Following a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as popular gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The ongoing excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am dying 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 most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. 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 compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions 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 beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. 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 '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 sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when 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 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 competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten 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 species of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a roster 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 kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
