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.