>>53763021It really is a shame, anon. In a lot of ways, it really is the peak of Pokemon as a concept. Way more visually appealing than any of the mainline games, for starters. Being a member of an actual organized group and slowly rising your way through the ranks, having to deal with internal bureaucracy and internal traitors, makes for a much better storyline than just "you're a no-name 10 year old kid that the entire world just happens to revolve around."
The way that the actual Pokemon are integrated into the world is also far superior to any other Pokemon media, except maybe the anime. Nowhere else do you get a better impression that Pokemon are actually integral parts of society on every level alongside humans, rather than just glorified pets. Implementing a huge party of following Pokemon in the overworld helps out a lot there as well.
Plus there's the huge amount of side missions and post-game content. Once again, I think it easily surpasses the mainline games in that regard.
I guess there's really two main reasons it never truly caught on. First, there's the simple fact that the gameplay itself is radically different. PMD just takes the basic mainline formula and turns it into a dungeon crawler - moves, stats, items, leveling and evolution, all the same RPG elements are present. Ranger, on the other hand, is a different style of gameplay altogether, and one that's a lot less accessible than turn-based rpgs. It takes a lot of genuine dexterity and skill to beat the ranger games, you can't just grind your way through or mindlessly mash the A button.
The other reason, and maybe the biggest one, is that it lacks the fundamental appeal of the Pokemon franchise - building up your own unique collection of Pokemon. In both the mainline and PMD, you gradually build a bigger and bigger party of mons, unique from one another, growing alongside them as you play through the game. In Ranger, you don't build any bonds, just tame and release.
