Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon - Nintendo 3DS Standard Edition

I currently have over 70 hours with this game and I still have a lot of content to play through. In short, this is the best Pokemon Mystery Dungeon of the series, it improves on Gates of Infinity in almost every way, and is one of the best 3DS games released in 2015. Get it!To start with specifics, the beginning of the story does drag on. You'll probably spend 3-5 hours in basically tutorial mode. Honestly, to me it made it hard to start the game. However, it quickly picks up when it stops holding your hand. The story develops in a way that makes you feel good for the progress you and your partner make through the story, helped greatly by your partners enthusiasm and the supporting cast of pokemon.As you'll discover over your first few boss battles, the difficulty level tends to jump dramatically at climactic points in the story. This isn't a problem, though, due to many mechanics introduced in this game. Emeras give you a lot of beneficial effects, such as status immunity and attacking twice in a row. Wands, new in this game, also provide many beneficial effects, from warps and guides to make traversing dungeons easier, to status effects that become essential for taking on bosses. There are also alliance attacks, letting all your pokemon attack at the same time, so you can make quick work of tough pokemon and bosses. These mechanics make boss battles more interesting, in terms of tactics and feeling of accomplishment.Emeras also have a bonus as being a sensible way of introducing mega evolutions. All 720 pokemon are in this game, and that includes all possible mega evolutions. If you don't know from Pokemon X/Y/OR/AS, the latest generation of pokemon games introduced the mega evolution mechanic. You give a pokemon a mega stone in those games and the mega stone reacts to your bracelet to mega evolve a pokemon. In Super Mystery Dungeon, the emera looplets are the bracelets and special emeras function as mega stones allowing your pokemon to mega evolve. Like in the main games, mega evolution makes your pokemon way more powerful, and also goes away after a while or after leaving a dungeon. The mega evolution emeras are rare, but they add that extra bit of enjoyment of controlling mega pokemon. As an added bonus, pokemon who can't mega evolve get special bonuses from the same emeras.There are several other improvements over Gates of Infinity that make Super Mystery Dungeon greatly superior. Menus are simplified. Rescue teams return in this game, allowing you to pick a team to go through the same dungeon where your main team fainted and rescue them. You can also use street pass as you could with Gates of Infinity. The Connection Orb looks great in 3D and gives you a GUI to view expeditions and pokemon you've recruited to your team. The recruitment method is different, having you complete tasks or talk to pokemon in towns to recruit them, as opposed to beating them in dungeons, but I feel this makes it much better to recruit pokemon. The element of chance is not there anymore, but for rare pokemon you will still have tough expeditions or really tough boss fights before they join you. The game also adds "motivated" pokemon. It picks pokemon from among all the ones you recruited, makes a team (you can now have several pre-saved teams), and gives those pokemon triple experience (for being motivated). This makes it so playing through dungeons isn't so repetitive, as you can try different pokemon all the time without having to go through your entire list and picking them. Super Mystery Dungeon does have less cinematic action sequences than Gates of Infinity, but the ones that are in are of better quality in my opinion. The way recruitment, expeditions, and the addition of a completion percentage and corresponding rewards work make for a very addicting post game.All in all, if you are a fan of pokemon, looking for a good 3DS game, or have played all games in the series and wondering how Super Mystery Dungeon stacks up, pick this game up. It is a very fun game, more so than Gates of Infinity and among the most fun games of 2015 on the 3DS. I've played Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games since the GBA and I will say Super Mystery Dungeon really is the definitive Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (as it says on the box). Get this game and, in the true spirit of pokemon, go and catch em all!

I have played many Pokémon titles since the beginning of the series. It has been truly inspiring to see the evolution across devices in terms of graphics and game-play. Super Mystery Dungeon is the icing on the cake for your 3DS system. It can truly showcase the graphical capability of your system. From the popping imagery of sliding your 3D depth slider, it creates a gaming experience unlike any other. The plot in this game is very deep, connecting and engaging with you the player. This game is enjoyable in both short and long bursts of play. Every dungeon you explore in the game is randomized and unexpected. This increases the replay ability of the game. As you progress through the game, you can select from every single Pokémon known to all. Of course you must complete a vast array of missions, to be able to encounter future companions. Something to watch out for is the game can randomly become more difficult for even the most experienced of players. With the added QR and password functions, you can ask for assistance online, and have someone rescue you even while away from the game. Super Mystery Dungeon takes advantage of every aspect your 3DS comes with. From scanning rescue QR codes with your camera, enjoying a more immersive experience by turning on the 3D visuals, there is nothing this game lacks. It’s a title that’ll hook you right in from the beginning, and keep its’ grasp onto you. It’s a game that moves to your pace. You can rush through the story, but the game revolves all around you and your choices. The music tracks throughout the game compliment the areas you traverse respectfully and beautifully. I strongly recommend you play the game with good quality headphones. Severally tracks have perfectly timed bass boosts, that’ll treat you to the best audio experience of your gaming life! This is a game that really trains your brain to think over your strategies, for every turn and bend may be the end or a new beginning of treasure waiting for you. So, will you join the Expedition Society and solve the mystery of why Pokémon are being turned to stone?