Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is the second entry in the Mystery Dungeon series on Nintendo 3DS, after Gates to Infinity. Developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Nintendo, it came out in Europe on 19 February 2016, five months after Japan. Here is its fact sheet.
| Japanese title | Pokémon Chō Fushigi no Dungeon |
|---|---|
| English title | Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon |
| Platform | Nintendo 3DS |
| Announcement | 21 May 2015, in Famitsu magazine |
| Japan release | 17 September 2015 |
| North America release | 20 November 2015 |
| Europe release | 19 February 2016 |
| Australia release | 20 February 2016 |
| Developer | Spike Chunsoft |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Genre | Role-playing game, dungeon crawler |
| Players | 1 |
| Pokémon | 720 species, all those known at the time except Volcanion |
| Starter Pokémon | 20: the starters of the first six generations, Pikachu and Riolu |
New features
- The whole sixth generation: 720 Pokémon can be encountered, from Bulbasaur to Hoopa. Only Volcanion is missing. The Fairy type makes its debut in the series.
- The return of the personality quiz, dropped by Gates to Infinity. The game suggests a Pokémon, but you can refuse it and pick from the twenty on offer. See Starter Pokémon.
- The Connection Orb, a map of the relationships between Pokémon that replaces random recruitment. See Connection Orb and Recruitment.
- Mega Evolutions and Primal Reversions, a first for the series.
- Looplets and Emeras, which partly replace IQ skills; an Emera triggers Transcendence mode.
- Branches, new throwable items that hit the target even when it is not lined up.
- Link Moves, which combine the team’s moves.
- The return of hunger in every dungeon, and the ability to push an ally one square, at the cost of its hunger gauge.
- The Mind Control status condition: a sleeping Pokémon hit by another sleep move acts at random for one turn.
- Several continents linked by Lapras Voyages.
The details of these mechanics are on our Dungeons and Mechanics page.
Development
Announced by Famitsu on 21 May 2015, the game was presented ten days later in a Japanese Nintendo Direct, then shown by Nintendo Treehouse during E3 2015. It came out in Japan on 17 September 2015. Europe had to wait until 19 February 2016, a few days before the main series’ twentieth anniversary. A Nintendo 3DS theme and a New 3DS faceplate accompanied the Japanese release.
Updates
The only notable update, version 1.0 published on 30 August 2017, disables CineMeowth. This feature let you watch promotional videos at the Meowth Theater. Since the Nintendo 3DS eShop closed in March 2023, the game can no longer be bought digitally. Copies already downloaded remain playable. See also the FAQ.
In the series
Super Mystery Dungeon is the last original entry in the series before the remake Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, released on Nintendo Switch in 2020. It borrows elements from across the series: the personality quiz of the first games, and nods to the teams of Rescue Team and Explorers, visible on the connection map.
