In the wake of a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as popular video games around. The iconic Pikachu is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing pandemonium around trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, these might be 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, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed 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 most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute 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 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 significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save 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 simulation.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a great tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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 ultimate version of the notorious 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. One drawback 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 fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
