Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching series is about as ubiquitous video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued excitement around card prices ensures near-daily Pokémon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried under the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon 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,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with owning a companion. Admittedly, there are small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed your monsters in bases. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a ranch where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get 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 sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of watching games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years 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 Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. 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 pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and features in general," another commenter 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 plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Wow, 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 giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of useless 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 tasked with raising the best possible version of the infamous fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the community love around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given numerous mainline entries and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection despite argu
