My Pokemon Ranch

"It's a Pokemon Chao Garden? Beyond."

When my older brother told me that he'd purchased My Pokemon Ranch with his Wii Points, I was pretty skeptical. I just saw it as Pokemon Box with 3D models.

Wrong. Pokemon Ranch is a game in its own right, and it's even earned my respect a bit--it got me working hard on completing my Pokemon Pearl Version National Pokedex. I enjoyed it even more when I discovered the little stuff: events when you deposit this-many so-and-so's; shaking the Wii Remote (just do it, trust me); and toys that can be attacked, climbed on, or jumped. Even Miis get to have a little fun (it's MY Pokemon Ranch), so long as they don't get tackled or electrocuted. It's a great game, storage, and elsewise.

A girl (named Hayley) comes up to you and asks you to create a home for Pokemon. This game gets you to play right at the green light. After the naming process (your console name is used) you get to see your ranch! And, it's tiny. When you bring in more Pokemon (through Hayley or from your DS game) the ranch can be expanded to fit more Pokemon by the next day. As long as you play once a day, Hayley will keep bringing new Pokemon. She'll even round on you and ask you to hunt for Pokemon on your DS game. If you do this task (it's a lot like the newspaper guys in Solaceon Town) she might bring a Pokemon out and ask you to trade the Pokemon you just brought. They're even some pretty good ones, too! But enough on that; let's take a look at the Pokemon themselves!

I was right in saying it, sort of: It's a Pokemon Box with 3D models. The cutesiest 3D models I've ever seen, too. They can make Dialga and Palkia look like stuffed dolls! The only downside is that they can get highly off-proportion. Snorlax is smaller than my little brother! (Snorlax can make up for it by SLIDING ON ITS BACK when it is pushed aside by a moving Pokemon.) But it isn't much of a detraction from gameplay: if they were all proportional, Snorlax wouldn't fit in the ranch at all, anyway.

Nintendo didn't do much justice with sound effects, though. The Pokemon have their standard sounds that they make when you select them, but the developers decided to double-speed them to the point where they're unrecognizable. Otherwise, there isn't much to say about sound effects.

Poke Ranch is a definite, go-for-it, must-have WiiWare game for any Pokemon player with a Wii and DS. Even if you just have Diamond or Pearl to have a game for your DS, go for it. It is definitely worth all 1000 Wii Points. Only a few minor sound and graphic errors detract from the enjoyability of My Pokemon Ranch.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/09

Game Release: My Pokemon Ranch (US, 06/09/08)