Following a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as mainstream gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued excitement around trading card values ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon 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 repository to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal 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.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life 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 upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people 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 meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual game board made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of ineffective 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 tasked with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, 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. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
