Following a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing frenzy around card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—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 Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw 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 beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just 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 prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. 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 truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a live stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical 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 concept so silly, it was bordering 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, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump 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 evident 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 occurrences, where your Magikarp was just 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 core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a compendium 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 kernels of genius 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 conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
