Three Pokemon Titles That Failed to Receive the Appreciation They Warranted
In the wake of a vision of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as ubiquitous video games around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The ongoing pandemonium surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to adjusting your spectacles and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in bases. But I am longing 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 downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, 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 daily joys of living your life with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. I'd say 'save 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 came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you play with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a live stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he even now has not encountered all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Are you aware that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
These questionable mechanics obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," a user declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was marred by server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. 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 poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate 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 flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series 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 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 particularly complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written 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 running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
