In the wake of a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching series is about as popular video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy around card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come 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 interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal 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 beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a small creature. 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 fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains 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.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures 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 lengthy grind for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing 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 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 few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, 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 internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless 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 tasked with breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. One drawback 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 Select Button appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium 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. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
