Following a vision of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing frenzy surrounding trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon 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 typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is best seen as the precursor 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 outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on 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 seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, 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 playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing 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 team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got 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 great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety 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 especially 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. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu