Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

Overview

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team are a matched pair of Pokémon video games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, respectively. The games were developed by Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. Red Rescue Team was the last Pokémon game released for the Game Boy Advance. The two versions are mostly identical, with Blue Rescue Team taking advantage of the dual-screen features and increased graphical and sound capabilities of the Nintendo DS. The game has six Pokémon exclusive to each version. Mystery Dungeon differs from the mainline games in that the player character is a Pokémon rather than a trainer.

Similar to the other Mystery Dungeon titles, the roguelike gameplay revolves around randomly changing dungeons which need to be explored by the player and their partner Pokémon using turn-based moves. The story focuses on the player who has been turned into a Pokémon and has developed amnesia who later joins a rescue team with a partner Pokémon while finding out who they are. As of July 25, 2007, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team had sold 3.08 million copies worldwide. Two sequels, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, were released in Japan on September 13, 2007, and in North America on April 20, 2008. They featured Generation IV Pokémon, improved Wi-Fi features, and more touchscreen options.

The games received mixed reviews, with praise for their originality, while their gameplay and visuals were criticized. By 2007, the two games had accumulated lifetime sales of over 5.25 million copies. Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team were released on the European Wii U Virtual Console on February 11, 2016 and on the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console on March 23, 2016. They were released on the North American Wii U Virtual Console on June 23, 2016. Later, Red Rescue Team was re-released for the Nintendo Classics service on August 9, 2024.

Official trailer

Game intro. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team gameplay, Talon. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Role-playing (RPG), Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure

Developer

Chunsoft

Publisher

Nintendo

Series

Pokémon

Platforms

Wii U, Game Boy Advance

Age rating

ESRB E

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

ESRB

E

PEGI

3

CERO

A

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Space and patches

Update patchNo patch

DLC

No DLC. Game Boy Advance games had no downloadable content.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single player only, with no online features. The cartridge runs on any Game Boy Advance, and the game is on Nintendo Switch Online.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Game Boy Advance	67	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
Famitsu	35	40
IGN	6.5	10
GameSpot	5.2	10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	7.2	10
Nintendo Power	80	100

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Developer	Chunsoft
Publishers	The Pokémon Company, Nintendo
Director	Seiichiro Nagahata
Producers	Koichi Nakamura, Hiroaki Tsuru, Atsushi Sugimoto, Kunimi Kawamura, Hitoshi Yamagami
Designers	Hiroshi Nakamura, Fujimi O-nishi, Yoshihito Takaishi
Programmer	Masayasu Yamamoto
Artist	Fuyuhiko Koizumi
Writers	Shin-ichiro Tomie, Emiko Tanaka
Composers	Arata Iiyoshi, Atsuhiro Ishizuna

Notes for collectors

• You wake up as a Pokémon with no memory of being human and join a rescue team with a partner.
• Released alongside Blue Rescue Team on the Nintendo DS; the two share the same adventure.
• The two versions sold over 5.25 million copies by 2007.
• Remade for Switch in 2020 as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX.

Credits

Publisher

Nintendo

Developer

Chunsoft

Director

Seiichiro Nagahata

Released

2005-11-17

Age rating

ESRB E

Region

US