Pokemon Ranger Comes to Wii U

Another classic Pokemon side game has come to the Wii U. Pokemon Ranger will be available to purchase from the North American Wii U Virtual Console Shop later today. Pokemon Ranger was originally released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS.

In Pokemon Ranger, players take on the role of a Pokemon Ranger (duh) who acts as a sort of police officer for the Fiore Region. Unlike traditional Pokemon games, players can only temporarily capture Pokemon in Pokemon Ranger using a special device called a Capture Styler (actually your DS/Wii U stylus). Once a player captures a Pokemon by rapidly drawing a circle around them, he or she can use them to assist in capturing other Pokemon or completing certain tasks.

The original Pokemon Ranger game was a modest success, selling about 2.7 million copies worldwide. It spawned two spinoff games, Shadows of Almia and Guardian Signs. Pokemon Ranger was also notable in that it was the only way Pokemon trainers could originally get their hands on the Mythical Pokemon Manaphy. It's unlikely that the Wii U version will allow players to get a Manaphy, but the Pokemon was recently made available via Pokemon's ongoing 20th Anniversary Mythical Pokemon giveaway.

Pokemon Ranger will cost $9.99 to purchase and might be a good way to pass the time while the Pokemon Go servers continue to struggle.