Summary
Nintendo has announced thatPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamwill be added to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service on August 9. TheNintendo Switch Online service’s offeringshave grown quite a bit over the past couple of years, with the introduction of the Expansion Pack tier giving gamers access to a host of older games from the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 libraries. While the service is still divisive, Nintendo has been regularly adding new titles every month. This month’s addition is a rather unexpected but still well-regarded game,Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team.
Many fans have wanted the mainline Pokemon games like Pokemon Red, Crystal, and Sapphire on the service for a long time. Currently, the onlyPokemongames onNintendo Switch Onlineare spin-offs, which are thePokemon Stadiumduology,Pokemon Puzzle League, the Game BoyPokemon TCGgame, andPokemon Snapon N64. The latest addition to the service is another spin-off,Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, and is one of the first games that started the fan favoriteMystery Dungeonsubseries.
The firstPokemon Mystery Dungeongame launched on both the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS in 2005, split into two versions:Red Rescue Teamfor the GBA andBlue Rescue Teamfor the DS. Like other mainlinePokemongames, they had their own exclusive features and Pokemon. The Nintendo Switch Online service is gettingthe GBA version ofPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Teamvia the NSO Expansion Pack tier on June 21, 2025.
When Is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team Coming to Nintendo Switch Online?
InPokemon Mystery Dungeon, the player is turned into a Pokemon and loses their memories of their human life. Through a series of events, the player and their partner Pokemon go exploring various dungeons and get involved in a plot that involves saving the world. WhileRed Rescue Team’s, and by extensionBlue Rescue Team’s, story and content is on the shorter side compared to its sequels, it is still a well-regarded entry inthePokemon Mystery Dungeonsubseries.
The re-release of this older title is a big surprise for many fans, asPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, an enhanced remake of bothRed Rescue TeamandBlue Rescue Team, is already on the Switch. That said, thePokemon Mystery Dungeonremake changes a few aspects from the original, the most notable one being the Personality Quiz at the start of the game, whose answers determined what Pokemon the player would play. If the player was dissatisfied with their results, they could change their player Pokemon to something different. The graphics have also received a major overhaul, going for a 3D storybook-esque art style instead of 2D sprites. With the re-release ofRed Rescue Team, fans can revisit what made the first entry in the series so special in its original form.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017, capable of being played in handheld mode or docked to a television. The Switch Lite, a handheld-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh coming in 2021.
