Light in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - A Thematic Analysis

Published 2023-10-13
Haha, you fools! You’ve all fallen into my trap of building an audience just so I can talk about one of my most precious loves, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky! This game is so rich in subtext, main text, and just all of the text and I couldn’t help but dive into some good old fashioned thematic analysis on this amazing, wonderful game. Join me in this sojourn through the light of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, I think you’ll learn something along the way.
(Also, apologies about the desync with the title summons, it was working fine until after I exported it and then I couldn’t fix it. I did my best to make it tenable though.)
Timestamps:
0:003:58 Prelude (Welcome to the World of Pokémon!)
3:586:00 Darkness (The Power of Darkness)
6:0011:36 Success (It’s Not a Miracle)
11:3616:42 Renewal (For a New Life)
16:4222:50 Redemption (In The Morning Sun)
22:5026:57 Hope (A New Dawn)
26:5728:01 Postlude (At The End of The Day)
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Twitter: vivat_veritas
Tumblr: tumblr.com/vivat-veritas
Patreon: www.patreon.com/vivatveritas
Music Used (All from PMD EOS unless stated otherwise)
Welcome to the World of Pokémon!
In the Future
Time Gear Remix
Hidden Highland
Crystal Cave
For a New Life
Life Goes On!
Planet’s Paralysis
The Power of Darkness
Icicle Forest
In The Morning Sun
Beach at Dusk
Undella Town Spring/Summer/Autumn (Pokémon Black 2 and White 2)
All footage used is credited at the end of the video.

All Comments (21)
  • @DyxoXinoro
    Its a shame this didn't do the numbers that the UT/DR videos do. I've never heard someone approach these games from this angle.
  • @bigbadgammagnome
    Pokémon mystery dungeon explorers??? I'm here instantly hell yeah
  • @nico1520
    I was absolutely flabbergasted at the fact that there was no thematic analysis of EoS up until this point, considering how rich and emotional this game and characters are. I don't like dissing on other content creators, but the only other video I watched on this game (that isn't about music) was basically just a plot summary, which made me feel really disappointed. Other than the main plot and the last extra chapter, Igglybuff's and Armaldo's extra chapter also really resonated with me, and I was kinda expecting to see more of that here. Amazing video. I think you did EoS justice PD: Primal Dialga's Japanese name is "Dark Dialga"
  • @gravitysilence
    Oh! I didn't expect to see a Pokémon Mystery Dungeon video in my subscription feed today. What a lovely surprise :) I don't have any clever thoughts to add to the discussion, but I simply must leave a comment. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers holds a special place in my heart, too. It makes me happy to see someone exploring the themes of the game, especially with the care and attention to detail you've clearly put into the video. I had never thought of how important a role light plays in PMD:E's narrative, but now I have another reason to appreciate the game. This video reminded me of why I love PMD as much as I do to begin with, so thank you for creating it <3
  • @Chowder_T
    I feel Explorers of Sky's strength is in how take a theme that has been treaded on before and still saying it with conviction. The value of holding onto hope and trying to make things better vs giving into despair as represented by light and dark has been done by plenty of jrpg's. Just recently Octopath Traveler 2 (amazing game btw I highly recommend) did just that. EoS says it with such ernestness that it still manages to be moving rather than illicit groans.
  • @settime2032
    i am comsuming this video essay in the best way (knowing nothing about the game and just nodding like i know whats going on)
  • @brilliant_Potato
    One of my favorite channels making a video about one of my favorite franchises
  • @TsukiSuk-i
    AHHHHH PMD EOS IS MY FAVORITE GAME EVER, it’s so great to see one of my new favorite YouTubers cover it
  • @aPink_Lemon
    Do not be deterred! This is also a fantastic video!
  • @wholehorse331
    I loved Rescue Team and Explorers when they came out but I had never played Explorers of Sky. Good video.
  • it's silly but I kinda feel like I should apologize for not watching this video sooner lol, explorers of sky is like one of my favorite games and I would love to see more analysis of it like this. dusknoir is also my favorite character too btw special episode 5 gave me serious brain rot as a kid so I feel validated when I see people singing it's praises well he is my favorite character aside from wigglytuff lol,
  • @Richardiii2
    I am glad this game is still getting attention. It's one of my favorites
  • @scootie_scoot
    it’s hard for me to put into words how special explorers of sky is to me…this video captures a lot of my experience with the game.
  • @Ceradeez
    this game was a formative piece of media in my childhood that properly showed me the merit of media as art as pretentious as it might sound and personally this video does it so much justice i always noticed these aspects of the story but this video helps articulate the themes and how they are executed in a way struggled to before so that's pretty cool of you
  • @TheLonelyKirby
    A PMD (EoS) video essay?! I may have already susbscribed but i definitely want to find a way to do it again, can't wait to watch this!!!
  • @SmartieLTT
    I think, intentional or not, the things that make mystery dungeon games an 'experience' that gives me hope are the little details. Explorers of sky holds these landmarks that stick out clearly in your head as 'goals' to reach. And your journey to them is different, in whatever stage of your life, or someone else's journey at their point they take it that reflects. Sure on a replay the 'story' is the same, or less impactful if you know how it will go. But the world feels alive because just like real life, these places you go to, if you've been to them before they are easier to navigate, but they are always changing. You yourself, are also always a little different, and the personality quiz perhaps most unintentionally reflects that by showing you that life gives you different questions, and that in turn shapes 'who' you are. If you are determined to become a specific pokemon/person, you probably won't get it on the first try unless you're lucky. And if you get to be the pokemon/person you want, you had best also realize that they face different kinds of challenges on their path to the goal of being the hero of that world. (With what points bottleneck you with bossfights.) Your choice of partner in a sense too, reflects how 'easy' or difficult your journey will be, but is it a better, or a worse journey because it was more challenging? Or easy? I doubt they planned this out but it's fun to see how different people experienced the game, while some things stay the same. Thanks for making this video, and showing yet another beautiful, fun perspective on a wonderful experience.
  • @thebucketgod9177
    I may have joined the ride for the Undertale, but my god this video was wonderful too! I would love to see you do some other non-Undertale stuff in the future if they’re as good as this was.
  • @amoryacosta2915
    over the past year or so i’ve been working (really slowly lol) on the story for a pokémon mystery dungeon style TTRPG using a system a friend made. i’ve really been struggling with getting off the ground thematically though, and this video is very helpful for providing some more insight into what makes EoS so special!! i really hope that i can capture some of that magic in my campaign :)
  • @pircachupi4771
    This is a great video! I didn't know apparently deltarune fans are apparently very commonly EoS fans, but they're both two of my favorite games, and I love getting to see a thematic analysis of it when most of the consensus just seems to be "It's very good" and "The music is fantastic" Also glad to see another future polycule believer!