Series guide
All Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games in order
Mystery Dungeon is the odd one out in the Pokémon family, and the one people grow most attached to: you do not catch anything — you are a Pokémon, exploring dungeons with a team. There are eight releases, two of them paired versions of the same game, so six stories in total. Below they are in release order, with the Nintendo platforms marked, because those are the cartridges we stock and test.
The short answer
Red / Blue Rescue Team (2006) → Explorers of Time / Darkness (2008) → Explorers of Sky (2009) → Gates to Infinity (2013) → Super Mystery Dungeon (2016) → Rescue Team DX (2020). The stories stand alone, so you can start anywhere — if you pick one, pick Explorers of Sky.
Every Mystery Dungeon game in order
The number is the generation of the series, not the order to play in. Two entries with the same number are two versions of the same game — just like Red and Blue in the main series.
| # | Game | Platform | Year (EU) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team | Game Boy Advance | 2006 |
| 1 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team | Nintendo DS | 2006 |
| 2 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time | Nintendo DS | 2008 |
| 2 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness | Nintendo DS | 2008 |
| 3 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky | Nintendo DS | 2009 |
| 4 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity | Nintendo 3DS | 2013 |
| 5 | Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon | Nintendo 3DS | 2016 |
| 6 | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX | Nintendo Switch | 2020 |
Do you have to play them in order?
No. Every entry has its own story, its own world and its own cast; nothing carries over. Start with whichever runs on the console you have. The only real choice you face is within a pair — Time or Darkness, Red or Blue — and that comes down to platform and a few exclusive Pokémon.
What makes a Mystery Dungeon game different
You start as a human who wakes up one day as a Pokémon — which one, a short personality quiz at the start decides. With a partner you found a rescue team and head into dungeons whose layout changes every visit. Combat is turn-based, but not like the main series: every step you take, every Pokémon on the floor takes one too. Stand still and nothing happens. Faint in a dungeon and you lose items and money — which is exactly what makes a deep run tense. If you want the main series explained first, read all Pokémon games in order.
Buying Mystery Dungeon second-hand
Explorers of Sky is the one to get — and the one that costs more
Time and Darkness are two versions of the same game; Sky came a year later as the expanded edition, with extra starters, extra dungeons and the Special Episodes. It is also rarer, so it sells for more. If you mainly want to play the story, Time or Darkness is the cheaper way in.
Red or Blue Rescue Team: the console decides
Same story, a handful of exclusive Pokémon each. Red is the Game Boy Advance version, Blue is the Nintendo DS version and uses the second screen for the map. On modern hardware, Rescue Team DX on Switch retells that first game with a new look.
Gates to Infinity divides opinion; Super does not
Gates to Infinity looks good and its story is fine, but the roster of Pokémon you meet is small. Super Mystery Dungeon fixes exactly that — every Pokémon from the first six generations is playable and recruitable — and it is the 3DS entry that comes closest to the DS classics.
No save battery to worry about
Mystery Dungeon saves to the cartridge’s own memory, not to a battery like the classic main-series games do for their clock. What matters is that the cartridge is genuine and the save works — we test both on every copy: boot, save, reload.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, saving, reloading, label, contacts — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested Pokémon gamesQuestions we get asked
Do I need to play the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games in order?
No. Each game has its own story, its own world and its own cast; there is no continuous storyline. Start with the entry that runs on the console you own.
Which Mystery Dungeon game is the best to start with?
Explorers of Sky (Nintendo DS) if you want the best story — it contains everything from Explorers of Time and Darkness plus extra chapters. If you want to play on modern hardware, Rescue Team DX on Switch is the entry point.
What is the difference between Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness?
Only which Pokémon you encounter and can recruit. The story is identical in both versions. If you own both, you can connect and trade.
Which Mystery Dungeon games are on the Nintendo DS?
Blue Rescue Team (2006), Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness (2008) and Explorers of Sky (2009). All four also play on a DS Lite, DSi, 3DS and 2DS.
What is the difference between Red and Blue Rescue Team?
The platform and a handful of exclusive Pokémon. Red Rescue Team is for the Game Boy Advance, Blue Rescue Team for the Nintendo DS — the latter uses the second screen for the map.
Can a Mystery Dungeon game lose its save because of a dead battery?
No. These games save to the cartridge memory itself. A dead battery is a concern for the classic main-series Pokémon games and their clock features, not for Mystery Dungeon.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the European release; Japan and North America were sometimes earlier. Deze gids in het Nederlands.
