In the wake of a vision of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series is about as mainstream gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent pandemonium around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it compels 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 farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe 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 dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and content in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. 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.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. Considering 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 win battles. These are 'Magikarp 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 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 great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different 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 outrageous outcomes that forever alter 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 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
