In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The persistent pandemonium surrounding card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am dying 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 storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, 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 not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play 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 figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, 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 content in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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 breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was 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 wide variety 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 one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes 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 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
