Following a vision of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing frenzy around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in bases. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, 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 start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys 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 complete potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical 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 shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. 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 charged with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results 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.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
