In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of 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 famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent frenzy surrounding card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-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 said Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute 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 is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions 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 cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful 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, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing 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 Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. 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 tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so silly, 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 ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback 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 the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type 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 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. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
