3 Pokemon Titles That Didn't Get the Love They Earned
In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most mainstream video games around. Pikachu is just as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The ongoing excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral every year.
However in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These are games that didn't get their proper due, or were buried by the excitement of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, 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 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in bases. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Critical reception from its launch said Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal 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 living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, it's likely 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 upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your creatures as much as you play with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing 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 Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices obfuscated 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 reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Experiment
Man, 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 silly, it was verging on shitpost. 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.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the best possible version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can improve 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 just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series 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 dozens of 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 profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter 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 core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
