In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued excitement surrounding card prices ensures almost daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms 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 yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it behooves 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 takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Wow, 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 premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering 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 laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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 wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
