The Skinny:

• Developed by Chunsoft
• Published by Nintendo of America
• Nintendo DS and DSi-exclusive RPG game
• Singleplayer Mode
• 2-Player Local Cart Wireless Mode
• Unique Content via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Estimated sticker price at launch: $34.99
• Release Date: October 12, 2009

It’s been barely six months since the American release of the last Pokemon game, Pokemon Platinum, to handhelds everywhere. While our pals overseas in Japan got their hands on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky earlier than us as usual, there is a whole lot to the game that will make it worth the wait for Pokemon fans.

The title is a dead giveaway that this is a companion game to Explorers of Darkness and Explorers of Time, and much like we’d expect from the last in the pecking order, this one packs the most fun per dollar. There are no immense changes to the main story and gameplay of the series. You pick up the DS and play as a Pokemon, which is selected for you as a result of a quiz taken at the start of the game. In your adventure, you team up with another Pokemon to go explore and ultimately save the day. If you’ve played either of the previous two aforementioned titles, you are playing almost the same game again here. Almost.

While the main story is relatively untouched in Explorers of Sky, it has been fleshed out a little more to feature new chapters and missions available only on this version. Celebrity appearances of new Pokemon are also promised in the game, including the enigmatic Giratina and Shaymin from Pokemon Platinum. All in all, an impressive head count of 490 Pokemon species are on this A-list. Additionally, players are sorted among a larger array of Pokemon at the game’s starting quiz; among these new additions is beloved little Eevee. If that’s not enough to tickle your fancy, new missions will become available at the main title screen throughout the game. These missions, titled as “Special Episodes,” will allow you to play as a Pokemon different from your starter in an alternate storyline.

On par with ever-evolving technology are Explorers of Sky’s multiplayer and online options. Sharing is caring as always in Pokemon games, and here the case is no different than it has been in the past. Trade items with your buddies among all three versions of the Mystery Dungeon series as well as send them demo versions of dungeons. If nobody’s around, log on to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection when you grow weary of being a Pokemon and poke around. Using a wireless high-speed connection, tap into exclusive new missions and save friends on your DS or DSi.

Catch it all in a no-nonsense review on SFX-360.com if you want to know a bit more. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky comes out October 12, 2009.