Following a glimpse of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement surrounding card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying 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 most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, 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 spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one 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, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? 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 internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp 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 train their Magikarp further. But it is evident 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 events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
