In the wake of a vision of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent frenzy around card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein 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 precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel maintains 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 understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize 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 spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, game design, and content in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory 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 unique board structure made for a great tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? 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 ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh 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 win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions 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 brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games 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 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or profound game, but the kernels of genius 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 almost certainly be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
