The Pokemon franchise has been a staple in the diet of Nintendo handheld owners for quite some time. While Pokemon games normally release in pairs and feature an emphasis on collecting and battling, Pokemon Ranger is a departure of sorts from the standard formula. Ranger isn’t releasing with a color counterpart, nor do you need to train and battle your captured Pokemon, but instead it attempts to bring new styles of gameplay and new mechanics to the Pokemon world. So does this Pokemon capture our hearts, or is it more of a lone Ranger? Read on for the full review.
Facts and Features
- Players play as a Pokemon Ranger who works to help people, Pokemon and nature.
- The game introduces a new way to catch Pokemon using the stylus called “Capturing.”
- This game can be played using only the touch screen and stylus, allowing for a unique experience found only on the Nintendo DS. The player captures Pokemon by drawing circles around them with the stylus. By doing this, they are communicating with the Pokemon and sending it their feelings.
- Capturing a Pokemon allows players to use its ability and solve various problems they will face along the way (such as clearing obstacles blocking the path). They also can use their ability to help capture other Pokemon.
Instead of capturing and training Pokemon to battle each other, this iteration of the franchise has you playing the role of a Pokemon Ranger; a dedicated individual to preserving wild Pokemon, their habitat, and peace in the Fiore region. You start out by choosing whether you want to play as a male or female ranger, and then you’re quickly thrown into your adventure. You’ll spend a very brief moment in training before you’re officially given the title as Pokemon Ranger and trusted with completing missions. To progress in the game, you’ll be required to complete various missions that will have you capturing rogue Pokemon, dealing with natural disasters, resolving conflicts, and averting crises of all varieties. You can think of yourself of what the recently departed Steve Irwin would have been if Pokemon were his passion instead of crocodiles.
So how does a Pokemon Ranger do his job, and what exactly are the tools of his trade? Right at the beginning of the game you’ll be given what’s called a Styler. This Styler is used to capture Pokemon so that you can calm them down and befriend them. To use the Styler, you simply need to approach a Pokemon of interest and engage in the capture mode. You’ll find yourself in a capture minigame of sorts where the Pokemon will be running around on the touch screen and you’ll need to draw circles around it in order to capture the little critter. The more powerful the Pokemon, the more circles you’ll need to draw in order to complete the capture. To complicate matters, if the Pokemon makes contact with the circles you draw, you’ll fail the capture and lose a little bit of energy. If you run out of energy, you’ll lose the opportunity to capture the Pokemon completely. Some Pokemon in the latter stages of the game can be infuriatingly difficult to capture, but with patience none of them prove to be impossible.
To capture this Charizard, you’ll need to avoid his flames and do some quick circling.
Once you’ve captured a Pokemon with your Styler, it will will follow you around and you can make use of its abilities. Early on in the game there’s a tree on fire, so you’ll need to find a Pokemon with water abilities to capture so that you can make use of its talents to douse the flames. These ally Pokemon will stay with you until you release them or until you’ve returned them to their rightful owners (in the case of domesticated Pokemon). Most of the puzzle elements in the game are centered around finding Pokemon to help you out when you’re in need. When capturing Pokemon proves difficult, you can often use an ally Pokemon to stun a target Pokemon long enough to capture it with your Styler.
The game controls well and gives you two options for playing the game. If you wish, you can play the entire game with the touch screen. To move your character around you only need to touch a spot on the screen and he or she will walk right to that spot. To read signs, talk with villagers, or interact with objects, you simply need to give it a quick tap and your command will be executed. This is actually a really nice way of getting things done. Instead of having to walk up to each character individually in a crowded room or area, you simply need to just tap them one by one. It’s not a huge revolution in gaming or anything like that, but it’s a nice way of using the touch screen to make the game more enjoyable. You can also navigate and interact with the world using standard d-pad and buttons like any other “traditional” game. I found myself attached to the touch screen controls, however, and I think most other games will too.
Pokemon can be such jerks sometimes.
Graphically, Pokemon Ranger is pretty standard for the most part. The game uses some nice 2D sprites while the backgrounds are colorful and range from lively to static depending on your location. It definitely looks nicer than the GBA Pokemon titles, however. A lot of character can be found in the faces, expressions, and body language of the Pokemon and villagers; but the DS is definitely capable of a more robust graphical presentation.
The sound effects in the game really aren’t much of a step up from what we’ve seen in the franchise even in its earliest days. The Pokemon do have their distinct cries and roars, but they are still muffled and weak sounding. It’s probably time that some higher quality samples are recorded for the Pokemon. The music is similar in theme and style to the mainstream titles in the franchise, neither adding to nor detracting from the overall package all that much. Pokemon music fans will feel at home here.
The adventure itself is fairly long, but unfortunately it lacks the longevity of other Pokemon titles. Without the capture, train, and battle aspects in this title, there isn’t much left to do after completing the main adventure besides a few bonus missions and the completion of your Pokedex. You’ll most likely have an enjoyable time your first play through the game, but sadly you won’t feel a strong pull to return to the game any time soon. That’s not to say that the game is forgettable, it’s just not complex or deep enough to keep you coming back multiple times.
This dude’s running with a tough crowd.
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As mentioned in our previous hands-on, Pokemon Ranger is a nice diversion from the standard capture and train formula that has been the standard in the mainstream titles. It’s nice to see that the Pokemon franchise is often branching out and trying new things, even if they don’t quite hold up to the old tried and true formula. Pokemon Ranger is a nice title for Pokemon fans and its unique capturing mechanic is an interesting gameplay twist that’s worth trying out. For some, the Styler mechanic will be an engaging experience, but for others it might be a bit too basic to try and sustain their attention throughout the entire adventure. All in all, Pokemon Ranger is a nice, casual experience that would probably have been better suited to be released during the slow summer months rather than during the holiday blitz. If you decide to pass on Ranger this holiday season, try to remember it sometime down the line.
— Jeff Rivera
