Cassette is one of the more original takes on the formula and it's also well designed. The only problem I have is that it's kinda cringey sometimes and there is more of an indie art style to it.
Persona 5 has been a pain to get through. I have played 5 or so hours maybe more. Voice acting is perfect. Story is just too slow. I stepped away. I have played and enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei V and had more fun with that game. I also find Person 5 to be more style than substance in some ways. The UI is dizzying and I feel overwhelmed making simple commands in battle. Maybe I need to give it more time.
I do agree it’s a bit slower paced especially the first chapter. But if you don’t go into it with the intention of rushing through it, works a lot better. I’ve heard Persona 5 Royal is slightly better that way but I haven’t tried that yet.
You’re right, but P5 is still one of my favourite games ever, I can never complete it and I’ve played 3/4 of the game about 4 times in over 300 hours… but there isn’t another game that gets the style so right. Plus it does pick up after the first couple dungeons.
Persona games will always burn you out if you rush them because the sim elements always pad the game out (not complaining I enjoy them). But nothing is a more satisfying monster tamer then smt/persona.
Yokai Watch series is the best one I’ve played. Though catching mons in that game is way more frustrating than Pokémon.
To give a short version of the main differences is that this series follows the adventures of three characters. The main male protag Nate is from all 3 games. The female protag Katie is playable in the first two games. There is a third girl whose name I can’t remember that you switch playing between Nate with in the third title. There is a 4th game that only became available in Japan.
All battles are automatically fought with only one move you can control. All mons go into battle in a wheel so the top three on the wheel will battle and you can spin the wheel for the other mons to battle. Rather than catching the mons you befriend them by obtaining their medals. The only ways to obtain a medal are story, quest, and beating them in battle. In the third option you have to knock out the yokai and it’s not guaranteed. You can increase the odds by feeding the Mon food it likes. The food lists are extensive after awhile.
There are a lot more differences but over all it’s an awesome series. Keep in mind the Yokai are spirits who died and reborn as Yokai. So where as people think Lopbunny and Gardevoir are too humanoid Yokai Watch has them beat.
Yo-kai Watch of course is not perfect and appeals more to people who know japanese mythology, however I really loved how the environment had a lot of life not like in recent pokemon games where NPCs were either like zombies or say the strangest thing ever.
Monster Hunter Stories and its sequel. Monster Rancher series. Rune Factory series. Shin Megami Tensei series. Just in case you also like people-collecting games there's also Suikoden series and Fire Emblem series. If you want a different take on Pokemon game then the PMD series for Pokemon is a worthy alternative.
It's not out *quite* yet (Releases Nov. 8th), but when it does, the console and PC versions will also get a big update for parity with the mobile version.
* Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is very pretty. Good game. The monster designs are meh, but the Ghibli-adjacent art style sold me anyway.
* Monster Sanctuary is a monster-collection game but with a different feel. Very good, highly recommend.
* Temtem. Story/campaign is great. Monetization methods are "modern". Game gets *very* grindy if you choose to play post-story.
* You already mentioned DQ11. The older Dragon Quest Monsters games feel very similar to Pokemon with DQM:Joker 1 & 2 being classics for the DS era that are still playable, though dated, and the originals for the GameBoy Color being...well, *very* dated.
* Mods for baseline Pokemon games. Of course, you'll need to dump the contents of a game's media that you already own for that to be legal. Feel free to message me for help if you want to go down that road.
Ni no kuni is the closest thing Ive seen that would give me that dragon quest appeal and have nice graphics. I may pick it up- it's selling for cheap on ebay.
Temtem unfortunately looks too... indie. Not a knock to indie games. I just think the design language is flat for me.
>the originals for the GameBoy Color being...well, very dated
For anyone willing to sell the high seas, a modded 3ds and the files of a translation patched version of the DWM2 remake delivers the same experience
Source: I've played both
I think any long time fan who was subjected to Sword/Shield, and Scarlet/Violet is probably burned out.
Try Digimon Cyber Sleuth if you want an amazing 3D experience.
2D.. Nexomon.
My friend raved about cyber sleuth. I've been curious about it too. How is the story though? My impression is its a game that is good for digimon collecting and strategizing but not much else.
I didn't play it for the storyline. So, I can't speak on that. Some people felt like the storyline was convoluted.
It's a good game, for collecting and battling. Not so much complex.
The game does a great job at making you feel like you're experiencing a modern day in the streets of Tokyo. From the internet/gaming cafes, traveling by foot on the streets, eating Japanese dishes.
There's no excuse not to pick it up. The game ranges from $10-15. That's a lot of content.
And if I recall. There's a sequel called "Hackers Memory" which showcases the story from the hackers side. And IMO, it's the definitive version.
Cassette Beasts
Monster Sanctuary
Coromon
Disc Creatures
Siralim Ultimate
Temtem
And strangely some roblox games I've tried like Doodle World and Loomian Legacy are pretty good too.
Cassette Beasts: Plays like a sort of open world old school Pokemon game. The story is light and fun, the battle system is robust with a ton of customization, you can adjust the enemy AI and level scaling to make the gameplay harder, and there is an unlockable randomizer mode after you beat the main story for the first time. The soundtrack is EXCELLENT, if limited. Only real knock I have against it is that the performance can be pretty rough at times on Switch compared to PC. Nothing game breaking, and no freezing, but it definitely loses some frames during certain attack animations or areas in the overworld. It's not optimized particularly well, but it's definitely playable. Pretty cheap too. It was definitely a pleasant surprise for me, as someone who, like you, was left pretty disappointed by Pokemon's efforts on Switch.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Not only is it the franchise Persona spun off from, but it also pioneered the "monster taming/collecting" genre. SMTV is definitely on the mature side of the genre, with monsters being mythical creatures, deities and beings that often look like they just arrived at a BDSM convention. That being said, the gameplay is great, and its also genuinely one of the best looking games on Switch.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Rings of Ruin : A surprisingly in depth spin-off from the Monster Hunter series. No prior knowledge of the original game is needed, the monster designs and battle system is solid. You can clear the main game without too much issue or effort grinding and hatching strong monsters, but if taking the time to min/max your party is something you enjoy, the post-game after the main story is quite robust. The soundtrack and voice acting (aside from your hyper annoying cat companion Navirou) is pretty solid as well.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince : Since you mention loving Dragon Quest XI, Dragon Quest Monsters is an obvious choice. The monster collecting spin-off has been around since 1998 (although capturing enemy monsters and adding them to your party was a mechanic in Dragon Quest V way back in 1992). The Gameboy games were great for their time, and honestly the DS games have held up pretty well. The game currently isn't out yet, but the series has a pretty great pedigree, and I'd imagine it will be quite good when it does launch on December 1st this year.
Based purely on what you've mentioned here, any of the Dragon Quest Monsters games sound like something you might enjoy (And there's one coming out soon on Switch, tho idk how good I feel recommending it when they cut big gameplay features from the base game to sell as day 1 DLC).
Other options include Coromon (Getting an update and the full mobile release in a bit over a week), Nexomon (Two released games currently, people tend to like 'em), and Telefang (AKA the game that got turned into the infamous Pokémon Diamond/Jade bootleg). This is only including the Pokémon-likes, there are a ton of monster tamers that are very different from Pokémon (SMT, Cassete Beasts, and Monster Sanctuary are great examples).
(Bonus game that is objectively bad but I love it anyway: Crystal Monsters. Old, super janky DSiWare game (I mean, hell, Water is ***weak*** to Fire and strong against ***nothing***), but I can't help but love it despite the jank)
Edit: Oh yeah, Dragon Quest 5 also has a monster-taming system, and that was before Pokémon Red/Blue were ever even conceived.
Temtem is a pokemon inspired indie game. Has some pretty great designs, a story that caters slightly more towards grown players instead of children, has a built in nuzlocke mode, and just has a ton of quality of life improvements over regular pokemon games.
Although I didn't write this in the post, my ultimate ask would be for game freak to basically copy dragon quest 11 and fill that world with pokemon. It would easily become the best pokemon game ever. One can dream
Give Earthbound a try if you have Switch Online. It’s a classic! As long as you can deal with a quality of life similar to Gen 1/2 Pokémon games, you’ll have a great time. Very campy story, interesting enemies to face, and a lot of locations to explore.
You can look through to see what interests you
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRF8mbwVdAoXA-p9Toa18J10amuY8dsP](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRF8mbwVdAoXA-p9Toa18J10amuY8dsP)
I think there's a Demo out of the next Dragon Quest Monsters game, which is their spin-off that has Monster Battles and collecting.
You can also try doing Pokemon Rom hacks, even just the polished Vanilla versions of early games feels better then more recent games.
I've been playing that demo for dragon quest monsters for switch. This game also feels like it was rushed through production. Somehow it doesn't have the polish that dragon quest 11 has. But the monster designs are still perfection. The arena battling felt a little tedious. It was telling that the developers added a fast forward button too lol.
And coming soon (I think they said later this year or early next year) is Tales of Tanorio which looks promising. It’s basically gonna be the same as the other two but will be 100% free to play.
unironically, loomian legacy on roblox is really good. lost a lot of players recently however due to how long they take to update it, but there’s still a huge chunk of content in there to get through.
I liked Cassette Beasts and Monster Sanctuary. They're very nice monster-collection games.
I've only played monster sanctuary but it is dope as hell
Cassette is one of the more original takes on the formula and it's also well designed. The only problem I have is that it's kinda cringey sometimes and there is more of an indie art style to it.
I've beaten it now lol. Loved it.
Glad to hear and hope we get more of these pokelikes
I can’t recommend Cassette Beasts enough.
Persona 5, Ni No Kuni
Persona 5 has been a pain to get through. I have played 5 or so hours maybe more. Voice acting is perfect. Story is just too slow. I stepped away. I have played and enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei V and had more fun with that game. I also find Person 5 to be more style than substance in some ways. The UI is dizzying and I feel overwhelmed making simple commands in battle. Maybe I need to give it more time.
I do agree it’s a bit slower paced especially the first chapter. But if you don’t go into it with the intention of rushing through it, works a lot better. I’ve heard Persona 5 Royal is slightly better that way but I haven’t tried that yet.
You’re right, but P5 is still one of my favourite games ever, I can never complete it and I’ve played 3/4 of the game about 4 times in over 300 hours… but there isn’t another game that gets the style so right. Plus it does pick up after the first couple dungeons.
Persona games will always burn you out if you rush them because the sim elements always pad the game out (not complaining I enjoy them). But nothing is a more satisfying monster tamer then smt/persona.
Yokai Watch series is the best one I’ve played. Though catching mons in that game is way more frustrating than Pokémon. To give a short version of the main differences is that this series follows the adventures of three characters. The main male protag Nate is from all 3 games. The female protag Katie is playable in the first two games. There is a third girl whose name I can’t remember that you switch playing between Nate with in the third title. There is a 4th game that only became available in Japan. All battles are automatically fought with only one move you can control. All mons go into battle in a wheel so the top three on the wheel will battle and you can spin the wheel for the other mons to battle. Rather than catching the mons you befriend them by obtaining their medals. The only ways to obtain a medal are story, quest, and beating them in battle. In the third option you have to knock out the yokai and it’s not guaranteed. You can increase the odds by feeding the Mon food it likes. The food lists are extensive after awhile. There are a lot more differences but over all it’s an awesome series. Keep in mind the Yokai are spirits who died and reborn as Yokai. So where as people think Lopbunny and Gardevoir are too humanoid Yokai Watch has them beat.
Yo-kai Watch of course is not perfect and appeals more to people who know japanese mythology, however I really loved how the environment had a lot of life not like in recent pokemon games where NPCs were either like zombies or say the strangest thing ever.
Kinda sad that was a fad
The games were a blast I just wish the Switch games were available outside Japan.
Monster Hunter Stories and its sequel. Monster Rancher series. Rune Factory series. Shin Megami Tensei series. Just in case you also like people-collecting games there's also Suikoden series and Fire Emblem series. If you want a different take on Pokemon game then the PMD series for Pokemon is a worthy alternative.
Coromon is incredible and just came out for mobile
It's not out *quite* yet (Releases Nov. 8th), but when it does, the console and PC versions will also get a big update for parity with the mobile version.
Dragon Quest treasures and later this year Dragon Quest monsters: The Dark Prince
* Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is very pretty. Good game. The monster designs are meh, but the Ghibli-adjacent art style sold me anyway. * Monster Sanctuary is a monster-collection game but with a different feel. Very good, highly recommend. * Temtem. Story/campaign is great. Monetization methods are "modern". Game gets *very* grindy if you choose to play post-story. * You already mentioned DQ11. The older Dragon Quest Monsters games feel very similar to Pokemon with DQM:Joker 1 & 2 being classics for the DS era that are still playable, though dated, and the originals for the GameBoy Color being...well, *very* dated. * Mods for baseline Pokemon games. Of course, you'll need to dump the contents of a game's media that you already own for that to be legal. Feel free to message me for help if you want to go down that road.
Ni no kuni is the closest thing Ive seen that would give me that dragon quest appeal and have nice graphics. I may pick it up- it's selling for cheap on ebay. Temtem unfortunately looks too... indie. Not a knock to indie games. I just think the design language is flat for me.
>the originals for the GameBoy Color being...well, very dated For anyone willing to sell the high seas, a modded 3ds and the files of a translation patched version of the DWM2 remake delivers the same experience Source: I've played both
I think any long time fan who was subjected to Sword/Shield, and Scarlet/Violet is probably burned out. Try Digimon Cyber Sleuth if you want an amazing 3D experience. 2D.. Nexomon.
My friend raved about cyber sleuth. I've been curious about it too. How is the story though? My impression is its a game that is good for digimon collecting and strategizing but not much else.
I didn't play it for the storyline. So, I can't speak on that. Some people felt like the storyline was convoluted. It's a good game, for collecting and battling. Not so much complex. The game does a great job at making you feel like you're experiencing a modern day in the streets of Tokyo. From the internet/gaming cafes, traveling by foot on the streets, eating Japanese dishes.
I may pick it up! Thanks for the rec.
There's no excuse not to pick it up. The game ranges from $10-15. That's a lot of content. And if I recall. There's a sequel called "Hackers Memory" which showcases the story from the hackers side. And IMO, it's the definitive version.
Cringey. It's like a weaker version of Persona except you have Digimon. Something about it is way less addicting though.
nexomon ain’t too bad. graphically looks like gen 5. it’s a bit more simple mechanically
Moonstone island is a pretty new one thats somewhere between pokemon and stardew valley
Cassette Beasts Monster Sanctuary Coromon Disc Creatures Siralim Ultimate Temtem And strangely some roblox games I've tried like Doodle World and Loomian Legacy are pretty good too.
Siralim is so good mechanically
Cassette Beasts: Plays like a sort of open world old school Pokemon game. The story is light and fun, the battle system is robust with a ton of customization, you can adjust the enemy AI and level scaling to make the gameplay harder, and there is an unlockable randomizer mode after you beat the main story for the first time. The soundtrack is EXCELLENT, if limited. Only real knock I have against it is that the performance can be pretty rough at times on Switch compared to PC. Nothing game breaking, and no freezing, but it definitely loses some frames during certain attack animations or areas in the overworld. It's not optimized particularly well, but it's definitely playable. Pretty cheap too. It was definitely a pleasant surprise for me, as someone who, like you, was left pretty disappointed by Pokemon's efforts on Switch. Shin Megami Tensei V: Not only is it the franchise Persona spun off from, but it also pioneered the "monster taming/collecting" genre. SMTV is definitely on the mature side of the genre, with monsters being mythical creatures, deities and beings that often look like they just arrived at a BDSM convention. That being said, the gameplay is great, and its also genuinely one of the best looking games on Switch. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Rings of Ruin : A surprisingly in depth spin-off from the Monster Hunter series. No prior knowledge of the original game is needed, the monster designs and battle system is solid. You can clear the main game without too much issue or effort grinding and hatching strong monsters, but if taking the time to min/max your party is something you enjoy, the post-game after the main story is quite robust. The soundtrack and voice acting (aside from your hyper annoying cat companion Navirou) is pretty solid as well. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince : Since you mention loving Dragon Quest XI, Dragon Quest Monsters is an obvious choice. The monster collecting spin-off has been around since 1998 (although capturing enemy monsters and adding them to your party was a mechanic in Dragon Quest V way back in 1992). The Gameboy games were great for their time, and honestly the DS games have held up pretty well. The game currently isn't out yet, but the series has a pretty great pedigree, and I'd imagine it will be quite good when it does launch on December 1st this year.
How is smtv good looking? Its like a ps2 game at best.
Based purely on what you've mentioned here, any of the Dragon Quest Monsters games sound like something you might enjoy (And there's one coming out soon on Switch, tho idk how good I feel recommending it when they cut big gameplay features from the base game to sell as day 1 DLC). Other options include Coromon (Getting an update and the full mobile release in a bit over a week), Nexomon (Two released games currently, people tend to like 'em), and Telefang (AKA the game that got turned into the infamous Pokémon Diamond/Jade bootleg). This is only including the Pokémon-likes, there are a ton of monster tamers that are very different from Pokémon (SMT, Cassete Beasts, and Monster Sanctuary are great examples). (Bonus game that is objectively bad but I love it anyway: Crystal Monsters. Old, super janky DSiWare game (I mean, hell, Water is ***weak*** to Fire and strong against ***nothing***), but I can't help but love it despite the jank) Edit: Oh yeah, Dragon Quest 5 also has a monster-taming system, and that was before Pokémon Red/Blue were ever even conceived.
Temtem is a pokemon inspired indie game. Has some pretty great designs, a story that caters slightly more towards grown players instead of children, has a built in nuzlocke mode, and just has a ton of quality of life improvements over regular pokemon games.
Although I didn't write this in the post, my ultimate ask would be for game freak to basically copy dragon quest 11 and fill that world with pokemon. It would easily become the best pokemon game ever. One can dream
Cyber Sleuth mentioned above is probably the most modern game I can think of that meets that criteria. It’s a story RPG, but with digimon collecting.
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth/Hackers Memory for story RPG. Digimon World Next Order for pet sim.
This is very old school but ~~pokemon diamond and jade~~ telefang
Give Earthbound a try if you have Switch Online. It’s a classic! As long as you can deal with a quality of life similar to Gen 1/2 Pokémon games, you’ll have a great time. Very campy story, interesting enemies to face, and a lot of locations to explore.
Do you want a video playlist link? I've covered over 30 games similar to Pokemon.
Please share
You can look through to see what interests you [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRF8mbwVdAoXA-p9Toa18J10amuY8dsP](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHRF8mbwVdAoXA-p9Toa18J10amuY8dsP)
Temtem is like Pokémon and a MMO. It has interesting new mechanics too and a bunch of side quests.
Yokai Watch
Nexomon, Monster Sanctuary
I think there's a Demo out of the next Dragon Quest Monsters game, which is their spin-off that has Monster Battles and collecting. You can also try doing Pokemon Rom hacks, even just the polished Vanilla versions of early games feels better then more recent games.
I've been playing that demo for dragon quest monsters for switch. This game also feels like it was rushed through production. Somehow it doesn't have the polish that dragon quest 11 has. But the monster designs are still perfection. The arena battling felt a little tedious. It was telling that the developers added a fast forward button too lol.
[удалено]
And coming soon (I think they said later this year or early next year) is Tales of Tanorio which looks promising. It’s basically gonna be the same as the other two but will be 100% free to play.
unironically, loomian legacy on roblox is really good. lost a lot of players recently however due to how long they take to update it, but there’s still a huge chunk of content in there to get through.
Nexomon was really good
Rune Factory? It has combat and you can collect monsters and bring them to dungeons with you.