Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs
| Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs ポケモンレンジャー 光の軌跡 | |
|---|---|
| File:Pokémon Ranger GS cover.png Artwork and logo of Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs | |
Basic info
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| Platform: | Nintendo DS |
| Category: | Action RPG |
| Players: | 1-4 |
| Connectivity: | Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection |
| Developer: | HAL Laboratory Creatures, Inc. |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | Generation IV side series |
Ratings
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| CERO: | A |
| ESRB: | E |
| ACB: | N/A |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | 3+ |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
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| Japan: | March 6, 2010 |
| North America: | October 4, 2010 |
| Australia: | November 25, 2010 |
| Europe: | November 5, 2010 |
| South Korea: | TBA |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
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| Japanese: | Official Site |
| English: | Official Site |
|
Japanese boxart
File:PokemonRanger3Cover.jpg
Pokémon Ranger: Locus of Light boxart | |
Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs (ポケモンレンジャー 光の軌跡 Pokémon Ranger: Locus of Light) is a spin-off action-adventure game for the Nintendo DS and the sequel to Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. It is part of the Pokémon Ranger series of spin-off games. It was released in Japan on March 6, 2010, and it was released in America on October 4, 2010.
Gameplay
As with the previous Pokémon Ranger games, the player uses a Capture Styler to befriend Pokémon by drawing loops around them on the DS's touchscreen. Each loop raises the Pokémon's Friendship Gauge by a certain amound, depending on the Styler's Power, and the Pokémon is captured when the Gauge is filled entirely. The player may lift the stylus between loops, as in Shadows of Almia. If the Capture Line is hit by a Pokémon's attack, the Styler loses Energy, and if the Energy Gauge is depleted entirely, the player loses. The Styler gains experience points with each successful capture and levels up, raising its Energy and Power.
Up to seven captured Pokémon may follow the player as Friend Pokémon, and can use their abilities to help the player in the form of Field Moves on the field and Poké Assists during a capture. The player is partnered with a Pichu carrying a ukulele, nicknamed Ukulele Pichu (Japanese: ウクレレピチュー), who follows the player around in addition to any Friend Pokémon.
The player must complete various Missions as a Pokémon Ranger over the course of the game. In addition, the player may help the citizens of Oblivia in 51 shorter, optional Quests. Completing Missions and Quests rewards the player with Ranger Points, which may be used to raise the Styler's Energy and Power.
New features
- Ranger Signs allow the player to summon various Pokémon, including the legendary bird trio, the legendary beast trio, and the Eon Pokémon corresponding to the player's gender.
- Friend Pokémon are placed on the field for Poké Assists, and are released if they take damage during this time rather than being automatically released afterwards. After a short recharge period, the Poké Assist may be used again.
- Certain targets now require the use of Field Moves by multiple Pokémon.
- Up to four players may tackle Missions together via a multiplayer mode. These Missions are accessible after Celebi takes the player into Oblivia's past for the third time.
- Certain Pokémon now have the Fly Field Move, which allows the player to roam Oblivia's Sky and capture various Template:Type2 Pokémon. By speaking to Supurna in the Aqua Resort, Pokémon captured in the Sky can be added to the player's party. It is also possible to fly directly to locations that the player has already visited.
- Occasionally, the DS must be held vertically to chase certain people and Pokémon underwater.
- Sometimes, wild Pokémon will be "agitated" and the player will need to deplete an agitation meter with the stylus or the Poké Assists before it can be easily captured with the Capture Styler.
- Previously encountered boss Pokémon can be captured again by speaking to Nema in Rand's House. She will use her invention, the "Many Times Any Time Capture Machine", which brings the player to a model of Dolce Island.
Special Missions
- Main article: Ranger Net
Special downloadable missions allow players to receive a Deoxys, whose form is determined by how quickly it is captured (multiplayer only), a Manaphy egg, a Shaymin met in a fateful encounter, and a Heatran with Eruption, which can be transferred to any Generation IV game only once.
Plot
The game takes place in the Oblivia region, an archipelago. Members of the Pokémon Pinchers have been working individually in the region for some time, but they have recently started to act together.
Guardian Signs has two playable characters, Ben and Summer. The player may choose to play as either, with whatever name he or she wants, and the other will appear as an NPC under the default name.
The game's antagonists are the Pokémon Pinchers, a villainous team who capture and control Pokémon using Control Gauntlets. They travel primarily on Z.Z. Flyers, small flying platforms which many characters call "UFOs".
Several characters from the first two Ranger games make appearances, including Professor Hastings, Murph, and the Go-Rock Quads. The legendary beasts, the legendary birds, the Eon duo, Celebi and Ho-Oh play important roles in the game.
While flying to Oblivia (on the backs of Staraptor) to investigate the Pinchers' actions, the player and their partner encounter two Pinchers chasing Latias or Latios, depending on the player's gender. The player stalls them long enough to let the Pokémon escape, but the Pinchers' leader, Red Eyes, appears and attacks the player's partner with his plasma cannon. The player intercepts the blast and is knocked into the ocean.
The player washes ashore on Dolce Island, in southwest Oblivia, where the Pokémon Pinchers have just captured many Pokémon. He or she meets Ukulele Pichu and a shipbuilder named Booker, who witnessed the event from afar, explaining that he came when he saw the "UFOs"—Z.Z. Flyers—and was worried about the Pokémon. He invites the player back to his home in Cocona Village, on Renbow Island to the north, and Ukulele Pichu, worried about its captured friends, joins them.
Back at Booker's house, shortly after the player explains the situation, a village boy named Ralph rushes over and says that the "UFOs" have returned, headed towards Teakwood Forest, and that a local lumberjack named Arley pursued them and has not returned. The player and Ralph head after them as well and find the Pinchers in Rasp Cavern, stealing a piece of a stone monument. However, an angered Raikou appears and attacked the Pinchers. The Pinchers managed to escapes. The Raikou chased after them. After this, the player must go to Dolce Island to get wood to repair Pichu's ukulele. After the wood is retrieved, Pichu joins the player as a partner Pokémon and the player continues for his investigation in the Oblivia region.
Pokémon Pinchers' plan is to get the Involiths from different stone monument from around the Oblivia region, in order to awaken the Legendary birds. When the three Legendary birds are awaken, a strong Pokémon will appear and help them in their scheme to control the Oblivia region. However, this angers the Legendary beasts. The player are required to calm down the legendary beasts, while trying to foil the Pinchers' plan. Although the player managed to prevent Blue Eyes and Red Eyes from completing the Pinchers' plan, the leader Purple Eyes did not want to give up on controlling the Oblivia region.
After the three Legendary birds were awaken, the player will encounter the Societea, a group of four who is responsible for controlling the actions of the Pokémon Pinchers. Although they have retired, they decided to revive their group and took control of the Pokémon Pinchers in hopes of obtaining eternal youth. They found the ancient Sky Fortress that were used by villains a long time ago. They vaporized Dolce Island, in order to let the citizens be aware of the Sky Fortress's power. However, as the player heads for the Sky Fortress, a strong barrier protected the Sky Fortress. After receiving the genuine Rainbow Grail, the player has to go to a place, called the Rainbow Dais. Upon arriving at the Rainbow Dais, the player placed the Rainbow Grail on the seafloor, and a brilliant rainbow climbs high into the sky and Ho-Oh appeared. After capturing Ho-Oh, it will use its power to destroy the barrier, which allows the player to head into the Sky Fortress. When arriving there, the player have to defeat three of the members of the Societea, before they can battle the boss, Edward.
After Edward's captured Mewtwo was captured by the player, Purple Eyes appeared once again, took control of Mewtwo, and challenged the player. After Purple Eyes was defeated, however, the Sky Fortress fell out of the sky, and would have crashed into the ocean, destroying all of Oblivia. Using the power of Ho-Oh again, the Sky Fortress managed to land safely and calmly on the ocean. The main game will be completed, and after the credits, the player can continue of their quest to capture all the 300 Pokémon.
Trivia
- The localized versions of this game use the Japanese terms for the legendary Pokémon: "maboroshi" and "densetsu" are translated as "rare" and "legendary", the first being the ones only obtainable through events, such as Celebi and Shaymin, while all of the others are "legendary".
- This game brought the final proof of Phione's lack of legendary status, due to it being found in the wild just as any other common Pokémon, also without the "rare" or "legendary" denomination.
In other languages
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External links
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This article is part of Project Sidegames, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames. |
