In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am 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 downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest 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—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching 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 simple pleasures 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 fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to 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 proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop 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 mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know 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 especially complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes 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 conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
