In the wake of a vision of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement around trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying 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 digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business 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 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 loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked 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 flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical 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 complex or deep 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. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
