In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series is about as mainstream video games around. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The continued excitement surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. It would be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However despite that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions 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 beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete 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 simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon 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 freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," a user declared. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason 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 strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of ineffective monsters who literally can't do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked 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. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the mainline games 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 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 complex or profound game, but the kernels of genius 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 Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
