PJ Plays: Explorers of Sky [#1]

Welcome to a NEW running article feature of the site, “PJ Plays”.  I’ll be trying out pokemon side games from the past and present and writing about them as I play (instead of a review-style overview).  So join me as I tackle Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.  I’ve never played any of the previous Dungeon installments so even though this is the 5th game it’ll be an entirely new experience for me (a disclaimer because I can’t complain about how similar it was to the last games).  Even though I don’t have previous experience I do know a lot about the games since I’ve covered them from a news aspect.  Find the article after the break!

Starting Explorers of Sky you have to take a personality quiz which determines what pokemon you become in the game.  I answered these all very honestly and ended up getting the Green Ribbon and the ‘Brave’ personality rating which resulted in me being… a pikachu.  Luckily I am in tune with myself enough to know I am NOT a pikachu type of guy.  I am a grass pokemon at the very least.  Because I was unable to cope with being an electric rodent I had to look up a guide to get the result I wanted, turtwig.  That means, yes, the webmaster of this site is a borderline cheater.  Sorry.

After getting the result I wanted and choosing my partner, cyndaquil, I started in on the actual game.  Washing up on a beach with amnesia is hardly a new plot device and was kind of boring.  Cyndaquil seemed to be having some sort of trouble in front of a scary looking Wigglytuff shaped building and then discovered me lying on the sand (I was near death… exhausted and dehydrated I probably would have died had he not come along).  Soon after waking me up I encountered the first two villains of the game… Koffing and Zubat, who were out to steal cyndaquil’s prized possession (a piece of rock).  This led to the first “dungeon” I got to explore after agreeing to help the poor fire pokemon.

Inside the dungeon I was amazed that this was a DS game.  The screenshots of the game didn’t do justice to the absolute blandness of the 2D backgrounds.  It is all so empty and walking around felt like a chore (certainly didn’t feel like “exploring”).  The new type of battle system was pretty easy to get used to, but the top screen being used for some control instructions seems like some major wasted space.  I think that may be temporary for this tutorial area though.

One question that did occur to me however was “Why are all these pokemon here gunning for me?”.  In the main series of games it’s generally accepted that if a human is going to walk through an area with wild pokemon in it a few might jump out.  The games and anime generally paint a picture full of harmony though when pokemon are alone together.  Not in this world apparently as I was chased around the dungeon by a few shellos, kabuto, and others.

After beating the dungeon I agreed to form a team with cyndaquil and we’re now known as “Team Minions” (in honor of all my minions here).  I ended my first play session when I went to sleep in what looked like big bird’s nest.  The gameplay hasn’t engaged me yet, but I’ve already made up my mind to get through the game no matter what.  Wish me luck!

<3 pokejungle