Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent excitement surrounding card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. 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, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part 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 beautiful 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, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case 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 team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun 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 contests to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with 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 especially sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
