[Game Review/Comparison] Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky

Discussion in 'Pokémon Chat' started by Joeypals!!, Mar 16, 2016.

  1. Joeypals!!

    Joeypals!! Don't you worry 'bout a thing~

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    Before we get started, lemme make an obvious SPOILERS note here as well as state that my opinions are exactly that -- opinions. This post is to talk about my impressions of both Super Mystery Dungeon and Explorers of Sky, so anything I say about quality should be taken with a slight grain of salt because, again, my opinion. I will be breaking this post up into two parts. The first part will be a personal review of Super Mystery Dungeon, followed by a comparison to Explorers of Sky.

    PART 1: THE REVIEW *SPOILERS* (in case you didn't see it the first time)

    As far as the story goes, it does deviate a little bit from the norm in games past as to not repeat story-line, but it's nothing too out there at this point. The player starts off as a Pokemon, not knowing they're a Pokemon and having no recollection of their past life. They're quickly ambushed by a group of Beheeyem, before making an escape with a Nuzleaf. You eventually arrive back in Nuzleaf's town and enter the school (which takes four hours to get through... damn tutorials), and at the school you'll meet your partner who is labelled as the trouble child, although they really just have big dreams. You eventually leave to join an expedition society on the same continent, and after a little bit of build, the game's true plot comes in -- you're to save the world (though not stated blatantly until the legendary dogs come to help) from an evil entity, which is eventually revealed to be a substance known as Dark Matter (no not the Kirby villain), which is comprised of every negative emotion any Pokemon has ever felt... think everyone except Joy in Inside Out, but as an evil blob. Dark Matter's main goal is to turn every Pokemon into stone, which it seems to do almost specifically as three groups of Pokemon as shown to be perfectly fine on top of you and your partner (though you have an excuse due to the Harmony Scarf you wear) at the end of the main story. Eventually you win, Dark Matter is eradicated, someone disappears, yada yada yada. What I will give massive points to is how the game set it up so that your partner was a reincarnated Mew. Long story short, in the past you and your partner were a human and a Mew trying to destroy Dark Matter, but failed in doing so completely, so you set up all sorts of hints on top of wiping out both your memories so you wouldn't repeat the same mistake. I couldn't tell you why the partner Pokemon was the one that had to vanish at the end, since they belonged in the Pokemon world to begin with, but it was a nice change. The very short post-game story isn't anything to write home about, but basically you're trying to find a way to get your partner back, from finding Mew (who isn't your partner, but has the partner's essence inside of them) to trying to bail out this Mew, which ended up being a ruse so you could reaffirm your feelings that you wanted the partner back. Because of what I named my partner (insert high school love interest with which I had a really complicated story here), it ended up being tear-jerking as I'm not gonna lie, I really just want to be able to see them again and I don't even know if they're alive right now, let alone where they are in the world if they are. All I know is two words -- Air Force.

    With story down, let's talk about mechanics. The hunger system is back in full as is randomized dungeons and a full set of starters. Unfortunately, the gummi + IQ system is gone from Sky still, as well as Spinda's Cafe. From Gates to Infinity, house customization does not return as you live in the Expedition Society's center, not in a house. The one thing that does return from Gates? Probably its only good new mechanic of boosting moves more as you use them. As a first, the bulletin board is not in this game. Instead, you recruit Pokemon on top of doing missions from the Connection Orb, which will show you how specific Pokemon connect to each other and if one of these Pokemon needs help, you accept the mission. The more missions you do, the more connections you make, letting it avalanche until you connect each and every single Pokemon on a very expansive map. As noted, you recruit Pokemon via the Connection Orb, not via dungeons like in games past. As a result, you are only given one Pokemon per species... most of the time. There's a few instances where you recruit more than one of a species of Pokemon, such as (from the 25 hours I've played so far) Combee, the Unown (albeit it's one of each letter), Floatzel, and Venusaur. The Connection Orb's missions are pretty varied, from talking to a Pokemon in the overworld to talking to them in a dungeon, to fighting a squad of Pokemon to finding an item. It's just as varied as past games, and while the mission total is quite large, it is numbered nonetheless, whereas before it never stopped. The other main thing to mention mechanically is the Looplet + Emera system. Without making things too complicated, Looplets are the items your Pokemon will be holding during the entire game, and each Looplet can have different bonuses. For example, the Gold Looplet can be sold for more than most of them (500) while the Weather Looplet makes the wearer immune to weather conditions (so Sand, Hail, and Sun if you have Dry Skin). In every dungeon, Emera will be scattered around, each with different effects as well. One will help you find the stairs, one will recover your HP when you beat a Poke, one will restore your PP as you move up floors, one will allow you to hit twice, etc. If it's a mechanic, odds are there will be an Emera to boost it. The Emera is also the only way to Mega Evolve in this game, though you specifically need the Awakening Emera to do so. These Emera can either make or break you, as the Looplets have a limited number of spots, making planning all the more crucial. Also in terms of mechanics, the AI has gone up quite a bit, making the game that much more challenging over all. The opponent can and will hit you at all times. Your partner Pokemon (which is up to 3 total Pokes on an adventure this game, not 4 like in games past) will not wake up sleeping Pokemon. In general, the AI got a boost, making gameplay planning all that more crucial.

    Quick recap:
    +Looplet+Emera System
    +Unique enough story
    +Increased AI
    +Connection Orb System
    +Story ties up all loose ends
    -Limited, nonrandom missions
    -Sudden pace change in the story
    -Far too limited of a post-story

    Rating: 7/10 -- While it's not the best game in the series, it certainly does make full use of what it does have going for it.



    PART 2: Super Mystery Dungeon VS Explorers of Sky

    Explorers of Sky is often regarded as the very best game in the Mystery Dungeon series thus far, and for good reason. In this part of my post, I'll be comparing 5 key points in both games: Story, Post-Story, Mechanics, Depth, and Replayability.

    Round 1: Story

    I touched on Super Mystery Dungeon's story enough (stop the bad guy from turning things to stone!) so lemme briefly touch on Sky's story for those who haven't played the game. In a nutshell, you're a Pokemon who was once a human, without any other memories than once being a human, washed up on the side of the beach. You're soon discovered by your partner Pokemon, who's main goal is to join the Expedition Guild. After completing your first dungeon, which ends in a battle against the two grunts in Team Skull (Zubat and Koffing), you return to the partner's little nest area cliff-side over the ocean. From there, you two work very hard to get into the Expedition Guild, and eventually do. The main conflict of this story is that time is threatening to come to a complete standstill due to the theft of Time Gears, which keep time flowing everywhere. You eventually find the culprit, Grovyle, who actually turns out to be a good guy as these Time Gears are needed to be placed back at Temporal Tower, which they were removed from to begin with. The main bad guy, aside from Primal Dialga who gives out the orders (who has the best music, btw), is Dusknoir and his lackeys, the Sableye. Dusknoir masquerades as a good guy who came from the future who came back to try to stop Grovyle, while revealing Grovyle did as well. He eventually shows his true colors and drags both you and your partner into the bleak future, from which you have to escape from with the help of a Shiny Celebi. Eventually you defeat Dialga as his corruption is beginning, eventually restoring time to its proper placing. Also, YOOM-fucking-TAH, Wigglytuff runs a guild.

    Overall, Sky has the edge in terms of story. While Super Mystery Dungeon's truly is interesting, it takes its main plot twist (the Nuzleaf that took you in is a bad guy! (kinda... mind control)) straight from Sky (and Time/Darkness by extention), right down to the grass typing. The characters in Sky also had more of a feel to them as well in terms of depth, specifically the guild members and the bad guys. So, round one goes to Sky.

    (0) Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky (1)

    Round 2: Post-game

    The post-game of Super Mystery Dungeon was very very short, containing maybe 2 hours worth of play as well as three short dungeons to go through for the main part of it (there were filler days, ofc). Explorers of Sky's post-game? That shit was basically a second story. Darkrai is trying to envelop the world in a nightmare, which Palkia initially blames you for as space is being distorted due to your presence in the world to begin with (why can't Pokemon and humans co-exist??). Cresselia eventually rallies everyone to take it down, culminating in a giant showdown against Darkrai with assistance from an Aggron, Arbok, Mismagius, Magmortar, Magcargo, and Rhyperior. After this, the world is saved for a second time, and you're allowed to stay in this world via Palkia's consent. Simply for having more depth than "I really really want my partner back, and will do anything to do it), Sky easily takes this round. Did I mention that there's paralogues that dive into a bunch of the guild characters?

    (0) Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky (2)

    Round 3: Mechanics

    I feel like I touched on Super's enough, so to shine a bit of light on Explorers of Sky. Compared to Super Mystery Dungeon, Explorers of Sky is a bit bare-bones with a hand from the gummi system. While leveling up is surprisingly easier, you can't power up your moves, there is no Alliance system (which I didn't touch on, but basically you get to control your party's moves on top of ignoring resistances for the exchange of some hunger), and the AI is pretty well dumbed down in comparison. What Sky does have that Super doesn't have is infinite random missions, which is the very definition of what Mystery Dungeon games were prior to Super Mystery Dungeon. Due to it being more accessible as a result, as well as having its shining mechanic in-tact, Sky wins this round, though Super Mystery Dungeon gets major kudos for raising the bar in difficulty. To sum up this round, Sky can serve as a very loving introduction while Super Mystery Dungeon asks for more experienced gameplay.

    (0) Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky (3)

    Round 4
    : Depth

    This round is a bit tricky, because both games shine differently in terms of depth. In Super Mystery Dungeon, most of your depth is going to come from the mechanics of the game, which do take a while to learn, as well as possibly the story if you name your partner a very specific name that tugs at your heartstrings. As for Explorers of Sky, ironically enough considering Super Mystery Dungeon's Connection Orb, shines brighter with character depth, and how everyone interacts with everyone else. In Wigglytuff's Guild, you have Wigglytuff, who has a past of being a great explorer with the rest of Team Charm (Medicham, Lopunny, and Gardevoir). Then there's Chatot, a very loyal companion who means very well but is a bit of a hothead, being Wigglytuff's best friend and eventually treating you like Wigglytuff in tough situations. The rest of the crew (Sunflora, Chimecho, Diglett, Dugtrio, Corphish, Loudred, and Bidoof) all have pretty defined personalities with their own motivations and goals. Then there's the Expedition Society headed by Ampharos, which is almost as one-note as X's supporting cast. Ampharos has a very poor sense of direction, but is the strongest because... logic? Mawile is the brainiac that studies day and night for everyone. Jirachi is the astrologist who, you guessed it, sleeps... a lot. Speaking of doing something a lot, Swirlix makes Wigglytuff's love of Perfect Apples look like a joke, but is also the Steward for the Society so he gets in trouble sometimes for eating all the food. Dedenne is probably the most fleshed out of all the members, though hardly so. Dedenne is the communications personel for the society, who proves to be a very strong member herself. As for the other three members, Bunnelby, Buizel, and Archen, they're as one-note as can be. They're specified to explore certain regions, and that's it. I'd dive into the school friends, but even after the four hours I spent with them, the only one you really get a feel for is Espurr, who only gets that level of treatment due to her surprising level of involvement in the story. Oh, and she's hella creepy, so that's a plus. Even with all these supporting characters, you truly get a feel for Sky's characters. I'll give both games a point, as Super Mystery Dungeon far outshines in battle depth while Sky takes the cake in character depth.

    (1) Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky (4)

    Round 5: Replayability

    In an effort to save space at this point, Explorers of Sky easily takes the cake here. School sucks in general, having to sit through a four hour tutorial in a school setting in Super Mystery Dungeon bites... hard. Very, very hard.

    FINAL RESULT: (1) Super Mystery Dungeon vs Explorers of Sky (5)




    So there we go, that's my giant ass post about Super Mystery Dungeon. I recommend playing it personally as I do enjoy it as a game, it just doesn't compared to Explorers of Sky at the end of the day. Let me know what you think of both games down below, I'll see y'all on the server or tomorrow for another QOTD :)

    ~Joey