Pokemon Ranger is a series I hold a lot of nostalgia for, especially as the last of game of the trilogy, Guardian Signs, was the first game I ever beat. Back about 2 months ago, I chose to revisit the series, starting with the original Ranger, and I struggled. The original ranger's game design wasn't something I was particular for, as I found its main gameplay loop to be frustrating. The reason I give this whole preamble is cause I want to explain my general apprehension to playing Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. But I am glad I stuck through it to the end.
One reason why I was bothered by the original Pokemon Ranger so much was the general gameplay loop. In order to befriend a pokemon in the original Ranger, you had to do consecutive loops around it. And for bosses, that means upwards of 20 or 30 loops, without messing up once. In Shadows of Almia however, each loop around a pokemon fills up a bar, and a pokemon is befriended once the bar is filled. And I really appreciate this change! I find the game to be better balanced around this kind of system, providing a great gameplay loop, without the issues that pervaded the original game. And in fact, some of the later bosses were really fun!
Pokemon Assists are still a really fun mechanic, and can especially help in certain situations. From what I've used, they feel a bit more fleshed out in concept, though I rarely needed to use them. They probably would've made certain bosses easier for me if I did use them, but I never felt like I needed them. For me, I only ever needed to use it in one boss fight.
I really love the Partner Pokemon, much like the Pokemon Assists, I never really used them, but the fact they exist is still amazing. I love being able to run around with a specific Pokemon I was able to become partners with, and trying to collecting all that I can was really fun! The fact that Partner Pokemon act as a free use of a specific Pokemon Assist is also really nice, and it can help adapt to certain situations, if you know what's about to happen. I particularly chose to make Misdreavus my main partner, as that has always been one of my personal favorites.
Quests are another great addition that helps make the game a lot better. Obviously, they're optional missions you can take, and you can probably beat the game without even doing one. However, it's super beneficial to do them! They give you boosts to either your styler strength, or grant you defense to certain attacks, and I found them coming in clutch so often.
Shadows of Almia is a really fun game, and it's nice that I finally got around to replaying it. Aside from it being vastly better mechanically, it's story is fun and charming overall. Guardian Signs will be an interesting time when I get around to it.
One reason why I was bothered by the original Pokemon Ranger so much was the general gameplay loop. In order to befriend a pokemon in the original Ranger, you had to do consecutive loops around it. And for bosses, that means upwards of 20 or 30 loops, without messing up once. In Shadows of Almia however, each loop around a pokemon fills up a bar, and a pokemon is befriended once the bar is filled. And I really appreciate this change! I find the game to be better balanced around this kind of system, providing a great gameplay loop, without the issues that pervaded the original game. And in fact, some of the later bosses were really fun!
Pokemon Assists are still a really fun mechanic, and can especially help in certain situations. From what I've used, they feel a bit more fleshed out in concept, though I rarely needed to use them. They probably would've made certain bosses easier for me if I did use them, but I never felt like I needed them. For me, I only ever needed to use it in one boss fight.
I really love the Partner Pokemon, much like the Pokemon Assists, I never really used them, but the fact they exist is still amazing. I love being able to run around with a specific Pokemon I was able to become partners with, and trying to collecting all that I can was really fun! The fact that Partner Pokemon act as a free use of a specific Pokemon Assist is also really nice, and it can help adapt to certain situations, if you know what's about to happen. I particularly chose to make Misdreavus my main partner, as that has always been one of my personal favorites.
Quests are another great addition that helps make the game a lot better. Obviously, they're optional missions you can take, and you can probably beat the game without even doing one. However, it's super beneficial to do them! They give you boosts to either your styler strength, or grant you defense to certain attacks, and I found them coming in clutch so often.
Shadows of Almia is a really fun game, and it's nice that I finally got around to replaying it. Aside from it being vastly better mechanically, it's story is fun and charming overall. Guardian Signs will be an interesting time when I get around to it.