History VideoGame / MysteryDungeon

* ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'': The ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' series is by far the most popular iteration of the ''Mystery Dungeon'' franchise, and likely the first games many will think of when discussing the series. This version of the ''Mystery Dungeon'' games features many ''Pokémon''-themed elements, such as DefeatEqualsFriendship for recruiting party members and ElementalRockPaperScissors combat.

* RegeneratingHealth: You will recover HP every few turns you're not in combat as long as your Hunger stat isn't 0. If your Hunger reaches 0, you will take damage every few turns instead.

** One of the other key mechanics of the series is the Belly (known as "Fullness" in some games) stat. Starting at 100, Belly slowly ticks down as you move and fight through the dungeon. You have RegeneratingHealth while you have at least 1 Belly, but as soon as it hits 0 you will start ''losing'' HP until you are KO'd or restore it. Belly can be restored by eating food items; all food-based consumables will restore some Belly, but there are always items specifically made to recover large quantities of Hunger, such as Apples, Bread or Gyshal Greens. Maximum Belly can also be temporarily increased in certain ways, while Shiny Pokémon start with ''200'' Belly.
** A BrutalBonusLevel in ''Chocobo's Dungeon 2'' takes this to the extreme by forcing the player to ''always'' have 0 Hunger.

** The early ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' games have Hidden Machines just like the main ''Pokémon'' games, which are required to enter certain dungeons via either having a Pokémon that knows the move or carrying the HM as an inventory item. Later games did away with this.

** One of the other key mechanics of the series is the Hunger (known as "Fullness" in some games) stat. Starting at 100, Hunger slowly ticks down as you move and fight through the dungeon. You have RegeneratingHealth while you have at least 1 Hunger, but as soon as it hits 0 you will start ''losing'' HP until you are KO'd or restore it. Hunger can be restored by eating food items; all food-based consumables will restore some Hunger, but there are always items specifically made to recover large quantities of Hunger, such as Apples, Bread or Gyshal Greens. Maximum Hunger can also be temporarily increased in certain ways, while Shiny Pokémon start with ''200'' Hunger.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': The ''Final Fantasy''-themed ''Mystery Dungeon'' games are part of a spinoff series of ''[[VideoGame/ChocobosDungeon Chocobo]]'' games, which star the titular MascotMook of the franchise. Starting with ''Fables'', the ''Final Fantasy'' JobSystem is featured as a core mechanic.

* ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'': Similar to the original ''The Tower of Druaga'', this version of ''Mystery Dungeon'' revolves heavily around EquipmentBasedProgression, with Gil's armor and weapons influencing both combat and exploration.

* ''VideoGame/ShirenTheWanderer'': Chunsoft's first original video game series and the only ''Mystery Dungeon'' games to not be based on an existing property. The series follows the titular Shiren, a {{Ronin}} who goes on a variety of adventures in fantastical lands.

* BrutalBonusLevel: If you didn't think the games were hard enough, there's quite a few "special" dungeons unlocked in the post-game that are even more difficult than the rest of the game. ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' is the most notorious, including many extremely luck-based dungeons such as Purity Forest and Wish Tower, while the ''Chocobo'' games have their own "special rule" dungeons that impose similar restrictions.

The series has a long history of {{Licensed Game}}s in collaboration with a variety of other video games, often being spinoffs of other popular franchises with the "Mystery Dungeon" name in the title. Many of the themed games take elements of their source material and interpret them into the ''Mystery Dungeon'' formula, creating unique experiences with each new game despite sharing the same core elements.

* ContinuingIsPainful: Being defeated in a ''Mystery Dungeon'' game is incredibly demoralizing. You lose a huge chunk of your inventory, which can include multiple valuable and/or powerful items, and you will lose most, if not all of the money you were carrying. Some games offer ways to protect some of your valuables, such as in-town storage, Ishtar's Shrines in ''The Nightmare of Druaga'', or the rescue system in ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' and the Nintendo DS remakes of the ''Shiren'' games.

* ShopliftAndDie: Steal from {{Dungeon Shop}}s at your own peril. Doing so spawns either a BonusBoss or endless amounts of extremely powerful and dangerous enemies that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard always know your location]] and will chase you relentlessly until you either escape by moving to the next floor, or keel over. NoFairCheating also kicks in to prevent the player from using items or techniques such as Escape Scrolls/Escape Orbs to easily escape their pursuers. Unfortunately, [[ViolationOfCommonSense doing this is the only way to recruit Kecleon]] in the ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' games, meaning that you will have to do it at some point if you want HundredPercentCompletion.

* ShopliftAndDie: Steal from {{Dungeon Shop}}s at your own peril. Doing so spawns either a BonusBoss or endless amounts of extremely powerful and dangerous enemies that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard always know your location]] and will chase you relentlessly until you either escape by moving to the next floor, or keel over. Unfortunately, [[ViolationOfCommonSense doing this is the only way to recruit Kecleon]] in the ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' games, meaning that you will have to do it at some point if you want HundredPercentCompletion.

* ShopliftAndDie: Steal from {{Dungeon Shop}}s at your own peril. Doing so spawns either a BonusBoss or endless amounts of extremely powerful and dangerous enemies that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard always know your location]] and will chase you relentlessly until you either escape by moving to the next floor, or keel over. Unfortunately, [[ViolationOfCommonSense doing this is the only way to recruit Kechleon]] in the ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' games, meaning that you will have to do it at some point if you want HundredPercentCompletion.

* ShopliftAndDie: Steal from DungeonShops at your own peril. Doing so spawns either a BonusBoss or endless amounts of extremely powerful and dangerous enemies that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard always know your location]] and will chase you relentlessly until you either escape by moving to the next floor, or keel over. Unfortunately, [[ViolationOfCommonSense doing this is the only way to recruit Kechleon]] in the ''Pokémon Mystery Dungeon'' games, meaning that you will have to do it at some point if you want HundredPercentCompletion.

* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: One of the other key mechanics of the series is the Hunger (known as "Fullness" in some games) stat. Starting at 100, Hunger slowly ticks down as you move and fight through the dungeon. You have RegeneratingHealth while you have at least 1 Hunger, but as soon as it hits 0 you will start ''losing'' HP until you are KO'd or restore it. Hunger can be restored by eating food items; all food-based consumables will restore some Hunger, but there are always items specifically made to recover large quantities of Hunger, such as Apples, Bread or Gyshal Greens. Maximum Hunger can also be temporarily increased in certain ways, while Shiny Pokémon start with ''200'' Hunger.

* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: One of the other key mechanics of the series is the Hunger (known as "Fullness" in some games) stat. Starting at 100, Hunger slowly ticks down as you move and fight through the dungeon. You have RegeneratingHealth while you have at least 1 Hunger, but as soon as it hits 0 you will start ''losing'' HP until you are KO'd or restore it. Hunger can be restored by eating food items; all food-based consumables will restore some Hunger, but there are always items specifically made to recover large quantities of Hunger, such as Apples or Bread. Maximum Hunger can also be temporarily increased in certain ways.

** In games where the {{Roguelite}} elements are more pronounced, the player can improve their character long-term by making or obtaining better equipment. ''Shiren the Wanderer'' and ''The Nightmare of Druaga'' prominently revolve around using equipment.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: More modern games offer a Suspend Save feature as a way to pause progress in the middle of a dungeon, allowing you to pick up the game later without having to start over.

* EquipmentBasedProgression: In games where the {{Roguelite}} elements are more pronounced, the player can improve their character long-term by making or obtaining better equipment. ''Shiren the Wanderer'' and ''The Nightmare of Druaga'' prominently revolve around using equipment.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': The ''Final Fantasy''-themed ''Mystery Dungeon'' games are part of a spinoff series of ''[[VideoGame/ChocobosDungeon Chocobo]]'' games, which star the titular MascotMook of the franchise. The ''Final Fantasy'' JobSystem is featured as a core mechanic.

** ''VideoGame/ChocobosDungeon2''

** ''Chocobo's Dungeon 2''