Following a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying 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 digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful 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, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing 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 remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and content in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
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 approving 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 team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the best possible 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 jump the highest. One drawback 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 Select Button 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 raise its stats 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 diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood 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 profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written 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 conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given numerous core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
