In the wake of a vision of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing pandemonium surrounding trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokémon headlines. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried under the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. Considering these factors, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—players may 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 Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to argue against these notions, but it behooves 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 activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'save 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 enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, 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 incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "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 truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unique game board made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate 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 jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched 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 diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
Given numerous 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 look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
