Following a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. 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, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo 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 store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful 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 not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one 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, design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique game board made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: 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 approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp 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 clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood 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. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
