Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular video games around. The iconic Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued frenzy surrounding trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm 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 digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release said 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 ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since 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. I'd say 'save 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 well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a live 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 seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy 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 pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique game board made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
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 approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible 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 jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just 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. It's understood it's not practical 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 kernels of genius were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
