Following a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as ubiquitous gaming titles around. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued frenzy surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. Considering these factors, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
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 living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. 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 most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your pals. The activities 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, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry '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 sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, 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 seen everything that is in it. Justice 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 miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest 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 incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just 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 mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
