Great news for Pokémon Ranger fans! There’s a third installment of the series on the cards, and already wowing Pokémon fans in Japan. It’s called Pokémon Ranger Tracks of Light!

The game will be in Japanese shops as soon as 6 March and features an entirely new region of the Pokémon world for you to explore – Oblivia. There are forests to wander through, volcanoes to avoid and mountains to climb in the land of Oblivia – and of course you will be taking a bunch of trusty Pokémon along with you on your adventures as they can help you out of sticky situations using their Field Moves.

An interesting new feature of Tracks of Light is called Ranger Sign. Remember how you captured your Pokémon in the previous Pokémon Ranger games by circling them with the Capture Styler? Well in Tracks of Light you continue to do this, but by making special Ranger Signs with the Capture Styler you can summon up particular Pokémon that you need to solve a problem. Take a look at the screenshots we’ve got for you here – the most Pokémon Ranger Tracks of Light screenshots you’ll find on any English website! You will see a Ranger Sign being made, and then an Entei appears, the Ranger jumps onto the Pokémon’s back and then they leap large gaps together with blue energy emanating out of Entei – cool, eh? The other Legendary Pokémon Suicune, Latios, Latias and Raikou are also known to make an appearance through a Ranger Sign calling.

Deoxys plays a big part in this Ranger game, as the screenshots from Nintendo of Japan show. You can capture the Pokémon in a mission, and we believe you will then be able to transfer this special Deoxys to your other DS games – Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold or SoulSilver.

There are also new enemies in the game to watch out for, this time they are called the Pokémon Nappers and they specialise in kidnapping Pokémon. Pokémon Ranger Tracks of Light will include the usual mix of missions and sidequests to enjoy, with rewards showered on you as you progress through the game. Pokémon Field Moves remain an important part of the gameplay – using Pokémon abilities to overcome obstacles – but this time you will also be combining the Field Moves of multiple Pokémon to get through some tricky situations.

And what about your friends? Well Tracks of Light has an interesting multiplayer mode where up to four Rangers can get together to take on a mission as a team. You will also be able to download missions using the Ranger Net feature and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, but this does mean that these special missions will only be available for a short time. No, we never understand the thinking behind such a restrictive feature either! Plus there is a set of Capture Challenges where you can go head-to-head with your mates.

Pokémon Ranger Tracks of Light looks set to take the Ranger spin-off series of Pokémon games to new heights. Packed with action and clever touches, you’re just going to love this! A UK release is expected later in the year.