Following a glimpse of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent frenzy surrounding card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before 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 Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'save 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 came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, 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 even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation 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. "I can’t express 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 complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks 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 approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In 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 phone games, forces the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series 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 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 kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
