Kazumi F: While we do not have any concrete plans to announce right now, the team and I are working around the clock to ensure we can meet the expectations of our fans during the 25th anniversary of the Monster Rancher series, which is coming up in 2022. Matt S: Is the release of Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX a sign that perhaps Koei Tecmo is testing the waters to see if there’s interest in newer games? The team and I had a lot of fun around this process while developing the game, and we often sat back and watched many of them move around based on our ideas, looking on in joy and sometimes even sorrow as we saw the result of our ideas.
#WHATS THE BEST MONSTER RANCHER GAMES HOW TO#
Kazumi F: We designed many of the monsters by thinking of how to make them move in such a way that the player would be really happy seeing them in action. What was the thinking behind these monster designs? Matt S: Of all the monster collecting games out there, Monster Rancher has arguably the strangest bunch of them. Kazumi F: I think the key to their success is whether or not the player can gain an emotional attachment to the monsters through meeting them and raising them throughout the game. Matt S: What do you think is the secret to success with “Pokémon-like” monster collecting games? I want to ensure we bring back all of the same fun players had with the original versions, while also giving them a new powered-up experience. I feel this has only increased how much fun you can have obtaining monsters this time around. This new system consists of an original database including roughly 600,000 songs, allowing anyone to choose whichever song they like and obtain monsters from them. Kazumi F: The team and I developed a brand new system to meet the needs of the current generation of players, so that they can still enjoy the game and experience all the fun it has to offer without having to use physical CDs. Do you think the experience of the game is the same with this database system? Matt S: I know you’ve come up with a solution to the CD monster summoning system, but that really was such an iconic part of the Monster Rancher experience. It also coincides with our big anniversary coming up. This was a major factor in our decision to choose these titles in particular.
Kazumi F: As I noted previously, a ton of fans sent us messages saying that they wanted to play the original titles again and have us bring back the series. Matt S: Why Monster Rancher 1 & 2 specifically, rather than later titles in the series?
#WHATS THE BEST MONSTER RANCHER GAMES SERIES#
In addition, we took into consideration that we are approaching the big 25th anniversary for the Monster Rancher series in 2022. Kazumi F: My main inspiration was the huge amount of feedback we received from players asking us to bring back the series. Matt S: What inspired you to bring Monster Rancher back? We had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX Executive Producer, Kazumi Fujita, about what the team is looking to achieve with this release, how they addressed the unique challenges in bringing a game that made unique use of CD media as part of the experience, and whether there might be a future for this series. And now it's getting a new shot, as Koei Tecmo publishes Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX. Monster Rancher may have never had the prominence of Pokémon, or the explosive (if momentary) success of Yokai Watch, but it has plugged along with its own fan base over the last two and a half decades. In just a few weeks, Koei Tecmo is bringing back its own spin on the monster collection-and-battle formula.