In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing pandemonium around card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing 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 precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy 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 pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the ultimate version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
