In the wake of a glimpse of global harmony thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series is about as mainstream gaming titles in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as famous as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The ongoing excitement surrounding trading card values guarantees near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster 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, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed by the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received sequels or modern remakes. Considering these factors, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a companion. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—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 Nintendo Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the daily joys of coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed 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 puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a live stream focused on running the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual game board made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, 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 premise so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective 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 tasked with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions 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 improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, 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. 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
