Following a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise is about as mainstream video games in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
However despite that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated platforms or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in bases. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—get this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry '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 was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play 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 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible form. 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 pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd 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 giving its blessing a game with a concept so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising 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. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was 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 mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous core games and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
