In the wake of a vision of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games around. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values ensures almost daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still 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. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am 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 best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot 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 daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play 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 lengthy grind for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy 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 better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. 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 board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone 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 fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species 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 almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
