In the wake of a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series 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 persistent excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or services, or were early forays 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, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may 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 is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching 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 simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since 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 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 well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to return. 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 strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot 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 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 Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out 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 colorings and patterns 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 kernels of genius 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 mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that one 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 notwithstanding argu
