Following a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The persistent pandemonium around card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a companion. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying 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 downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, 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 takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part 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 wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out 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 popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to observe 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 broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks 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 poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't 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 raising the best possible 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 jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button 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 raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results 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 Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given dozens of core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
