Following a vision of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most mainstream video games around. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued pandemonium around trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, 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 beginning 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 complete potential. One might cry 'help 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 sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
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 reads, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, 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 combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
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 go out with a team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood 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 eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
With numerous core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
