Pokemon Mystery Dungeon – Gates to Infinity

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon – Gates to Infinity is a role-playing game in the Pokémon franchise developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the ninth installment in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, and was released in Japan on November 23, 2012, in North America on March 24, 2013, in Europe on May 17, 2013 and in Australia on May 18, 2013.

Similar to the older Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games, the game starts with the player having a weird dream and waking as a Pokémon. Upon arrival, the player meets a partner Pokémon, who intends to construct a “Pokémon Paradise” near a settlement called Post Town. In the process of doing so, they befriend several Pokémon, including Dunsparce, Emolga, Virizion, Umbreon and Espeon.

Later on, the player meets Hydreigon who had featured in the player’s dreams. Initially believed to be a villain, Hydreigon reveals himself to be the physical embodiment of the Voice of Life, who brought the player and other humans into the Pokémon world to save it. Kyurem eventually confronts the player, the partner Pokémon and Hydreigon, who destroys Hydreigon and severely wounds the player to stop them from destroying the Bittercold – a presence created by the growing negative emotions of Pokémon which threatens to destroy the world, as he did with other human-turned Pokémon.

The game heavily features Pokémon from the Unova region, with Pikachu, Oshawott, Tepig, Snivy, and Axew being the starters of the game, with the “personality test” present in the Rescue Team and Explorers installments absent. The game has a 3D art style and makes use of the 3D capabilities of the 3DS. Instead of the usual 2D sprites, the game utilizes more complex 3D models, and also uses the 3DS’ camera and sensors for the players to find round objects and turn them into portals.

The portals, called Magnagates, hence the title of the game, need to be unlocked and act as gateways to new dungeons. The game’s hub area is titled Pokémon Paradise and contains many Pokémon that provide services built by the player. Gates to Infinity also features “augmented reality options”; by scanning objects in the “real world” additional dungeons may be unlocked. The game features both free and paid downloadable content, in the form of additional dungeons.