In the wake of a glimpse of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching series is about as ubiquitous video games in existence. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The persistent pandemonium surrounding card prices ensures almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with owning a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in bases. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said 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 ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set 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 draw was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. 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 charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest 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 simulation.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know 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, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. 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 figures.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and content in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was marred by connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique board structure made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Man, 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 approving a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when 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 breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires 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 brutal random events, where your Magikarp was 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 type of monster. I know it's not practical 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 kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu
