The first time Satoshi Tajiri approached Nintendo to show him his video game idea, Nintendo very kindly showed him the door through which he had entered. It was a young Shigeru Miyamoto who convinced his bosses that the game brought by Tajiri and Sugimori had the potential to be a success . Still, they didn’t have it easy either; Game Freak had hardly any programming experience, and Red & Green’s development was plagued with problems. Delays, lack of liquidity, entry of a new partner (Creatures Inc.) and even an accidental deletion of the Pokémon source code were some of the challenges that Pokémon successfully overcame to this day. After the original games , Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures had a flatter ground to develop other alternative games in the franchise , which are the Pokémon titles that we came to talk to you about today.
Mysterious World Pokémon
Mysterious World arrived in 2005 as an experiment and since then it has become a branch of the saga with multiple editions . In the original game, we put ourselves in the situation of a human who woke up as a Pokémon . Later, problems would begin to occur in the world of Pokémon, being us in charge of recruiting other companions to save the world.
Mysterious World is also an RPG, but with a completely redesigned metagame for the occasion. The game is mainly based on passing a series of dungeons that are generated randomly as we go. These are all the titles that have come out to date:
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Red Rescue Team (Game Boy Advance – Nintendo DS, 2005)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Blue Rescue Team (Game Boy Advance – Nintendo DS, 2005)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Explorers of Time (Nintendo DS, 2008)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Explorers of Darkness (Nintendo DS, 2008)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Sky Explorers (Nintendo DS, 2009)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Adventure Squad (Nintendo Wii WiiWare, 2009)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Portals to Infinity (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)
- Pokémon Mega Mysterious World (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)
- Pokémon Mysterious World: Rescue Team DX (Nintendo Switch, 2020)
Pokémon Ranger
In Pokémon Ranger we will not handle a trainer either, but an aspiring ranger , who is a protector of nature and Pokémon. Our mission will be to stop a team of villains on our way to become a Ranger boss.
The capture Pokémon Ranger is not made by Pokéballs, but a grabber , which is kind of spinning top with the stylus will control console. The titles of this series are as follows:
- Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo DS, 2006)
- Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (Nintendo DS, 2008)
- Pokémon Ranger: Traces of Light (Nintendo DS, 2010)
Pokémon Rumble
In Rumble we will handle a Pokémon in the third person . Our mission will be to pass a series of phases in which we will have to face other enemy Pokémon. The mechanics are simple, and with the experience that we will acquire when defeating enemies we will obtain the possibility of buying new attacks or recruiting new characters with whom to fight. These are all the Rumble that have come out so far:
- Pokémon Rumble (Nintendo Wii, WiiWare, 2009)
- Super Pokémon Rumble (Nintendo 3DS, 2011)
- Pokémon Rumble U (Wii U, 2013)
- Pokémon Rumble World (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)
- Pokémon Rumble Rush (iOS and Android, 2019)
Pokémon games based on Minigames
Pokemon pinball
There were two parts of Pokémon Pinball , based on the first and in the third generation . In these two games, we had to select a board and hit a Pokéball to capture Pokémon, defeat enemies in small mini-games and generally acquire the best possible score.
- Pokémon Pinball (Game Boy Color, 1999)
- Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire (Game Boy Advance, 2003)
Puzzles
The first game of this genre was Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. It was a Tetris Attack type game that had little to do with Pokémon. Later, other games also based on puzzles such as Pokémon Link or Pokémon Shuffle would end up.
- Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (Game Boy Color, 2000)
- Pokémon Puzzle League (Nintendo 64, 2000)
- Pokémon Shuffle (Nintendo 3DS, iOS and Android, 2015)
- Pokémon Link! (Nintendo DS, 2005)
- Pokémon Link: Battle! (Nintendo 3DS, 2014)
- Pokémon Picross (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)
- Pokémon Adventure Between the Keys (Nintendo DS, 2011)
- Pokémon Quest (Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android, 2018)
PokéPark
PokéPark combines several mechanics from previous games and we will have to face several mega challenges using Pikachu . We are also allowed to take pictures exactly the same as in Pokémon Snap.
- PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Big Adventure (Nintendo Wii, 2009)
- PokéPark 2: A World of Illusions (Nintendo Wii, 2011)
Pokémon Channel
This game was starring Pikachu and a television . We had to do a series of minigames to unlock more TV channels . The game was extremely boring, but it sold quite a few copies because it was the only legal way to get Jirachi in the main series games. There was only one such edition:
- Pokémon Channel (Nintendo GameCube, 2003)
Other titles based on minigames:
- Pokémon Dash (Racing) – (Nintendo DS, 2004)
- Pokémon Art Academy (Drawing) – (Nintendo 3DS, 2014)
3D Combat Games
There is a line of Pokémon video games dedicated exclusively to combat . Pokémon Stadium was the first of all. In this title, our mission was to face other trainers with a team of rented Pokémon. The strong point of the game was its compatibility with the main Game Boy games , since we could use an accessory, the Transfer Pak, to bring our monsters to the big screen. The mechanic was repeated in Stadium 2, whose main difference was the inclusion of the second generation Pokédex. After a few years, this line was reinvented again with Battle Revolution. In this Wii title, we could transfer the Pokémon from the Nintendo DS game with Wireless communication or simply play with the Pokémon that they loaned us in the arenas. The combats in this game are double, mechanics inherited from Colosseum and XD and that The Pokémon Company finally used for the official competitive Pokémon tournaments , the famous VGC.
- Pokémon Stadium (Nintendo 64, 1999)
- Pokémon Stadium 2 (Nintendo 64, 2001)
- Pokémon Battle Revolution (Nintendo Wii, 2006)
Pokkén
Pokkén is a fighting game based on Tekken and SoulCalibur. It was developed by Bandai Namco and for Wii U. A few years later it was ported to the Nintendo Switch, where a few more playable characters were added.
- Pokkén Tournament (Wii U, 2015)
- Pokkén Tournament DX (Nintendo Switch, 2017)
Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD
In 2003, Genius Sonority taught Game Freak how to make a good Pokémon game with Pokémon Colosseum, a 3D title that totally broke with what was established in the main pocket monster saga. We were managing a former member of Team Stock, a criminal organization dedicated to stealing Pokémon . Our protagonist abandons his companions when he discovers that they have joined Cifer, another band of criminals who are dedicated to turning Pokémon into soulless machines .
A couple of years later, Pokemon eXtreme Darkness (or Pokémon XD ) would come out, a sequel that would tell us about the resurgence of Cifer in the Aura region . For many Pokémon fans, Colosseum and XD are the path that the Nintendo franchise, Game Freak and Creatures Inc. should have taken. If you are a fan and have not played them, you are not missing two great gems.
- Pokémon Colosseum (Nintendo GameCube, 2003)
- Pokémon XD: Dark Tempest (Nintendo GameCube, 2005)
Collectible-based Pokémon games
Pokémon Snap
It was originally released for Nintendo 64. In the game we will have to capture Pokémon and get all of them, yes, but using a camera instead of Pokéballs . The sequel is called New Pokémon Snap and it’s on Nintendo Switch. The most repeated criticism of this video game is the impossibility of handling the character, since it is a «rail shooter» .
- Pokémon Snap (Nintendo 64, 1999)
- New Pokémon Snap (Nintendo Swith, 2021)
Pokédex Games
- Pokédex 3D (Nintendo 3DS, 2011)
- Pokédex 3D Pro (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)
- Radar Pokémon (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)
- Pokédex (iOS, 2012)
Storage and Collection
Throughout the various installments of Pokémon, various tools have been required to move the creatures from one game to another . At first, these apps were free, but they eventually became a cloud storage service for Pokémon with the arrival of Pokémon Bank . These are the titles that belong to this group:
- Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire
- My Pokémon Ranch
- Pokémon Bank + Poké Shuttle
- Pokémon Home
Among these tools, Pokémon Home stands out, an online service that has existed since 2019 that serves as a bridge between all Pokémon video games and applications. Currently, it serves as a link between Pokémon Let’s Go, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Bank.
Pokémon Trading Card
The first card title originally came out for the Game Boy. It was a video game that was visually reminiscent of the main games, but with a simpler aesthetic. Trading Card was a way to bring the card game to many Pokémon fans . A second version came out in Japan and in recent years Pokémon Trading Card Online was launched , which is a simulator of the web-based card game.
- Pokémon Trading Card (Game Boy Color, 1998)
- Pokémon Trading Card 2 (JP) (Game Boy Color, 2001)
- Pokémon Trading Card Online (web-based, 2012)
Pokemon go
Pokémon GO turned the concept we all had of Pokémon when it was released in 2016. It is an augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. The game uses the camera and GPS capabilities of mobile devices to capture, fight and train Pokémon, which appear on our mobile screen, simulating that they are in our real world .
Board games and strategy
Pokémon Duel
This board game came out in 2017 for mobile devices. It is an online 6 vs. 6.
Pokémon Conquest
Pokémon Conquest is a kind of Risk based on feudal Japan . We will assume the role of a warlord and we will have to conquer all the regions of the Rensei region to unify it into a single territory . We will start the mission with an Eevee, and later we will have to recruit different Pokémon to form an army and fight against other warlords. The game was released in 2012 for the Nintendo DS.
Applications
These are the apps available for the different mobile platforms.
- Pokémon Jukebox (Android, 2015)
- Pokémon TV (iOS and Android, 2013)
- Camp Pokémon (iOS and Android, 2014)
- Pokémon Photo Booth (iOS and Android, 2016)
- Pokémon Magikarp Jump (iOS and Android, 2017)
- Pokémon Masters (iOS and Android, 2019)