Three Pokémon Titles That Were Denied the Appreciation They Earned

In the wake of a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as popular video games in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The continued pandemonium around card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. It would be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games go viral annually.

Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and fame, there are still Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.

Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?

Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Precursor

An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.

My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute 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 ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your 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 start of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. 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 complete potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.

Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to watch your critters as much as you interact with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so extraordinary, a Twitch 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 seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.

Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost

Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.

All of these poor design choices obfuscated a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express 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 superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."

Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.

Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical 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 concept so silly, it was bordering on internet meme. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out 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. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. 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 wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's merciless random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats 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 core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not practical 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 especially sophisticated or profound game, but the kernels of genius 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 almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.

Given dozens of mainline entries and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu