In the wake of a glimpse of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as popular gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as recognizable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another 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 writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry '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 sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium phone games. 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.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, 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 handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective monsters who literally can't 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. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires 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 events, 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 mainline games 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 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 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. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
