FAQ: PMD: Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth/Gates to Infinity Discussion Thread

[Rakurai]

Just the fact that you can reliably get at least two devices per run of the starter DLC dungeons made them feel worthwhile to me, since every single Pokemon I use regularly can be boosted by them.

 

[Mokoniki]

I finished this game a few days ago and while I enjoyed it, I would say it's my least favorite of all the PMD games. I just felt something was really missing from this game. I really liked how your player character had much more of a personality this time around. They didn't just speak inside their minds and openly engaged in conversations with others. And to add onto that, I liked the personalities of your other partners like Emolga. Emolga was the greatest character ever. I liked the idea of the team attack and how team skills are basically IQ yet applicable to the whole team. I also really liked the plot twist in the story not going to spoil it for those who haven't gotten the game yet because I wasn't expecting it at all. But the lack of post game content made it feel really short and unsatisfying for me. It felt way too easy in comparison to the others. The second I could evolve my Pokemon, I did so and I haven't played the game since because it didn't feel right. I like the PMD games, but once you are allowed to evolve your Pokemon and your partner becomes like all the other generic Pokemon in the games, I just lose interest in the game. They have great stories and I become sad that the story is over and my partner no longer has a personality. It is extremely weird looking at my partner and player avatar waking up, while already awake.

 

[Rakurai]

I learned my lesson from the past PMD games that I'd eventually end up hating the decision to evolve my starter Pokemon, so I decided against it for once.

I also loved this game's primary plot twist, despite the fact I was actually expecting it before the game even came out in Japan (Thanks to some heavy analysis of the pre-release material and making some logical conclusions based on that).

 

[Stratelier]

I agree that you do seem to 'lose' something by letting your starter evolve. The lack of expression portraits in their dialogue, for one. (And given how Explorers had a full set for all 20-plus starters, Infinity could easily support a full range for the 5 starters and their 9 evos. Come on, Chunsoft, spend some more time on the little things!)

Of course, this is also compounded with the general lack of plot events in the postgame whatsoever....

 

[Hidden Mew]

The idea of not seeing that same kind of happy face from Pikachu after it evolves into Raichu every time I talk to him is pretty sad. However, I spent days searching through Skill Treasury looking for a Thunderstone only to get one from that Starmie treasure diving game earlier today. I want to evolve it, especially when I was preventing Oshawott from evolving just so that they could evolve together. I thought that it sounded cute, especially when I think I like the friendship between your starter and your partner in this game the most out of any Mystery Dungeon game. The fact that your starter can actually talk instead of just think to itself all the time helps.

 

[Stratelier]

Yeah. The player may not talk much, but we know he has a voice beyond, say, Explorer's reliance on yes/no prompts.

 

[Rakurai]

Having them actually speak out at multiple key parts of the story was a refreshing change from the trend of only giving them lines in the ending.

Though it did it feel a little silly how they'd switch between that and the usual implied speech in the course of same conversation at times.

 

[Yamadora]

This game. This game just...

...it was AWESOME! The story was really engaging, characters extremely likeable, and it broke my record of most times when I nearly cried over a Mystery Dungeon game total three times. Three! Hell, and I rarely cry over fictional stories...
The game didn't feel really short for me honestly, I played it every day hours and hours after I get it and still it took me five days to finish the main story. And even after the main story there's dungeons to explore, legendaries to beat and of course build your paraside. At least I have now something to do before X and Y are released.

Little bit about the characters...in this game, they're really well written, all of them. Virizion's story moved me so much as I have similar experiences as her, Scaggy "yo, I don't care expect that I do" attitude amuses me, Emolga's being a tough guy (but still have a soft side for Virizion) and Hydreigon is just plain awesome. Urgh, I'd like to go them all through, but I have no time to do that...

 

[Hidden Mew]

Yeah, while there isn't much to do after the storyline, there's still enough going on to the point where I'm still really into the game. I may try to get to the highest rank just for the fun of it. Besides, I'm already at the Master rank anyway. The characters are really fun and likable.

 

[Rakurai]

I'm hoping they stick to the formula of having a proper team of fleshed-out characters for the future PMD games.

It really did make the story better as a whole.

 

[Zweilous]

After finishing this game, I have to say I really liked it. It was a lot of fun once the plot kicked in and I ended up really enjoying the characters and storyline. Hydreigon in particular I just loved reading his dialogue and he's such a great twist on the "Grovyle" character expy. Also I liked the idea of this distaste for the current state of the world and the nihilism that came with it playing into the story, admittedly it's a bit passé but I still liked the way the story did it (though a bit of it was "show, don't tell" here and there, they could've benefitted from showing us just how bad the world was as we only get a bit of it from the other characters' stories). Also, the new gameplay mechanics was really helpful, for instance the exp. system, it always annoyed me when I wanted to train up a certain Pokemon but due to whatever reason I couldn't bring them along and they fell behind. Now, that's not a problem, I can do a story event or go on a quest with another group of Pokémon and still have my entire legion of Pokemon grow.

Spoiler

Finally the ending and what happens afterwards was very well done in my opinion. It plays on the typical endings of these games and flips it by having you be the one crying instead of the partner. You're leaving, you think everyone will forget you and not only don't they not forget you they give you a message promising that they never will and will always remember the times they had with you. It's both heartwarming and bittersweet, it strengthens the connection you all had and makes it all the harder to leave and break that connection. Also, I liked that they played a bit with the idea that you probably have people in the human world that miss you as well as filling in the time you're not there by playing as the partner. Those are really nice touches to an old formula since it uses it in the right way to keep it fresh and still prominent.

I have to admit, I went in with lower expectations after the backlash but I'm glad I got this game. It may be shorter then its companions but I still think it's all the more worth it to play through.

 

[Hidden Mew]

After finishing this game, I have to say I really liked it. It was a lot of fun once the plot kicked in and I ended up really enjoying the characters and storyline. Hydreigon in particular I just loved reading his dialogue and he's such a great twist on the "Grovyle" character expy. Also I liked the idea of this distaste for the current state of the world and the nihilism that came with it playing into the story, admittedly it's a bit passé but I still liked the way the story did it (though a bit of it was "show, don't tell" here and there, they could've benefitted from showing us just how bad the world was as we only get a bit of it from the other characters' stories). Also, the new gameplay mechanics was really helpful, for instance the exp. system, it always annoyed me when I wanted to train up a certain Pokemon but due to whatever reason I couldn't bring them along and they fell behind. Now, that's not a problem, I can do a story event or go on a quest with another group of Pokémon and still have my entire legion of Pokemon grow.

I really like that new mechanic for experience too. It just makes it so much easier to have keep everyone around the same levels so you don't have to be stuck doing easy missions to bring up the experiences of new Pokemon so that they can join you for the more difficult jobs.

Spoiler

Finally the ending and what happens afterwards was very well done in my opinion. It plays on the typical endings of these games and flips it by having you be the one crying instead of the partner. You're leaving, you think everyone will forget you and not only don't they not forget you they give you a message promising that they never will and will always remember the times they had with you. It's both heartwarming and bittersweet, it strengthens the connection you all had and makes it all the harder to leave and break that connection. Also, I liked that they played a bit with the idea that you probably have people in the human world that miss you as well as filling in the time you're not there by playing as the partner. Those are really nice touches to an old formula since it uses it in the right way to keep it fresh and still prominent.

Spoiler

I really liked that aspect of the ending as well. They actually acknowledged that the player could have family and friends in the human world and go through with actually having them go back there at the end, instead of everything being resolved by the time the credits are finished. It makes the solution a bit more cleaver, even though you really don't need to travel between the two worlds anyway, and definitely more satisfying to see how the characters are able to bring the player back.

I have to admit, I went in with lower expectations after the backlash but I'm glad I got this game. It may be shorter then its companions but I still think it's all the more worth it to play through.

I agree. I didn't hear a lot of backlash when the game was in its pre-release state, but it was fun and really worth a play through.

 

[ninfiaVI]

This game was incredible and impressed me so much. Blue Rescue team was my first Pokemon game, so this had to live up to my high expectations. Which it did, flawlessly.
The great parts of this game:
-The storyline: It started out very immature and seemed 'lessened' compared to the past games, especially the way it dealt with Dunsparce's crush on Virizion. However, the story became impressively complex and mature as the game went along, involving sudden plot twists, characters with depth(no pun intended), and a surprising amount of philosophy.
-Great Characterization: All team members, even the main character, has a personality in this game. The main character's personality of being intelligent, observant, and reserved surprised me, as in the past games you had no personality at all. All other characters had beautifully done backstories.
-The beautiful music. I loved the themes of Withered Savanna, the Holehills, Tyrian Maze, and Glacier Palace especially, but every theme was beautiful(except Ochre Quarry).
This game, PMD4, was truly impressive and impressed me with its quality. (Yes, it's number four. Blazing, Stormy, and Light were number three. This game was so much better than that trio)

 

[Rakurai]

I think the only thing about the story that bugged me was

Spoiler

the utter lack of drama behind Hydreigon's "death". Everyone more or less behaved as though he had never even existed shortly after the event, which is made sillier by the fact that your partner made it rather clear that he was thinking he had actually died in the ending.

Even them making a simple vow to save the world partly for his sake or them having some angry words for Kyurem when they confront him later would've made me feel satisfied in that regard.

 

[Winterdaze]

I'm late to the Gates to Infinity party, but the wait was certainly worth it. The 3D environments were very nicely done, and made exploring a lot more interesting than in previous installments. Most of the new game mechanics were great, the Exp sharing made it easy to switch up your party and try out new recruits whenever you want, and move leveling helps keep low power utility moves like Quick Attack relevant in the endgame. Team Attacks were a bit overkill, and I had to refrain from using them too often since they made battles so easy.

The characters were definitely the strongest part of the game. While the story overall is a bit weaker than PMD 2, I found the characters to be more interesting and relatable in GTI. The setting of a bleak cynical world where nobody has much hope for the future worked well. I don't know if the chief conflict in the story was supposed to be an allegory for battling depression, but that's certainly how I saw it.

I was a little disappointed that the starter evolutions lacked emotion portraits and animations, you'd think with only 5 lines to cover they could have done those easily.