Three Pokémon Titles That Were Denied the Love They Warranted
Following a glimpse of global harmony thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Disney's mascot, if not more so. The persistent excitement surrounding trading card values guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Remarkably, unofficial 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 fair shake, or were overshadowed under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the battling element of the series, and not nearly enough of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. 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 release said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place 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 not forced into battle. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. However, because The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its fullest potential. One might cry 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of idle games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your critters as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so remarkable, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new pieces.
These poor design choices masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," a YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, design, and content in general," a user wrote. "I am convinced 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. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a team of useless 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 breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, forces the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, 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 I wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. I know 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 deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the conversation when Game of the Year season arrives.
Given numerous core games and derivative titles, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu
