Following a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most popular video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The ongoing frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a small creature. 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 fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play 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 didn't mask a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
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 approving a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires 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 improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of 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 complex or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
