Following a taste 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 Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might 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 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects 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 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 downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say '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 was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business 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 play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked 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. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires 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 merciless 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 tried out 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 practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
