PSP World

Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia Review

It’s no surprise that a franchise as big as Pokémon eventually ends up with a variety of spin-offs that sometimes end up as a stand-alone series themselves. We have seen the success the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon have achieved, and with the recent release of Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, we have another Pokémon series to stay busy with. Keeping the good and improving the bad, this sequel to 2006’s Pokémon Ranger retains the simple gameplay and enhances a few of its original shortcomings, delivering an entertaining experience; a blast for players new to the concept, and still worth checking out for returning fans.


Set in the new region of Almia, this title puts you in the shoes of a male or female Pokémon Ranger, people that use Pokémon to clear obstacles or clean the environment instead of fighting each other. Something is amiss in Almia, however, as a shady group of individuals known as Team Dim Sun cause havoc to the Pokémon of the region, controlling them at will with strange machines. Players start the game in a Ranger School in which they learn the basics of Pokémon captures, which is a very simple concept itself; use your stylus to draw loops around Pokémon until they are captured and ready to lend their abilities to you. Just about every Pokémon has an ability; be it fire to light candles, electricity to open locked doors, or tackles to destroy rocks or move large objects. You can also use these abilities to facilitate a capture of another Pokémon; for instance, using the Fire ability you can capture Pokémon much quicker, especially if their types have a disadvantage to fire. Every aspect of capturing and clearing obstacles is well explained; perhaps too well. It must be noted that Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia features a great deal of tutorials and introductory dialogue; the first couple of hours are downright boring and very slow-paced.


Stick with it, however, and the title starts to show its true colors. Progressing through the game’s missions increases the amount of captured Pokémon that can travel with you at any given time, as well as the specs of your capturing device, known as a Styler. Every successful capture results in acquired experience points, which in turn level up your Styler for increased HP and power. Rangers eventually find a Partner Pokémon that will travel alongside them throughout the story, and Shadows of Almia expands on this concept giving Rangers the ability to have multiple Partner Pokémon in a farm; although you can still have just one at a time, you can swap them to exploit their advantages over other Pokémon types. Almia features a good variety of regions to explore, including forests, a volcano, a desert, and a castle atop a freezing-cold mountain. Even more notable is the variety of Pokémon available in the game; over 250 critters are present, everything from the old-school pocket monsters to the recent ones seen in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. What’s more, unlike in the original title, almost every Pokémon in Shadows of Almia has an ability for the player to use, giving some use to even the weakest Pokémon around.


Unfortunately, the variety of Pokémon and their abilities doesn’t transfer to the capturing mechanics quite well. Things start off a easy, and they never really take off; even the strongest Pokémon bosses aren’t challenging, and having HP-recharging Pokémon all over the place makes it even worse. The game itself is quite hefty, though; the main story takes around 20-25 hours to finish. Even more impressive are the available side-quests, which can easily double the playing time. There are many quests to complete, some easy, some seriously tedious, but their results are quite attractive, allowing your Styler to draw bigger loops or giving you extra defense against each Pokémon type. Players can also aim to capture every Pokémon available in the region. Doing so requires a good amount of back-tracking and exploring; all in all good fun, but the game never poses a decent challenge.


Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia has a catchy soundtrack that fits well with the environments of the region. Although the title borrows a good amount of its tracks from its predecessor, the new musical additions are good and moody. Almia itself is a colorful, attractive region, and the Pokémon and characters are well animated. There really are no special effects to speak off, but the game looks and plays well. Although there are no multiplayer features, there are special missions available to download for a limited time. These missions aren’t challenging or lengthy; quite the opposite. Fortunately, they allow you to transfer over some special Pokémon to either Pokémon Diamond or Pokémon Pear; a Manaphy egg is up for grabs, as well as a Riolu and a Darkrai.


All in all, Shadows of Almia improves on the original with a few touches here and there to make the experience more enjoyable and lengthy. The main concept of Pokémon captures, however, never truly develops and stays on the easy side for the entire game, becoming somewhat repetitive. Pokémon fans are in for a treat, with a huge variety of Pokémon to track down and capture, spawning all of the series’ generations. For those familiar with the first Pokémon Ranger, however, the sequel is little but more of the same.