Three Pokemon Titles That Failed to Receive the Adoration They Warranted
In the wake of a vision of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series stands as one of the most popular gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
However in spite of that ubiquity and fame, some Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were buried under the excitement of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto new mediums. Frequently, they are Pokémon games that might have blossomed if they ever got sequels or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Precursor
Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect 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 small features like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am longing 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 digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not outright hideous game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game takes place 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 draw was observing what your monsters might do when not 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 small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play popularization of watching 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 actuality, Ranch's meticulous design was so extraordinary, a live stream dedicated to running the game 24/7. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not encountered everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible form. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was incentive to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.
All of these questionable mechanics 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 shut down. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. 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 great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a concept so silly, it was bordering on shitpost. And when 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 breeding the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter contests to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, forces the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers 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 eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from 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 species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible 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 especially complex or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Witty events with unpredictable results that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu
