Following a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles around. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent excitement around trading card values ensures almost daily Pokémon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may 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 is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against 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—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw 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 beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting 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. One might cry 'help 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 long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters 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 running the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. 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 game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical 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 approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent 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. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood 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 especially sophisticated or profound 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 core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
