As someone who didn't play this back in the day, can someone else describe the game? Is this basically Pokémon Diablo (except much more kid-focused obviously)? It feels aimed at much younger kids than the main RPG, is that accurate?
It's a mystery dungeon genre game (which is a genre, not just for this spin-off series) where you explore a dungeon with a set number of floors and types of Pokemon, but randomised layout and item and trap placement, that changes every time you enter the dungeon.
Your team is comprised of a max of 4 Pokemon, possibly reduced if you want to bring a giant Pokemon like certain legendaries and other Pokemon, of which you can only control the leader while the other Pokemon follow you just do random attacks, unless you set orders for other things. You can also only bring a set number of items based on your bag size, rather than unlimited like the main games. There also traps, some of which are mildly annoying, while others could end your dungeon run or badly damage your team, such as a monster house trap, which summons about 2 dozen enemy Pokemon into a room. Otherwise, Pokemon types and matchups remain unchanged and Pokemon still have their usual stats, such as Hp, AtK, Def and so on. The gameplay is also completely turn based, so Pokemon in the dungeon won't move until you move or make an attack. Your Pokemon also get hungry and need to be kept fed, otherwise they'll start taking damage.
In terms of focus, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, especially the earlier ones, tend to have some of the best stories of the Pokemon franchise as a whole and in terms of difficulty, the late game dungeons are most certainly not kid-focused with late game dungeons usually having item or team restrictions or even reducing your level, possibly to one. I'm not sure about this game, but the hardest dungeon in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky had restrictions such as No items or money can be brought in, only one Pokemon is allowed, your level is reduced to 1 and all abilities are disabled, not to mention that the dungeon is 99 floors and since every floor is randomised, you can't plan for a optimal run and can easily be destroyed by a trap or a lack of items.
