Pokémon Ranger - A Retrospective of the Forgotten Spin-Off

Pokémon Ranger was a very strange entry in the series. This Nintendo DS exclusive (later re-released on the Wii U Virtual Console) represents one of the more unique gameplay concepts. In this video review and retrospective I take a look at this forgotten classic that was unfortunately overshadowed by the games in the Mystery Dungeon series.
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Sources:
[1] “July 2005 News,” Serebii.net. www.serebii.net/archive/July-...
[2] Jacob Buchalter, “Mew locked behind paywall in Pokemon: Let’s Go? - Nintendo Enthusiast.” www.nintendoenthusiast.com/po...
Credits:
Outro Template made by Grabster - / grabstertv
Additional Footage from:
- chuggaaconroy / chuggaaconroy
- ProVictini / provictini
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:52 What is a Pokémon Ranger?
4:13 Overworld Navigation
7:02 Capture Mechanics
11:32 Story Discussion
19:23 Post-Game Content
24:30 Conclusion
#Pokemon #PokemonRanger #Nintendo

[@RetroAndChill]

Hey, I thought I would pop in and say something about the re-uploading going on here. This video was re-uploaded due to an export error that lead to the end of the video being muted. This video resolves that issue. My apologies for the mistake.

[@gonbechyan]

I love og ranger. it pales quite a bit in comparison to shadows of almia, but while not mentioned in this video, Aria's character arc was strong enough for the game to leave a lasting impression on me. On top of that, I also really enjoyed Gordor and the Go-Rock Quads. Gameplay and storywise tho, shadows of almia definitely takes the cake. But the og game's cast will always be near and dear to my heart.

[@bdt2002gaming]

Guardian Signs was *the* game that truly got me into Pokémon to the level I am now. Pretty much every memory I have of the franchise can be traced back to this trilogy in some way.

[@rioluinriomain7771]

I got this Game at Gamestop and it was at a Volcano in the Original Persons Save (which was Close to the End of the Game) and i Beat it and Found out the Manaphy Egg was still in the Cartrage.

[@wolfgt12]

While I didnt like the story as much, as a kid I definitely liked how different the Ranger series was compared to Mystery Dungeon, especially since I didnt have many games that focused as much on the touch screen

[@acecondor5716]

Pokémon ranger was a big part of my childhood, though I will say that though I do enjoy this game and how it introduced the series with a really cool enemy team and some cool mechanics, I think this is the weakest in the series. The other two games though, are amazing and I love them. Also did you make that outfit yourself?! If so that is really cool.

[@RetroAndChill]

No unfortunately I didn't. If I did I would also have a Styler prop because you can't buy one anywhere. Like not even secondhand. They just didn't make a toy line for this game despite Rangers being in the anime on multiple occasions.

[@acecondor5716]

That outfit is awesome either way though.

[@Nobody-ss7ks]

One of my fav pokemon games. I had more fun playing ranger series than the main games. The story telling was amazing and being able to use all diff types of Pokémon and finding rare ones was amazig

[@Nobody-ss7ks]

Sadly never got to play pokemon ranger 3

[@pippastrelle]

My childhood with Pokémon Ranger was near-exclusive to SoA so it's interesting to hear an analysis of the beginning. Great video essay. A clear and entertaining overview of the game!

[@skyrexotron5031]

Ay yo wait I have an egg that I never redeemed

[@Obamos04]

For the longest Time i thought Salamence, Kingdra, Flygon and Charizard where Legendarys and i blame the OG Rangers for this 😂

[@Obamos04]

Creator just gave a heart on a comment ON a video that is 2 years old, thats how you know hes a real one.

[@ThePhantomKingX]

Great vid. Can't wait for the rest of the games to get covered.

[@orangeskarmory]

Love your videos dude! Just binged your Pokemon spinoff videos, definitely quality content, looking forward to sticking around lol

[@RetroAndChill]

Glad you enjoyed it. It's been a real fun time making them.

[@Eren_Yeager-ml1in]

Cant wait for the other ranger games keep up the great work

[@nunya6537]

DUDE YOU ARE SO UNDERRATED

[@elisabethneuhold1963]

I remember the manaphy egg was the reason I got this game in the first place. The thing is I got the game used and ofc the previous owner had already cleared the mission (kid me didn't think of that lol). But I ended up having a lot of fun playing the game, so it was a win anyway. In the end I didn't even care about the manaphy egg so much as the fact that you can't replay the mission itself on that cartridge ever again. Would have loved to at least experience it in the game, but oh well. Anyway, awesome video! Made me want to dust of my DS and replay the whole ranger series again.

[@rainforrestman9493]

Glad to see someone make a video on the og

[@Goldfire345]

Hahaha that Charizard takedown was hahaha It took me quite awhile to be able to loop at that speed in the first game growing up

[@Meewthree]

This game was pretty awesome and I hate how people sleep on it so much for the sequels. Yes, I'll admit it's probably the weakest overall, but I liked being thrown into being a ranger much better than the long school arc of Alimia. I also thought the leaders of the other bases were so cool and interesting in their own way. Almia didn't feature the other rangers as much and Guardian signs there's only 3 rangers there so... lol Elita always looked so cool and I found it funny how Silent Chris interacted with her. Oh, and Arial I think her name was gradually earning her respect was really cool too! Gordor's motivation being jealously was a nice twist from the usual bad guy schemes and I think was also a good lesson to teach kids how while yes, it's normal to feel jealous sometimes to not let it overtake your life like it did Gordor all the way to his senior years. Also, definitely best to play this one first because if you arent very smart with pokeassists (as i sure wasn't as a kid) this is the hardest one since you cant pick up your stylus between loops while the sequels allowed that.

[@paledrake]

Oh man, I remember this spin-off series! I had such a great time with this series, although I never played he 3rd and final entry. Pokemon Rangers: Shadows of Almia was by far my favorite, it was SO FUN!

[@RetroAndChill]

I have a real special affinity for Shadows of Almia. I played the shit out of that one as a kid. I distinctly remember getting 100% on it and playing all the secret missions. So much fun!

[@SapphireLeaf10]

I played this game when I was younger and I never managed to get past the steelix boss

[@RosalindPlays]

Ah yes the game that ruined my touch screen 😂 in all seriousness I loved this game Tysm for the video ❤️

[@RetroAndChill]

I'm actually surprised that I never damaged by screen. I played all three games in the series, and somehow my old DS is still fine. Hopefully I won't ruin my Wii U gamepad when I replay the other two games for this channel.

[@RosalindPlays]

@@RetroAndChill oh wow so lucky!! Have fun with the other games!! I look forward to more videos ❤️

[@riodaweirdo3062]

The costume looks so good tho…

[@wolffster25]

The ultimate shiny hunter challenge, it is possible to get a shiny Manaphy from the egg. To do this get a valid copy Pokémon Ranger (no modding) that still has the egg available and hope it is shiny at full odds (1/8192), also you cannot soft reset in D/P you will have to fully reset the game every time as the shiny value is set once transferred to D/P good luck.

[@RetroAndChill]

Are there even enough copies to do that? I feel like you'd exhaust the supply before you got one😂

[@enoyna1001]

No, you're super wrong! Manaphy will never be shiny on the save file you transfer it to, but trading the egg will give you a chance for it to hatch as a shiny eventually.

[@lorddracon8992]

honestly if pokemon go was more like pokemon ranger I'd like pokemon go more, ranger would be a good system for a mobile game

[@RetroAndChill]

But then how would there be room for micro transactions? 😂

[@uucmnaohlrncusvlklhr9118]

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