Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy around card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
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, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest 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—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since 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 upcoming Switch exclusive is 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 prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel states 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 Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures 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 pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored 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 depth, accessibility, game design, and content in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Man, 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 absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out 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.
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 win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop 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 evident 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 great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series 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 dozens of variations for a roster 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 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 conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
