Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Skies

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Skies is a definitive, vanilla-style NDS ROM Hack created by Staro, based on the legendary Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. Much like how Drayano approaches core-series hacks, this project aims to preserve the narrative magic and nostalgic charm of the original game while dramatically deepening its tactical depth, variety, and endgame content.

Every single dungeon across the world has been meticulously revamped with unique twists and tactical gimmicks. Rather than shifting into frustrating 'Kaizo' difficulty, the hack introduces smart challenges—such as permanent weather systems, dangerous surprise bonus floors, and severe food/resource scarcity in specific regions. Progresion feels modern and rewarding thanks to overhauled spawnlists and rebalanced difficulty curves.

Mechanically, the game introduces features inspired by later generations. Most notably, players now enjoy Complete Team Control, allowing manual turn-by-turn management of partners during dungeon crawls. Experience Points are now shared globally across the entire roster—including off-roster members at the guild—and players can directly choose their desired starter, bypassing the personality quiz if they prefer. Furthermore, Alolan Vulpix and Espurr have been added as selectable starters/partners, and starters' level-up movepools and abilities have been fully optimized.

The hack expands the game universe with spectacular additions: the Fairy Type is fully integrated along with custom Fairy Gummis and moves, Sylveon joins the roster, and the Luxio Tribe makes a triumphant return. The postgame is massive, introducing brand-new dungeons (such as Metal Crag and Drake Fjord), boss battles against Zapdos and Moltres, the ability to revisit the future to recruit a Shiny Celebi, and exclusive endgame events after gathering all Seven Treasures or recruiting mythical deities like Arceus at the peak of Destiny Tower.