In the wake of a vision of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching series is about as mainstream gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include 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 Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves 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 Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, 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 charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen 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 Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical 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 approving a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot 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 breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood 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 improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species 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 one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written 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 likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
