Monster Rancher

"A Game For Some People But Not For Everyone...Nonetheless, It's Still Fun!!!"

Monster Rancher...ah...what a great game. Like the Synopsis says, it's not for everyone. This game requires lots of patience and...well...work...I guess. However, when you succeed in your goal, it's a GREAT feeling...Let's start the review, shall we?

Story 8/10: There's not much of a story, to be honest. You're a person who wants to be a Master Breeder...basically...that's about it. Hmm...not much of a story, huh? Well, it's something...and I guess you could call it unique...Nice Story!!

Music 9/10: I LOVE most of the battle music. The expedition music is also pretty good... The ranch music...hmm...not a lot of variety. Just four different types...one for each season. Kinda boring...oh well... Either way, though, you'll be spending about half of your time at the ranch and half battling so half of it sounds good! Good Music!!!

General Sound 10/10: Very good!! The true sounds comes from battling! The ''Oohs!'' and ''Ahhs!!'' are in the form of cheering and clapping. And that only happens when you hit the opponent with an attack. Miss and you'll get ''Boo's'' from the audience. The attacks...hmm...some have sounds, like the stab from the Jell or the many bites from the Dino. They all sound great. Great General Sound!!!!

Graphics 9/10: Not PERFECT graphics, not Final Fantasy graphics, not PS2 graphics, but certainly good enough for the Playstation. All the monsters look nice. First, they start out small and ugly, but when they get older, you can tell that they've gotten bigger and that definitely helps their looks, even if they just look the same but about 10x larger. The attacks look the nice...the little cartoon graphics are nice and cute, etc. etc. Good Graphics!!!

Controls 10/10: VERY EASY!!! At the ranch, it's basically all menu so all you really need is the D-Pad and the X button. Simple, right? While battling, you'll need to be quick. However, it's still easy to control your monster. Another X button and D-Pad part but also the Square and R1/L1 buttons come into play. You'll get it in no time. Great Controls!!!!

Gameplay 9/10: Get a monster, train it, battle with it, win all the battles, win the game. Simple and easy concept but the hard part is the training. Getting a monster is simple enough. You know all those CD's you've got? Other Playstation games? Music CD's? Computer game CD's? All these come in handy at this game. You see, in the game, there are many monsters and you can't get them all without those many CD's you have. Just go to the Shrine, follow the instructions which include opening your Playstation and placing one of your CD's in it, then get a monster!! Every CD produces a monster and you'll just want to go through all your CD's just so you can find out what monsters are in them!! It takes very long if you have a lot of CD's but sometime...it'll be worth it. Now, you've got your monster, right? Train it! Raise their stats and let them battle. What's the catch? Your monsters get tired so you'll need to at least spend a week of training for rest. What's more? Your monsters die... So, that naturally means you'll need to work HARD before they die!!!!! It's long, it's boring (sometimes), it's difficult, but hang in there and you'll pass it!!!!! Good Luck!! Good Gameplay!!!

Replay Ability 10/10: Monster Rancher never truly ends, even if you've managed to beat the game. There are lots to do. Get some cool monsters that you've never had (Dragon, Henger, etc.). Raise another legend, etc. Great Replay Ability!!!!

Difficulty 5/10: A bit too difficult...in my opinion, of course. Could Be Better Difficulty..

Length 10/10: Goes on forever...you can quit whenever you want then come back to your place and continue...it just keeps going...which is good, of course. Great Length!!!!

Other: This game may seem stupid to some people, but to others, it is very cool.

Buy or Rent? Definitely Rent it first to see if you're one of those people that think it's cool. If not, then don't touch it again. If so, then Buy it!!!

Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/12/03, Updated 07/12/03