In the wake of a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise is about as mainstream video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—get 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 beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'save 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 before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never understood 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 attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise 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, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the best possible 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 flop 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 the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
