5/5 ★ – Govial_Jiraffe's review of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky.

One of my favorite DS games of all time. I had never played any Pokémon games before this, and I didn't really need to because the game, despite being a spinoff, stands on its own. It's got HOURS apon HOURS of play time in such a tiny cartridge, with a lengthy story, an epilogue, 5 side stories, along with so much replayability in the many randomly generated dungeons across the vast world, and even a minigame and plenty of characters to interact with. It's a game that really makes it feel like the world is alive and the characters are all so fun. The story is fittingly mysterious and it goes some interesting places. Also it was the first game to make me emotional, lol. I was young but still, that says something. The gameplay may be tedious for some, and I'll admit it's not my favorite thing on its own, but there is plenty of depth there to keep it engaging and I was usually playing to advance the story which was always rewarding. The difficulty curve feels satisfying too, starting super easy but getting pretty hard near the end, with more challenges to tackle afterwards. The music is also the best I've ever heard in ANY DS game, hands down, and it looks beautiful, too. It's a must play if you enjoy a good adventure and if you can get your hands on it. It's somehow both an exciting and comfy game at the same time.