Looking for a Monster game

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For a while now, I've been looking for a certain style of game that seems quite uncommon. I first really got into it after playing a game called Shin Megami Tensei, wherein you can contact the monsters you fight and convince them to join your party (only one of each type at a time). This gives you access not just to your regular slew of heroes and heroines, but also to nagas, dwarves, goblins, dryads, and more, all with unique properties. I also love the King's Bounty games, in part for similar reasons, but they're not RPGs. I haven't see the rest of the Megami Tensei series translated on any system I can play them on (though I'd love to get the Digital Devil Saga series for PS once I get it set up again). After looking through some more games, I've found a few others that look like similar vein, namely one called After Armageddon, which was also sadly never translated.

For the record, I despise Pokemon, and have tried several of the {name your game} Monsters series (mostly Dragon Warrior Monsters) with mixed reactions. I'm hoping for something less cartoonish and more developed. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any experience with things like this?

 

Not sure if any of this will help, but:

Golden Sun has the genie system, you fight, collect them and use them in battle like summons or special moves, but they are not active party members outside battles and are rather cute, not monstrous. Different genie combinations assigned to a character alter their abilities, even class.

Even less sure it fits, but in Geneforge series you control a Shaper who can summon and maintain monsters, you can easily end up having a party of monsters and a mage, for example, although the game can be played even with a melee char and no monsters. It's an RPG series.

 

Have you ever played Jade Cocoon on the Playstation? You travel a series of forests/dungeons catching monsters, finding treasure, and advancing the not-so-good story. The best part of the game is the ability to combine monsters. In fact, it's encouraged and often needed to advance to the next dungeon/forest. It's rather repetitive but if you manage to get through it (good luck!), you're treated to an endless dungeon upon completion of the game that offers lots of new monsters and cool treasures.

It has a sequel but I've never tried it.

Also, Monster Rancher games but I've never had any luck with these. I don't recommend them but you might want to give them a go. You never know, it might be what you're looking for.

 

All I can think of currently is Impossible Creatures. Where you collect different animals through the game and combine their genetics to create special troops to form your little army, you have a selection of about nine different combinations you can have at any one time. It's an RTS, I remember it being quite fun even though I never got a chance to finish it.

 

I've played them. They're great games, but the genie system is really just another character customization and summoning system. Not what I'm looking for.

I've noticed that before, and it looks fun, but I'm not up for paying for much at the moment, or very large files. I guess I should explain. My laptop is dead at the moment and I'm waiting for a new tower computer to come (about a week more). At the moment, I'm running off of my flash drive (2gig) and my wife's laptop. I also have a Wii and a PS3, but the PS3 isn't set up. I'm mainly looking for roms or the like, but a small executable or flash game would also work.

Other than that, I am making a list of things to look into when I have $$$.

I remember looking into that when it first came out. Unfortunately, every review I've seen of the series has disappointed me.

They made Monster Rancher games?
*Google and Gamefaqs later*
Meh, I despise the pokemon-style 'arena duel' battles.

That actually looks quite awesome. Not exactly what I'm looking for, but quite fun. I doubt my wife would like it taking up space on her laptop, though. Maybe in a week.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Disgaea lets you capture any of the enemies in the game to recruit for your side (not bosses) so might be along the lines of what you're looking for. It's a turn based tactical RPG. I haven't played the PS3 one but the PS2 original was fantastic. Great sense of humour and the maps were great, a lot of them felt like puzzles figuring out how to approach them.

 

I've played Disgaea, too. The chibi characters bugged me, and the shear scale of the game (once you get into leveling up items) was a bit overwhelming, but other than that I loved it.

 

Wow NOG! It seems like you've already played them all and hate them. Perhaps you don't like this type of game after all.

 

Arc the Lad II (PS1) is my favorite RPG with monster catching. You can't do it until you get a certain female monster tamer (but you get her within an hour or less of game play) and she can tame practically anything you fight. Demon ninjas, possessed monks, wolves, goblins, dragons, chimeras, zombies, ghouls etc. Arc the Lad is a turn-based tactical grid based RPG. Ala shining force, warsong, gold box games, etc.

Characters aren't chibi, but they are 2d. Here's a good picture showing the 2d graphics and some of the monsters you can catch (there are only 6ish 'main' characters). Basically everything after the robot who has a wood-pecker nose is a monster you can tame, though there are more not shown.

The whole series is very good, and follows a continuous story in an intriguing world. However, I'm fairly sure you can't tame monsters in 1 or 3. You don't need to play the first to appreciate the second or third game. There are recurring characters, but the main character is different in every game. I played the second game first and it is my favorite, it has the best story in my opinion (kind of a dark story, but not as dark as shin megami games). I've yet to beat the third game and I only played the first game because Arc (the main character of the first game) showed up in II and was a total bad ass.

 

Someone has to suggest it...

Gotta catch 'em all!

 

You didn't read the first post, did you?

 

I didn't read ANY posts!

 

I think you did if you knew nobody had suggested Pokemon...

 

On the contrary, many of those that have been suggested I've already played and loved. The problem being that I've already played them.

Wow, I missed that apparently. I remember playing the original and loving it (Exploooosiuuuuung!!), but didn't see anything else of it until #4(?) on the PS2, which suddenly seemed terrible.

Thanks.

Gah!! No!!!
*gets out garlic and sharpened wooden cross*

 

Guardian's Crusade

(would post picture but interwebs seems very uptight about hotlinking pics that they're hotlinking themselves.)


May seem a bit childish but the various toys the protagonist collects each offer very distinguished features in battle. The game isn't too short but also isn't too long and the story is clean, simple and cute.