In the wake of a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent frenzy around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon news stories. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
