In the Pokémon Direct presentation, The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo also unveiled Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX. The game revisits the classic Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, which were originally released in Europe in 2006. Now exclusively on Nintendo Switch systems and with updated visuals and a stunning picture-book art style, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX launches on March 6, 2020.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is set in a world inhabited only by Pokémon. When players first open their eyes, they see a Pokémon in front of them, and they can understand what it’s saying. Upon closer inspection, players will realize that they themselves have become a Pokémon. According to the Pokémon they meet, natural disasters have suddenly started occurring all over this world, causing all kinds of problems. Players and their partner Pokémon decide to form a rescue team to go help Pokémon that are in trouble.
Players will answer a few questions that appear at the beginning of the game to help determine which Pokémon they will be. Next, they will decide the Pokémon that will be their partner on this adventure. The main character and their partner can be chosen from 16 different Pokémon. Players will get job requests in various forms—like on the Bulletin Board at Pelipper Post Office or from letters that will be delivered to the mailbox at the player’s rescue team base. As players complete jobs, their rescue team’s rescue points will increase. When they collect enough points, their rescue team’s rank will go up. When they first form their rescue team, they’ll be Rookie Rank. Players can gain experience as a rescue team on their way to what all rescue teams aspire to—the Gold Rank.
In this world, Mystery Dungeons can be found in various places, such as mountains, canyons, forests, and more. Each time players enter a Mystery Dungeon, the layout is slightly different. They’ll need to adventure through these dungeons to complete the jobs they will receive requests for one after another.
Inside dungeons, players will find various useful items—such as Seeds, Berries, and TMs—which will help them on their adventure. As with the layout of the dungeons, the kinds of items and their locations will change each time players enter a dungeon. Players will need to use the right items at the right time to help out Pokémon that are in trouble.
Dungeons are inhabited by many Pokémon that will attack the main character. Inside dungeons, battles are turn-based, meaning that for each move you make, your opponents will also make a move. Since opponents won’t move unless the player moves in these turn-based battles, the player will have plenty of time to think about what their next move should be. If the player panics and presses a button or walks a bunch of steps carelessly, they could find themselves in a scrape they weren’t anticipating. Making decisions calmly and carefully considering how the opposing Pokémon are moving are the keys to successfully navigating a dungeon.
This title can be played in any mode on the Nintendo Switch—TV mode, tabletop mode, or handheld mode. In addition, the following features have been added that can assist players with controlling their Pokémon and progressing through the game, so even if it’s their first time, they can easily adventure through a dungeon.
- Auto mode: Starting with this title, an auto-mode feature has been added that lets players progress through their adventures more easily. By just pressing the L Button, the main character and their team will move efficiently. When a player approaches an enemy, auto mode will turn off automatically.
- Unleash moves automatically with the A Button: Ordinarily, the player would select from one of four moves to use on an enemy. When players aren’t sure which move to use, they can get the enemy right in front of them and press the A Button to automatically unleash the best move to use on that foe.
- Up to eight Pokémon can travel with you: When Trainers depart for a dungeon, they can have three members on their team as usual, but in this title, they can also add Pokémon they encounter as they go through dungeons to get up to eight teammates walking through a dungeon with them.
- Fainting in a dungeon: If a player is defeated in a dungeon, they can ask for other players to rescue them, or they can rescue themselves with another of their own rescue teams. Then they’ll be able to resume their adventure from where they fainted.
A demo version of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX will be available for download at no cost from Nintendo eShop. Aside from being able to play the early part of the story in this demo version, players will also be able to carry demo save data over to the full version when it releases on March 6, 2020. At the same time, fans can also preload Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX from Nintendo.
