In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series 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 pandemonium surrounding card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent titles that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck 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 follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon 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 repository to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here 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.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. 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 collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board 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 earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
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 adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless monsters who literally can't 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 notorious 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 phone 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 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 experimented with 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 feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
