Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is an exciting game for the Nintendo DS. It is an improved version of two earlier games called Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. This game was made by Chunsoft and brought to players by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo in 2009.

In this game, you play as a person who turns into a Pokémon and joins a team. Together, you explore big, changing mazes and have battles with other Pokémon. The battles happen by taking turns to use special moves.

When it came out, some people thought the game could have had better pictures, but many fans loved it. They especially liked the music and the story. Some even say it’s one of the best games in the whole Mystery Dungeon series and has become a favorite for many fans.

Gameplay

See also: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness § Gameplay

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, a player starts as a human who turns into a Pokémon, chosen by a test at the beginning. The game includes new starter Pokémon like Phanpy, Riolu, Shinx, Eevee, and Vulpix, though some are only for certain genders. Special items called lookalike items appear, which work differently from normal items.

New places like the Spinda Café let players make drinks, recycle items, and find new quests. After finishing the main story, more Pokémon from later games join in, such as both forms of Shaymin and the special form of Giratina. Players can also unlock music tracks to listen to during the game. The story has new side tales and special episodes where players control other characters like Bidoof and Wigglytuff.

Plot

See also: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness § Plot

The main story follows a similar path to earlier games, but there are special episodes and new content after the main story ends.

Long ago, Igglybuff, who later becomes Wigglytuff and leader of the guild, started his adventure by meeting Armaldo. He became very skilled at exploration, but Armaldo was later arrested, leaving behind a Defend Globe. Wigglytuff then meets a group of treasure hunters called Team Charm, made up of Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Medicham. They search for a treasure in the south and find it is a fake made by Ditto. The real treasure is a Time Gear seen in an earlier game’s title screen.

Later, Bidoof, a member of the Wigglytuff Guild, wishes to become a great explorer. He meets Jirachi, who grants his wish for a tutor, who becomes the player’s character and their partner. During the main story, Sunflora, a senior guild member, is asked to arrest a group led by Haunter.

When Primal Dialga becomes stronger, Dusknoir betrays Grovyle but is stopped by Dialga. Together with Celebi, they face Primal Dialga and are helped by the protagonists, who defeat it. The trio decides to stay and enjoy the renewed world.

After finishing the guild, the team finds a village of Shaymin near Sky Mountain. The mountain’s peak was polluted by Grimer and Muk, but the protagonists help clean it. Shaymin then purifies the area and changes form using the Gracidea flowers there.

Development

After the success of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, and with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series selling over 10 million copies by the end of 2008, Explorers of Sky was announced in Japan half a year after the release of Shiren the Wanderer 3 for the Wii.

The game was shown as a special version of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, with extra features like more Pokémon available from the start and special side stories for some characters called "Special Episodes." It was released in Japan on April 18, 2009, and later that year it came out in North America on October 12, in Europe on November 20, and in Australia on November 12. This game was the last time Nob Ogasawara worked as a translator for both the Pokémon and Mystery Dungeon games.

Release

Explorers of Sky came out in Japan and Taiwan on April 18, 2009. It was later released in North America on October 12, 2009, Australia on November 12, 2009, and Europe on November 20, 2009. The game was not planned for South Korea in 2009, even though earlier games had been released there. Later, it was made available again along with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan on July 20, 2016, North America on June 23, 2016, and the PAL region on August 18, 2016.

Reception

When Explorers of Sky came out in 2009, it got mixed reviews and scored 54 out of 100 on Metacritic. Later reviews were a bit better. The video game magazine Famitsu gave the game a special award, with writers giving it 35 points out of 40.

Fans have liked the game a lot since it came out. Many think it’s a classic and one of the best games in the series, enjoying its gameplay and story. In 2022, Shin-ichiro Tomie shared that he hadn’t heard from fans outside Japan but got letters from Japanese fans who loved the games. In 2018, one of the game’s composers, Arata Iiyoshi, wanted to release music from the first two games but couldn’t because of rights issues.

Some characters from this game appeared later in the Nintendo 3DS game, Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon.

By March 31, 2010, Explorers of Sky had sold 1.40 million copies, making the total for the three games over 5.90 million. Worldwide, the three games sold over 6.37 million copies. They are the best-selling games in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series and the Mystery Dungeon series, selling more than Squaresoft’s Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon and Enix’s Torneko: The Last Hope.

Anime tie-in

Further information: List of Pokémon special episodes § Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (2007-2009)

A special episode called Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Beyond Time & Darkness was first shown in Japan on April 12, 2009. It was part of a show called Pokémon Sunday.