3 Pokémon Games That Were Denied the Appreciation They Warranted

In the wake of a taste of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series is about as popular gaming titles around. Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing frenzy surrounding trading card values ensures near-daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that didn't sell at least a few million copies. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.

Yet in spite of that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on ill-fated consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be 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. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?

Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner

Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.

My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute 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 is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—get this—just relax with your Pokémon 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 battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a beautiful franchise built on the daily joys of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.

Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley sparked the enduring trend of cozy games. It was before the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of viewing games you aren't playing. Many never understood that Ranch's concept to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In truth, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, there's a Twitch stream focused on running the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.

Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Lost

Are you aware that Pokémon once had an licensed board game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.

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 loved and miss this game," a 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," a user declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."

Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy monetization 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 play out differently. The unusual board structure made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.

Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem

Man, 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 giving its blessing a game with a concept so absurd, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.

In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising 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 pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident 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 as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I 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 dozens of variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.

Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or profound game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes 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 conversation when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.

With dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. It's acknowledged that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball fondly despite argu