Following a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering 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. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in bases. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon 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 repository to hold 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 compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a live stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware 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 accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy 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 shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "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 marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, 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 great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 internet meme. Considering 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 laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love 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 snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range 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 compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet 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.
With numerous core games and spin-offs, 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 remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
