Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent titles that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. 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 going beneath the surface.
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 those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. 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 actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a live stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly 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 absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth 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.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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 train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
