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My Pokémon Ranch(JP) is a WiiWare video game developed by Ambrella and published by The Pokémon Company. It was initially released in Japan on March 25, 2008, in the Americas on June 9, 2008, and in Europe on July 4, 2008.
International versions of this game only work with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, whereas the Japanese version received an update to include support for Pokémon Platinum.
Overview[]
Similarly to Pokémon Box: Ruby & Sapphire, players can transfer up to 1,000 of their Pokémon from up to eight separate copies of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (or 1,500 with the Platinum update) to a virtual ranch run by Hayley, a friend of Bebe who runs the Sinnoh PC box. Here, the Pokémon are rendered in 3D and players can use their Miis to interact with them.
If a player does not own Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, they will be given six starter Pokémon, with more Pokémon being added at the start of each day. Hayley will also give the player new requests on where to find specific Pokémon in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum to add to the ranch. Eventually, the more Pokémon the player collects, the more the ranch will expand and more features will become available.
Special Pokémon[]
The player can acquire two very special Pokémon: Mew and Phione. For Phione, the player must have a total of 250 Pokémon in their ranch and must trade a Leafeon with Hayley for its egg.
For Mew, the player's ranch needs to be at level 25.
Events[]
Every fifteen minutes in the game, a special event will occur that will make Pokémon pose in picture-worthy stances. For example, one, called the totem pole, will some of the Pokémon to climb on top of each other, thus resembling a totem pole. For another example, one, called a ring dance.
Reception[]
Upon release, My Pokémon Ranch received mostly negative reviews. Craig Harris of IGN rated it a 4 out of 10, criticizing the graphics and gameplay and the models, likening the gameplay to a screensaver, but praised the game for its Wii to Nintendo DS connectivity. Nintendo Life, who was originally known as WiiWare World at the time, also rated the game a 4/10, calling it "half-assed" and "obtuse" for its Pokémon storage system, but deemed it ideal for younger Pokémon fans.
Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game a score of 48%, criticizing the asking price of 1000 Wii Points, and believing that My Pokémon Ranch only appeals to completionists.
Nintendo Power, however, gave the game a "Recommended" when they reviewed it.
Trivia[]
- The Pokémon 3D models are also used in Pokémon Rumble and Pokémon Rumble Blast.
External links[]
- My Pokémon Ranch at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- My Pokémon Ranch at GameFAQs