In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most popular gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued pandemonium surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch said 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 ever gotten 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 lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since 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 fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs 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: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest 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 tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express 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 complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. 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 strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
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 approving a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump 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 evident throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, 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 I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention 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 Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
