In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent frenzy around trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning 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 Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players 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 uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team 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 breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium 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 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.
With dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
