3 Pokémon Games That Were Denied the Adoration They Deserved
In the wake of a vision of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching franchise stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued pandemonium surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet despite that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried under the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, 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?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can 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 downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. But since 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. 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 came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal 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 remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual game board made for a great 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
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. 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 wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
