is a
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
developed for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
by
Ambrella
was a Japanese video game developer, video game development company that worked under a publishing agreement with Nintendo. They were best known for making spin-off games for the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' video game franchise, ...
. ''My Pokémon Ranch'' was released via the
WiiWare
WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...
download service on March 25, 2008, in Japan, in the Americas on June 9, 2008, and in Europe on July 4, 2008.
Internationally, this game only works with
''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' versions; the Japanese version was updated to receive Pokémon from ''
Pokémon Platinum
is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced version of ''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' and is part of the fourth ge ...
''.
Overview
''My Pokémon Ranch'' is similar in concept to
Pokémon Box, and allows players to transfer up to 1,000 of their
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
(1,500 with the ''Platinum'' update) from up to eight separate
''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' Nintendo DS game cards, to a ranch run by Hayley, a friend of Bebe who runs the PC box system in these versions. Here, they can view their Pokémon rendered in
3D, while using their
Mii
A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis ca ...
s to interact with them.
Players do not need to own ''Pokémon Diamond'', ''Pearl'' or ''Platinum'' to play ''My Pokémon Ranch''. Players with or without the Nintendo DS game will be given six starter Pokémon and a new Pokémon at the start of each day. Additionally, each day Hayley will give the player requests for certain Pokémon not in the player's
Pokédex to be added to the ranch, along with instructions on where to find them in ''Diamond'', ''Pearl'' and ''Platinum''. It has also been confirmed that players can obtain a special
Mew and
Phione. Hayley can also trade certain Pokémon she already has in her possession. Eventually, adding more Pokémon to the ranch unlocks new features to the game and expands the ranch.
Similar to the actions in the
Mii Channel
The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", are ...
's plaza, the Pokémon on the ranch can perform different idle actions, such as talking, playing, and sleeping at other players' ranches. Players are also able to take snapshots of their Pokémon and send them to friends registered on their Wii, as well as downloading the photos in .JPG file to an SD card, and transfer them onto your computer or camera.
A simple
HUD
Hud or HUD may refer to:
Entertainment
* Hud (1963 film), ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman
* Hud (1986 film), ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film
* HUD (TV program), ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadi ...
shows the ability to monitor the time and the number of Pokémon in the ranch. Apart from storing collected Pokémon on the ranch, players are otherwise unable to further train or level up their Pokémon on the ranch.
[
]
Updates
On June 18, 2008, an update was made available for the game. Another update was made available on November 5, 2008, in Japan to ensure compatibility with ''Pokémon Platinum'' and to improve and add some features, such as adding 500 more Pokémon, making a total amount of Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
go up to 1,500.
The Pokémon
Most notably, as ''Pokémon Platinum
is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced version of ''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' and is part of the fourth ge ...
'' essentially introduces seven new Pokémon in the manner of new forms of previous Pokémon and these can all be placed in ''Pokémon Ranch'' and have their forms remain while in the Ranch. However, this will have some effect on ''Pokémon Platinum''.
Shaymin
Shaymin's alternate form is activated in a different manner than Giratina's. If the player has the Gracidea item in ''Pokémon Platinum'', the Ranch will recognize it and unlock the Gracidea as a new toy in the Ranch. Shaymin will normally be Land Forme, however if the player gets the Gracidea and Shaymin touches it, it will transform into its Sky Forme for the duration of the player's Ranch visit. However, if the player removes Shaymin from the Ranch while it is in its Sky Forme, it will revert to Land Forme.
Rotom
In ''Pokémon Platinum'', Rotom was given five different forms. Each form represents Rotom possessing a different appliance. They will keep their form upon being transferred to Pokémon Ranch.
The Ranch
Various changes have occurred for the Ranch too, most notably, a 26th level of the Ranch has been added, allowing you to deposit a total of 1500 Pokémon onto the Ranch. This does not give the player any extra rewards though.
Animations & Toys
Also in the Ranch there are twelve more animations that the Pokémon will partake in should the screen be left idle. These include water races, wrestling tournaments between the fighting Pokémon, fights between Pokémon rivals (such as Zangoose vs. Seviper, Dialga vs. Palkia, Darkrai vs. Cresselia, and so forth), and a Rotom animation utilizing all its formes.
Eleven new toys have also been added, including the aforementioned Gracidea Flower.
Menu Options
With this update it is possible to change the background music from the default.
It is now possible to store up to 30 in the game. It is now also possible to copy and delete photos over to or from the SD card
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between San ...
in bulk.
Club Look-see
There have also been some changes in regard to Club Look-see. Previously, the player could only visit NPC members' ranches after they visited and invited the player. With the ''Pokémon Platinum'' update however, the player now has the option of revisiting ranches that were previously visited, allowing the player to see their unique Miis and Ranches at any time.
The number of Club Look-see members has also been increased from 37 to 40.
Reception
Overall, the game has received negative reviews, with an aggregate rating of 46 percent at GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
was disappointed in the game and gave it a 4/10, believing the graphics to be ugly, citing "absolutely hideous" Pokémon models, and likening the gameplay to a screensaver
A screensaver (or screen saver) is a computer program that blanks the display screen or fills it with moving images or patterns when the computer has been idle for a designated time. The original purpose of screensavers was to prevent phosphor ...
, claiming it to be a largely "sit-n-stare experience." However, they had some praise for the Nintendo DS connectivity. WiiWare World, who are today known as Nintendo Life
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
, also gave it a 4/10, calling it "half-assed" and "obtuse" and particularly noting the flawed nature of the Pokémon storage system. While they believed that it was "chock full" of missed potential, the game was still ideal for younger Pokémon fans.[ The UK's ]Official Nintendo Magazine
''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo.
Originally published by EMAP as ...
gave the game a below-average score of 48%, finding it hard to justify the 1000 Wii Points price, and believing the game only appeals to ''Pokémon'' completists. Not all reviews were negative, however; Nintendo Power
''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nint ...
gave it a "Recommended" when they reviewed it.
See also
* ''Pokémon Channel
''Pokémon Channel'', released in Japan as , is a 2003 video game in the ''Pokémon'' series for the GameCube, developed by Ambrella, published by The Pokémon Company and distributed by Nintendo. The player's goal is to help Professor Oak r ...
''
* '' Pokémon Box''
References
External links
*
My Pokémon Ranch
at MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Pokemon Ranch
2008 video games
Ambrella games
Video games developed in Japan
Virtual pet video games
Wii-only games
WiiWare games
Wii games
Single-player video games
Pokémon spin-off games
Games with Wii-DS connectivity
Products and services discontinued in 2019
Delisted digital-only games