Following a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular video games around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued pandemonium surrounding card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—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 they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. But since 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 fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know 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 sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. 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 pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
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 absurd, it was verging 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, 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 ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp 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 the developers appreciated and got the fan culture 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 eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
