Following a taste of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent frenzy 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 units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that ubiquity and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. 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. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because 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 complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official board game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics 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," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, 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 together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy 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 unique game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly 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. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the infamous 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, 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.
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 eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not practical 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 sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
