Following a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee 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 I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game 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 passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed board 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 ventures into the world of freemium 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 lengthy grind for new figures.
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 pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, 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 concept so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. And when 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 poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't 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.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games 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 roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that particular 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 with affection notwithstanding argu
