Re: Monster Rancher EVO 720p
Joseph Zyiuahndy
Monster Rancher is set in a world where monsters exist alongside humans. Monsters were created by God in ancient times, following a disaster that struck the world prior to continental drift. However, the monsters caused problems for humanity, so God sealed them in "disc stones", small circular stone tablets containing their genomes, and entrusted humanity with them. However, as time passed, the disc stones became lost knowledge.
Eventually, archaeologists rediscovered a disc stone while excavating ancient ruins. They brought the disc stone to the Monsters' Temple, where the priests, using ancient summoning methods, summoned the monster in the disc stone back into existence. Monsters were reintroduced into nature and, for the most part, coexisted with humans. Eventually, monster owners and breeders began holding monster battles as a sport, which became popular worldwide, leading to official battle tournaments.
In the games, the player takes the role of a monster breeder whose goal is to raise monsters to fight in tournaments. The breeder must raise the monster throughout its life, training it, keeping it healthy, making an exercise schedule, and trying to maximize its abilities before it dies of old age or is retired. Monsters have good or bad morale depending on how they are raised; loyal monsters are more likely to listen to commands, while disloyal monsters might refuse to obey commands or not fight at all. Famous monsters are more likely to land critical hits. Retired monsters can be combined to create more powerful monsters.
In Monster Rancher, Monster Rancher 2, Monster Rancher 3, Monster Rancher 4, and Monster Rancher EVO, monsters can be generated by inserting any CD into the game system.[clarification needed] Monster Rancher 3, Monster Rancher 4, and Monster Rancher EVO can also use DVDs.
The characteristics of the monster (such as stats, breed and traits) are determined by various numbers stored in the game. To generate a monster, a random number generator is needed to define what characteristics the monster will have. Tecmo created a CD-reading system that would use the discs to generate random number seeds and, consequently, a large variety of random monsters. The values found in the discs' data are mapped to monster characteristics.
Some discs are designed to produce specific monsters, often thematically related to the disc in question. For instance, in Monster Rancher 4, the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DVD (as well as the tie-in PlayStation 2 game) generates a unique owl monster, and in Monster Rancher 2 and Monster Rancher 4, Tecmo's Dead or Alive game creates a Pixie named Kasumi. Special CDs, called "pandora discs", can produce multiple monsters. Often, the Monster Rancher game CD itself is a pandora disc.
In Monster Rancher Advance and Monster Rancher Advance 2, the system generates random monsters by using character sequences rather than CDs, due to the limitations of the Game Boy Advance game cartridges. Certain combinations of characters will determine the monster's breed, sub-breed, stats, and traits. Codes found in-game can be used to generate rare monsters.
In Monster Farm Online, players select a monster species they have some knowledge of, with the basic purebreeds automatically available, then insert a disc to create their traits. This is so that players do not need to find a disc that is unique to one particular territory to get the rarest monsters.
In Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, a modern remaster of Monster Rancher 1 and 2, the disc system from the original games is replaced with a digital database of CDs, DVDs, music, and video games. Instead of inserting a disc, the player enters a query for Title, Artist, or both, and chooses from a list of media, from which the monster assigned to the selected media will be generated.[2] The monsters assigned to each media are the same across all copies; for example, selecting the album Trouble by Whitesnake always generates the "Swimmer" variant of the Mew monster, which can also be generated from other media.[2]
The story follows a boy named Genki Sakura, who is a key player of the Monster Rancher video games. After winning a tournament hosted by the game's creators, Genki wins a special CD that he can use to unlock a special monster in his game at home. However, upon using this disk in his game console, he finds himself transported to a world of monsters that, much like Genki's game, are given life by scanning special stone disks within temples. There, he meets a girl named Holly and her monster friend Suezo, who are seeking a stone disk containing a legendary Phoenix that will save the land from the tyranny of an evil ruler named Moo. Upon attempting to use the disk Genki had won to try and release the monster, they bring forth a different monster, which Genki names Mocchi. Wanting to free the land from Moo's rule, Genki, Holly, Mocchi, and Suezo set off to find the Phoenix, using Holly's Magic Stone to guide them in the direction of the Phoenix. The Magic Stone leads them to Golem, Tiger, and Hare, each of which have their motivations to join the group on their journey to find the Phoenix.
It is revealed that Moo is actually Holly's missing father, who merged with an evil spirit after being banished from his village. Determined to separate Moo's evil spirit from Holly's father, the group continues their search for the Phoenix, defeating Moo's strongest minions, the Big Bad Four- Pixie, Gali, Grey Wolf, and Naga. In their travels, the gang befriends and aids many monsters as they continue searching, unlocking as many Mystery Disks as possible in the hopes of finding the Phoenix. One of these unlocked monsters, Monol, tells the group of a previous war between Moo and the Phoenix (as part of a larger war between humans and monsters, who exploited monsters as workers and companions in a futuristic society) that destroyed much of the world and weakened the two entities into their dormant states, separating their body and souls.
Boy the PlayStation era sure was a weird time for experimentation. I loved it. The Pokemon craze was in full force at the time and several companies attempted to capitalize on the phenomenon. Probably the most memorable for me was Monster Rancher. A seemingly simple game where players collected monsters and bred them for battle. The catch was that to create them, players would insert a CD into the system to randomly generate their creation. This had me grabbing every music CD I had as well as a host of free online internet discs. Yes kids, the internet used to come on a disc. The magic came from what happened when the spin stopped and my creation arose from the simple animation. It sure was a weird time.
What separates Monster Rancher from Pokemon is just about everything. Outside of the collecting aspect these games are more akin to management simulations than adventure games. Once I had my monsters I would spend time setting up a training schedule to develop their stats and moves. In addition I also had to track their food intake and schedule. This becomes even more evident in the second game where the simulation aspects are turned up substantially from the first game. How I raised my monsters determined how they performed in tournaments. It is a cycle of training and preparation then tournaments to earn gold to go back and train more.
These games are mostly grind and preparation. The battles themselves play out more like turn-based affairs where players select moves from a menu-driven system and lots of behind the scenes numbers are calculated. It can be addicting. Think of a monster management sim and you get the idea. I found myself entrenched in the process of obtaining monsters, raising them properly, and slowly dominating tournaments. It is all played out in simple menu driven systems so the pazazz of more colorful games in the genre this is not.
They had you focus on one monster at a time to train up for various tournaments. But the most unique aspect was how you obtained those monsters. It was incredibly innovative for a game released in 1997.
Your monsters have a lifespan that can be lengthened or shortened depending on how you raise them. You can, however, freeze a monster before it dies and combine it with another frozen monster for new potential results. That always was a lot of fun, and it still is.
Monster Rancher Advance 2 is one of my favorite gems from the early 2000's. The variety of monsters and the style of play meant that you were literally replaying a game inside of a bigger game that seemed to keep expanding. I read some of the other guides and I wanted to make my own. I wrote down some notes and this gob o' text is the result. I do occasionally start a new game... Those of you who know how important and expensive and time consuming the terms "HolyCup" "BrghtGem" and "Super Coach".... yeah, that. I like the storyline, though this guide isn't meant for that.
Let's start with the three major Roles that Most Gamers Love. There is no actual "Role" mechanic in the game, rather, it is a set of choices in how you raise the monster so that it can do certain things later on in its life. In all Roles, you really don't have the ability to train all stats to maximum, so pick 2 to 3 that you would be happy with. The monster will retire of old age before you could succeed. The lifespan can typically range from 3 years for a naturally short lived breed AND horrible mistreatment to about 6 years for a naturally long lived breed that only rested.
A couple of bonus roles to mention: Porch-Sitter, a monster that has retired and whose purpose is to be unfrozen and swapped with the current monster for the purpose of passing time until a certain battle or event without using the current monster's lifespan. Exploration Money Maker, a monster with high INT and LIF stats that is raised high enough in rank to go explore an area for a month and bring back 250K or more in phat and rare loot... Or Nothing, along with having to shell out money for finding your lost monster... for gamblers, I suppose.
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