In the wake of a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most mainstream video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing frenzy around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon 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 those possessing refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. 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 launch noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known 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 kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of viewing 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 wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a live stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent 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 shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory 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 unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given numerous core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
