My Pokémon Ranch, released in Europe on July 4, 2008 on WiiWare, is above all a storage space for Pokémon from Diamond and Pearl. You deposit your Pokémon in a 3D ranch, where they live alongside your Miis. Modest and unambitious, it appealed mainly because of one gift: a Mew, which was almost impossible to get any other way at the time.
A ranch for your Pokémon
Pokémon imported from Diamond and Pearl wander around a ranch in a “super-deformed” style: tiny bodies, big heads. They form groups by type, react according to their nature and sometimes trigger animations when enough of certain species are present, such as a Pokémon tower. The console’s Miis, dressed as cowboys, mingle with them.
Hayley and her trades
Hayley, the ranch manager, brings a new Pokémon every day and offers trades. When you reach certain storage milestones, she gives you a Phione, then a Mew. The ranch starts small and grows as you deposit Pokémon. See Hayley and trades.
The drawbacks
The graphics are simple and interactions are limited: you watch, take photos and organize a parade. Fans were hoping for a real game, even a more expensive one. And in Europe, the application was never updated for Pokémon Platinum.
Is it worth buying today?
The Wii Shop Channel closed in January 2019, so it is no longer possible to buy it. To store your Pokémon, Pokémon HOME has since taken over.
Our verdict
A pleasant utility, useful in its day mainly for its Mew, but too bare-bones to be a real game.
What we like
- Convenient storage for Diamond and Pearl
- A Mew and a Phione to earn
- Miis among the Pokémon
What we like less
- Simplistic graphics
- Few interactions
- No Platinum update in Europe
- No longer on sale
