Following a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received 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 pulling an Excadrill.
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 refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon 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 different games. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: 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 bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, 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 practical 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 particularly complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results 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 conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
