3 Pokemon Titles That Failed to Receive the Adoration They Earned
Following a glimpse of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream video games in existence. Pikachu is every bit as identifiable as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy around trading card values ensures near-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. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games go viral annually.
Yet in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that remain overlooked. These are titles that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the core series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have flourished if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.
Still, you may already know about these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' we can all acknowledge that these are Pokémon games for those possessing discerning palates, shall we?
Pokémon Ranch: The Relaxed Precursor
An excessive number of Pokémon games focus on the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary realities that would come with living with a companion. Sure, modern titles include minor mechanics like these in recent entries—you can play with your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii isn't it. The digital-only title is best seen as the antecedent to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. 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 compels 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 is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—just relax with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful 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 not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. I'd say '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 long before Stardew Valley kicked off 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 actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them didn't mask a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, a Twitch stream dedicated to broadcasting the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one understood you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost
Are you aware that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these poor design choices obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it came out now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket together."
Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's predatory monetization model, gave people few incentives to return. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unusual game board 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 Absurd Experiment
Man, 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 approving a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
Within Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. 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 phone games, forces the player to pause before they can train 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 occurrences, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched 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 species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of colorings and patterns for a compendium 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 seeds of brilliance were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the running when Game of the Year season rolls around.
Given dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but contend that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly notwithstanding argu