In the wake of a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most mainstream video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing pandemonium around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold 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 notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful 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 never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete 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 simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first 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 motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, 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 play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, 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. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising 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 infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to pause before they can improve 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 merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a roster 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 seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can raise a pet 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 dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
