In the wake of a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching franchise is about as popular video games in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The persistent pandemonium surrounding card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed under the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored 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 content in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? 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 go out with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, 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 tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. It's understood 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 sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
