In the wake of a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing pandemonium around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the core series. These are Pokémon games released on ill-fated platforms or online offerings, 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 yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.
Nevertheless, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, there are minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set 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 observing what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a tiny companion. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't playing. 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 operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. 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.
These poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved 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 complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't 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 infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched 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. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
