Even in a franchise that has tried a lot of different genres and game concepts, Pokemon Ranger managed to stand out. Its combination of wildlife protection and a wildly different mechanic for capturing Pokemon made Pokemon Ranger quite a unique spinoff and a strong part of the Nintendo DS library. Nevertheless, Pokemon fans haven't seen hide nor hair of Pokemon Ranger since 2010, when Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs became the third and seemingly final installation in the franchise. Instead, various developers have moved on to exploring all kinds of other angles on the Pokemon franchise, like the recent MOBA Pokemon Unite.
Pokemon Ranger may have been missing for the last decade or so, but it could still stage a comeback on the Nintendo Switch. The Switch happens to be an ideal platform for a creative new installation in the Pokemon Ranger franchise, and hype for Pokemon spinoffs has never been higher thanks to the overwhelming success of Pokemon Legends: Arceus. There are a few significant reasons why Nintendo and the Pokemon Company may have decided to let Pokemon Ranger rest, but nevertheless, the franchise seems worth reviving on the Switch. It could find a wonderful new life on Nintendo's current platform.
Pokemon Ranger Could Succeed on Switch
Pokemon Ranger was exclusive to the Nintendo DS in its time, and for good reason. Its central mechanic involved using the DS stylus to trace circles around a Pokemon during encounters. Completing enough circles would allow a Ranger to tame and capture that Pokemon for a while, therefore allowing them to call on that Pokemon for help in various ways. The PokeBall-free concept made Pokemon Ranger a surprising but compelling take on the monster-collecting concept, but its reliance on the Nintendo DS touch screen meant that it wasn't immediately ready to make the jump to consoles. The Nintendo Switch, however, could change that.
Unlike other consoles, the Switch is modular and has a handheld mode which includes a touchscreen. The Switch may not come with a stylus, but handheld users could still use their fingers to draw circles and capture Pokemon in a new Pokemon Ranger game. What's more, adapting Pokemon Ranger to docked play wouldn't be all that hard. A developer could experiment with Joy-Con motion controls, or more simply, it could let players hold down a button and steer their Ranger's capture styler with a joystick. The Switch's variety of control scheme options mean it has the power to breathe life into Pokemon Ranger again.
Beyond the Switch's technical abilities, the current context of Pokemon on the Switch opens the door for a Pokemon Ranger reboot. Pokemon Legends: Arceus differs from the core Pokemon games in a lot of ways, but its innovations have been praised highly, and the game's creativity has reignited interest in Pokemon side games that find clever ways to define themselves. Pokemon Ranger's capture styler and different style of protagonist make it a highly unique Pokemon spinoff that's worth celebrating in the current season of Pokemon fervor.
Why Pokemon Ranger May Lie Dormant
Although Pokemon Ranger has potential, there are a few possibilities as to why Nintendo and The Pokemon Company haven't brought it back. One simply may be that the franchise struggled to get strong reviews from critics. Although the Pokemon Ranger games have historically sold well, they've generally received middling reviews from critics, who often felt negatively about Pokemon Ranger's simplicity and the lack of innovation between games. Reviews tended towards the positive side, but Pokemon Ranger never earned any spectacular reviews. Pokemon's keepers may simply have decided to search for greener pastures, rather than trying to reinvent Pokemon Ranger.
The high amount of ongoing Pokemon side games and spinoffs may also have something to do with Pokemon Ranger's absence. In the last several years, Game Freak and other Pokemon developers have released a ton of successful games that continue to eat up the attention of fans, ranging from Pokemon GO to Pokemon Unite to Pokemon Masters EX. In such a dense Pokemon space, The Pokemon Company may have elected to sideline the Pokemon Ranger IP in favor of other experiments. There's certainly sound logic behind avoiding an overpopulated Pokemon market, but it's sad to think that Pokemon Ranger may have gotten the short end of the stick in that case.
The cause for Pokemon Ranger's disappearance is hard to nail down, especially since Nintendo devices still have touch screens and Pokemon Ranger developer Creatures is still highly active in Pokemon development. Whatever the cause was, though, it's strange that a spinoff series that produced three games in four years disappeared so suddenly. Pokemon Ranger really seemed like it had staying power, but instead, it has ceded to other Pokemon games. Twelve years later, though, the time may be right for a Pokemon Ranger comeback on the Switch.
Hope for Pokemon Ranger
Since the Nintendo Switch still has some life left in it, Pokemon Ranger has a chance to be reborn. Whether it works with Creatures again or gives another studio access to the IP, The Pokemon Company ought to give Pokemon Ranger another chance. The buffer of time between Guardian Signs and now means that there's plenty of room for Pokemon Ranger to reinvent itself, introducing more complicated Pokemon encounters and more serious wildlife-powered narratives befitting the important role that Rangers play in the Pokemon world. If Pokemon Legends: Arceus can return to the Sinnoh region in such an unexpected way, then a Pokemon Ranger reboot can return to Fiore, Almia, or Oblivia in a similar way.
If some studio does secretly have a Pokemon Ranger reboot in the works, it probably won't show itself anytime soon. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are mere months away, and the release of this new Pokemon generation is bound to be Nintendo and The Pokemon Company's top priority in the near future. Still, even as Scarlet and Violet draw near, it wouldn't be surprising if The Pokemon Company is secretly arranging plans for a Pokemon Ranger comeback. All the surprising, exciting Pokemon spinoffs in recent history have proven that the franchise is always ready to go in a new direction without warning. In the future, Pokemon may use an old IP like Pokemon Ranger to try something new.
Pokemon Ranger released in 2006 for Nintendo DS.