Glen-i

For me it's the challenge and the more serious plotlines. Not that Pokémon Ranger should have a darker story. It plays to a more tongue-in-cheek plot and it does it well. It hams up the silliness and that's fine. But while PMD built on it's gameplay as it went along, Ranger never really went anywhere with it after the first game. Guardian Signs has a really great co-op mode, but it just wasn't enough. I stand by what I said, if they didn't churn these games out every two years, this series could have gone places.

That kinda makes it more tragic. There was potential. The games on their own are solid spin-off's with neat ideas. But my god, they all just blend into one another! It's a massive waste. The WiiU has the original Pokémon Ranger available on Virtual Console if that helps.

Prepare yourself for a lesson in how not to handle a Pokémon spin-off series. Pokémon Ranger released on the DS in 2006. An Action RPG by HAL Laboratory and Creatures. Inc, it marked the first in a series. The player takes the titular role of a Pokémon Ranger, people who use special devices that totally aren't Beyblades to temporarily tame Pokémon and use their abilities to perform general good deeds. The basic gameplay consists of exploring the region of Fiore and getting through various obstacles using the Pokémon that inhabit the local area. Coming into contact with a Pokémon initiates a... Battle, I guess? By using the DS's Touch Screen, you draw circles to guide your spinny top around a Pokémon multiple times while it makes a kinda "woo" noise. Effectively, you annoy the Pokémon into obedience. However, if a Pokémon comes into contact with the trail your children's toy makes, then your loop gets broken and you have to start the circle again. If a Pokémon's attack hits your trail, then that's very bad and the styler's durability decreases. If that reaches 0, then it breaks and I have to guess that those things are really expensive because the music is really sad about the loss of your piece of plastic. Pokémon that you have tamed can be used to bypass obstacles, but once used, they are released. They're not yours, stop complaining! It's a pretty silly game, but it's strangely fun. Not the most spectacular, but it's decent and the sales for it show. 2.93 million sales puts this in a respectable position on the Pokémon Spin-off spectrum. Some people would say that people bought this for the exclusive Manaphy that you could transfer to the Gen 4 game. It's probably partly true. Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia came out a mere 2 years later. This one was only developed by Creatures. Inc. You play as a student of the Pokémon Ranger School who gets mixed up in a dastardly scheme by an evil organisation called Team Dim Sun. I wish I could say more, but this game doesn't really change anything about the previous game. It's more refined, sure, but it offers nothing new to anybody who played the first game. It sold 2.35 million, which is very respectable for a sequel. Thankfully, Gen 5 wouldn't be out for another 2 years, so there was plenty of time to think of a way to freshen the idea up and think of ways to evolve the gameplay. Or they could jump the gun and get another game out before Gen 5 even started... Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs came out just under 2 years after the second game in 2010. Once again developed by Creatures. Inc. Unlike the game before it, this has something new, a co-op multiplayer mode for multiple circle drawing action. You could even co-ordinate your drawing to make different shapes for more effective Pokémon irritation. As far as Single Player goes, it's mostly the same, unfortunately. There is a mechanic called "Ranger Signs" that lets you summon legendary Pokémon to help overcome bigger obstacles. This sold 1.53 million copies. And that's it for Pokémon Ranger. No more after that, not even for the 3DS. What happened? Why did this series just cease to exist? Well, I have a hypothesis. And mind you, I have no evidence to back this up, it's just a gut feeling. This series fell into the trap that I like to call "Level-5 Syndrome" Simply put, releasing 3 games in only 2 generations of Pokémon was a mistake. There wasn't enough time to develop the gameplay and so they all feel incredibly similar. If you play one Pokémon Ranger game, then you've played them all. Personally, I blame Shadows of Almia. If that game didn't exist, I think this series might have survived the transition to the 3DS. Guardian Signs should have been the second game. And for that reason, I don't think this has a chance of coming back. Even ignoring the fact that Touch screens aren't a key feature of the Switch, I can imagine that the fanbase is burned out on the series by this point. I do recommend playing one of these games though. They're pretty fun. I suggest Guardian Signs. And that ends Gen 3 spin-offs. Gen 4 isn't as long as this one. They'll probably be done before this week is through.

GP1 GP2 GP3 Everyone who took part raised their average this week. @RedShell and @viceview51 both broke into double digits for number of 3rd places. Next League Night: Tonight 8pm Room 1: @BowserBasher is host @Glen-i @viceview51 @BowserBasher @martinist @RedShell Did you enjoy your Random Task break? Well, I hope so. Because I've got a secret task this week. It's secret because it's dependent on the amount of people who join in tonight. See you then! And bring your crash helmets.

Are you honestly surprised though? Pokémon in particular has been absolutely notorious for games getting out very early recently.

Finally watched the trailer. That Greninja actually grossed me out. And the Pokken Charizard is no longer the weirdest official model anymore. I can't get past how ugly they all look. I don't think I can look past it. It just lacks so much of the charm.

Well, yeah, that's how it is in the games.

That SP version would have been neat if you didn't still lose everything after dying anyway... Oh well, here's the funniest thing on Metroid.

New Record! 5 minutes off my previous time. I almost didn't pull it off though. World 5 really did a number on me this time. That's a really hard world to speed through. That credits music is still my favourite credits music on the SNES. Probably my favourite music from this game.

I'm on World 3 now. 41 minutes of game time. Which sounds like good time, but the levels do get long later on, so who knows? Going through as fast as I can has turned some levels into panicky states of "Which way is the right way!?" Also, Flowers are the devil and must be avoided at all costs. Lest you activate the dreaded Bonus Challenge.

UFA is, she loves Pokémon GO, so she probably sees more of an initiative to it. I might jump in through co-op if she happens to playing when I'm around. But I'm not gonna be tripping over myself to give it a go.

Oh, they gave scales to the Bulbasaur... Nope, still weird. Morelull looks OK though.

Eurgh! They look like they're having allergic reactions or something.

They're not using Iron Skin, are they? I had the same issue on the 3DS Generations. And that game didn't have the Neset set for easy Iron Skin editing!

That Super Paper Mario joke is never going to age! Anyway, in all seriousness. This game could have an effect on future Pokémon games, so I think it's in my best interest to keep an eye on it. Also, someone has to remind you that there's much more to the world of Pokémon than the "repeated for the fifth time" Kanto region.

Fraid not. I'm not getting this. Not enough Pokémon for me to be interested. You're gonna have to wait until next Gen to battle me.

But can't someone do it both ways? When I play through a Pokémon game, my reasons are purely superficial. Playing through Sun/Moon, I made my playthrough on the basis of "Oooh, that Pokémon looks cool! I wanna use it" When I finished the game, I then started experimenting with what works with the new Pokémon I like. Let's GO limits that sort of gameplay by only focusing on a minimal amount of Pokémon and removing stuff that can level the playing field for the not quite as powerful Pokémon. I just don't see much of an upside for swinging this far in the simplistic direction. It limits discovery and stifles creativity.

OI! I moan because I care!

In the SNES version. Coins that are actually Red have a slight red tint to them, so you can actually tell which ones are red.

Ummmm... I just want to clarify that I would never use a Pokémon I didn't like. Even if it is really strong. I mean, Mimikyu is really good in battles, but I wouldn't be seen dead with one on my team. EDIT: Also, I never actually try to optimise everything during a playthrough of a Pokémon game. Super casual all the way to the end and then when I jump back into competitive, then I go for a properly trained team. But that's an interesting point, @Ashley. And it kinda got me thinking about how removing some features can make using your favourite Pokémon less appealing in the long run. I think it'd be best if I could demonstrate how this happened with one of my favourite Pokémon that you can catch in Let's GO, Marowak. Specifically, the Alolan version, which is still in Let's GO. Look at that majestic bugger! Who wouldn't want that on their team? Well, anyone who actually wants to win some matches... For reference, 90-100 is considered decent. More than that is considered good. In other words, Marowak sucks. This is a problem with a lot of Pokémon that I like, they just aren't going to win against the more powerful Pokémon that are prevalent in multiplayer. And yet, in the recent 3DS titles, that majestic bugger helped me win quite a lot of matches. How? No, I didn't cheat! Shut up! OK, Salamence and Zapdos isn't on my usual team in Gen 7. But I'm not going through the Pokémon global link site on my phone! Against all odds, Marowak became a cornerstone of my competitive team thanks to two factors. The first was it's great abilities, Lightning Rod and Rock Head. Lightning Rod neutralises any Electric attacks used by a lot of the more popular Pokémon while Rock Head prevents Recoil damage from Flare Blitz, helping it survive a bit longer. But it's hold item is where Marowak really shines. Thick Club is an equippable item only Cubone and Marowak can use. It's a simple item, it doubles Marowak's Attack stat. Making it an amazing Physical Attacker/Tank These two mechanics (and Alolan Form) that were developed over the series's life meant I could use a Pokémon I really liked in a setting I've always wanted to. But with Let's GO removing abilities and held items, Marowak's viability has been cut tragically short. And I'm certain that will happen with a lot of "now not good enough Pokémon" Guess my point is that the variety that this game has cut out would only hurt the emotional connection people might have for these underdog Pokémon. At least that's how I see it.

The one time I want blatant Gen 1 pandering...

Didn't Red Dead Redemption just come out? That's a right honeymoon period pick if I ever saw one. I'd vote for Celeste if I cared.

The thing is with that analogy is that it's not quite the same situation. Monster Hunter's difficulty has gone down because of the many features it's added over time. Aerial attacks, Hunter styles, new weapons, stuff like that. Pokémon has been doing that as well. All except for Let's GO, which is actively removing features for the sake of making things simpler, while barely adding anything new. Only the capturing mechanic has changed and it's just the co-op feature I'd classify as new to the series. It's a stripped-down version of Pokémon and for a series that has a common complaint of "It never tries anything new", Let's GO is not getting enough Flak for that in my eyes.

Core Pokémon fans in the way some people use it is a stupid term adopted by idiots who think they know everything. Core Pokémon actually means the RPG series made by Game Freak. You like those games? You're a Core Pokémon fan. That's just gaming in general, really. You only have to look around on Twitter to see that. Look, don't get me wrong. If someone ends up enjoying this, more power to you. But I said it before for Pokémon GO and I'll say it again. If this sells really well (by Pokémon standards), it's going to have an adverse effect on future games in my view and that terrifies me. Probably not Gen 8, that's coming out too soon. God forbid, Let's GO sells more than Gen 8... And this time, people can't tell me I'm overreacting, because I was spot on last time.