Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs

 DS
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 51
  3. Negative: 1 out of 51
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  1. dopefish7590
    Dec 31, 2010
    9
    As far as DS games go, this one is very good. The graphics are beautiful, the animation was well done, (Just look at the Buneary) and it has many features you wouldn't expect if you played the other Pokemon Ranger Games.

    The "Capturing" is engaging in a unique way, it may not seem like much at first but soon you will be circling your problems away and debating where to use that Pokemon    As far as DS games go, this one is very good. The graphics are beautiful, the animation was well done, (Just look at the Buneary) and it has many features you wouldn't expect if you played the other Pokemon Ranger Games.

    The "Capturing" is engaging in a unique way, it may not seem like much at first but soon you will be circling your problems away and debating where to use that Pokemon Assist for the best results. The story was interesting, but a bit cliche at times admittedly.

    I will have to give this game a 9/10.
    Kudos HAL Laboratories.    … Expand
  2. IceBlueLugia
    Jan 18, 2017
    10
    One of the best DS games. Good music, fun puzzles and gameplay, and a compelling story. The multiplayer is great, and the best part is other than one mission, every multiplayer mission can be played single player too. Although the game is a bit short and somewhat repetitive, that was never a big issue. Especially since there is quite a bit of post game in the form of extra quests, catchingOne of the best DS games. Good music, fun puzzles and gameplay, and a compelling story. The multiplayer is great, and the best part is other than one mission, every multiplayer mission can be played single player too. Although the game is a bit short and somewhat repetitive, that was never a big issue. Especially since there is quite a bit of post game in the form of extra quests, catching them all (which is actually conceivable to achieve unlike the main series Pokemon games), the aforementioned multiplayer, and getting an S rank on every Pokemon capture. Overall, this game is one of the best DS games I have ever played and has a good story, fun gameplay, decent graphics, good music, and doesn't get old even after plays through it three times.… Expand
  3. Zeph
    Oct 15, 2010
    7
    In regards to the target audience of say 6-12ish, the gameplay is simple and easy to get into. For anyone older than that, the game can get very boring very quick. Graphics are very polished for a DS game, audio is decent, and is appropriate for the 6-12 age group.
  4. TheCritic1
    Aug 26, 2011
    8
    Personally, I think this is better than the real Pokemon games. Without the infuriating levelling up. But it is WAY too easy. Completed it in 9 days (play time after final mission 28 hours) which was a bit of a disappointment. Still, a great game and I would recommend a purchase!
  5. CyniCritic
    Aug 3, 2012
    5
    When I played Pokémon Ranger initially I was in hoping for something quite cool: Pokémon Rangers looked cool in the anime, so this seemed like a nice spin-off game. I had played Mystery Dungeon and loved it, so this seemed like the logical next step. Sadly, I got disappointed: the gameplay is entertaining but there really isn't much to do after you've completed theWhen I played Pokémon Ranger initially I was in hoping for something quite cool: Pokémon Rangers looked cool in the anime, so this seemed like a nice spin-off game. I had played Mystery Dungeon and loved it, so this seemed like the logical next step. Sadly, I got disappointed: the gameplay is entertaining but there really isn't much to do after you've completed the (regrettably short) storyline. While it lasts, the game is interesting; I found myself often playing it into the small hours of the night. Sadly enough, after the first playthrough I had thought: "Wow, this is awesome!" and decided to play it through again. It was boring. Also, once you complete the storyline in Pokémon Ranger, the only thing left to do really is to try and perfect all of your capture results, getting them to A. As the game lacks any postgame things to do and there is no real reward in replaying the game through (e.g. Nuzlocke challenge, or catching em all) the real joy of playing this game only really is in the initial playthrough. I could see myself buying the game for 10 dollars but the 20-30 dollar initial price I've seen often is ridiculous; in sum, the game itself is fine but there is so little to do in it that it gets boring quickly. If you love walking around, solving puzzles (like how to sneak through a forest undetected) and twirling loops, this is worth buying. Otherwise, I recommend that you think before buying it.… Expand
  6. Ness64
    Jan 8, 2013
    6
    While the visuals were beautiful, the writing left a lot to be desired with bad in-jokes and stale humor. The gameplay is enjoyable enough, but the game falls into the rut of trying to baby the player into all of its mechanics instead of allowing the players to figure things out for themselves. It's not a bad title; it just seems like it needed a little more attention and polish to go into it.
  7. Skitter
    Aug 31, 2018
    9
    Made to the traditional high standard that Pokemon games always manage to reach. Gameplay is simple but rather deep later in the game, with puzzles that require a decent bit of thinking, but are never too difficult to make you look it up. Difficulty curve is solid, if a little bit on the forgiving side. Story is whimsical and charming, but does get dark enough at some points to avoid beingMade to the traditional high standard that Pokemon games always manage to reach. Gameplay is simple but rather deep later in the game, with puzzles that require a decent bit of thinking, but are never too difficult to make you look it up. Difficulty curve is solid, if a little bit on the forgiving side. Story is whimsical and charming, but does get dark enough at some points to avoid being too childish. Boss fights are fun and the game seems to lull you into a sense of false security, and oh look, there's a Typhlosion about to rip you a new one.… Expand
  8. chocapic
    Nov 15, 2020
    9
    El mejor pokemon ranger hasta la fecha, y de los mejores juegos para DS, no entiendo que clase de drogas dura estaría consumiendo la prensa para darle un 68 a este juego, pero en fin, overwatch tiene un 91, asi que no me sorprende ya nada
  9. kiank
    Jan 17, 2018
    10
    I enjoyed this pokemon ranger throughout and it was a great concluding game to the apparent trilogy. Circiling pokemon is actually so fun and it is my favorite mechanic of this pokemon game. As always the story was fun and interesting.
  10. Onioncreature
    Feb 2, 2023
    8
    Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is the third entry in the subseries, and continues the overall gameplay style found in it's predecessors. The primary mechanic is drawing circles around Pokémon with the DS stylus in order to capture them. This gameplay method is in general pretty fun, but can become repetitive after a while. There are a decent amount of new gameplay elements as well, suchPokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs is the third entry in the subseries, and continues the overall gameplay style found in it's predecessors. The primary mechanic is drawing circles around Pokémon with the DS stylus in order to capture them. This gameplay method is in general pretty fun, but can become repetitive after a while. There are a decent amount of new gameplay elements as well, such as the sign system, the ability to roam the region from above riding Staraptor, and sky battles. Apart from that, this is a proper RPG, which carries over characters from previous Ranger games, something that I really enjoyed seeing as someone who played those games in the past. The story and characters on a whole are really great, and are far better than what is found in most of the main series of Pokémon, especially the ones released in the past 10 years. I enjoyed this title quite a lot, and it was a great time finally playing this presumably final entry in the subseries after putting it off for so long.… Expand
  11. ShawnEXE
    May 3, 2019
    6
    Music: 2.5/5
    Game Play: 4/5
    Graphics: 3/5
    Story: 3/5
    Time-Value: 4/5
    Overall: 3/5
  12. FireBroFilms
    Aug 15, 2022
    6
    ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎
  13. Andro1
    Nov 6, 2022
    10
    A great game with tons of content, beautiful music and a pretty interesting story. I remember playing it in 2012 and it was CRAZY! It was a completely different experience compared to the original games and it‘s definitely more than a spinoff. I‘m playing it the second time right now and it is sooo refreshing. You should give it a try! Very lovely game, especially the whole Pichu lore.
  14. Atonnie
    Sep 5, 2023
    9
    Grosse amélioration par rapport au précèdent opus on nous montre enfin qu'on peut faire un vrai bon jeu ranger
  15. hrtfr
    Dec 6, 2022
    6
    it's pretty good for the fans and if you like these series then it's worth a play
  16. Yojimbo2015
    May 22, 2023
    6
    More of the same from the Pokémon Ranger series, but thankfully there's a lot less faffing around at the beginning so you can get stuck into the meat of the game pretty quickly. Still a little unsophisticated by RPG standards but reasonably good fun.

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best DS Game of 2010
13
#13 Most Discussed DS Game of 2010
43
#43 Most Shared DS Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Worth Playing
    Mar 27, 2011
    80
    If you need a good Pokémon adventure to fill in the time away from Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, this fits the bill nicely.
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  2. Games Master UK
    Jan 31, 2011
    72
    It's got the plot of Pokemon, but the battle system needs bolstering to achieve greatness.
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  3. Gamereactor Sweden
    Jan 12, 2011
    60
    A decent Pokemon game with cute graphics, but way too easy and with sluggish controls.
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