Guardian Signs once more posits players in the role of a Pokemon Ranger, a protector and guardian of the Pokemon who ensures their safety, peace and prosperity. Traveling through the land of Oblivia with their helpful Ukulele Pichu, gamers take to the wild with their ‘capture styler’, assisting monsters-in-need and fending off the nefarious band of poachers known as ‘Pokemon Pinchers’ who aim to capture the creatures for their own ends. The tale spun by Guardian Signs is wordy, but largely uninteresting, traipsing through the expected plot-points with rote competence until the credits roll. Younger ones will no doubt enjoy themselves, but the game’s reliance on reams of text means that many will need the assistance of a parent to appreciate all the story has to offer.
The story is pure hokum, but the cast of characters and Pokemon are charming and well-designed as ever.
For better or worse, depending on your age and outlook, Guardian Signs upholds the spin-off series’ reputation for simplicity and accessibility. Capturing any of the three-hundred Pokemon on offer requires little more than rapidly drawing circles around the creatures with the stylus, dodging their various attacks to avoid doing damage to the capture styler. In practice, this means that the game’s core mechanic involves watching a rapidly-moving sprite and tracing circles around it in between bouts of counter-strikes from the Pokemon. Aside from a few occasions of mildly tricky timing, nothing in Guardian Signs is likely to challenge anyone bar gaming acolytes. In any case, capturing a Pokemon allows players to befriend them and have (up to eight of) them join in the journey. Befriending Pokemon allows players to summon them in ‘battle’, with each bringing their own strengths and weaknesses to the process of capturing other creatures. For example, fire-based Pokemon are particularly susceptible to their water-based brethren, which adds a small dose of tactical challenge to proceedings, as does the existence of unique ‘field moves’ which allow players to traverse the landscape by walking over chasms and the like. Even niftier, players can also draw (the eponymous) signs to summon legendary Pokemon (who must first be bested in battle). Despite these small touches, the repetitive nature of the title’s central mechanics renders Guardian Signs something of a slog for older players who require more in the way of variety or tactical depth.
Visually, Guardian Signs is bold, bright and simplistic, without ever even nudging the technical or artistic boundaries of the Nintendo DS. Vivid colours, effects and appealing character designs go a long way here, and each of the game’s lush locales, ranging from fiery volcanoes to verdant plains, serve to reinforce the epic nature of the adventure. Aurally, players can expect driving, upbeat melodies typical of the series, all of which are of decent quality and had us humming along during gameplay. Overall, Guardian Signs is the quintessential Nintendo product, boasting polished, charming presentation but lacking in technological ambition.
One of the rare occasions when one isn't drawing circles.
For players willing to invest in the journey, Guardian Signs boasts a plethora of content, with the main quest and side-missions requiring at least a dozen hours to plough through, depending on one’s penchant for exploration. Multiplayer options are enjoyable, revolving around various mini-games, for example, capturing a set amount of Pokemon in the shortest amount of time. The multiplayer functionality never amounts to more than a fun diversion, but it’s there and it is sure to extend the life of the title for those who take a liking to the gameplay.
At its core, Guardian Signs is a solid game weighed down under lofty expectations. Fans of the Ranger series may rightfully have expected some evolution, while aficionados of the main series may have expected an inkling more complexity and depth. This is Nintendo on auto-pilot, a dependable, charming game churned out for less-discerning younger players who desire little more than to spend a few hours in a buoyant, vibrant universe. Newcomers to the Pokemon phenomenon would be better-directed to the more traditional, substantial iterations, but young children and fans of the Ranger titles are bound to derive some enjoyment from Guardian Signs.
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