Nintendo has announced that the Game Boy Advance classic Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team will be coming to Nintendo Switch Online on August 9, 2024. This is a great excuse for those of us who never had a chance to play this spin-off series to dive in like it's launch day.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team was the last Pokémon game to be released for the Game Boy Advance. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team was its counterpart on the Nintendo DS, but the only differences outside of hardware were six exclusive Pokémon on each version. The game focuses on the turn-based combat elements of the series and pits you against groups of enemy Pokémon as you work your way through randomized dungeons, trying to complete jobs for clients and rescue those trapped inside.

A dungeon-crawling Pokémon adventure

Nintendo announced that Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team would be coming to Nintendo Switch Online with a post on Twitter. The post itself doesn't give us much to go on other than a release date, but you really don't need more than that with a game that came out between 2005 and 2007. Yes, it's retro enough that it had a staggered release date across various regions.

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, you're a human who is turned into one of sixteen Pokémon. Your transformation is determined by a personality test and other factors linked to the Pokémon you become, keeping every playthrough fresh.

Once you're a Pokémon, your job is to pick up jobs from a local board to delve into dungeons and complete jobs on behalf of clients. This includes locating items, rescuing people, and battling everything you encounter. What always intrigued me about this game and its DS counterpart is that you are a Pokémon who can converse with other Pokémon. It looks completely bonkers but is also really special because most Pokémon games leave you guessing as to what your Pokémon are saying.

Unless you have a modded Game Boy Advance or a retro handheld device with a decent screen, there haven't been any options for playing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team on anything close to modern hardware until now.

As I mentioned, I missed out on this game the first time around because I had moved on from Pokémon games and was playing strange DS titles like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Hotel Dusk: Room 215. I felt like I was missing out at the time, though, which is why I'll be loading up Nintendo Switch Online come launch day to jump in alongside other newcomers and returning fans alike.

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