3 Pokemon Titles That Were Denied the Love They Deserved
Following a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching franchise is about as popular video games in existence. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement surrounding card prices guarantees near-daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a few million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
Yet despite that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are titles that failed to receive their proper due, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another 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. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday aspects that would come with owning a pet. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can pet, and feed 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 Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a repository to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its release noted Ranch was a poor 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 nearest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the draw was observing 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. However, because The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of idle games, and the video playthrough popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Most people never understood that Ranch's proposal to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after nearly two decades of experiencing 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 Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
These poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unusual game board made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? 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 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 breeding the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different 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 sophisticated or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
