In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is just as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing pandemonium surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element 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 recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am 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 digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. 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 lengthy grind for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy 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 pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it launched 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 predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt 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 notorious fish. This isn't 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, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of 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 profound game, but the kernels of genius 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 almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With numerous core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
