For a game released during the content drought between the release of the DS and the release of the actual 4th generation of Pokémon, Pokémon Ranger was actually a pretty nifty idea.

The game has you controlling an eponymous Pokémon Ranger in Fiore, a land without trainers. Here, Rangers use tools called capture stylers to temporarily recruit wild Pokémon to help them in tasks, such as putting out fires and unblocking roads. The capture styler is a beyblade of sorts controlled by your stylus, and the main mechanic in the game is drawing circles around Pokémon in sequence to add them to your team.

I, for one, am very favorable to experimentation with the world of Pokémon, and this idea was pretty fun. It's too bad the actual execution was sort of barebones. Once the sequels came around, this would become even more apparent, as their mechanics are fleshed out and they're superior games as a result.

The way the game is, where you have to catch Pokémon without lifting the stylus, is asking for an RSI and a ruined touch screen. I played through it a few times as a kid, but I probably wouldn't do so again as an adult. Grab the sequels instead, they're much better.

I remember owning this game when I was a kid, but I never recalled finishing it. So I decided to pop it in for the first time in a REALLY long time. It's fun....for the most part. I'll admit it's genuinely fun for a good chunk of the time, I do enjoy how the game looks at the time, they utilize the DS screen a lot while also giving the player the options to use the control stick and buttons, you have to use a lot of strategy to figure out how to capture certain Pokemon and get through the levels. However the thing that drags the game is easily how bullshit how hard some of the Pokemon are to catch. There were several times where the Pokemon are too fast, move way too much, and there's more than one Pokemon getting in your way. Sometimes it's understandable how difficult some Pokemon are to capture, like say at the end of the level, but for the most part there are just some Pokemon that are irritating to deal with. The thing that drives me up the wall is how often some, not all, of the Pokemon that will get to the edges of the DS screen making it literally impossible to capture them. That happened way too often. But for the most part it's still a alright game. I wouldn't say it's anywhere close to some of the best Pokemon games, but it's still fun. I hear there are more Pokemon Ranger games that were released that I was not aware of, but I hope they got better and fixed some of these issues.

There is a lot of frustration in this game. Save states help. The localization is great. The difficulty curve is all over the place and it feels like your options for most bosses in the latter half of the game boil down to cheesing the boss with the right assists and nearly bypassing the whole fight, or suffering through agonizing challenges. Honestly, I would not bother playing this in current year. Almost everything you would hope to get out of this experience is served up better in the sequels.