Three Pokémon Titles That Didn't Get the Adoration They Earned
Following a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's beyond doubt that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most mainstream gaming titles around. Pikachu is just as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement around card prices guarantees almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be hard-pressed to find a pocket monster game that failed to move at least a few million units. Even, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet in spite of that pervasiveness and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that failed to receive their proper due, or were buried by the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed platforms or services, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they had received sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for those possessing refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The digital-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release said Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. I'm not here to argue against these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part 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 beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. However, because 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 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is just as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of comfort gaming. It was prior to the proliferation of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't playing. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a live stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after nearly two decades of experiencing the game, he even now has not seen everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 effort to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was incentive to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an excellent tactical game with Duel today. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one 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, accessibility, game design, and features in general," a user wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's initial launch was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, I'm still not certain things would end better. The unusual game board made for a fantastic tactical experience for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a intimidating eyesore.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some enjoyment? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the best possible version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback 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 community love 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. Beyond the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things one might wish the mainline games would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type 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 we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially sophisticated or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance were there. Witty events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
