Following a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing frenzy around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Reviews 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 come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. 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. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs 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 understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, 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 wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident 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 one might wish the core series 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 roster 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 train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
