April 10, 2025.[Spoilers ahead! Although, this game is 16 years old, so…]
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon – Explorers of Sky is a masterpiece.
I do not care that it is a children’s game. I do not care what if anyone says otherwise. PMD EOS is easily one of my favourite games, and it will continue to be so. I have re-played it once every year or two since I first played it (approximately 2010), and I expect I shall continue to do so. It is not said lightly that this game and its story have touched me more than perhaps any other game I have played. The below may not entirely make sense without having played the game – this is intentional. It is an outstanding game, and one I would ask any Pokémon fan to play at least once.
The plot is beautifully written, and the characters more so. You begin by taking a personality quiz which determines which Pokémon you will be for the rest of the game. As a child, I would google “PMD EOS Quiz” and always end up on the exact same GameFAQs page. Sometimes, I would repeat this quiz three or four times to be the Pokémon I wanted. As an adult, I find that I often answer the quiz honestly instead, shrugging and accepting whichever Pokémon it deems correct for my personality at the time. There is a certain freedom in not attempting to change the way it perceives you, one that I would not allow myself as a child.
Your partner begins as a timid, quiet, downright weak yet cheerful character. By the end, they are strong, independent, and brave, whilst still being wholly good, all thanks to a positive environment and a healthy support system. A few chapters in, you begin chasing your first “significant” villain. However, ultimately, you discover that he is your former best friend from the future, and is working to save the world, not end it. These two, your former best friend and your current partner, become unlikely allies and then friends also.
Not a single ‘side’ character feels lifeless. The stories of Wigglytuff and Chatot, the Guild members, every single member of Treasure Town, Spinda’s Café, the list could go on.
You learn about trust. You learn about grief. Grovyle was your brother before you gained your amnesia, and he becomes your brother once more. Too soon, then, do you learn you will lose him. Neither of you tell your partner until it is too late. Then, you lose yourself. You die. Your partner, who has just barely come to terms with the loss of Grovyle, has to lose you; their first friend, their confidant, someone they envisioned spending their entire life with. You are forced to watch as they leave Primal Tower, having just saved the world, sobbing over you. As they collapse on the ground, begging for you to return to them, saying they cannot do it without you.
This game taught me more about grief, more about love, more about life than…well, most things except actually experiencing grief and love and life.
When my Great Grandmother died, I played EOS. When my Great Grandfather followed her, a couple short years later (too short, far too short), I played EOS. When my Father died, I played EOS. This game is a comfort to me in a way few things have ever managed to be.
I will likely return to this shrine when I re-play the game – the new pieces will be dated. I always have more thoughts on this game, and yet I struggle to find what to say. How do you boil down such a meaningful experience into anything palatable? I’m unsure.
What I can say, is that you, whoever you are, should play Explorers of Sky. Whether you have played it before, or not. Whether you have played a single Pokémon game before, or not. It is worth the experience. It is worth your time, your care, your love. The developers clearly gave it all of those things.
Who was my favourite team?
