Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is the third version of the second story in the series, after Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness. Developed by Chunsoft, it was released in Europe on 20 November 2009 for the Nintendo DS. Here is its fact sheet.
| Japanese title | Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon : Sora no Tankentai |
|---|---|
| English title | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky |
| Platform | Nintendo DS |
| Release in Japan | 18 April 2009 |
| Release in North America | 12 October 2009 |
| Release in Australia | 12 November 2009 |
| Release in Europe | 20 November 2009 |
| Wii U Virtual Console | 18 August 2016 in Europe |
| Developer | Chunsoft |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Genre | Role-playing game, dungeon crawler |
| Players | 1 (rescue and trading with several players) |
| Generation | Fourth |
| Starter Pokémon | 19 for the hero, 21 in total with Meowth and Munchlax, reserved for the partner |
A third version
Explorers of Sky reuses the story, map and characters of Explorers of Time and Darkness, released in Europe on 4 July 2008. It adds starter Pokémon, Special Episodes, dungeons and features, following the model of the third versions of the main games, such as Pokémon Platinum. The details are on our Changes Compared with Time and Darkness page, and the guide to the original version is at our Mystery Dungeon 2 guide.
New features at a glance
- Five new starter Pokémon: Vulpix, Eevee, Phanpy, Shinx and Riolu. See Starter Pokémon.
- Five Special Episodes, in which you play other characters. See Special Episodes.
- New dungeons: Sky Peak, starting from Shaymin Village, and Destiny Tower.
- Spinda’s Café, with Spinda’s Juice Bar and the Item Exchange.
- Four new ranks, up to the Guildmaster rank at 100,000 points.
- A brand-new introduction, chapters illustrated with artwork and the Sky Jukebox.
Reception and re-release
When it came out, the game was well received by players: it topped the sales charts in Japan. Our 2009 review gave it 15 out of 20. On 18 August 2016, Nintendo re-released it on the Wii U Virtual Console in Europe, at €9.99, on the same day as Pokémon Snap. The Wii U eShop closed in March 2023, so it is no longer possible to buy it digitally.
The manual
The French manual has the reference NTR-C2SP-FRA.
