The Venusaur, Poliwrath and Espeon...is that a reference to Red's manga team?! Love that!! Also I can never look at Rampardos the same way ever again, I love how Mystery Dungeon does that. People who only play the main games would not understand why a Pokémon like, say, Armaldo would make us emotional.
Mustery dungeon is the perfect series to make us like unusual pokemon that we normally wouldnt like that much I actually never got to play myself any Mistery dungeon trough its entirety, but i had always tought how good of an idea is an adventure exclusive to talking pokemon, and with that i got inspired to DM a Mistery Dungeon Tabletop Rpg with my friends, and... it did wonders to our understanding and appreciation to unnusual pokemon. I never saw players hate so much a Chien Pao, never saw them love so much a Raichu, and seeing such specific player pokemon grow older, stronger and wiser is really cool. Pokemon Mistery dungeon is simply a genius idea lmao
Bro Rampardos was an absolute meance. What an amazing character fr. Diglett angering Darkrai was also really funny. Overall this was so well written its crazy, even simple stuff like Rampardos's Mold Breaker freeing it from Diglett's Arena Trap totally makes sense!
Ramparbos was such a good antagonist. i mean wow, a tragic story with carnage and drama needed without being too edgy. You could something about the portraits used in the cutscenes but oh my god all of them were so cool and the love for Rampardos as an antagonist, making him an actual threat and until the very end very relevant to the story. Also what a perfect fall from grace story being told not only by the dialogue but from the gameplay! The only reason I could not believe a pokemon game like this could exist is because of brutality depicted. 10/10 I will try play it alone.
Thanks for this awesome review! Means the world to me, hope you guys enjoy this approach on these amazing characters' past ❤❤❤ Edit: The sequel to this hack, Seven Symphonies, has a playable demo already! Hope you guys check it out, too!
@@mebreevee Yes, indeed! I'd say around 20 hours for the full game with the postgame included, which wasn't shown in this vid. Hope you give it a chance ;)
@@mariocano3858 If I get the time, I will. Now I’m curious about the post game, though from the difficulty and number of attempts zwiggo needed in those fights, I will likely need to wait until I have more free time before pursuing a playthrough. A shame, because Im the type of person to binge something until I finish it, and I know I can’t risk hyperfixation at the moment. Thanks for telling me though and should I find some time, it certainly is going on my list. Speaking of PMD rom hacks, I still have to finish Heaven. That one is brutal.
Rampardos was lowkey my favorite Pokemon in this story. His taunts after being consumed by Duskull, his undeniable strength, his honorable fighting style (always respects a 1v1 and doesn't take the easy way out), and his ability to literally never cower even until the end... bro was an absolute unit. An insane antagonist for sure, but a great one. Every single Pokemon in here was the goat. Phenomenal story-telling and looks incredibly fun to play through as well. Thanks for the playthrough!
I feel like that's pretty normal for fan games, though? Having an "adult" vibe. If anything, I appreciate it when fan games try to stick with the official series' tone, because it forces you to have writing that doesn't rely on being overly dark.
Dang this video was insane espeon and rampardos were actually something special... This game was honestly filled with emotion and zwiggo, your commentating makes it way better. You are truly an legend Zwiggo. Wish you get 1 mil subs very soon
Since I first played Explorers of Sky as a child, I always wondered what Grovyles backstory may have looked like. This mod was absolutely amazing! Thank you for playing this, zwiggo! :D
Sorry to clarify and explorers of Time and darkness you do get to play in the timeline that exists prior to yours, in flashbacks, and for the final battle of the game (?) it's been a long time since I've played this game but I beat it completely. It's just been like 15 years.
@@c97x Time and Darkness are the same as Sky though, except for the extra episodes and some other little things they added in Sky. I promise you that this was not actually in the game. It's a rom hack. 😅
@@pyjamakama There are interludes you unlock where you can play as different characters like Bidoof and team charm. One of them is a story about Dusknoir, Grovyle and Celebi exploring the ruined civilization before our timeline. You can access them through the main menu Im p sure.
@@c97x this is a rom hack. Yes, there were episodes in the actual official games where you could play as the Pokemon from the dark future but this rom hack was not part of it. This one's fanmade.
That Rampardos stomping Gulpin to death and ramming Cherrim across the map was quite brutal but it does a good job and showing how much Rampardos has fallen under the dark influence.
I can't find the words to say how happy I was all along this story. After so many years thinking about what could happened to Grovyle and Dusknoir in the past that brought them where we discovered them... Thank you to the amazing person who created exactly the best way to understand those iconics PMD's characters. You made my day ! Hope yours will be great !
"Let them kiss! Let them kiss!" I recently finished the Romhack myself, seeing all the tragic twists firsthand! You all should totally play it, actually doing the gameplay helps the story so much. Rampardos scolding Duskull on his cowardly fighting style isn't an empty bit. It's only natural that we play that way with his moveset. Rampardos had us right all along. Oh, and I think there might be a "few" more details that got left out. Guess you'll need to play it to find out!
1:18:56 That shadow is supposed to be us from the Main Story of Explorer's of Sky The Human that is turned into a Pokemon It's weird they decided to have what looks to be a Silhouette version of Frisk/Chara though
When Ramparados speaks, I'm reminded of the Apocalypse Tank from Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 "Eradicate them!" "Taste your mortality." "The end is at hand." "These will be your last moments." "I cast a deadly shadow." "They will run in fear." "Armageddon is here." All Apocalypse Tank quotes that sound like something Ramparados would say.
This is honestly one of the more fascinating rom hacks I've seen. It really does everything in it's power to highlight how bleak and grim the future has become. It almost fits right into the canon baring the death and gratuitous violence.
@wakkaseta8351 I mean, the series is generally targeted at younger audiences baring some examples like the manga. Sure, Pokémon is no stranger to mature themes even now, but I don't think the violence feels in place with the EOS storyline which is what the rom hack is meant to do. That's my opinion, anyway. That being said, this rom hack did do a lot of things I liked. The backstory between Grovyle and Dusknoir which then expands the original bonus episode, the entire post game ending, and even little details like Grovyle's line of "You two are the greatest of combinations" originating from Espeon are really well done.
31:57 That scene finally made me realize that this is the Rhyperior from Team Raider, really helps emphasize that this is a... sequel? prequel? Whatever you can call a paralyzed future.
54:10 THAT shot. Is one of the most chilling images I’ve seen, ever. In Pokémon, in videogames, in most any media really. It’s just the face of someone too far gone to reason with, and that’s one of the most horrific realizations to have. I made the mistake of watching this before bed lol, very unnerving. This was really well written, and I’m DEFINITELY gonna have to play this rom sometime! 56:03 too. One minute, talking to a dear friend or loved one, and then they’re just gone, before you could blink.
This really touched my heart to look back and actually have a back story for what happened and how they got to this point couldn’t of made the mod any better maybe longer but either way gotta respect it for touching all of are pasts
It’s interesting to think that the Box Destroying Rampardos of Post Town, who had a crush on the local Cinccino, secretly had the capacity to be such an undisputed monster.
Holy crap what a treat. Yet another instalment of the mystery dungeon fangames/prequals/whatever you can call it. Props to the creator(s), it's extremely well written, what an absolute tragedy. How to turn a considerably serious pokémon game even darker. I sat at the edge of my seat for the full hour and a half. I have always loved the mystery dungeon games, especially the early ones. Explorers of Sky was by far the best written game out there, and this giving a deeper backstory to Grovyle... It's left me in awe. You really feel for Grovyle, and the tragedy of Dusknoir really leaves you with an empty heart and tears in the corner of your eyes. I'm happy we can count on you for highlighting such gems, Zwiggo. For I would never have found this romhack myself.
It gets me even more emotional at the fact that the human becomes a Pokemon and we see Grovyle has an enemy who we defeat. And not only that, he sacrifices himself for us. That makes me so emotional. 😭
I LOVE that close-up shot of Rampardos during his fight with Espeon. Sure, out of context, it looks silly, but god DAMN does it make him look like the grotesque, psychopathic monster that he is. It touches on the same aspects of the horror genre that things like the original Jurassic Park touch on.
this was an amazing story and was pretty happy to piece together that this was an eventual prequel for the main series game. Real weird, because this prequel takes place in the future, but nonetheless, works well with the setting of the story. Amazing editing was used in this video.
I really love the fact that now we have a prequel (this fangame) the middle (pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky) and the sequel (the special episode in PMD:eos)
This is the best fanmade prequel that I have ever seen. Pokemon should make it cannon. Thank you for the introduction to it Zwiggo and big thanks to the creators of this amazing game!
i'm hardly an emotional person but this honestly got to me somewhat. darn pokémon bringing out emotions in me above anything but i guess that just proves a great story
My guy, you actually skipped the latter half of the game. Plays a bit of the main storyline, from different perspectives, so it does get kind of repetitive. BUT, there's bonus ending stuff so it's all worth it! (+ choice making endings)
@@inktirrell5016 only played the ones for gba all the way so i dont really know. But was he a final antagonist in the ds ones? Maybe ppl got mentally scarred with him as the big bad guy xd +any rom recommendation for mystery dungeon? Was playing the ds one lately, not much tho, and wanted to have some extra in the library for later xd
Another PMD fangame I would highly recommend is Explorers of the Spirit. While this episode is like a prequel, Spirit serves as a sequel to Sky, and is also incredibly good. About as long as the main story of sky as well, as it retreads a lot of the game… But with some very interesting changes. It has a surprisingly good narrative! If anyone does go on to play it, I would recommend using the same starters that you used for Sky. While it starts out similarly… It quickly begins to set itself apart.
Yess love explorers of spirit too! Another one I love is Explorers of Memories. Though it's still in development but the first 1-12 chapters are done. Instead of our character losing the memories at the beginning we keep our memories. So some events are the same some are not. Our player also talks a lot more than normal which I love when a rom hack does that!
1:12:37 I always thought Mistery Dungeon was if pokemon was like other JRPGs and the immortal who knows how old god falling in love with the teen protagonist checks the last box I needed to confirm this theory!
I will admit... I have nothing but praise for the creators of this hack and their efforts, but I have mixed feelings on the final result. On the one hand, I've loved the integration between story and gameplay, with the game really making you feel the hopelessness of the dark future's environments, the struggle to survive, having to exploit game mechanics like status effects and phasing through walls as Duskull until he's strong enough as Dusclops... On the other hand, I do think the edginess was a bit too heavy-handed at times. There were places in which the original games were definitely stymied by needing to remain appropriate for all ages, but I think this hack goes the other way occasionally dipping into displays of violence that felt rather gratuitous and excessive. It's an experience I would certainly recommend, and I respect the creators' vision, but I am not sure if I share it.
I felt that the violence really made me feel for these small Pokémon. The talk of hope and a better future, but it all changes after a raid from a psycho thirsty for blood. One by one their own willingness to be better Pokémon causes them to die. Plusle was the best example of this. Lastly after gulpin died I had to pause the video and take it all in. They were all gone. It all happened so fast and naturally. The deaths didn’t feel like they were in my face, but the subtle way an entire camp of pokemon die really made me feel some kind of way alongside feeling sorry for treekos justifiable frustrations as he loses everything he’s built as a baby and may very well die if it wasn’t for that black hole. The deaths do not feel played out, but a quick action that results in death. As a Pokémon fight should play out if we apply real life fight to survive logic. it is hinted that everything still has to eat and survive somehow. The original series plays heavily into this with brine cave and kabutops. Tldr the appropriate level of edginess of it is what allowed me to feel interested in the real consequences of the state of the world. It also explain why grovyle would be so adamant in succeeding once he was able to travel. It’s not only bc he wants to save the world and be some hero. It’s more so a sacrifice so no one ever has to experience his pain in a reality that is so grim. One that involves having your friends die and even finding frenemies cold bodies and from it understanding the bitter feeling of why you don’t hold grudges even against traitors. Death is a very powerful tool and I would argue it was used sparingly and appropriately. For example rampardos could have killed espeon while she was on her dying breath, yet he chooses to walk away. This scene really called out to me bc he has showed to not care about these things like when he goes for the kill on a weakened dialga. The consequences of death are irreversible and it should be felt as such. It would have been in bad taste having rampardos beat down on espeon there, so I respect the writers for that. Death here shines light on its consequences and less on the violence in which it was achieved. To be fair tho gulpin being squished like that was a bit over the top. But then again so was Cherrim being ran over after a false sense of security. Thanks for your time stranger.
This backstory was amazing! Really dark and astonishing. There's just one thing that didn't sell me off. Grovyle should have seen Dusknoir before going to the past, because when they first face each other on Azelf's cave he says "You're following me even in the past Dusknoir", like they've met before. If he had only seen Dusclops we wouldn't be able to know Dusknoir. Anyway, it was really enjoyable, thanks for the video.
I loved this it was amazing you retelling the story of this rom hack and the creators behind definitely understand the narrative of the mystery dungeon games. Having Dusknoir and Grovyle being friends in their younger years before the tragedy is genius. Also Espeon is my favourite pokemon and having her be his mentor was ❤
What an unreal rom hack, This was a complete emotional rollercoaster especially watching Duskulls perspective. This may be one I have to go through myself. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for this amazing story telling Zwigg0. Please keep making content I enjoy watching them and so does everyone else watches them. Also no need to rush to finish them, no body likes a half cooked pizza, we all want you to cook it so we all can get a slice of it wanting more 😊
So I'm 26 now, I grew up playing the DS mystery dungeon games and they mean a lot to me. I find a lot of these rom hacks/fan games that try to be edgy pretty laughable most of the time, and at best you can tell it's a lot of 15 and 16 year olds hyping them up (those Mario ones like coronation day and the music box instantly come to mind lol). This one has its issues, mostly with the translations (which is excusable since English wasn't the developers first language), but I shit you not when I say some of the moments in this game hit me to the level of like the band of the hawk's slaughter from Berserk 💀 like Gulpin's death especially, little dude didnt deserve any of that especially with all he did and how hard he was trying to improve himself!! It's pretty edgy, but is edge that's done right. The characters all feel like they genuinely fit in universe, and the dark moments also feel genuine as if this is how the broken future in the games would actually be portrayed as if it wasn't held back by the age rating. It might be a bit much for Pokemon for that reason, sure, but like I said, as a long time fan of these games I'm eating it up, and I think the developers did an amazing job with all these characters, especially the previously established ones which is not often easy to pull off right. Serious props to everyone who worked on this game, and it was a joy watching you covering it 😊
Thank you so much! The version of the game shown in this video is actually out of date, and the most recent release has an entirely new English translation which hopefully fixes all of the issues you noticed.
Momma Espeon will always the Best. Treecko/Grovyle did grow up in the past Dusknoir was a tool all this time for Darkrai... Darkrai always been the main antagonist all this time... Ramphardos a soul would I never forgive. Really love this episode 0 I enjoy it. :)
I love this game and completed most of it but I could not finish the last thing which was that team by the beach that was legendary as I did not know what more to do to get like a cut scene from then. But the story and gameplay were beautiful. The amount of time I put into this game. Best years of my childhood.
Btw, someone teaches someone else - can't say he was "learning him". Same kind of thing with borrowing and lending, you don't borrow him something, but you lend it to him
There are some things that don't make sense storywise if compared to the original game. - Dusclops had evolved before they all went to the past, as Grovyle was able to recognise him instantly without mentionning evolution, - Human and Grovyle knew each other for longer than a few days before travelling back in time - How is Dusknoir still able to communicate with Dialga's shadow when Darkrai is gone to the past?
The first point is addressed in the postgame. For the second point, I don't see how anything in the story implies they were together for only a few days. As for the third point, Darkrai is capable of creating presences that simulate real people, such as the Rampardos who lives in Dusclops' mind. In the postgame Dusknoir can't properly communicate with it anymore for the same reason Rampardos disappears, and he is pretty much just winging it and trying to act like he thinks it would want him to.
@@user-kh4dn8no4y 1: no it isn't 2: true, but the way they talked about their relationship, talking about stuff like "you have always been like that after all" does imply they knew each other better than that. Now it was actually 1 night spent together. 3: I failed to address that previously, Darkrai being able to create that fake Rampardos is not an ability known of Darkrai. I don't remember Dusknoir having trouble communicating in postgame. Btw: 4: Primal Dialga appeared in the future when the team returned to the present, yet it is now KO at the place we find him in post game.
@@Nimos087 1. Have you played the postgame and gotten to the scene in Pokemon Square? 2. In this video they are shown exploring the world looking for the gears, which certainly took more than one day. 3. True, but it makes sense seeing as Darkrai can manipulate everything about a person's dreams, and that ritual he did on Dusclops must have extended that power to waking hours with him. Dusknoir says to the Sableye at Temporal Tower that he's been having trouble communicating with Dialga lately in the postgame. 4. I don't know what this is referring to, but I think the postgame explained everything about what happened to Primal Dialga pretty thoroughly.
@@user-kh4dn8no4y I will get back to you in a few weeks, when I redo the game. I don't know what you are referring to. Yes I have played it all. You are right about n°2, my bad.
HOLY CRAP!!! THIS IS THE BEST FANGAME EVER🤩🤩 EVERYTHING I REMEMBERED FROM THE GAME WAS GIVEN A DEEPER MEANING THAT DOESN'T CONTRIDICT PREVIOUS ESTABLISHED LORE😍😇
Ok, that comment I made was made with complete recency-bias. I was enjoying the story and wasn't thinking to much on it's place in the overall story/timeline. But with a day to process what I watched I do have some criticism: 1. I don't enjoy Dusknoir being the way he is due to Darkrai's influence. I always observed Dusknoir as a reaction type of character whom responds to anything that happens around him that effect him. And as such is someone who would go to any lenghts to preserve his own life, a reflection of Grovyle whom strifes to preserve life in general at the cost of himself and is himself a character who acts. I don't like that in this story Darkrai has artificially changed Dusclops, it robs the character of their own self-agency and makes them come across as a puppet without a will of their own (which yes I can see that is how they tried to present the character here, but it does not work as well compared to someone who full heartedly believes in their own cause/actions) 2. I don't like Dusclops actions for the most part because of how increasingly shallow he grows. To add to the artificial behaviour, Rampardod telling/influencing him is unneeded and didn't need to be there imo. I would rather see the character show off his wisdom/knowledge like how Dusknoir was originally presented before he was revealed to be a bad guy. 3. In the timeline, when Dusknoir showed up at the Guild, everyone talked about him as through he was someone who had made a name for himself across the lands for years. But in this fanfic him and Grovyle arrive in the past at the same time so when did he have time to do all the explorations/expeditions he got regarded for? Just noticed I mainly focused on Dusknoir, but that's because he is the one with a character formed by his own actions and beliefes as opposed to Grovyle whom acts and reacts of his own will/character 😁 That I enjoy and love ❤️ But don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this and I am so glad to see the fan community come togheter makes amazing assets like the facial expressions, new animations and locals to almost create what feels like a new game. I truly hope these continue and would support them 🙏 🥰
I’m with Celebi. Not only that Grovile is really cool and strong in the pokemon games, but in the Mystery Dungeon anime, he was voiced by Dan Green! Best. Voice. Legend. Ever.
Something I don’t understand about mystery dungeon is the fact Mewtwo exists. He said he was created in Red Rescue Team (I haven’t got to that fight tho so I don’t know more, too much floors) but by who?! Did he somehow come from the human world?!
I've been playing pokemon since Yellow came out, and I firmly believe the mystery dungeon series is better than the main series by leagues and miles. I love Good rom hacks for these games. I really do.
Wait it CAN’T RND! PLS!😭 I want it to be longer. I really wish it was real, this is some of the best Storytelling in any game ever. I almost shed a few tears too, especially when the human becomes a Pokemon. Iconic, ICONIC. 😭👏
Dusclops/Dusknoir didn’t deserve to be a bad guy, I feel so bad for him. He was saved, tortured in his own minds, made to KILL his friends without remorse until the point where he lost his sanity.
The Venusaur, Poliwrath and Espeon...is that a reference to Red's manga team?! Love that!!
Also I can never look at Rampardos the same way ever again, I love how Mystery Dungeon does that. People who only play the main games would not understand why a Pokémon like, say, Armaldo would make us emotional.
Mustery dungeon is the perfect series to make us like unusual pokemon that we normally wouldnt like that much
I actually never got to play myself any Mistery dungeon trough its entirety, but i had always tought how good of an idea is an adventure exclusive to talking pokemon, and with that i got inspired to DM a Mistery Dungeon Tabletop Rpg with my friends, and... it did wonders to our understanding and appreciation to unnusual pokemon.
I never saw players hate so much a Chien Pao, never saw them love so much a Raichu, and seeing such specific player pokemon grow older, stronger and wiser is really cool.
Pokemon Mistery dungeon is simply a genius idea lmao
Bro Rampardos was an absolute meance. What an amazing character fr.
Diglett angering Darkrai was also really funny.
Overall this was so well written its crazy, even simple stuff like Rampardos's Mold Breaker freeing it from Diglett's Arena Trap totally makes sense!
Diglett was amazing! He was always watching, basically the Spy of the team.
Diglett telling Darkrai to basically piss off is so funny.
mmmmm
Ramparbos was such a good antagonist. i mean wow, a tragic story with carnage and drama needed without being too edgy. You could something about the portraits used in the cutscenes but oh my god all of them were so cool and the love for Rampardos as an antagonist, making him an actual threat and until the very end very relevant to the story. Also what a perfect fall from grace story being told not only by the dialogue but from the gameplay! The only reason I could not believe a pokemon game like this could exist is because of brutality depicted. 10/10 I will try play it alone.
Exactly I Hope Who Ever Made This Rom Hack makes More Cause It's Probably Just Me But The Writing And Characters Are Great!!
I hate this rampardos cuz gligar my favorite mon
@@vicentezoldansucolotti9033 Thats fair 😭 same
Thanks for this awesome review! Means the world to me, hope you guys enjoy this approach on these amazing characters' past ❤❤❤
Edit: The sequel to this hack, Seven Symphonies, has a playable demo already! Hope you guys check it out, too!
Sounds like you are the creator. What is the playtime estimate for the full game?
@@mebreevee Yes, indeed! I'd say around 20 hours for the full game with the postgame included, which wasn't shown in this vid.
Hope you give it a chance ;)
Is it a gba hack?
@@mariocano3858 If I get the time, I will. Now I’m curious about the post game, though from the difficulty and number of attempts zwiggo needed in those fights, I will likely need to wait until I have more free time before pursuing a playthrough. A shame, because Im the type of person to binge something until I finish it, and I know I can’t risk hyperfixation at the moment.
Thanks for telling me though and should I find some time, it certainly is going on my list.
Speaking of PMD rom hacks, I still have to finish Heaven. That one is brutal.
@@TotalWeapon26 Nds :3
Rampardos was lowkey my favorite Pokemon in this story. His taunts after being consumed by Duskull, his undeniable strength, his honorable fighting style (always respects a 1v1 and doesn't take the easy way out), and his ability to literally never cower even until the end... bro was an absolute unit. An insane antagonist for sure, but a great one. Every single Pokemon in here was the goat. Phenomenal story-telling and looks incredibly fun to play through as well. Thanks for the playthrough!
1:38 A Pokemon game describing its landscape as a literal hell sets the tone so well apart from the traditional games in the franchise!
I feel like that's pretty normal for fan games, though?
Having an "adult" vibe.
If anything, I appreciate it when fan games try to stick with the official series' tone, because it forces you to have writing that doesn't rely on being overly dark.
Dang this video was insane espeon and rampardos were actually something special... This game was honestly filled with emotion and zwiggo, your commentating makes it way better. You are truly an legend Zwiggo. Wish you get 1 mil subs very soon
When I realized that Diglett may be the last remaining guild member I will admit I may have cried
Since I first played Explorers of Sky as a child, I always wondered what Grovyles backstory may have looked like. This mod was absolutely amazing! Thank you for playing this, zwiggo! :D
No, this was definitely not in the game 😅
Sorry to clarify and explorers of Time and darkness you do get to play in the timeline that exists prior to yours, in flashbacks, and for the final battle of the game (?) it's been a long time since I've played this game but I beat it completely. It's just been like 15 years.
@@c97x Time and Darkness are the same as Sky though, except for the extra episodes and some other little things they added in Sky. I promise you that this was not actually in the game. It's a rom hack. 😅
@@pyjamakama There are interludes you unlock where you can play as different characters like Bidoof and team charm. One of them is a story about Dusknoir, Grovyle and Celebi exploring the ruined civilization before our timeline. You can access them through the main menu Im p sure.
@@c97x this is a rom hack. Yes, there were episodes in the actual official games where you could play as the Pokemon from the dark future but this rom hack was not part of it. This one's fanmade.
The deadpan/thousand yard stare rampardos image was something i never knew i needed in my life
That Rampardos stomping Gulpin to death and ramming Cherrim across the map was quite brutal but it does a good job and showing how much Rampardos has fallen under the dark influence.
I can't find the words to say how happy I was all along this story. After so many years thinking about what could happened to Grovyle and Dusknoir in the past that brought them where we discovered them... Thank you to the amazing person who created exactly the best way to understand those iconics PMD's characters. You made my day ! Hope yours will be great !
"Let them kiss! Let them kiss!"
I recently finished the Romhack myself, seeing all the tragic twists firsthand! You all should totally play it, actually doing the gameplay helps the story so much.
Rampardos scolding Duskull on his cowardly fighting style isn't an empty bit. It's only natural that we play that way with his moveset. Rampardos had us right all along.
Oh, and I think there might be a "few" more details that got left out. Guess you'll need to play it to find out!
And then when he evolved into dusknoir, he just adopted both dirty trick and raw strength
What I find funny about that scene is that I actually managed to beat Rampardos
1:18:56
That shadow is supposed to be us from the Main Story of Explorer's of Sky
The Human that is turned into a Pokemon
It's weird they decided to have what looks to be a Silhouette version of Frisk/Chara though
I believe it's basically a human shaped sprite from the main series, decolorized
When Ramparados speaks, I'm reminded of the Apocalypse Tank from Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
"Eradicate them!"
"Taste your mortality."
"The end is at hand."
"These will be your last moments."
"I cast a deadly shadow."
"They will run in fear."
"Armageddon is here."
All Apocalypse Tank quotes that sound like something Ramparados would say.
This is honestly one of the more fascinating rom hacks I've seen. It really does everything in it's power to highlight how bleak and grim the future has become. It almost fits right into the canon baring the death and gratuitous violence.
Honestly, the death and gratuitous violence feel somewhat like a breath of fresh air with how sanitized and infantilized the franchise has become.
@wakkaseta8351 I mean, the series is generally targeted at younger audiences baring some examples like the manga. Sure, Pokémon is no stranger to mature themes even now, but I don't think the violence feels in place with the EOS storyline which is what the rom hack is meant to do. That's my opinion, anyway.
That being said, this rom hack did do a lot of things I liked. The backstory between Grovyle and Dusknoir which then expands the original bonus episode, the entire post game ending, and even little details like Grovyle's line of "You two are the greatest of combinations" originating from Espeon are really well done.
31:57
That scene finally made me realize that this is the Rhyperior from Team Raider, really helps emphasize that this is a... sequel? prequel? Whatever you can call a paralyzed future.
This is the Future Trunks timeline basically…
54:10 THAT shot. Is one of the most chilling images I’ve seen, ever. In Pokémon, in videogames, in most any media really. It’s just the face of someone too far gone to reason with, and that’s one of the most horrific realizations to have. I made the mistake of watching this before bed lol, very unnerving. This was really well written, and I’m DEFINITELY gonna have to play this rom sometime!
56:03 too. One minute, talking to a dear friend or loved one, and then they’re just gone, before you could blink.
This really touched my heart to look back and actually have a back story for what happened and how they got to this point couldn’t of made the mod any better maybe longer but either way gotta respect it for touching all of are pasts
It’s interesting to think that the Box Destroying Rampardos of Post Town, who had a crush on the local Cinccino, secretly had the capacity to be such an undisputed monster.
Holy crap what a treat. Yet another instalment of the mystery dungeon fangames/prequals/whatever you can call it.
Props to the creator(s), it's extremely well written, what an absolute tragedy. How to turn a considerably serious pokémon game even darker.
I sat at the edge of my seat for the full hour and a half. I have always loved the mystery dungeon games, especially the early ones.
Explorers of Sky was by far the best written game out there, and this giving a deeper backstory to Grovyle... It's left me in awe.
You really feel for Grovyle, and the tragedy of Dusknoir really leaves you with an empty heart and tears in the corner of your eyes.
I'm happy we can count on you for highlighting such gems, Zwiggo. For I would never have found this romhack myself.
It gets me even more emotional at the fact that the human becomes a Pokemon and we see Grovyle has an enemy who we defeat. And not only that, he sacrifices himself for us. That makes me so emotional. 😭
45:27 Torkoal used Explosion! It doesn't affect Sableye...
Knowing how well thoughtout every fight is in terms of attacks, abilities and techs. I think what Torkoal did was collapse the bridge/passage
That was the most tragic but yet fascinating story ever seen! I'm so glad that you playthrough these game
Okay the story payoff with the Reaper Cloth and Dusclops was actually so well written i had to rewatch it a couple times because i didnt believe it.
19:30 I love how treecko looks at espeon like what you got a problem with that
I LOVE that close-up shot of Rampardos during his fight with Espeon. Sure, out of context, it looks silly, but god DAMN does it make him look like the grotesque, psychopathic monster that he is. It touches on the same aspects of the horror genre that things like the original Jurassic Park touch on.
this was an amazing story and was pretty happy to piece together that this was an eventual prequel for the main series game. Real weird, because this prequel takes place in the future, but nonetheless, works well with the setting of the story. Amazing editing was used in this video.
I really love the fact that now we have a prequel (this fangame) the middle (pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky) and the sequel (the special episode in PMD:eos)
This is the best fanmade prequel that I have ever seen. Pokemon should make it cannon. Thank you for the introduction to it Zwiggo and big thanks to the creators of this amazing game!
Canon? Hell no. This hack is bad storywise
i'm hardly an emotional person but this honestly got to me somewhat. darn pokémon bringing out emotions in me above anything but i guess that just proves a great story
My guy, you actually skipped the latter half of the game. Plays a bit of the main storyline, from different perspectives, so it does get kind of repetitive. BUT, there's bonus ending stuff so it's all worth it! (+ choice making endings)
Honestly this is writing on par with the actual explorers of sky game, love it
No it literally is not
this was absolutely damn good but i still feel bad for treecko and dusckle they lost there friendship just because of a freaking darkrai 🥺🥺
And the human too. ):
Grovyle is probably my fav character it is kinda sad
Wow this was actually incredible, the story had absolutely everything and really hit the emotions!
54:10 that shit is actually terrifying
Dude So Far In All The Mystery Dungeon Roms I've Seen Rampardos Is The Ultimate Menace Dog. ._.
@@inktirrell5016 only played the ones for gba all the way so i dont really know. But was he a final antagonist in the ds ones?
Maybe ppl got mentally scarred with him as the big bad guy xd
+any rom recommendation for mystery dungeon? Was playing the ds one lately, not much tho, and wanted to have some extra in the library for later xd
@@yopoxikeweapescai9066 no, he really wasn't. It was sombody else but i can't spoil Explorers lol
@@yopoxikeweapescai9066If I’m Not wrong, he isn’t even important at all. 💀
Oh nah a hour hour of entertainment
Espeon was the mvp, hands down
Another PMD fangame I would highly recommend is Explorers of the Spirit.
While this episode is like a prequel, Spirit serves as a sequel to Sky, and is also incredibly good.
About as long as the main story of sky as well, as it retreads a lot of the game… But with some very interesting changes. It has a surprisingly good narrative!
If anyone does go on to play it, I would recommend using the same starters that you used for Sky. While it starts out similarly… It quickly begins to set itself apart.
Yess love explorers of spirit too! Another one I love is Explorers of Memories. Though it's still in development but the first 1-12 chapters are done. Instead of our character losing the memories at the beginning we keep our memories. So some events are the same some are not. Our player also talks a lot more than normal which I love when a rom hack does that!
1:12:37 I always thought Mistery Dungeon was if pokemon was like other JRPGs and the immortal who knows how old god falling in love with the teen protagonist checks the last box I needed to confirm this theory!
Bidoof is the true hero after all.
Pokemon should really make a new game in Mystery dungeon series, it's been so long
@@Boltofbrilliance122 To be fair, they ARE remakes. They're going to be predictable. Especially to people who've already played the originals.
Potatoes potaatoes
I will admit... I have nothing but praise for the creators of this hack and their efforts, but I have mixed feelings on the final result. On the one hand, I've loved the integration between story and gameplay, with the game really making you feel the hopelessness of the dark future's environments, the struggle to survive, having to exploit game mechanics like status effects and phasing through walls as Duskull until he's strong enough as Dusclops...
On the other hand, I do think the edginess was a bit too heavy-handed at times. There were places in which the original games were definitely stymied by needing to remain appropriate for all ages, but I think this hack goes the other way occasionally dipping into displays of violence that felt rather gratuitous and excessive.
It's an experience I would certainly recommend, and I respect the creators' vision, but I am not sure if I share it.
I felt that the violence really made me feel for these small Pokémon.
The talk of hope and a better future, but it all changes after a raid from a psycho thirsty for blood.
One by one their own willingness to be better Pokémon causes them to die. Plusle was the best example of this.
Lastly after gulpin died I had to pause the video and take it all in. They were all gone. It all happened so fast and naturally.
The deaths didn’t feel like they were in my face, but the subtle way an entire camp of pokemon die really made me feel some kind of way alongside feeling sorry for treekos justifiable frustrations as he loses everything he’s built as a baby and may very well die if it wasn’t for that black hole.
The deaths do not feel played out, but a quick action that results in death. As a Pokémon fight should play out if we apply real life fight to survive logic.
it is hinted that everything still has to eat and survive somehow. The original series plays heavily into this with brine cave and kabutops.
Tldr the appropriate level of edginess of it is what allowed me to feel interested in the real consequences of the state of the world. It also explain why grovyle would be so adamant in succeeding once he was able to travel. It’s not only bc he wants to save the world and be some hero. It’s more so a sacrifice so no one ever has to experience his pain in a reality that is so grim. One that involves having your friends die and even finding frenemies cold bodies and from it understanding the bitter feeling of why you don’t hold grudges even against traitors.
Death is a very powerful tool and I would argue it was used sparingly and appropriately.
For example rampardos could have killed espeon while she was on her dying breath, yet he chooses to walk away.
This scene really called out to me bc he has showed to not care about these things like when he goes for the kill on a weakened dialga. The consequences of death are irreversible and it should be felt as such.
It would have been in bad taste having rampardos beat down on espeon there, so I respect the writers for that. Death here shines light on its consequences and less on the violence in which it was achieved.
To be fair tho gulpin being squished like that was a bit over the top. But then again so was Cherrim being ran over after a false sense of security.
Thanks for your time stranger.
This was a banger. Really cool how it integrated so many game mechanics into the storyline
Espeon and Rampardos were so badass i cant believe theyre not canon 😅
YAY MYSTERY DUNGEON GAMES THE 2ND SET! MY FAVOURITE GAMES! But glad to see a rom hack of it.
This backstory was amazing! Really dark and astonishing.
There's just one thing that didn't sell me off. Grovyle should have seen Dusknoir before going to the past, because when they first face each other on Azelf's cave he says "You're following me even in the past Dusknoir", like they've met before. If he had only seen Dusclops we wouldn't be able to know Dusknoir.
Anyway, it was really enjoyable, thanks for the video.
This is actually an aspect that is explained in the hack's postgame.
Nah, it was bad
Dusclops stole the Reaper Cloth from Grovyle, of course he could connect the dots and know that Dusclops evolved
@@user-kh4dn8no4yDoes the hack go even further in the game?!😍
@@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024 yeah, you can play the Explorers of Sky story through these two's perspective and go up to their special episode
Please make your videos this long im willing to sacrifice watching you every other day for videos of 1 hour long that i can watch in multiple days
The Pokémon in future don't die. Their lives just change. They are revived after the change.
Espeon vs Rampardos really gave off the gojo vs sukuna vibes
This really was our pokekaisen
I thought rampardos was going to break Espeon's gem.
I loved this it was amazing you retelling the story of this rom hack and the creators behind definitely understand the narrative of the mystery dungeon games.
Having Dusknoir and Grovyle being friends in their younger years before the tragedy is genius.
Also Espeon is my favourite pokemon and having her be his mentor was ❤
hands down the most fucked up, brutal, dark and traumatizing pokemon game ever existed
Oh man today a good day Zwiggo gave us over an hour of entertainment thank you for the hard work
The other side of the world is in eternal day. It probably started out as normal but black and white and then became a desert because of no rain.
I’m so glad mystery dungeon is getting all this love I wish they’d make new ones or remake some of the older ones again
What an unreal rom hack, This was a complete emotional rollercoaster especially watching Duskulls perspective. This may be one I have to go through myself. Thanks for the video!
Thats a lot of work put into this. Love it
This is amazing!!!!! Love this type of content. Hope there is my PMD to come
The whole thing with the main game as a animated movie would be so cool…
I’m a use my signature move explosion on ghost types 😂😂
Rampardos is a DBZ villain
Bro the storytelling of this is insane
Watching zwiggo these days it's like watching whole movie lol
5:20 correction: the red one is plusle and the blue one is minun
Peak stuff, very well written
11:41 What amazing touches the lore has. scizor was a right explorer he was
What arms does this rampardos posess to strangle espeon ? Arent they tiny ?
Thanks for this amazing story telling Zwigg0. Please keep making content I enjoy watching them and so does everyone else watches them. Also no need to rush to finish them, no body likes a half cooked pizza, we all want you to cook it so we all can get a slice of it wanting more 😊
So I'm 26 now, I grew up playing the DS mystery dungeon games and they mean a lot to me. I find a lot of these rom hacks/fan games that try to be edgy pretty laughable most of the time, and at best you can tell it's a lot of 15 and 16 year olds hyping them up (those Mario ones like coronation day and the music box instantly come to mind lol).
This one has its issues, mostly with the translations (which is excusable since English wasn't the developers first language), but I shit you not when I say some of the moments in this game hit me to the level of like the band of the hawk's slaughter from Berserk 💀 like Gulpin's death especially, little dude didnt deserve any of that especially with all he did and how hard he was trying to improve himself!!
It's pretty edgy, but is edge that's done right. The characters all feel like they genuinely fit in universe, and the dark moments also feel genuine as if this is how the broken future in the games would actually be portrayed as if it wasn't held back by the age rating. It might be a bit much for Pokemon for that reason, sure, but like I said, as a long time fan of these games I'm eating it up, and I think the developers did an amazing job with all these characters, especially the previously established ones which is not often easy to pull off right.
Serious props to everyone who worked on this game, and it was a joy watching you covering it 😊
Thank you so much! The version of the game shown in this video is actually out of date, and the most recent release has an entirely new English translation which hopefully fixes all of the issues you noticed.
Momma Espeon will always the Best.
Treecko/Grovyle did grow up in the past
Dusknoir was a tool all this time for Darkrai...
Darkrai always been the main antagonist all this time...
Ramphardos a soul would I never forgive.
Really love this episode 0 I enjoy it. :)
When a pokemon literally died, i knew that this was getting significantly darket than we are used to by pg friendly gamefreak
I love this game and completed most of it but I could not finish the last thing which was that team by the beach that was legendary as I did not know what more to do to get like a cut scene from then. But the story and gameplay were beautiful. The amount of time I put into this game. Best years of my childhood.
You know I like the idea of the human turning into a Treecko. Symbolic and all that
This was amazing
49:05 so he *adapted* Mahoraga as* ability
This made me so happy thank you so much I loved this from hack and the story and everything my childhood has been fulfilled
Btw, someone teaches someone else - can't say he was "learning him".
Same kind of thing with borrowing and lending, you don't borrow him something, but you lend it to him
Living up to the story of Explorers of sky was a tall task,
but oh my gosh they succeeded so hard
There are some things that don't make sense storywise if compared to the original game.
- Dusclops had evolved before they all went to the past, as Grovyle was able to recognise him instantly without mentionning evolution,
- Human and Grovyle knew each other for longer than a few days before travelling back in time
- How is Dusknoir still able to communicate with Dialga's shadow when Darkrai is gone to the past?
The first point is addressed in the postgame. For the second point, I don't see how anything in the story implies they were together for only a few days. As for the third point, Darkrai is capable of creating presences that simulate real people, such as the Rampardos who lives in Dusclops' mind. In the postgame Dusknoir can't properly communicate with it anymore for the same reason Rampardos disappears, and he is pretty much just winging it and trying to act like he thinks it would want him to.
@@user-kh4dn8no4y
1: no it isn't
2: true, but the way they talked about their relationship, talking about stuff like "you have always been like that after all" does imply they knew each other better than that. Now it was actually 1 night spent together.
3: I failed to address that previously, Darkrai being able to create that fake Rampardos is not an ability known of Darkrai. I don't remember Dusknoir having trouble communicating in postgame.
Btw:
4: Primal Dialga appeared in the future when the team returned to the present, yet it is now KO at the place we find him in post game.
@@Nimos087 1. Have you played the postgame and gotten to the scene in Pokemon Square?
2. In this video they are shown exploring the world looking for the gears, which certainly took more than one day.
3. True, but it makes sense seeing as Darkrai can manipulate everything about a person's dreams, and that ritual he did on Dusclops must have extended that power to waking hours with him. Dusknoir says to the Sableye at Temporal Tower that he's been having trouble communicating with Dialga lately in the postgame.
4. I don't know what this is referring to, but I think the postgame explained everything about what happened to Primal Dialga pretty thoroughly.
@@user-kh4dn8no4y I will get back to you in a few weeks, when I redo the game. I don't know what you are referring to. Yes I have played it all.
You are right about n°2, my bad.
@@Nimos087 no he isn't. This hack is not consistent with canon
this video was lowkey one of the best videos I saw recently
This was so much fun to watch, amazing ❤🎉
57:14 The moment I played the game and saw this scene along with Cherrim's death I was really sad.
I'm only a few minutes in and it feels like this is so well made already. I'm in love
I Try This Games Last Week And It's Fun🔥🔥
the author of this is a beast, felt like it was faithful to the original. really sick and inspiring job
r.i.p gligar,my favorite mon
The minun and plusle wrong way around at 5-6 minutes 😂😂😂😂
Perfect mix of funny moments, sad results and epic tragedies that managed to steal a tear from my eye when Torkoal died. Just pick, 10/10!
HOLY CRAP!!! THIS IS THE BEST FANGAME EVER🤩🤩 EVERYTHING I REMEMBERED FROM THE GAME WAS GIVEN A DEEPER MEANING THAT DOESN'T CONTRIDICT PREVIOUS ESTABLISHED LORE😍😇
Ok, that comment I made was made with complete recency-bias. I was enjoying the story and wasn't thinking to much on it's place in the overall story/timeline.
But with a day to process what I watched I do have some criticism:
1. I don't enjoy Dusknoir being the way he is due to Darkrai's influence. I always observed Dusknoir as a reaction type of character whom responds to anything that happens around him that effect him. And as such is someone who would go to any lenghts to preserve his own life, a reflection of Grovyle whom strifes to preserve life in general at the cost of himself and is himself a character who acts.
I don't like that in this story Darkrai has artificially changed Dusclops, it robs the character of their own self-agency and makes them come across as a puppet without a will of their own (which yes I can see that is how they tried to present the character here, but it does not work as well compared to someone who full heartedly believes in their own cause/actions)
2. I don't like Dusclops actions for the most part because of how increasingly shallow he grows. To add to the artificial behaviour, Rampardod telling/influencing him is unneeded and didn't need to be there imo. I would rather see the character show off his wisdom/knowledge like how Dusknoir was originally presented before he was revealed to be a bad guy.
3. In the timeline, when Dusknoir showed up at the Guild, everyone talked about him as through he was someone who had made a name for himself across the lands for years. But in this fanfic him and Grovyle arrive in the past at the same time so when did he have time to do all the explorations/expeditions he got regarded for?
Just noticed I mainly focused on Dusknoir, but that's because he is the one with a character formed by his own actions and beliefes as opposed to Grovyle whom acts and reacts of his own will/character 😁 That I enjoy and love ❤️
But don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this and I am so glad to see the fan community come togheter makes amazing assets like the facial expressions, new animations and locals to almost create what feels like a new game. I truly hope these continue and would support them 🙏 🥰
genuinely got unsettled because of how dark this was but this was so good holy
Wow…. That was way more heartbreaking than I could’ve ever thought… DAMN
I’m with Celebi. Not only that Grovile is really cool and strong in the pokemon games, but in the Mystery Dungeon anime, he was voiced by Dan Green! Best. Voice. Legend. Ever.
Something I don’t understand about mystery dungeon is the fact Mewtwo exists. He said he was created in Red Rescue Team (I haven’t got to that fight tho so I don’t know more, too much floors) but by who?! Did he somehow come from the human world?!
oh my god i didnt know there were pmd romhacks this is like christmas
I've been playing pokemon since Yellow came out, and I firmly believe the mystery dungeon series is better than the main series by leagues and miles. I love Good rom hacks for these games. I really do.
Man... I gotta play more mystery dungeon
Wait it CAN’T RND! PLS!😭 I want it to be longer. I really wish it was real, this is some of the best Storytelling in any game ever. I almost shed a few tears too, especially when the human becomes a Pokemon. Iconic, ICONIC. 😭👏
Dusclops/Dusknoir didn’t deserve to be a bad guy, I feel so bad for him. He was saved, tortured in his own minds, made to KILL his friends without remorse until the point where he lost his sanity.
Wow, this fantastic...and frighteningly dark. Yet completely plausible at the same time.
13:45 I'm guessing that that means it's the diglett from the original mystery dungeon