In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series is about as mainstream gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued pandemonium surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried by the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm 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 digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine 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 they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release 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, it's unclear things would end better. The unique 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.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective 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 notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can improve 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 merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might 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 dozens of variations for a compendium 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 seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
