Following a vision of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series is about as popular gaming titles around. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The persistent pandemonium around trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, 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 those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the everyday aspects that would come with living with a pet. Admittedly, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am 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 best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these notions, 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 takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see 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 just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never understood that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize 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 phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe 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 connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. 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 great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board 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 enjoyment? 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 go out with a team 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 charged with breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't 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 phone games, requires the player to pause before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear 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 snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the core series 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 dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence 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, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
