Well aren't I slow. I've only begun to really get into the game, I'm about 20 hours in. Here's two more things I found interesting in the game.
Ukulele Pichu's upgrades
From the beginning of the game, Ukulele Pichu's assist can be upgraded once, twice, three times, each time the tune getting longer and Pichu playing more frantically. And then the finale! A giant bolt of paralyzing lightning!
After a rather late mission towards the end of the game, you FINALLY get your hands on Latios and its Ranger Sign, which looks a lot like a paper plane with two loose ends(don't ask, that's what I thought it looked like). Latios has its own Pokeassist in the sky too, and it flies faster than your regular ride. Think of Staraptor as your old car, and Latios is the shiny new Porsche. It needs better suspension though, Staraptor can turn better than Latios.
By the time you're reading this it'll be the official release date of Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver in the US! And yes of course I know some of you got it early before the March 14 date, so I'm really jealous of you all lucky chaps (not :P).
Anyway for those of you still without copies of the new Pokemon, I'll do a small feature on some of the new areas you'll be visiting in Johto. You might have seen some of my shots before, even.
This links to the screenshots of the two entirely new routes to the west of Johto, Routes 47 and 48. They are accessed through Cianwood City, through a new cave opening.
Another video showing where the Pokeathlon Dome is. It's also around the Goldenrod area, but right above it and next to the National Park counter. Trust me, Pokeathlon is more fun than you could imagine.
Have fun with the Johto remakes~! I'll continue on my JP copy until I get it in English.
I got the game early! Really, I can't wait to play it, so here's my hands-on report. I'll cover my first hour with the game itself! Well, this Pokemon Ranger, from the very beginning, looks like it has improved a lot over its previous attempts, but still maintains the core gameplay. Anyway, on to my log. Click 'Read More', please~! It's tons of pictures and videos I took while playing!
00.00 I turn it on, see the regular opening stuff. Wow, 3D ocean! And then in come Latios and Latias flying in towards the distance. You can see the land of Oblivia and listen to the familiar Ranger opening theme, albeit slightly rejigged again.
00.01 I'm given the option to either start the game, or go to the Ranger Net. There are online missions for downloading right off the bat, but I'll leave them for now and start the game proper. I choose my gender. 00.02 The opening cutscene begins with a chase in the sky in 3D. Some shady-looking guys are pursuing a Latios. You ride a Staraptor and end their plot. They send a Pidgey to attack you, but like the Ranger you are, you capture it right away. They think you're a Ranger, but because of your yellow scarf not being uniform in Oblivia, they hesitate first(nearly everyone in the early game thinks that way too). Next was dodging their attacks. 00.04 Oh? My lady partner comes in to help! But then their leader comes in and shoots me out of the sky. I plunge into the ocean and drop my Styler. A Mantyke decides to play with it and I give chase. This minigame thing is swell. Hopefully I can do it more than just once~. 00.06 The cutscene where the shady guys arrive in flying machines and kidnap Pokemon with their beams. All of Ukulele Pichu's friends were taken, and it looks more than upset. 00.08 Flashback to the Fiore Region, in the Ranger Union. Apparently I was given a special mission to go to the islands of Oblivia to take down an evil team called the Pokemon Nappers. 00.10 I end up on a beach and save my game. Some old guy called Booker shows up and introduces me to Drop Island, where I am right now. I capture my first Pokemon outside of the Pidgey. It was a Wingull. Ukulele Pichu thought I was one of the bad guys and attacked me (wait little guy, I'm a ****ing RANGER goddammit, Capture On!) 00.12 Lots of cute Pokemon around (XD). In no time I had racked up about 6. The top screen looks different too.(and this was where I finally decided to start talking screenshots) 00.13 First Pokemon field ability used to cut a log blocking the road. Obvious. 00.15 I captured an Ursaring, which was used to push ol' Booker's boat into the water. Apparently he knows Ukulele Pichu very well. It decided to follow the both of us to Rainbow Island, where there was a town, and where Booker lives. Pichu wants to save its friends. Main title appears. 00.18 I go into Booker's house. Ukulele Pichu notices the Nappers pass by and gives chase angrily(psh, children). Once the lot notices Pichu's absence, I was to go to the nearby forest to find Pichu and find out what the Nappers were up to. 00.21 Apparently the semi-3D graphic thing was a trick, it looks 3D, but everything still scrolls by on a 2D plane. Still a nice trick though. I also notice the absence of a Ranger Rank- probably because there aren't any Ranger Unions around Oblivia. As far as I can see. You can carry 7 Pokemon with you right off the bat, no more limits. 00.26 I pass the forest into a cave. Bumped into Pichu going nuts around the Nappers again. 00.29 Finally decided to try my hand at a PokeAssist. The system has been tweaked, and I like this new change a lot. See the video for details.
00.35 The Nappers attacked me for the second time(the first was outside the cave). They've obtained a Ranger Sign from a nearby slab of writing. 00.37 Raikou appeared and the Nappers are scared ****less and run off. Aw, Pichu's ukulele was broken in its scuffle. Well, now that we've found it, mission clear! 00.38 I receive 50 Ranger Points. Those are used for upgrading your Styler and other stuff, but the system is currently broken and I can't cash in my points yet(damn). I also noticed you get 1 Ranger Point for each S Rank capture. 00.41 I receive my first quest- sidejobs that give out rewards and stuff(in this case, it was 10 Ranger Points, not bad). It was by Booker. He needed something from Drop Island to repair Pichu's Ukulele. So off I go. 00.45 Arrived at destination, the girl that was tagging along jumped into a large pit in a tree trunk to get it. How clumsy, she disturbed a nest full of Sunkerns and I had to capture all 6 of them. Imagine what it's like to be close to this many of them!(she did let out a scream) 00.46 Returned to Rainbow Island with the item 00.50 Something went down at the square just outside the city. I went there to check it out and a group was standing looking at some green ball of light. It was a Celebi! After a successful capture, it took me back to the past, where I met someone...an acquaintance with the playful Celebi. She told Celebi to return me to my own time at once, which it did. I get the feeling I'll be meeting her more often though. 00.52 Pichu's Ukulele is repaired. Pichu looked completely thrilled and jumps all over the place. Cute little guy~ 00.55 Ukulele Pichu wants to join me as my partner! I was taught how to use him, but as of now I haven't had the chance to try it out yet. Here's the tutorial I recorded.
00.57 I was to look for the area Ranger and made my way to the beach. Got caught up in an underwater mission that had me searching the ocean floor for one of those UFO things the Nappers were riding. Naturally Pichu can't follow me down. 1.00 I finished the mission and came back to the surface. A quick one. I had to chase a Kingdra at one point too. Check out both videos of it!
Phew....that was long. I don't think I have the energy to keep this up for the rest of the game~! Well take this as a taste of things to come! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on interesting happenings in Pokemon Ranger 3 and expect an import review later on too!
A screenshot taken from the official Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver website! Yes, European Pokemon players can now get their hands on the Pikachu-colored Pichu that's already distributed in Japan and the US!
Except.....Japanese could only get it by buying Arceus movie tickets, and US players could only get it in Toys 'R Us, and both may involve driving miles to get to the destination.
Remember Mt. Silver in the original Pokemon Gold/Silver games? Of course you do, after all it's the FINAL final area you'll open up after getting all 16 Gym badges(and which still makes G/S the longest games in the series) and at the summit is Red, the greatest trainer in the two lands. His team has slightly changed in Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but I'm not going into that here....All I will say is he's still just as ass-kicking hard to beat if your team is below Level 80. Pikachu is still a pushover though.
The thing about Mt. Silver now....it's been completely redesigned for the new games! Why? Rock Climb, that's why. Parts of Mt. Silver has been made so rock faces can be climbed on using the new HM move. Oh, but it's not just that, the whole mountain has been given a rework, and it surprised me a lot. It's like another new area entirely! They never had this back in Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen.
You're probably aware of all the DS"2" rumours going around. That an upgrade beyond remodeling the same handheld is in development. Something with the two screens of its predecessors, and assumed additional functionality. I've heard all kinds of rumors, from the ridiculous addition of a third screen to a more realistic NATAL-esque sensor that tracks your actual movements.
At a minimum, it's looking pretty much assured that it will have tilt functionality. It looks like Gamefreak of Pokemon fame is already working on something on the new system for you Pokemon fans to look forward to as well. Big news all around if it's true.
Nintendo 5-Star just got tipped off on this (a day late then) from the official Japanese Pokemon website. The 5th generation Pokemon games are in development for Nintendo DS and is scheduled to be released late this year! Excitement ensues.
The short article doesn't say much beyond announcing the new pair of games except that the NIntendo DS Pokemon games have been extremely popular because of the dual-screens, Wi-fi connection...stating a short recap of Pokemon's history on the Game Boy, nothing new.
Our balls are ready (Pokeballs). Bring on the news!
Pokemon has been through a lot. From the original Pokemon Red/Blue RPGs on the Gameboy, it's still one of the most popular franchises in history and remains one of the main pop culture icons of Japan. Aside from the main RPG games there are a ton of Pokemon spinoff games to satsfy hardcore fans. Most gamers would pass on them however. Yeah, things like Mystery Dungeon, Ranger and Trozei. Pokemon spinoffs tend to cater to only a niche group of Pokemon diehards, and so I'll be reviewing this game as a Pokefan.
