Of all the games revealed during this week’s September Nintendo Direct, the one that might have been easiest to overlook is Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon: Classic HD. It only appeared for a few seconds in English-language broadcasts as part of a sizzle reel showcasing an assortment of upcoming titles, and to many viewers, its name was likely not familiar. However, its historical significance, especially for fans of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon franchise, should not be underestimated.
The original Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon was a Japan-only release developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Square Enix, a roguelike dungeon crawler in which the titular adventurer attempts to scale a mysterious, randomized dungeon. Not only was it the first-ever spin-off in the Dragon Quest series, but the game’s success led the developer to spin it off into a franchise of its own, Shiren the Wanderer. Spike Chunsoft would also later go on to collaborate with Nintendo and Game Freak for Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, which would become one of the Pokémon franchise’s most beloved spin-offs.
More than just a port of the original SNES game for modern consoles, Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon: Classic HD has been rebalanced and modernized for modern consoles. While the underlying experience remains, all the sprites and pixel art have been remastered for HD while support for widescreen, alongside the addition of a number of quality-of-life features and difficulty options, have been added. Most notably, the game even supports a new streamer mode designed for content creators: when activated, mysterious events can occur during gameplay, with viewers in a streamer’s chat voting on new rules and effects introduced to the adventure throughout. The company even created stream overlays to further encourage streamers to give this new mode a try.
While the game got short shrift in the English-language Direct (it got a longer trailer in the Japanese broadcast, as well as news of a Japan-only collector’s edition), its historical significance makes it worth highlighting as it makes its English-language debut. The game is an early pioneer of roguelikes, spawned beloved cult titles, and holds a place in Dragon Quest and gaming history. It’s also available now, if you need a unique little adventure to pass the time.