3 Pokémon Titles That Didn't Get the Love They Deserved
In the wake of a vision of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the creature-catching series is about as popular gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent excitement surrounding trading card values ensures almost daily Pokémon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried by the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed platforms or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering just one more recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the battling aspect of the series, and far too few 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 Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from various titles. Reviews from its release said Ranch was a bad 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 slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a lot of the appeal was watching 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 coexisting with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete 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 simulation.
Ranch came out long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a live stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Tabletop Game Lost
Did you know that Pokémon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced 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 business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. 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 eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of useless monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In 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 competitions to see who can jump 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 the developers appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. I know it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a roster of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu
