Following a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The continued pandemonium around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent titles that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, 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.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unique game board 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 Silly Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up 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 shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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 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 events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a compendium 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. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
With numerous core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
