10 games that took Pokémon in a new direction

Sometimes when you have a property as massive as Pokémon, you can’t just relegate it to one series or one type of game. You need your spin-offs, offshoots and weird departures to give a rounded experience within the universe. And wow, Pokémon has had a lot of spin-offs.

From fighting games to photography simulators, racing games to adventures, Pokémon has run the gamut of genres featuring its Pocket Monster cast. Whether they’re fantastic games, bad games or just plain weird, these games all have their place within the 20 years of Pokémon history.

This isn’t a complete list of spin-off Pokémon games, but it covers a lot of ground and features some of the most important in the franchise.

1. Hey You, Pikachu!

 
 
Released within a month after Pokémon Gold and Silver, Hey You, Pikachu! is probably best remembered as an interesting experiment. Before the days of Nintendogs, Pikachu acted as your own personal virtual pet, reacting to words spoken into a microphone peripheral on the Nintendo 64.

In the game, Pikachu was able to understand and respond to 200 words, although getting Pikachu to understand you was sometimes a monumental task. While it was a unique game developed by Ambrella, Hey You, Pikachu! was not heralded as anything fun; it’s more of a glorified toy.
 
2. Pokémon Snap




Pokémon Snap for the Nintendo 64 is undoubtedly one of the most popular and nostalgia-stoking Pokémon games to grace Nintendo consoles. The concept sounds terrible: You play as Todd, a photographer enlisted by Professor Oak to ride along in a glorified minecart, taking pictures of first generation Pokémon. The only control you have is where you point your camera and when you take a picture, as well as being able to occasionally use items.

You ride through climate-themed levels like Beach, Volcano and Cave snapping pictures of Scythers, Ponytas and the legendary Articuno. Professor Oak periodically gives you new items and upgrades that make you backtrack through courses to find every Pokémon, sometimes using items to cause evolutions. Being able to manipulate the environment and interact with Pokémon while running through pretty short levels was exciting. Pokémon Snap combined problem solving, speed and accuracy to create an addictive and unique Pokémon game.
 
3. Pokémon Stadium



Pokémon Stadium was the first game that introduced 3D Pokémon battles to the West, stripping away the RPG elements of the main series to focus solely on the fights. You battle trainer after trainer, working your way up through Kanto Gym Leaders, the Elite Four and the final Champion as well.

Pokémon Stadium allows you to transfer your Pokémon from Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow, and you could win prize Pokémon to transfer back. With new 3D visuals of Pokémon battles, Pokémon Stadium became the top-selling Nintendo 64 game of 2000.

4. Pokémon Channel



This is definitely the most awful sounding Pokémon game to ever spin off of the main series. Pokémon Channel has you helping Professor Oak upstart his television network by watching it with Pikachu. If this is any clue to how fun the game is: It’s a sequel to Hey You, Pikachu!.

In this 2003 GameCube game, you get to watch Pikachu watch TV and surf through a few different channels. The plot moves when you watch shows that instruct you to go to different locations like Viridian Forest, Mt. Snowfall and Cobalt Coast. There is a small amount of adventuring, but overall Pokémon Channel is lacking of many fun game elements.

5. Pokémon Trozei



Pokémon Trozei is a Pokémon puzzle game originally for the Nintendo DS, and is pretty similar to Tetris. Pokémon are constantly falling in a grid, but instead of moving them around in the air, you shift the rows and columns around after they hit the bottom to match up the Pokémon and make them disappear.

You can play through a story mode or endless mode backed by an upbeat, cool, jazzy soundtrack. The sequel Pokémon Battle Trozei is available through the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

6. Pokémon Dash



The trifecta of mediocre Ambrella-developed Pokémon spin-off games is capped off with Pokémon Dash for the Nintendo DS. You control Pikachu, and race on-foot or with a balloon against other Pokémon using the DS stylus.

You don’t get to play as other Pokémon, even though there are several Ruby and Sapphire Pokémon on the game’s cover art. The only power ups in the game allow you to run over rough terrain without slowing down -- there is no real racer interaction. Rather than a great racing game, Pokémon Dash makes us think what a good Pokémon racer could be.

7. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon



Pokémon Mystery Dungeon has the most games out of any off-shot Pokémon series, clocking in a total of 10 different titles, but starting with Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance respectively in 2005. Similar to the original Mystery Dungeon series, they are roguelike, turn-based games with randomly generated dungeons.

In each game, you control a person that was turned into a Pokémon, and the Pokémon you are is based on a series of personality questions. You recruit more Pokémon to build a team and make it through dungeons fighting against enemy Pokémon squads.

8. PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure



PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure is another Pokémon off-shoot that puts you in control of Pikachu. Immediately, you meet the legendary Pokémon Mew, who instructs you to collect items to save the PokéPark. It’s a pretty standard adventure game set in the Pokémon universe with a plethora of talking Pokémon NPCs.

You go around talking to different Pokémon to learn how to play and further the story. You play different mini games like races, explore different geographical regions, fulfilling requests of Bulbasaurs, Bidoofs and Sharpedos. It’s not the most exciting game, as you mostly just run around without any platforming or other dangerous elements.

9. Pokémon Picross



Pokémon Picross is another Pokémon puzzle game featuring over 300 different puzzles of Pokémon. And one of the best parts about this game -- it’s free. You can download it free for the Nintendo 3DS and pay for helpful materials in the game if you want to.

In Picross games, you fill in squares to create illustrations while following specific rules. You never know what exactly you are drawing until you get working, which makes for a fun and intriguing puzzle experience. The puzzles get increasingly difficult, starting with drawing a simple Pokéball and moving onto complex Pokémon character designs.

10. Pokkén Tournament 

 
 
Pokkén Tournament, which will arrive this March for the Wii U, is the first game that lets you completely control a Pokémon in battle. Developed by Bandai Namco, Pokkén Tournament is a fighting game in the same vein as Tekken.

While fighting games tend to have a more hardcore lean and steep learning curve, some of the people involved with the game’s development said it will be accessible to both casual and hardcore gamers. It probably won’t be replacing Street Fighter in fighting game tournaments but it could find it’s place among the competitive scene when it arrives.
 
Bonus: Great Detective Pikachu






Even though Great Detective Pikachu is a Japan-only game, it’s hard not to include it on this list. Partially because of how interesting the concept is, and partially out of hope that it will come out in North America someday.

The thing that immediately sticks out in the trailer for Great Detective Pikachu is the implied grittiness of the game. And then you realize the cool, deep-voice narrator is actually Pikachu. The game has you, a human, team up with the Pikachu detective to solve cases, and look for clues on the Nintendo 3DS.