>>35172649They're roguelike rpg games featuring pokemon. In each game you play as a human who wakes up as a pokemon with amnesia in a world without humans. You meet a partner character who sticks with you throughout the game and forms a team with you. You take missions to enter dungeons and can recruit other pokemon to join you.
If you've ever seen cute art of two starters together, especially if they have scarves, badges, or bags, it was probably based on this series.
The writing tends to be a little childish, but the games usually end up being surprisingly emotional. Between the fantastic music and comfy setting, the games manage to consistently create a great atmosphere that keeps me coming back despite the series' flaws.
The first game, Rescue Team, shows its age with its barely coherent story and tedious mechanics. Some people really like the amount of post game content, but anyone who tells you to start with this one is a nostalgia wanker.
The second game, Explorers is Sky, is the definitive best overall game in the series. Start with this one, and if you don't like it, don't bother with the rest.
The third, Gates to Infinity, has the best story, made the most quality of life improvements, and jumped to 3d. The tradeoff is that the game is basically incomplete. No post game to speak of, less than 160 pokemon, and slow text speed to pad out the game length left a bad impression for most people. The writing really is a step above the other three games though.
The most recent, Super, is good. It's well polished, corrects many of the previous titles' failings, and has a good amount of content. The story is weaker than Explorers and Gates, but overall it's a one of the better entries.
So if you're interested, my recommended play order is: Explorers of Sky, then Super Mystery Dungeon, then if you're committed to the series by that point, choose Rescue Team or Gates based on whether you prefer gameplay or story.
