Following a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The continued excitement surrounding card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a companion. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am 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 digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly 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.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw 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 simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now 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 Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate 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. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
