20 Years Ago, This Forgotten Pokémon Game Made History On Nintendo DS

Published Sep 12, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more. The Nintendo DS was the home to many great Pokémon games throughout its lifespan, but it also housed a forgotten title in the franchise that is seriously underrated. While the Nintendo DS was released in 2004, the first core Pokémon games made for the console, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, were only released in 2006, two years later. They did, however, bring innovations that built upon the foundational gameplay style of the core games. This was improved upon in 2009 with the release of the release of the best remakes ever on Nintendo DS: Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. These games all took advantage of the hardware’s dual-screen system, as well as its lower screen’s touch features, allowing players to interact with their menus without losing sight of the rest of the game. There’s no underselling how much the new hardware allowed games to flourish – so much so that several Nintendo DS masterpieces are still considered some of the best games to this day. However, before Diamond and Pearl were released, another Pokémon game took the spotlight on the Nintendo DS. Nintendo DS Had One Of The Best Pokémon Games Custom image uploaded by Jessica Barthelt. In 2006, The Pokémon Company released a Pokémon spin-off game called Pokémon Ranger. Compared to the core releases in the series, this forgotten Pokémon game was drastically different. For example, you don’t control a Trainer, but a titular Ranger. Instead of going through regions to catch Pokémon to beat Trainers and become the Champion, you would instead complete missions, calming and catching wild Pokémon with a Capture Styler. This Capture Styler was, essentially, a spinning top, and you’d control it on the battlefield with your Nintendo DS’s stylus. The goal was to draw circles around the Pokémon to capture it, while avoiding attacks it would use and other environmental threats. With captured Pokémon, you were able to better explore the overworld, clearing puzzles and advancing through the region of Fiore and through the campaign itself. The Pokémon Ranger spin-off game was a marvel to behold. Pokémon Ranger Was Fun, Innovative, & Creative Pokémon Ranger was received with mixed reviews, and it ultimately has a pretty average score on Metacritic. However, I believe that this is one of the most underrated games in the series, and one of the best Pokémon titles. This title took full advantage of the Nintendo DS’s capabilities, leaning heavily into touch-screen mechanics to work. Its mission-based campaign was also delightful, and on top of all of that, it looked so much better than most other Pokémon games of its time. If it were all that bad, it wouldn’t have received two sequels: Shadows of Almia and Guardian Signs. Considering that the latest Nintendo hardware has a mouse feature, I’d love to see a Pokémon Ranger remake on Nintendo Switch 2. At the moment, it seems like a distant dream, but The Pokémon Company should acknowledge that, while it didn’t receive the love it deserved, Pokémon Ranger was a phenomenal game and a great view into how creative spin-off Pokémon games could be when they left the main formula aside – a lot of which was thanks to the Nintendo DS hardware. Released October 30, 2006 ESRB E For Everyone Due To Mild Cartoon Violence Developer(s) HAL Laboratory, Creatures Inc. Publisher(s) The Pokemon Company, Nintendo Engine Unity Franchise Pokemon