Following a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement surrounding trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, 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 adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm dying 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 best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, 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—get this—just relax with your pals. The interactions 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. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express 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 better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd 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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In 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 competitions 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 evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out 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 practical 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 sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
