Following a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series is about as popular video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
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 living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. 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. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? 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 internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't 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 raising the ultimate version of the notorious 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, forces the player to wait before they can improve 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 brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different 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. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
