Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching series is about as mainstream gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing pandemonium around trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokémon news stories. It would be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may play with 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 Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part 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 start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. 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 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing 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 meticulous design was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a 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 content in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, 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, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax 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 bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not feasible 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 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 running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With numerous mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
