While exhilarating to watch, it is by no means perfect and still a dated system. Moving back and forth whilst selecting whatever skill you needed and trying to do it before the enemy got their strike in was difficult and led to many frustrating fights. However, the controls for the battles were also a bit awkward. This is, in part, due to the High-speed mode the DX version comes with. However, as mentioned earlier, the battles can be a bit finnicky. Competing in tournaments will raise rank and unlock not only greater challenges, but more monsters you can summon, training courses you can undertake and items you can purchase, all to further help your monsters grow and your rank increase. One of the most important aspects of Monster Rancher is its battles. These are all viable choices and the fact that there is no right way to do it is something that will bring you back to this game time and again. Or, alternatively, you could just run them through boot camp, abusing the various training regimens and jobs available to your monster to boost their stats as you see fit. This delicate balance is one of the challenges of raising your monster. Berate and scold them too much and they’ll turn hostile and aggressive towards you. Pamper and spoil them too much and they’ll become laidback and lazy. A Monster’s behaviour can influence its growth and willingness to do what it’s told, making it important to balance how you treat your partner. At the start of each month, you can give your monster treats of varying quality that will alter its behaviour. While the simple mantra of “big numbers, big success” rings true here, how you raise your monster will either expedite or hinder your results. When you get into the nitty-gritty, however, it becomes much more complex and demanding.Įach type of monster will specialise in a different stat and what choose to raise will inform your choice of activity.
Acquire monsters via the market, shrine or via fusion in the lab raise and train them effectively climb through the ranks by participating in battle. Monster Rancher‘s gameplay is incredibly simple.
Monster Rancher made me feel a wide array of emotions so intense that, when Chunk died, I struggled to pick it back up and if any game can make you feel so strongly for blocky bits of code, then it’s certainly something worth your time. Other new features across both games include a training record and a random battle mode. This, for the most part, is a good addition as it helps the game progress that much quicker, but it also affects the battles too which makes them near impossible to do as you find the enemies attacking you far quicker than you can react, so keep that in mind when going in and out of battles.Īnother important feature many fusion enthusiasts will be a fan of is the increase in Freeze slots across both games, doubling the original number of 10. Firstly, and most importantly, is a new High-speed mode. As part of the popular classics, the first of which making its debut in Europe and the UK, a number of new features have been added to help improve the overall experience. What’s new?īefore we dive into each game, we should talk about what these rereleases bring to the table. Talking with him, I got an idea of the main differences and when it finally came time to sit down with Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, it hit me quickly just how much more there was to these games in comparison to my earlier experiences, but just how much was there? Let’s dive into these classics and see how they hold up on the Switch.