In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise is about as popular video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent pandemonium around trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed under 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 probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge 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 battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it behooves 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 personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures 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 realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. 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 pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives 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 great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback 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 the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also tried out 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 feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations 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 seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter 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 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
