My Pokémon Ranch (WiiWare) Review

ahaha.
i knew this game sucked.
but somehow more people have bought this than Toki Tori,
which goes to show how misinformed most people are.
i guess people will buy anything from Nintendo, especially if it has Pokemon in the name...
sigh

edit: this game has tied Critter Round-Up for the lowest scored game on this site,
but you're still selling well, so congratulations Nintendo,
you don't need us geeks after all.

@x.SuperMario.x: everything you said is absoulty correct!

Could be worse, it could be a Final Fantasy game that has no action in it what so ever, wait... lol.

FFCCMLAAK is a truly amazing game, and it's irritating to see just how many people are A. Being idiots and buying it without researching it. B. Complaining about the fact that it's a sim game. And C. Saying it sucks because of the above.

I've never wanted this, it's always looked crap, and now I guess I have my proof.

well i would get this but NOT right away as for some reason there is no more to do in my diamond version the game is cool but it felt boring for awhile plus you can`t even randomly battle without having freind code.

x.SuperMario.x
Since when do games (or anything for that matter) sell on quality?

I sold my pearl, but the cuteness draws my attention to much. Its like its hypnotizing me saying "buy the game back and get this one!"
Its working too. get out Mommie!

I might get it for those rare PokeMon trades, but I don't see much other reason. Diamond and Pearl give you plenty of room to "catch em' all"

Great review Alex! I had no clue what this "game" would be like in practice but you have certainly convinced me that this wouldn't be my cup of tea!

All this Pokemon talk is like another language to me, I feel so old

Apparently games don't sell on quality,
which is beyond unfair for developers like Two Tribes who created a game in Toki Tori which is so much better than this crap, yet Toki Tori might not sell half as well.
well Two Tribes, i support you.
i'll be gifting Toki Tori to all my friends.

well, i did get this game, and i think of it as not much of a game, but more of a pokemon mii channel or an odd add-on 2 D/P. I'm not a pokemaniac and yes, i do have pearl 4 my DS, (laugh if u want), but it is cool 2 see your pokemon roam around, interct, and kill your mii's with there attacks and the trades are good 2, but it could of been much better if u could at least either control your mii or interact with some1 if they visit your ranch, besides, my sister and my mom like getting picked up by Haunter and dropped at some random place if i would give it a rating, i'd give it a 5/10 since it truely is "mediocore"

Its not really that bad for what it does....its a really neat underappreciated utility for D/P, and I think this wouldve been better reviewed from a Pokemaniacs perspective rather then an average gamer. Im not surprised its selling so well, and I doubt its because people are misinformed or whatnot. Its because theres still a lot of people out there playing the game and catching em all twice over.

Or it might have something to do with getting Mew as a reward and from Pokedex Completist like me, thats a pretty sweet deal.

How funny would it be if Alex had every Poke game, figures for all 493 Pokemon and then the trainers, comics, DVD's, wallpaper etc... Just so that Poke fans can't rag on his score?

@wario
"It's not really that bad for what it does" Really? You can only bring them back on your original save file. INSTANT LOSS OF PURPOSE. I like the RPG games and hate to lose my previous aprties when I start over but this doesnt eveen help you there. What a piece of crap. Every person over the age of 13 who gets this deserves to be "attacked" by Mr. Mime at night.

@ Demon212- how do you know there are 493 Pokemon?
you're one of them.

@ Objection_Blaster- i most definitely misread that...

@supermario
Have fun with that. especially since i wrote "attacked" like that for a reason

well, I am not a pokemon fan, but i like this idea. I would say it needs to be updated with some of these points made here.
1st off, it should be able to trade with other carts.
2nd, definately should be able to trade with wii friends. I would also like "my ranch" to be viewable from a friends Wii. I would love to get random visiters that could come see the Powerful beasts I have accumulated. from the comfort of their home.
3rd. some sort of battle, c'mon. ptthhhh

Gah. I can't transfer Pokémon from Diamond to Ranch to Pearl? That bites... I might pass on this one for now.

complete rubbish!

I was gonna get this when it came out in the Uk now im not because your right! They could of added so many things to make this game better! I'll probably wait till the next DLC comes out for my life as a king! (;

So it's what I thought it would be.
Not so great for the others but a great utility for Pokémon fans.

This game is a cheap attempt to rope in addicts. Offering a Mew for planting 999 pokeymans in your ranch is a pretty sneaky trick, since that Mew is probably the only reason most people will dump $10 on this sucker.

Not so great for the others but a great utility for Pokémon fans.
Its not even that. Its a fundementally flawed ultility.

A great ultility would be Pokemon Box on the gamecube. I suppose you can Play Pokemon ranch without a Pokemon game but thats the only advantage.

Nice review. The final rating is well-supported. 4/10 is surely a sad sight.

I got out of Pokémon around Silver and Gold (before a majority of the franchise's current players were even born). I agree with the review, in that it's a wonderful diversion for its target audience. Great review.

For some reason I want to buy this. I have a DS and Pokemon Diamond, but the limitations on this game are kind of retarded and I'm not sure I would really put the time into this game to make it worth the purchase. Also, I'm worried about space on my Wii.... I already have 3 WiiWare games and a crapload of VC titles and I'm sick of deleting things.

Super Mario, I read Alex's review, where he states that there's 493 Pokemon _

i didn't see that.

If you can't trade pokemon from diamond to pearl through this game, then even Pokemon Box was a better deal than this! What a ripoff....

I was so disappointed... This game isn't even a decent storage box...
They could have revamped Pokemon Channel to be used with the Wiimote, put THAT up for sale on the VC, and it would have been twenty times worth what this rubbish is...
@x.SuperMario.x: : I would totally DL Toki Tori, but I don't have 256 free blocks of memory on my Wii... But only geeks and Otaku want more storage space on the Wii
Nintendo of Europe = Fail

x.SuperMario.x
Dont forget the bet . Oh and I agree that pokemon ranch sucks even for a storage box.

I only bought this because Mew is obtainable.

@ mrdziekuje same with me, but also 4 phione since i didn't even have pkmn pearl when the event happened, also from my last comment

Hmm, I saw this coming ages ago but I still hoped it'd turn out good. Ah well.

What's the bet Europe will get this alone for the next fortnights release?

i got this but only for my pokemon diamond/pearl. But i will agree that its one of the worst wii ware tittles. I wouldn't even call it a game.

I still don't understand why they priced this stupid looking game at 1000 Wii Points other then paying for the name "Pokemon." I agree with your review and it has the same score as on IGN.

My Pokémon Ranch is nothing but a glorified Bill's PC.

@x.SuperMario.x
NO! Don't tell Nintendo that they don't need us geeks! We'll never get our hard drive!

If you need 999 pokemon to get mew that's like getting every pokemon twice+

Think about that.

I was appalled by the worse-than-N64 graphics I saw of the game. Make the weird... deformed... low-polygon-count moving dolls look SOMETHING like the Pokémon themselves, please! Also, this disgrace would most likely anger Pokéfans if anything.

And DarkMatter, I could agree with you more because this looks WORSE than Bill's PC.

i got out of pokemon after the silver and gold days. and i am glad i did, now seeing where pokemon is headed wit this game

Love it. The low poly graphics means it isn't 300+ blocks, which is a plus in my opinion.

It looks good.

I didn't get out of Pokemon until last year, with the disappointment of Diamond and Pearl. I'm suprised I didn't grow out of it sooner, I hadn't enjoyed a pokemon game since Gold and Silver, and I detested most other RPGs, most of which were of higher quality than Pokemon. I suppose pokemon just has a way of doing that to people, and the reason why Nintendo can afford to sell crap like this and have it sell so well.

Bill's PC I don't get it? Are you making fun of PCs? Thems fightin' words!

Oh god, Palkia looks so fat!!!

This game sucks but its Number 1 on most popular

@over9000- thats cause all the little 8 year olds want it and ask there parents for it cause they think its an actual pokemon game. if it was i could see why it would be first, but it is a stupid game where you sing with them around a campfire.

it is number 1 simply for the fact that it is a pokemon game.

Would you guys say that this title would be fun for a 5 year old? Thinking of buying it for my daughter...

@ tgjorgoski-

I honestly hate the game, but your daughter would probably enjoy it. It's basically a place to store Pokemon, and does about as much as a screen saver so there's no thinking involved in this game, whatsoever, which is probably a good thing for a 5 year old anyway.

There isn't any kid-friendly WiiWare games besides this one, so this is really the only game you could get her. If she enjoys collecting Pokemon, looking at Pokemon, and taking pictures of Pokemon, she'll enjoy this game.

@x.SuperMario.x , Thanks! I think I'll give it a try (when it appears in Europe that is)

You might be waiting a while.

mr.niceguy .
bill's pc is the in game (pokemon ds/gba) pc to store your pokemon.

on another note the release of this has made me order pokemon for the ds, as i havent played a pokemon game in a few years now.

Is just a storage thing for people like me with no room left for the pokemon, IS NOT A GAME XD, so i don't even think is worth a review...

People that don't even have diamond or pearl, don't even try it.

This is very disappointing. The main reason I wanted this was so that I could safely store all of my hard earned Pokemon and start a new game on my Diamond cart. Without the ability to do that this "utility" is completely useless to me and I can't understand why they couldn't have made it more flexible.

@oooooomonkeys

I should warn you, the pokemon games have changed little since the Gameboy games, and still feels like one. This may not be a problem for you, as you may simply be looking for more of the same from back in the old days. I, however, was expecting the the series to have evolved over time, just as every other series does, so I was thoroughly dissapointed when I found out that it's pretty much the same thing as the old Gameboy Color games with a few added gimmicks that does little to change or improve the gameplay.

And please don't tell me you bought one because of Pokemon Ranch! It's literally a $10 screensaver that apparently doubles as a flawed Box system. You'd be throwing your money away if you intend on getting that. I suppose if you could afford it and know what you're getting into then it's okay, but there are better ways to throw your money away than that. Like my way for instance...

Mickeymac, you might be right, but the pokemon games are still awesome. Even though few innovations are added to each new entry. The DS games are also cool cuz you can take 'em online, though I haven't gotten that feature to work yet...

I have to admit that I'm somewhat tempted to buy this because it offers oppertunities for rare pokemon like Mew, but I'll try to resist. I must!

Again, Action Replay, it only costs $20 and worth every penny! And the Online ain't worth it, as it's only for trading(you need the Wii Pokemon Stadium to battle online) and there are never fair trades available. That's why I got an Action Replay.

No, you CAN battle online w/o Pokemon Battle Revolution. But I forgot about action replay. That's what my friends at school use to get rare pokemon. Thanks! Now I can use 1000 of my 1200 points for something meaningful, like Starfox 64 or Lostwinds .

You can battle online without tha Wii game? Does it require friend codes? Otherwise I wasted 50 bucks!

If I were you I'd go with Starfox 64, because while Lostwinds was good, it was pretty short, where as Starfox 64 will last you forever! The game can be really tough, but never brutal; there are secrets on every stage, multiple routes, and medals to earn based on your performance. I loved Starfox Assault, and Starfox Command was pretty good too, they don't have neither the replayability, nor the sheer funfactor of Starfox 64. It is a true classic.

And Speaking of Starfox, instead of releasing cash-ins like this crud, Nintendo should be releasing the long-overdue Starfox II, because if Capcom can release a retro sequel like Mega Man 9, Ninty can too! I mean, the game was almost done, and you can find pirated versions floating around, so it shouldn't be that hard, just finish the last few levels, do some debugging, then charge $10, $15, what ever the heck they want for it, and they will have another best seller on their hands.

As a longtime Pokemon fan, this "game" is a serious insult and middle-finger to the fans (the ones with intelligence, at least.) I really can't get over how BAD the graphics are. I mean, SERIOUSLY. 12-year-old girls (and others with a 12-year-old girl's intellect) say the graphics are "cute" and "kawaii." I say they're "lazily-rendered" and "painful on the eyes." Beware of posting anti-Pokemon Ranch comments on Youtube, though: that site is loaded with idiot 12-year-old girls who wouldn't hesitate to pay $10 for a ball of cow dung with the word "Pokemon" etched in it. Nintendo has released a horrible-looking, overpriced, bare-bones, DISAPPOINTING product that people are STILL gobbling up like it's the greatest thing ever. Which means that there's more crap like this to follow. Seriously, Nintendo, go buy a Ferrari with your millions of dollars and crash head-on into a brick wall.

If this game allowed me to throw all of my pókemans and mudkips in the ranch, start a new game on Pearl, and bring back those mudkips and pókemans later on: it would be 1000 well spent points.

Nope, Nintendo thinks that is a bad idea that I wouldn't care to lose legendaries so I can start over. (rolleyes)

Mew reeled me in to buy this game XD I only just got Phione today though u_u

I'd rather buy Pong Toss than this, My rating for this game is a 0 out of 10. Worse game on WiiWare, little kids will buy anything or beg teir parents to buy a game with Pokemon in it. I hate you Pokemon Ranch, you beat Dr. Mario and there is nothing to do in this game, at least Pong Toss has some content, well I'm starting to actually want Pong Toss weird.......Buy anything but this game, even Pong Toss or Spogs.!!!!

I didn't think it was terrible. The graphics suck, but it got me to start playing Diamond again. It sucks really bad that I have to constantly trade the pokemon back and forth, but I don't play it that much to really care.

This game is actully kinda good

This reminds me of mii channel, but for your pokemon..... sadly this is not worth spending your pennys on though, inless your pokemon nut!

It's a shame since Pokemon Battle Revolution was total crap and now another peice of crap. Seriously, they can't even match N64 game quality anymore! Well for Battle Revolution I mean of course. I never bought the GCN utility but I'm sure something like that would've been better than this, at the right price of course.

Well I gotta say its only for major pokemon fans...
I do sometimes regret that 10.00$ a couple months ago.
Other than that it is fun to some extent!

I actually want this game to complement my future Pokémon Pearl and to add to my PokéGame collection.
takes out Lucastick in case of My Pokémon Ranch bashers