Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs
Encyclopedia
is an action role-playing game
video game for the Nintendo DS
. It is the sequel of Pokémon Ranger
and Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
and third installment of its series. It was released in Japan on March 6, 2010, North America on October 4, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010. Gameplay revolves around capturing Pokémon with the Capture Styler by drawing circles around them. The game received mixed or average reviews, with Metacritic
and GameRankings giving it a 68% and 69% respectively.
in which gameplay revolves around capturing Pokémon with the Capture Styler by drawing circles around them. If the Pokémon breaks through the drawn circles by using attacks on them, then the styler's health goes down, and runs out of energy. When energy reaches 0, the styler breaks and the game resumes from the last save point. However, if, for example, the Pokemon walks through the styler's line without using an attack, the styler's line will break, but the styler does not take damage. Capturing Pokémon and completing missions increases XP, which can lead to styler upgrades, such as power upgrade and energy upgrade. After a certain point, the styler can be charged in order to be more effective. One of the new features lets you call out your Pokémon for support and to help in captures. The player can use "Guardian Signs" (also referred to in the game as "Ranger Signs" or "Emblems" by drawing certain symbols, to summon Legendary Pokémon like Entei
, Raikou, and Suicune
and use them outside of battle. Other features include four player cooperative play
with unique missions. The game also includes Wi-Fi
mission downloads, one of which gives you access to Deoxys
, which can be moved to the DS's other Pokémon games.
with a ukulele
, who is known throughout the game as the Ukelele Pichu. This Pichu becomes the partner Pokémon of this game. It will join the player as their Partner Pokémon, after they fix its broken ukulele. As a newly recruited Pokémon Ranger, the player would go on various missions and encounter friends, foes, and rivals, not to mention hordes of Pokémon. The new enemy, the Pokémon Pinchers, are poaching and selling Pokémon. With newly found Pokémon companions at his side, the player begins his journey to put a stop to the Pokémon Pinchers and restore peace in Oblivia.
for the Nintendo DS
. It was first revealed on January 13, 2010 by Japan's CoroCoro Comic
, which had first details about the games. On January 15, Nintendo Japan made an official announcement for the game, and provided screenshots and artwork. It was released in Japan on March 6, 2010, North America on October 4, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010.
and GameRankings giving it a 68% and 69% respectively. GamePro
rated the game 3/5 stars, stating "Guardian Signs isn't much of a departure from the last two titles in the series". IGN
's Kristine Steimer rated the game 7/10, stating the graphics of "the different environments look really sharp" and "The music depicts the mood of the story very well". GamesRadar
rated the game 6/10, stating "Guardian Signs is a great game for small children, but is too simplistic for the rest of us." GameZone
rated the game 6.5/10, and commented "The visuals of Guardian Signs actually surprised me... both the characters and the world of Oblivia contain more details than the main Pokemon games."
It was the top selling game in Japan for the week of March 1 through March 7, selling 161,000 copies. It stayed at the top the next week, selling 65,000 copies. It continued to stay on the charts, selling 360,000 copies in the game's first month.
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
video game for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It is the sequel of Pokémon Ranger
Pokémon Ranger
is an action/role-playing video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released at various dates, varying between continents. The game was first released in Japan on March 22, 2006 and was later released in North America and...
and Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
is an action/role-playing video game developed by Creatures Inc. for the Nintendo DS video game console. It is the sequel to the Pokémon Ranger video game, also for the DS....
and third installment of its series. It was released in Japan on March 6, 2010, North America on October 4, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010. Gameplay revolves around capturing Pokémon with the Capture Styler by drawing circles around them. The game received mixed or average reviews, with Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings giving it a 68% and 69% respectively.
Gameplay
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is an action role-playing gameAction role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
in which gameplay revolves around capturing Pokémon with the Capture Styler by drawing circles around them. If the Pokémon breaks through the drawn circles by using attacks on them, then the styler's health goes down, and runs out of energy. When energy reaches 0, the styler breaks and the game resumes from the last save point. However, if, for example, the Pokemon walks through the styler's line without using an attack, the styler's line will break, but the styler does not take damage. Capturing Pokémon and completing missions increases XP, which can lead to styler upgrades, such as power upgrade and energy upgrade. After a certain point, the styler can be charged in order to be more effective. One of the new features lets you call out your Pokémon for support and to help in captures. The player can use "Guardian Signs" (also referred to in the game as "Ranger Signs" or "Emblems" by drawing certain symbols, to summon Legendary Pokémon like Entei
Entei
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Entei first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, animated adaptations, and printed adaptations of the...
, Raikou, and Suicune
Suicune
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Suicune first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, animated adaptations, and printed adaptations of the...
and use them outside of battle. Other features include four player cooperative play
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
with unique missions. The game also includes Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
mission downloads, one of which gives you access to Deoxys
Deoxys
is a fictional species of Pokémon from Nintendo's and Game Freak's Pokémon media franchise. The result of an extraterrestrial virus's exposure to a laser beam, Deoxys frequently appears around auroras. It is recognized as a Legendary Pokémon of the third generation...
, which can be moved to the DS's other Pokémon games.
Plot
The game takes place on the island region of Oblivia. The player, and a friend and fellow Ranger, Ben (Summer, if the player is male), are flying on Staraptors in the clouds, chasing after Pokemon Pinchers after Latias (Latios for male players). The player allows Latios/Latias to escape by distracting the Pinchers. However, when their squad leader, Red Eyes comes in, the player's partner taunts Red Eyes. He responds by shooting a plasma gun. The player moves forward and shields their partner from the blow, and is sent into the sea below, where the player loses and eventually recovers their styler. (The player's partner is then kidnapped.) The player washes up on a beach- the shores of Dolce Island. The player meets a PichuPichu
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Pichu first appeared in the video games Pokémon Gold and Silver and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. There...
with a ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
, who is known throughout the game as the Ukelele Pichu. This Pichu becomes the partner Pokémon of this game. It will join the player as their Partner Pokémon, after they fix its broken ukulele. As a newly recruited Pokémon Ranger, the player would go on various missions and encounter friends, foes, and rivals, not to mention hordes of Pokémon. The new enemy, the Pokémon Pinchers, are poaching and selling Pokémon. With newly found Pokémon companions at his side, the player begins his journey to put a stop to the Pokémon Pinchers and restore peace in Oblivia.
Development
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs was developed by Creatures Inc.Creatures Inc.
is a subsidiary of the Japanese game development company Nintendo. It was founded by Tsunekazu Ishihara in November 1995, as a successor to Shigesato Itoi's company Ape Inc. Its current president is Hirokazu Tanaka. The company has its headquarters on the second floor of the in Chiyoda, Tokyo, in...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It was first revealed on January 13, 2010 by Japan's CoroCoro Comic
CoroCoro Comic
is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Shogakukan, starting on May 15, 1977. Its main target is elementary school aged boys, younger than the readers of shōnen manga...
, which had first details about the games. On January 15, Nintendo Japan made an official announcement for the game, and provided screenshots and artwork. It was released in Japan on March 6, 2010, North America on October 4, 2010, and Europe on November 5, 2010.
Reception
The game received mixed or average reviews, with MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and GameRankings giving it a 68% and 69% respectively. GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
rated the game 3/5 stars, stating "Guardian Signs isn't much of a departure from the last two titles in the series". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Kristine Steimer rated the game 7/10, stating the graphics of "the different environments look really sharp" and "The music depicts the mood of the story very well". GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
rated the game 6/10, stating "Guardian Signs is a great game for small children, but is too simplistic for the rest of us." GameZone
GameZone
GameZone is an American multiplatform video game website. GameZone's daily coverage includes reviews, previews, news, hints & cheats, and editorials. Additionally, GameZone offers downloads, a child-targeted website and in association with GameStop, hosts GZGameShop, an online retailer...
rated the game 6.5/10, and commented "The visuals of Guardian Signs actually surprised me... both the characters and the world of Oblivia contain more details than the main Pokemon games."
It was the top selling game in Japan for the week of March 1 through March 7, selling 161,000 copies. It stayed at the top the next week, selling 65,000 copies. It continued to stay on the charts, selling 360,000 copies in the game's first month.