In the wake of a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series is about as mainstream video games around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot 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 beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique game board made for a great tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: 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 bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless 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 charged with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers 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 raise its stats 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 species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance 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 likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
