In the wake of a glimpse of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The ongoing pandemonium around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be 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, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can play with 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 isn't it. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-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 pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part 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 wonderful 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, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years 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.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game 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 tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than 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 together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Man, 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 approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. Considering 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 charged with breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to pause 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.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was 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 type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns 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 kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
