Meta:Game Structure

Game Structure refers to the way content is presented and unlocked in Mystery Dungeon games.

Fetch Structure

The player is tasked with reaching a certain floor in a dungeon, find an item or character, and then bring it back to the beginning of the dungeon by backtracking.

Games with this structure:

• Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon
• Moonlight Village Monster

Revisit Structure

The player is expected to visit locations in a main dungeon multiple times. Along the way to the end of the main dungeon, villages, characters, quests, and entrances to other dungeons may be found, unlocked, and progressed, by revisiting the same locations multiple times.

Games with this structure:

• Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer
  • Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
• Shiren 4
• Shiren 5

Linear Structure

One story event consistently leads to the next, and content is unlocked as the story progresses

Games with this structure:

• Etrian Mystery Dungeon
• Shiren 3

Free Progression

The player is allowed to keep playing side content before progressing the story to unlock more.

Games with this structure:

• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity

Forced Progression

The player needs to complete the next part of the story before being allowed to do anything else in the main game mode.

Games with this structure:

• Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon

Branched Structure

The game opens multiple branches of stories, quests, and dungeons with their own unlock requirements, such as finding specific items, or completing part of another branch.

Games with this structure:

• Magic Castle of the Desert
  • Magic Castle of the Desert DS
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX