In the wake of a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued pandemonium surrounding trading card values ensures almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got 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 going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful 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 not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say 'help 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 enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays 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 lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics 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," a YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "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 come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear 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 intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces 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.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten 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 species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
