In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series is about as popular gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement around trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with 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 Nintendo Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. 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 ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part 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 wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe 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 superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual game board 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 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 silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can improve 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 occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
