Pokémon's Top Spin-Offs

A look back at some of Pokémon's popular and not so popular spin-off games.

Pokémon has been around a long time; 30 years now to be pretty exact. In celebration of their 30th anniversary, they've announced and released some old and new content. At the top of everyone's mind is the new gen 10 announcement and their staters. IGN might be sorely disappointed by the amount of water, once again. I, for one, am hoping for the return of the dive feature and underwater exploration. Based on the trailer, I think I might be in luck. We also got the quiet port of Fire Red and Leaf Green to the switch for a solid $20, and a confirmation that Gales of Darkness will also be coming to the switch's online expansion. As they do, they've also released a new non-canon spin-off game and, if you're new here, you might know that I'm a sucker for dystopian games, and this one even has a cozy spin. I'm talking about Pokopia, of course. Pokémon's attempt at a animal crossing-like city builder that gives players a lot of freedom and room for creativity.

In celebration of Pokémon's 30th anniversary, and the resounding success of their newest spin-off, as seen by all the reviews, I wanted to talk about the games that Pokémon has just about left behind, and the possible future of Pokopia. That's right! Let's talk about some past spin-off games. To be entirely clear, I don't want to look at off games like Colosseum and Gales of Darkness, which aren't technically spin-offs but were done by a different developers. I want to talk about some of my absolute favorite spin-off's that the DS and Gameboy gave us. The prime era of Pokémon, if you will.

Pokémon Conquest

Starting strong, I want to talk about one of Pokémon's most forgotten child: Conquest. Entirely different from any of the rest, Conquest is a turn-based tactical rpg that almost has a Fire Emblem like playing field. You, a warrior, are attempting to take over the country for the sake of peace. As you do. In battle, you take command of your partner pokémon, and have them move around the field and use their single move for fight or even support. Whether this move is good or not is only dependent on the species of pokémon. This could, admittedly, be difficult at points. You partner could suddenly evolve, and now, rather than hitting the space in front of them, they can only hit two of three squares away. This can be extremely difficult in certain places where movement is more limited, so your strategy has to suddenly pivot.

Let's not forget the post game. Say goodbye to your team and play as other warriors for hours until you finally finish all the stories and come back to play your character once again.

Despite all the difficulty, and almost because of it, I adore this game. The setting is beautiful, the story and playstyle are both unique, and some of the best pokémon sprites came out of this game. If you haven't seen them, look them up now. They're genuinely amazing.

Unfortunately, Nintendo didn't hold onto this gem. If anything, it was almost entirely forgotten. Only recently have I seen streamers start to pick it up and enjoy it which is a shame. To me, it was one of the key markers of Pokémon being willing to try new things only for it to be left behind entirely.

Pokémon Ranger

Pokémon Ranger is much more dearly remembered than Conquest, very likely because it got three games in total over Conquest's one. These games also take a unique turn where you don't play as a trainer, but a ranger. You're not trying to train up your team for battle, you're asking wild pokémon from all around to lend you some assistance in keeping trouble at bay. You don't fight, but circle. In the era of the DS and stylus, you drew circles around the pokémon in order to befriend it. From there, it would follow you around until you used its set ability either while befriending a stronger pokémon or in navigating and travelling the world.

Admittedly, it's been a lot longer since I've played one of these games, but I've always wanted to go back and pick it up again. Of the three games, the second, Shadows of Almia, is generally considered the best. The story is fantastic, and the mechanics are new and interactive. You need to be circling or the bar is falling. There's no setting the DS down mid-fight to take a break. You need to be paying attention.

I love this game for a lot of reasons, but mostly for the same reason I love Conquest: the game offered something new. If you were a fan of the show, you might've seen a ranger show up, so it was exciting to be able to play as one. I always love it when Pokémon tries something new and inventive and this game definitely checks that box.

Unfortunately, with the DS no longer being made, the Ranger games just kind of fell off. The stylus control was too unique to mimic on other upcoming consoles. Honestly, all the Wii players know how much of a nightmare it might've been. However, with the mouse function being brought to the Switch 2, I think the chance of it being brought back isn't zero. It might not be high, but it's certainly not nothing.

Honorable Mentions

Pokémon has had so many spin-off games that I could genuinely go into detail for hours, so I want to mention some of the honorable favorites before going into what I think is genuinely one of Pokémon's best.

• PokéPark, specifically the second one, Wonder's Beyond. Spoiler for the final, but I always love the idea of playing as a pokémon. Befriending and talking to others was one of my favorite parts of this game. I have so many memories of playing the minigames until my hand was sore.

• My Pokémon Ranch on the Wii. Bet no one saw this one coming. It's hardly considered a game, but I have such great memories of seeing how many pokémon I could move over just to see what their sprites would look like. And stacking pokémon, for some reason.

• Pokémon Pinball. This is one of those rare ones I didn't actually get to play, but with the rise of TikTok, I've really come to love watching people play it. It does get repetitive after a certain point, but I also find it a bit soothing.

• Pokémon Trozei, the original. This puzzle solving game was so much fun but also so frustrating for little me. I remember struggling with so many of the puzzles. I'm sure if I picked it up now it would be much easier, but the little icons for each pokémon really do live rent free in my head now.

I have to stop myself. I could genuinely keep going for much too long. So... onto our finalist, and my favorite entry to Pokémon's repertoire of spin-off games.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

This really shouldn't be a surprise to any longtime Pokémon fans. You've heard us crying and begging for another every single time Pokémon makes an announcement. You've watched us loose for years with the exception of the Rescue Team DX which was a remake of most people's second favorite. Don't get me wrong, Red and Blue Rescue, what it was based off of, was my first Mystery Dungeon game, and I love replaying it with the almost watercolor graphics.

We wanted an Explorers one. Preferably Sky, but we would've taken any of them. Those were easily the fan favorites. The story itself was full of twists and turns that I still think about today. The characters were compelling and mostly fleshed out, especially in Explorer's of Sky, which was the Platinum of Time and Darkness. You were a human who turned into a pokémon which was determined through a personality test. In your attempt to regain your memories, you join a guild with your chosen partner pokémon, and take on quests to help and earn money.

I replayed this kind of recently, and I have to say some of the gameplay is actually really hard. Like picking Charmander in Kanto, you can set to a high level depending on what pokémon and partner you choose. The bosses will block you unless you're smart about how you play, and sometimes you really just have to brute force your way through. I love it. I love when Pokémon games are almost accidentally hard. It makes me more invested in playing and beating the game, and these ones are genuinely fun too which is a massive plus.

There are other ones, of course. Red and Blue Rescue were on the DS and Gameboy individually, and they were the first in the series. They're genuinely charming if a bit small compared to Explorer's but that's not their fault. They didn't know what kind of success it would be. The game was a gamble like other spin-offs were at the time, and by marketing to the new DS and the old Gameboy they managed to pull in quite an audience.

Gates to Infinity was introduced after gen 5 and was a fun game with some almost base building aspects but the story was a bit weak an there really weren't many pokémon to play as. Although playing as Axew was definitely a selling point for me. That said I did love the companions you had, and the focus on forming relationships with the pokémon around you. I also loved that you could just play as some of your partner pokémon when your main character was off questing. A solid game, but it doesn't hold up to Explorers.

Now this is going to be quite a strong take, so I'm sorry if I offend anyone but I cannot stand Super Mystery Dungeon. It's the only Pokémon game I've owned for years but haven't beaten, and not for lack of trying. Every time I try, I just remember that the other ones are better. A huge aspect that I don't like is the friend linking. Getting a salamance so early just isn't that fun for me. I loved leveling with my team members and growing with them. I liked making up my team composition, but the side quests just feel boring and forced at a point. They definitely try to pay homage to the previous games in a ways but it's just by adding a pokémon as a side quest who you hardly interact with. And when you compare that the any of the other Mystery Dungeon games, I really just struggle to get through it.

All said, what I really want is for Pokémon to give this spin-off the love it deserves, and take a gamble on making a new one. Hopefully with a fulfilling story a wide pool of pokémon to play as. Maybe even another personality test. So long as they let us choose if we don't like our starter so I don't have to keep restarting to reroll.

Verdict

Everything aside, I'm really enjoying Pokopia and I'm not usually a fan of cozy games. That said, pokémon has a history of forgetting their spin-offs, and usually after just a game or two. I really hope to see more spin-offs in the future because when Pokémon is allowed to be different it's almost always great. These games each have their own little loyal cult followings, and I'm happy to say I'm a fan of most of them.

What's your favorite Pokémon spin-off and why? Are you hoping any others will come back in the future?