Pokemon Mystery Dungeon-Explorers of Sky: Final thoughts

After roughly 19 hours of play, I am finally done with Explorers of Sky. I didn't fully explore the vast postgame territory as I initially planned, quitting instead in the early stages of Zero Isle. Although my postgame endeavours had started well with a quick and nice exploration of Mystifying Forest, things got rougher as I started progressing through the North part of Zero Isle. Traps were overabundant, ennemies were powerful and, cherry on top of the tediousness cake, I was not gaining levels anymore. After 15 floors, I also started suspecting that Zero Isle would be a ridiculously huge dungeon; a quick research on the internet confirmed that hunch, which turned out to be the proverbial last straw that prompted me to stop playing. I don't want my warm feelings about that game to be spoiled by a frustrating trudge through punishing dungeons, so I'll wisely abstain from clearing the rest of the postgame content altogether.

I'll abstain all the more so as I already had my share of fun while clearing the main game. I certainly got much more enjoyment out of Explorers of Sky than I had bargained for: I initially only wanted to get over my grudge and give another chance to the DS instalments of the series, yet I ended up loving Explorers of Sky even more than Gates to Infinity. Here's a list of all the features that made this game so pleasant to me:

—The story was excellent and told in a very convincing way. From the mundane beginnings to the unexpected plot twist, followed by the sudden discovery of higher stakes and crowned by a sweet emotional ending, the pacing was pitch-perfect. Talking about the emotional ending, I shed a tear or two while witnessing it, and I'd wager that I'm not the only one. Cutscenes were a precious few and judiciously dispatched while avoiding dialogue overdose, making for a pleasantly compact and streamlined storytelling that never treaded on the gameplay's territory.

 —The crawling was pure pleasure thanks to a winning combination of good dungeon design, lovely graphics and stellar music. Although the dungeon design of Explorers of Sky cannot be described as truly clever or excellent because of its randomized nature, it was still quite palatable: dungeons sported a reasonable size, with an average floor size that gave room for exploration without being overwhelming and a decent number of floors, and many dungeon layouts displayed patterns that could be used to streamline the crawling. The graphics were definitely finer than in Blue Rescue Team, with a abundance of exquisite details that made every dungeon unique. Last but not least, the crawling was crowned by a stellar soundtrack comprised of dozens of beautiful and complex themes that caressed the ear without ever becoming irritating.

—Spinda's Juice Bar, a.k.a. Drinking with benefits. This was the single most awesome feature of Explorers of Sky, as it offered the possibility to raise stats without level-grinding. Just give Spinda all the gummies you put your paws on, and voilà! IQ increase for you, as well an extra point of Attack, Defense, Sp. Attack or Sp. Defense for each Gummi drink polished off. Even better, maps of extra dungeons can be found occasionally at the bottom of your empty glass; that's a lame explaination allright, but the outcome is certainly fantastic. I found two such maps, namely of dungeons called Serenity River and Lush Prairie; I obviously explored them, and was rewarded by a couple of boxes full of items on the last floor. All this awesomeness made me completely addicted to Spinda's Juice Bar, and it was not long before I found myself frenetically collecting Gummies in dungeons and buying all the ones available in Kecleon shop before drinking them all at Spinda's—rinse and repeat. Thanks to that juice abuse, I became massively overleveled and didn't encounter any difficulty during the boss fights—including the last one, which I wrapped up in a couple of turns. Juices are a Pokemon's best friend!

—The overall atmosphere was really lovely and soothing. I love mellow games that are welcoming to the player and make them feel at home, and Explorers of Sky was exactly that. This kind of sweet atmosphere was what I initially expected to find in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series and failed to feel in Blue Rescue Team, so I'm glad I could feel it in Explorers of Sky. The settings were so enchanting that I even felt a bout of that gaming fernweh I already mentioned in my post about Astonishia Story: I wanted to be there, to explore that world myself instead of gazing at it on my DS screen.

And since I'm mentioning my DS screen, I can also say that Explorers of Sky reignited my love for the Nintendo DS and reminded me how much I actually fancy that system and its special brand of gaming. DS games have a visual style, a sound, an overall atmosphere that are unique and instantly recognizable and that I absolutely adore. I have somehow deserted my DSi these last months to concentrate on my Vita, but I feel now that it is time to lavish some love on it again. I have literally dozens of DS games to play yet, and I could use some positive Nintendo-related experiences after my recent disappointments with the 3ds. So until my next DS game, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!