Pokemon is one of the biggest franchises around, and as such there have been countless spin-offs from the mainline series. These spin-offs have taken many forms, but one of the most popular is the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, which brings the Pokemon world to the dungeon-crawling genre. It is one of the few Pokemon games that puts players in direct control of the large roster of pocket monsters, and it has amassed a decently sized fanbase over many entries.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has seen 11 different titles, but only eight of them released outside of Japan. The series was going strong during the DS era, and it got two new entries during the 3DS era. However, the Switch era has not seen many Mystery Dungeon titles beyond a remake of the original two titles in the series. In the age of remakes and remasters, the rest of the Mystery Dungeon series is just waiting for that treatment. If Nintendo does not deliver a brand-new entry in the series, it should at least continue the remake train.

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Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX Was a Great Addition

pokemon mystery dungeon box art

After Super Mystery Dungeon launched on 3DS in 2015, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series went on hiatus despite this title being well received by critics. In 2020, the series returned with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, which featured some brand-new mechanics that were not in the original game but was met with a mixed reception.

Like the mainline Pokemon series, Mystery Dungeon used to launch with two separate versions. Rescue Team DX took both Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team versions and remade them for today's hardware. Fans of the franchise were thrilled to see the return of this spin-off series, and it felt like that would mark the beginning of a new era. However, there has been no sign that another Mystery Dungeon title is on the way.

There very much could be a Mystery Dungeon title in the works that fans have not been made aware of yet, perhaps affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A brand-new game in the series could be even better than remakes of the original two, but remakes still should not stop. No matter what form the next chapter in the Mystery Dungeon series takes, there should be room for even more older titles to return.

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The Mystery Dungeon Series Needs More Remakes

pokemon mystery dungeon

Pokemon is no stranger to remakes given many of the mainline titles have been remade, and the Mystery Dungeon series should be no different. It puts a unique spin on the Pokemon formula by putting players in control of a Pokemon, tasked with exploring randomly generated dungeons. The roguelike and dungeon-crawler genres mesh well with the Pokemon concept, and it has become one of the most successful spin-off series to date. Remaking the original titles not only allows more people to experience this fun concept, but it also allows the series to stay alive while the next iteration is hopefully in development.

One of the big issues facing the industry right now is video game preservation, and the advancements in hardware make that difficult. So many games are left behind because there is no way to play them on modern hardware, and that is where remakes or remasters come into play. The only way people can play some of these older Mystery Dungeon games outside of emulation is tracking down copies of them with a working DS or 3DS. That can prove difficult as those consoles have been discontinued.

The first two Mystery Dungeon games have already been remade, so that means the 2007 entries should be next. Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness were the second games in the franchise, largely similar to the first entries, but with an expanded roster of Pokemon and a brand-new story. There was also a third version released in 2009 under the name Explorers of Sky that expanded upon the others.

After those two titles, there was the Japan-exclusive Adventure Team titles, which would be the perfect candidate for a remake. Remaking these entries would bring them to modern hardware with a much broader audience to experience them. They were the only entries to really change up the plot by removing the aspect of a human turning into a Pokemon, and were the first to appear on a home console. People outside of Japan can check out a fan-translated version, but an official version would be better.

The 3DS also saw some Mystery Dungeon titles that could benefit from a remake. Mystery Dungeon: Gates of Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon were very similar, also boasting expanded rosters and new stories. The dual-releases went away with these two entries, and they introduced 3D graphics to the series. The future of the Mystery Dungeon series is unknown, but it will hopefully contain more remakes. The majority of this series is unplayable unless people have original hardware, and a remake could fix that. It would also give Pokemon fans even more Mystery Dungeon to play, and that is not a bad thing.

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