In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent frenzy around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried under the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing 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 most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities 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. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys 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 fullest potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out 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 playing. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to return. 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 tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? 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. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can train 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 raise its stats as it was to get snatched 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 species of monster. It's understood it's not practical 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 sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
