Reviews from

in the past


This is one of the loosest definitions of "video game" they've ever created--this is basically like asking "how much do you enjoy extra boxes in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl as a video game?" And the answer, dear reader, is... Suuuuure??? They added a few side-distractions to this, at least, so it's not a TOTAL wash, but like. It really is JUST a storage unit at the end of the day.

We will say? We like the graphics, if nothing else. The weird low-poly models pilfered from the Rumble games, and the fact there's official artwork of a Mii in the Pokemon art style is really funny to us. The addition of a thing where you're basically asked "hey, can you get me this specific Pokemon?" is nice, and those weird event cutscenes are delightfully strange. Also, the fact this thing--of all things--was for the longest time, the one, the only, official, non-event related, 24/7 available, source of a Mew, is just HILARIOUS to us. But, well, at the end of the day, you're probably just here to store your Gen 4 Pokemon. ;P

...and we're still a little mad that the update that adds stuff from Pokemon Platinum was only ever released in Japan.

This game is holding several of my childhood Pokemon hostage with no way to get them outta there.

extremely boring but very cute. kind of love it.

music makes me so nostalgic

Cute little game with cute little pokemon but other than that there's nothing really here to do

Trying to stack Pokémon on top of each other was the best thing about this game


What the medium has always needed
A small town patriot defending his homestead from an invasion of California liberals

i didnt have d/p i only had plat which couldnt connect to it (gf are u ready to die) and so i just changed the date on the wii over and over to get the daily free pokemon and then when i had a load of them id just sit and watch them go about their business.... that was cinema to me

I spent too much time with this garbo back in the day so I could get Mew

Pokémon Bank, but built specifically for Gen IV Pokémon games (Diamond and Pearl, but Platinum is Japanese exclusive). That's all there is to it.

People ranking this like it's a game missed the memo. It's just an extended box system for your 4th Gen Games with some set dressing on top. And that's just pleasant I don't care what you say.

man I remember my big brother got so fucking pissed at me because 7 year old me spent our precious wii shop points in this stupid ass game instead of rumble, which he really wanted to play. ranch wasn't even that fun.

This is only barely a game. I liked getting to watch my Pokemon from my actual game get to interact in a little ranch but there really isn't much to do in it. I liked being able to take pictures and the art style was cute, but overall it isn't fun.

Out of all of the storage apps (and you NEED to go in knowing that this is a companion app and not a full on game), My Pokemon Ranch quite honestly was the most quaint/fun one. This app has a built in regional Pokedex checker that allows you to see if you are missing Pokemon in Sinnoh, and you can catch it. The Pokemon all have interesting actions that they can take just by watching them. Some will use their moves that they know, others may be shy- these are all determined by their natures. You can get additional interactions through daily objects. Back in its prime, you could even visit other peoples' ranches via the WiiConnect24 feature, which as of writing has been offline for exactly a decade.
Unfortunately this game does not have compatibility with Platinum which is a shame because Diamond and Pearl are super slow. Japan got Platinum compatibility alongside some exclusive event Pokemon.

Mii Plaza, but with weird bubble-aesthetic Pokemon models roaming around that you could feed dog kibble to. You'd import the Pokemon from your copy of Diamond or Pearl and then you couldn't use them again until you sent them back.

Pure unadulterated Wii Shovelware.

this is my elden ring

GooeyScale: 60/100

when I was 15 this game bricked my wii and deleted all of my pokemon so I hate it forever

i never used this for myself only my siblings did so opening this on my wii recently and seeing a bunch of pokemon with names like "putsmeisty", "dadard" and "prot" was interesting

i remembered this existed, so i booted up my wii, opened the game and got this welcome message:

"long time no see! havent seen you for 6 years"

most powerful moment in gaming history

Cute. I remember playing this as a kid.

The only real value this game has is that it used to be one of the only legitimate ways to get Mew at the time. Otherwise, there's not much to do. I wish there were more ways to interact with your Pokémon, like in Pokémon Channel, but there really isn't. As IGN described in its review, the game just feels like a "screensaver" almost.

It’s cute, what more can I say?

Not much in terms of gameplay, but it was fun to see the Pokemon I'd bonded with feel more alive than they were stuck in the games

This is not a game, this is a companion app to Diamond and Pearl. Would have been nice to get the Japan-only Platinum update, Nintendo!

This ain't even a game, but my 10 year old ass ate that shit up anyway.


Most of the progress on this was due to my brother, this one didn't do too much for me. Not much of a game to it, really.

When i was a child i would sit and watch my pokemon in this game for hours. I was very 'not present' mentally lol...

Review in progress:
Shovelware from my childhood. A glorified Pokémon Box. Super overpriced. I'm pretty sure everyone bought this for the chance to get mythical legendaries.