Following a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most mainstream video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement surrounding card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more reminder 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 adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can play with 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 downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a small creature. However, because 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 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort 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 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 lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, seven 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 features in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, 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 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 poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the ultimate version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can train 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 raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type 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 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 forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
