Following 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 around. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued excitement around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree 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 far too few of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—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 Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get 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 sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a live stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics 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," a 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 wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business 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 end better. The unusual game board made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series 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 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
With dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are 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 look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
