4/5 ★ – AzulAzuril's review of Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.

The Ranger series is such a fun spinoff series of the main Pokémon franchise, and these titles really take advantage of being on the DS. Shadows of Almia intrigued me as a kid, so I played through the whole game on a friend’s copy, but I later replayed the game on my Wii U Virtual Console. One thing Shadows of Almia does so right is the plot, which is rare for a Pokémon game. The story starts as a simple “school” story, but the game adds mystery, unique set pieces and locations, and character growth to make for a pretty compelling Pokémon title. The worldbuilding for Almia and the ranger lore is so fascinating, and the game does a great job establishing this new take on the Pokémon franchise. The game has got great sprite work that make it enjoyable and fun to explore. Gameplay is the classic Pokémon ranger style where you draw circles around the Pokémon you’re trying to catch. This can make for some pretty interesting battles, particularly depending on the Pokémon’s attack pattern. This gameplay does feel a little repetitive sometimes, and there’s times where it can be particularly frustrating to pull off, but it’s also satisfying once you learn patterns. There’s a decent number of upgrades you can get from side quests which make doing them all feel very worthwhile. Overall, I find Shadows of Almia to be a fun and distinct Pokémon spinoff, and I’d love to see a ranger style game like this one again someday.