I loved the cute little pixel animations that weren’t continued in the sequel and interestingly, I noticed that you could use the same CD in both games but get completely different monsters. Understandably, it’s largely just a more limited version of Monster Rancher 2. Having said that, it was nice to finally check out the game that preceded one I loved so much. I imagine a lot of players will simply default to the better of the two and I don’t blame them. I’m not going to lie, the main appeal of DX for me was Monster Rancher 2, as it’s bigger, better, and the one that I played as a kid. Would Suezo have the same charm without being a little rough around the edges? Every little soundbite and awkward-looking creature has a special place in my heart, including the strange building in the background of the town that looks like it has a derp face.Īs well as providing a new way to play an old favourite, this collection finally grants European players like me access to the original game, as we only ever received Monster Rancher 2, though for us that was simply called ‘Monster Rancher’. The more I thought about it, the more I realised I didn’t want to see these games glammed up. They play in a 4x3 aspect ratio, and while the graphics look nicer than they did on your old CRT TV, they’re still the same blocky, clunky shapes that we knew and loved from all those years ago. For fans of the original like me, this is the revival you’ve been waiting for, whether you realised you wanted it or not.ĭespite visual enhancements, these games still hail from a different era, so you’re not going to get the high polish of modern titles. There are so many quality of life improvements and new features that have been added, such as faster loading times, additional freeze slots so you can store more monsters, a high-speed mode so you progress even faster, auto-save, new monsters for Monster Rancher 2, and so much more. I didn’t even set the bar high, I would have been happy with a simple port that made it easier to play, but this collection offers so much more than I originally hoped for. So when Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX was announced, I couldn’t contain my excitement, it was like being given pure nostalgia on a plate without any of the hassle. Monster Rancher was one of the games of my childhood and one of the few games that I break out at least once a year to play again, which meant having to dust off my old copy and console each time. I no longer need to raid every room in the house for CDs - thankfully, as we don’t have many of those lying around nowadays - I can just simply search using the digital database included in Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX. Actually, I tell a lie, it’s slightly changed. RELATED: Interview: Kazumi Fujita On Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX’s ReleaseĢ1 years later, my favorite aspect of Monster Rancher remains unchanged. Sure, many of them would throw up the “this rare monster can be generated only by an authorized IMa trainer” message, but you couldn’t beat the pure excitement of each reveal, much like the high you get from opening trading card packets long before the arrival of Gacha games. Then, with my stack of stolen discs piled high, I would put each one in the PlayStation to see which creature it would generate on Monster Rancher, taking meticulous notes on each new discovery. I’d grab everything from my brother’s The Beatles collection, raid my sister’s Linkin Park and Blink 182 CDs, take my Dad’s Harry Chapin albums, and sometimes hit up my mum’s car for her Celine Dion and Meat Loaf singles. When I was younger I would prowl the house like a thief, combing each and every room for musical goodies.