In the wake of a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon headlines. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. 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 pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to 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 aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, there are minor mechanics like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. 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 fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to pause 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.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. I know 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 particularly complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can raise a pet 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 core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
