Following a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with living with a companion. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying 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 Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous 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 personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part 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 wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know 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 enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states 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 Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium phone games. 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.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, 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," a user declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly 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 silly, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate 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. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can improve 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 merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one 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 notwithstanding argu
