In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games around. Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent excitement around trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated 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 contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a companion. Sure, there are small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch 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 draw was observing what your monsters might do when not 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 tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off 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 actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features 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 marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. 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.
Pokémon: 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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within 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 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from 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. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
