In what feels like a fate-defying move, Koei Tecmo has announced Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, a set of enhanced ports and the first new Monster Rancher game to come stateside since the Nintendo DS (and a weird 2010 mobile game that came and went in a flash). This compilation is set to release on December 9, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PC and iOS mobile platforms.
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While this is neither a remake nor a remaster, Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX does include various changes to the games to make them a little more friendly. There are more save and Freeze slots, a new “memo” feature and an option to speed things up. There’s also an adaptation of the original games’ summoning system, which originally had players using music CDs in their PlayStations to generate new creatures.
These enhanced ports of the first two Monster Rancher games were released individually in Japan a while ago, with no sign of a localization. It seems like Koei Tecmo was able to leverage the series’ 25th anniversary to make this localization happen, alongside what seems to have been a surprising demand from fans.
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