In the wake of a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent pandemonium around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about 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, shall we?
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 everyday aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a bad 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 come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, 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 figures.
These poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Man, 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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering 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 ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond 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. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated 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. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
