Nintendo has announced that the Game Boy Advance classicPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamwill be coming to Nintendo Switch Online on July 18, 2025. This is a great excuse for those of us who never had a chance to play this spin-off series to dive in like it’s launch day.
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamwas the lastPokémongame to be released for theGame Boy Advance.Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Teamwas its counterpart on the Nintendo DS, but the only differences outside of hardware were six exclusivePokémonon each version. The game focuses on the turn-based combat elements of the series and pits you against groups of enemyPokémonas you work your way through randomized dungeons, trying to complete jobs for clients and rescue those trapped inside.
A dungeon-crawlingPokémonadventure
Nintendo announced thatPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamwould be coming to Nintendo Switch Online with apost on Twitter.The post itself doesn’t give us much to go on other than a release date, but you really don’t need more than that with a game that came out between 2005 and 2007. Yes, it’s retro enough that it had a staggered release date across various regions.
Introducing the newest Pokémon. You!Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team is coming to#NintendoSwitchfor#NintendoSwitchOnline+ Expansion members on 8/9!pic.twitter.com/ZPtmbrkUOv
InPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, you’re a human who is turned into one of sixteenPokémon. Your transformation is determined by a personality test and other factors linked to thePokémonyou become, keeping every playthrough fresh.
Once you’re aPokémon, your job is to pick up jobs from a local board to delve into dungeons and complete jobs on behalf of clients. This includes locating items, rescuing people, and battling everything you encounter. What always intrigued me about this game and its DS counterpart is that you are a Pokémon who can converse with other Pokémon. It looks completely bonkers but is also really special because mostPokémongames leave you guessing as to what your Pokémon are saying.
Unless you have a modded Game Boy Advance or a retro handheld device with a decent screen, there haven’t been any options for playingPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamon anything close to modern hardware until now.
As I mentioned, I missed out on this game the first time around because I had moved on fromPokémongames and was playing strange DS titles likeThe Legend of Zelda: Phantom HourglassandHotel Dusk: Room 215. I felt like I was missing out at the time, though, which is why I’ll be loading up Nintendo Switch Online come launch day to jump in alongside other newcomers and returning fans alike.
