Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team is the game that started the entire Mystery Dungeon spin-off line, released on GBA alongside a Nintendo DS counterpart, Blue Rescue Team. It introduced the personality quiz that decides which Pokemon you play as, the partner-Pokemon system, and the core loop the whole series still runs on: exploring randomly generated dungeons floor by floor to complete rescue missions posted at the guild.

Unlike mainline Pokemon games, combat here is grid-based and turn-based, closer to a classic roguelike — every step you take is a turn for every Pokemon on the floor, hunger and item management matter, and losing your whole team deep in a dungeon sends you back to town with reduced rewards. Red Rescue Team set the template that Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky would later expand on with more Pokemon and features.

This page hosts the verified Red Rescue Team ROM, built for Delta Emulator on iPhone — load it directly with no BIOS file or extra setup required.