Spinoff Spotlight: Pokémon Ranger - Guardian Signs
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Art by Swiffix.
Introduction
While the main series Pokémon DS titles pushed over $63 million in sales, the spinoffs didn't always receive as much love or attention. One of those games, Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, which came out in 2010, sold a little over $1.5 million despite being one of the most atmospheric Pokémon experiences ever. Trying to find a hard copy of the title is quite difficult considering only about 500,000 physical cartridges exist, with even a loose copy on average costing as much as it did when the game debuted at around 30 USD. Even Guardian Signs' Wii U Virtual Console release will soon be unable to be purchased after the Wii U's eShop closes in March 2023. But what makes Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs worth purchasing in the first place?
As the third game in the same series, all for the Nintendo DS, developer Creatures Inc. seized the opportunity to greatly improve upon its predecessors with a colorful, larger-than-life story, a memorable cast of characters, unique islands to traverse through, and the most expansive Browser (equivalent to a PokéDex) with over 300 Pokémon to catch. Differentiating gameplay from dodging Z. Z. Flyer ammunition to even turning your DS sideways Brain Age-style in scuba-diving expeditions keeps the entire experience fresh and exciting. Finally, Guardian Signs boasts being the only entry to have multiplayer functionality, supporting up to four players in a co-op missions campaign that'll undoubtedly extend your playtime another 30-50 hours.
However, it's Guardian Signs' atmosphere that truly encapsulates its player, and it does so by paying attention to all of the tiny details. From the highly detailed original spritework both for the overworld and actual Pokémon to memorable locations incomparable to other Pokémon games such as the Old Mansion on Mitonga Island and the rug shop in the Aqua Resort on Sophian Island, each minor detail the developers put in adds to the game's unique character. Sometimes details are purely for charm such as the very existence of a ukulele-playing Pichu that pops up on screen occasionally mid-capture to assist the player by strumming its strings, while some details have us laughing out loud such as Murph's hilarious dance poses during a Mission Complete! The game's soundtrack perfectly coincides with each location, from the tropical music on the shores of the Cocona Village to the heart-pounding intensity of the Faldera Volcano; even tapping on wild Pokémon in the overworld comes with their own animation and cry.
Gameplay
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs revolves around using your capture styler to befriend and temporarily capture wild Pokémon by encircling them with your stylus on the DS touchscreen. These Pokémon oftentimes launch attacks that will break your current loop and deal damage to your styler, which has a certain amount of HP before it reaches zero, breaks, and forces the player back to the last save point. Pokémon that have been temporarily captured can be used to clear obstacles in the overworld or help befriend other wild Pokémon, especially legendary and admin boss foes, which tend to become angry, with a red health bar that becomes far more difficult to deplete through loops alone. Some Pokémon such as Flaaffy and Staraptor can perform special tasks such as recharging your styler in remote locations or taking flight to travel to different islands of Oblivia. One Pokémon you'll befriend and take along all game is a ukulele-playing Pichu that will offer assistance from time to time while you attempt to capture a Pokémon. Over time, Booker will upgrade Pichu's ukulele, improving its quality and increasing its effectiveness versus wild Pokémon. As you complete missions and sidequests and S Rank capture all of the Pokémon Oblivia has to offer, you'll be able to continually upgrade your styler with the Ranger Points you earn. Coolest of all, you'll be able to use your styler to summon legendary Pokémon you've befriended by drawing the designated signs you record as you progress through the story, allowing you to ride upon one of the Johto beasts for instance or fly one of the Eon twins at any time.
Guardian Signs also puts a heavier emphasis on boss fights than its predecessors, something Creatures Inc. didn't want the players to forget with five, yes five, legendary Pokémon on the box cover. These boss encounters progressively get harder the farther you go into the game, with them needing more loops to fill the friendship meter and occasionally even requiring the player to deplete their agitation meter, and their attacks becoming more difficult to navigate and draw loops around. The very first boss of the main adventure, Celebi, has only a few basic Grass attacks it can dish out and requires fewer than 20 loops to capture. One of the very last boss fights, Ditto, can transform into each of the three legendary beasts, utilizing all of their unique Electric-, Fire-, and Water-type attacks all on the same friendship meter. There's also a handful of boss encounters like Mewtwo in the main adventure and Arceus in the final multiplayer mission with strobe-esque beam attacks that make it impossible to make any loops whatsoever. Thankfully, Guardian Signs was developed with younger audiences in mind, and as a result none of the bosses are overbearingly difficult to the point where you would need to grind for styler experience or need to pack specific assist Pokémon in the back to clear them.
The Main Adventure
An evil organization known as the Pokémon Pinchers are using control gauntlets to control wild Pokémon. You've been sent by Professor Hastings and Murph with your teammate Ben or Summer to investigate and protect Oblivia from the Pokémon Pinchers. That is, until one of their leaders, Red Eyes, launches an attack aimed at your partner you courageously intercept. You fall hundreds of feet out of the air and wash up on the banks of Dolce Island with the communication functions of your styler damaged. You witness first-hand the shocking atrocities of Pokémon Pinchers, befriend a ukulele-playing Pichu, and return to Cocona Village with Booker and Ukulele Pichu via ship.
Meet Rand, his wife Leanne, and his inventive daughter Nema! Due to the peace and tranquility Oblivia has had over the last several years, Rand has begun to relax in his position as Oblivia's sole Ranger, but that isn't stopping him from accompanying you on missions or putting himself in physical danger to protect the ones he loves. Perhaps a bit more rational at times than Rand is Leanne, who with her archeological background and research into Oblivia's origins is more than happy to provide the knowledge she's accumulated about Oblivia's history and the creation of the region. Lastly, Nema has become a bit of a scientist in her young age, being able to fix and upgrade your styler multiple times during your adventure, even modifying one of the Pincher's dysfunctional Z. Z. Flyers into her personal hovercraft vehicle. Postgame, Nema is even able to build a machine that lets you re-battle all of the rare and legendary encounters as many times as you want, which you'll need in order to S-Rank them all and fully upgrade your styler.
The Pokémon Pinchers's goal is far beyond just controlling a few wild Pokémon at a time, however. Under the direction of Red Eyes and Blue Eyes, the Pinchers tamper with the monuments of the legendary beasts, which contain info about their signs, in an attempt to reawaken the legendary birds and seize control of Oblivia. All of the missions of the main adventure deal with gathering information and stopping Red Eyes and Blue Eyes and their evil schemes, with plentiful side quests helping the citizens of Oblivia with their individual problems. With only Zapdos left unawake, the Pinchers's plans have been foiled, if it wasn't for Red Eyes and Blue Eyes actually being led themselves by an even higher admin, Purple Eyes, who brings their work to completion. As the Sky Fortress is resurrected, the fate of Oblivia rests on your shoulders.
Multiplayer
Very early on during the main adventure, you'll have an opportunity to be transported back in time with Celebi and unlock the multiplayer campaign. These Past Missions function very similarly to capturing Pokémon from the main story, but with a few changes. You're given a time limit to capture the boss Pokémon, your styler has been reset back to level 1 with no option to upgrade it outside of leveling up, and the points you earn are instead used to upgrade your partner Pokémon's Attack, Recovery, and Power. You can only take one partner Pokémon with you at a time as opposed to the usual up to seven. This makes not only the type matchup versus a particular mission's boss Pokémon important, but also the secondary effect of your partner's attack. For example, your first partner Pokémon, Piplup, has a bubble attack that slows down foes, making it a solid choice versus bosses such as Blaziken, Weavile, and Lucario. As you progress through each Past Mission, you'll encounter treasure chests that can contain power-ups such as a clock that provides additional time, a battery that recharges the health meter of your styler, and a running shoe emblem that speeds up movement in the overworld.
One of the best features of Guardian Signs' multiplayer mode is the option to play solo, which allows players to grind for styler experience points, obtain new slates, and progress through the Past Missions without relying on a friend or second copy of the game. Each mission becomes significantly more difficult when playing by oneself, and there are a handful of switches that you'd need two players to stand on to activate, but by no means are they required nor are any of the Past Missions impossible to complete solo ("A Shock Everywhere You Turn" and "At Last, Arceus and the Light" both require massive grinding, unfortunately). The opportunity to grind for experience and make progress through these missions independently makes Guardian Signs' multiplayer mode more than just a meaningless co-op game mode. The progress you make through these multiplayer missions also helps significantly in the main story; when you defeat the last boss Pokémon of a particular temple, tablet doors that you couldn't access otherwise will crumble, unlocking rare Pokémon from the main story to re-battle and S-Rank. The multiplayer campaign also has its own unique storyline and characters to meet as you take on the Steelheads of each temple. Lastly, by drawing Celebi's emblem on your styler, you can transport your partner Pokémon from the past to present-day Oblivia, including Arceus and Mew! It's almost like having two interconnected Ranger games in one and makes the efforts of playing through the entirety of the multiplayer campaign worthwhile with exclusive content to play with in the main adventure.
Final Thoughts
It's now been more than a decade since this game's release, potentially marking the end of one of Pokémon's most memorable spinoff series. However, Game Freak's recent revitalization of old spinoff franchises such as New Pokémon Snap and the well-suited console design of the Nintendo Switch sparks glimmers of hope that this will not be the last we see of the Pokémon Ranger series.
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