Following a glimpse of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The persistent excitement around card prices ensures almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday 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. However, I'm longing 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 most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was watching 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 wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize 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 trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a great tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
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 approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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 phone games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes 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 rolls around.
With numerous core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
