Following a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching franchise is about as ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement around trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, 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 Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, there are minor mechanics like these in recent entries—you can play with 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 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. Critical reception from its release said 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 ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. 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 creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium 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 today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "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 launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a great tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't 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 ultimate version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. 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 pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get eaten 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 variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can raise a pet 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 numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are 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 Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
