it was released in 2006, which is much more recent than other games that have been, or will be, covered in this series. Second, it’s not really a game. Sure it plays in your handheld video game system, but it was created by interactive media artist Toshio Iwai as a piece of interactive art. However, the title has already been forgotten by the vast majority of the gaming community, and it is definitely a gem, so I figured its inclusion in the series would be appropriate.

Every part of this non-game is open from the outset, allowing players to experiment with the software however they see fit. Players are given the choice of 10 different musical experiments, each with unique Electroplankton that respond differently to different types of interactions.

For instance, Tracy is one creature that will continuously follow a line drawn by the player. The sounds emitted from the Tracy will differ depending on the directions of the line and the speed at which it is drawn. Another creature, Rec-Rec, allows players to use the microphone to record four short sound-bites which are put on a continuous loop. Beatboxers are sure to get the most out of this particular Electroplankton.

Of the remaining eight stages, Nintendo enthusiasts are sure to be most enthralled by the NES inspired Beatnes. While playing on this stage, players are encouraged to tap different parts of the Beatnes to recreate sounds from Super Mario Bros. while music from a variety of Nintendo games plays.

So why has this creative work already become a forgotten gem? A lot of it has to do with Nintendo’s distribution decisions for the software. The only store that ever carried it was the Nintendo World Store. Unless you lived in, or planned to travel to, New York, your purchasing options were limited to those of the online variety.

Also, timing was an issue for the title. It preceded the non-game craze spurred by Brain Age by a few months, which is unfortunate considering the appeal the title could have had within the expanded audience crowd.

Nintendo did honor the software and its fans recently by including a level based on the game in the widely-purchased Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The small percentage of gamers that actually know what Electroplankton is where pleased by this homage, while the majority of smashers let out a collective “huh?”

Nintendo Fan Network brings Gamers and Jocks Closer Together

Baseball fans in the Pacific Northwest now have a use for their Nintendo DS besides rescuing princesses and lowering the age of their brain. The Nintendo Fan Network has been available for download at Safeco Field since last season, but this season, the service is being offered for free for the first time, and will include many new features.

The main purpose of the service is to give DS owners the ability to track team and player stats and view updated scores from MLB games around the country. Fans stuck in the nosebleed section can get a better view of the action by watching the in-stadium television feed of the game on their handheld.

Other content on the service includes trivia competitions and chat-rooms for fans in the ballpark. Plus, it includes the ultimate feature for lazy people: the ability to order food and have it delivered to your seat.

As a fan of both baseball and Nintendo, I would be very interested in seeing this system adopted in stadiums throughout the nation. It would be great to have something to keep me occupied during slow innings, and may even give fans a reason to stay to the end of a particularly brutal team-beating.

Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that the Nintendo Fan Network will expand. The system was implemented at Safeco Field due to Nintendo’s ownership of the Mariners. Unless the features are a huge success and draw demands from baseball fans from coast-to-coast, it is likely that Seattle residents will be the only ones lucky enough to combine these two pastimes.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village - Review

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Since the beginning stages of creating this blog, the plan was to have a review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl ready by this date. It seemed like the perfect fit to launch a website in honor of Nintendo by featuring the game that is looking to be a love-letter to Nintendo fans. Unfortunately, the last minute pushback of Brawl’s release date changed that plan.

While it’s gamer nature to lament the delay of such a high-profile game, I decided to make the best of a bad situation. Luckily, a kindly professor was there to lend a helping hand.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is definitely a unique game. At its core, it is a collection of brainteasers. Anyone who has ever flipped through a book of riddles is sure to be familiar with the fare presented here. For instance, in one puzzle you are given the task of determining which one of four children is lying, based solely on one statement from each person. But while using deductive reasoning and wit to solve puzzles is a fun way to pass a few minutes every once in a while, Professor Layton has actually found a way to make these activities exciting in a way I never thought possible.

Obviously, the game’s story and presentation are a big part of Professor Layton’s appeal. The brainteasers are placed between a well developed mystery, which has the professor, and his apprentice Luke, attempting to explore an odd town to find clues to help find a hidden treasure. The old-fashioned detective story is kick started with an impressive animated movie, and more of these films are spread throughout the game, rewarding the player for their progression through the story.

Seeing the mystery through to the end is enticing enough, but there is more to Professor Layton’s allure than just the tale it tells. The game’s ending can be seen after completing a little more than half of the puzzles, but most players will be anxious to seek out every brainteaser that they can. This is because finding and solving puzzles feels more like working toward completing a collection than solving a problem.

One of the mini-games the player can partake in is a jigsaw puzzle that can only be completed by collecting every piece of the puzzle; pieces that are only awarded to the player by completing certain brainteasers. Other collectibles include mechanical pieces that can be used to rebuild a mystery item and furniture items that can be used to furnish the character’s room. These rewards had me anxiously talking to every character and searching every area of the village in the hopes of finding all the brainteasers. This lent Professor Layton an addicting quality that makes it feels a lot like the original Pokemon game (and considering there are 150 brainteasers hidden throughout the game, this comparison seems quite appropriate).

If there is anything negative to be said about Professor Layton and the Curious Village, it is that most people are going to have difficulty solving a good portion of the puzzles.
The developers did a fairly good job at solving this issue, however. Astute players will be able to find a limited number of hint coins hidden throughout the village. When you get stuck, you can always use this specialty currency to purchase hints. This is a much better alternative to simply using an online-walkthrough to solve the problems, but it still feels rather cheap at times, especially when you are forced to get help on four or five consecutive brainteasers.

Overall, Professor Layton is a surprisingly fun game that offers an experience that cannot be found anywhere else. It may not be a blockbuster like Smash Bros. Brawl, but it is certainly a rewarding game that will appeal to both casual and hardcore game players.

Score: 9/10