In the wake of a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent pandemonium around trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon headlines. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received 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 digging deep.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon 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. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The individual who operates the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, 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 early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? 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 shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp 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 train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from 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 species of monster. I know 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 sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes 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 arrives.
Given numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
