Following a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting series is about as ubiquitous gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued excitement around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—players may 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 Nintendo Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly 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 everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to observe 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, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon 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 free-to-play 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.
All of these questionable mechanics masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express 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 better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives 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 handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests 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 evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species 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 kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence 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 spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
