Following a vision of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream gaming titles around. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing pandemonium surrounding trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics 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 vein 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 antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities 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 beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. 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 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known 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 sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's 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 encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort 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 mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—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 superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Wow, 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 concept so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged 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 mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can improve 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 merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated 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 almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With numerous core games and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
