Summary
- Pokemon has been a long-standing source of inspiration for other monster-taming games, such as Dragon Quest Monsters and Robotrek.
- Dragon Quest Monsters, released just days before Pokemon Red and Blue, introduced features like breeding and stealing monsters.
- Monster Rancher, released a year before Pokemon, had a unique feature where players could obtain monsters by inserting CD-ROMs, something no other monster-taming game has attempted.
It's hard to believe sometimes, but Pokemon has been around for over 25 years, spawning spin-offs, video games, toys, anime, and live-action films and inspiring countless others to try their hand at the monster-taming genre. From Ni No Kuni to Monster Hunter, Pokemon has been a constant source of inspiration to other games looking to get on board the monster-taming train.
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But for as long as Pokemon has been around, it's important to remember that a few games beat Pikachu and the crew to the finish line. Some of these games even ran neck and neck, coming out months or even mere weeks before Pokemon Red and Blue. One thing that's always been true about the monster-taming genre is that there's enough room at the table for everyone.
Pokemon Red & Green launched on February 27, 1996, in Japan; meanwhile, the North American versions debuted on September 28, 1998. While the former will generally used as a benchmark, games will be considered if their North American release happened before Red & Blue's Western launch.
Updated on February 21, 2024, by Maddie Fisher: Pokemon and creature-collecting games have been around for quite a while, as one of the genre's most interesting and flexible genres. As evidenced by its existence before and after Pokemon, it exploded into something much bigger and isn't just confined to the big players in the industry. Creature-collecting games are also a major part of the indie game scene, as games like Palworld and Coromon have shown. This list was updated to include more info about this fabulous, ever-evolving genre and all the entries have been expanded with some new details, including some background details about the games and some development history.
5 Robotrek
July 1994
Robotrek
- Released
- July 8, 1994
- Developer(s)
- Quintet
- Platform(s)
- SNES
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Set on a distant planet known as Quintenix, Robotrek begins in the middle of civil unrest and puts the player into the role of the young son of an inventor. Featuring a delightfully quirky story and a remarkable customization system, Robotrek allows the player to find and build up to three robots at a time. Building robots takes place on a workbench that looks suspiciously like a SNES controller, just one of many charming details in this long-forgotten classic.
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Released for the Super Nintendo in 1994, Robotrek feels like a distant ancestor to something like Armored Core or MechWarrior. It was developed by Enix, utilizing a rich and fun variation of the ATB battle system found in its chief rival, Square's Final Fantasy games. It's a remarkably complex game for its time, with a rather robust upgrade system for the machines and a great bit of aesthetic customization.
4 Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride
September 1992
Dragon Quest 5
- Released
- September 27, 1992
- Platform(s)
- SNES, Android, iOS, Nintendo DS, PS2
- Developer
- Chunsoft, ArtePiazza, Matrix Software
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Nearly a decade before Enix would merge with Squaresoft in 2003, the company released the fifth Dragon Quest game and introduced monster-taming into the franchise for the first time. Though the series had been around for six years by this point, Enix was doing their best to change the formula fairly early in its existence. In Dragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride, players can recruit certain monsters to join their party after defeating them in battle.
Though the list of monsters isn't as large as later Dragon Quest games would allow, or even Pokemon games for that matter, it's still a hefty roster of 42 possible recruits. Classic Dragon Quest monsters like Slimes, Metal Slimes, and Golems fill out the modest, yet charming, roster. It was an element that added a lot of variety to this series, as Enix would go on to add monster-taming to several later titles in the series and even produce spin-offs based solely on the concept.
3 Revelations: Persona
December 1996 (North America)
Revelations: Persona
In the near future, mankind has conquered dimensional travel but the door we have opened swings both ways. The peaceful city you have grown up in has become a haven for dark creatures from another world - Demons! Now it's up to you and your friends to harness the hidden power within you by entering a fantasy game known as Persona.
You awaken with incredible abilities that you will need to defeat the scores of Demon invaders and cleanse the land of their forces. Converse with them before doing battle to determine your best course of action. Fight them to enlist their aid in your mission. Either way, you are set for a fantasy adventure of a lifetime!
- Released
- December 14, 1996
- Developer(s)
- Atlus
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original), PlayStation Portable, PC
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Social Simulation
As a spin-off of the long-running Shin Megami Tensei series, Persona began its life in earnest on the original PlayStation back in 1996. Though it lacks the Social Link system that was first introduced in Persona 3 in 2006, the first Persona game maintains the high school cast of characters and the stylish charm that the series became known for.
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The game opens in a wonderfully creepy way, with a vibe that only Persona can create as a group of high school students are attempting to play a fortune-telling game. This seemingly innocent moment sets off the rest of the game's dark and harrowing story. Featuring gorgeous sprite work, fabulous character portraits, and a roster of classic SMT demons to battle and fuse together, Revelations: Persona is still one of the monster-taming genre's best efforts. The first-person dungeons are also great fun to explore, offering plentiful challenges for the player to test their collected demons.
2 Monster Rancher
November 1997 (North America)
Monster Rancher
WARNING:
WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T SIT TOO CLOSE TO YOUR CD RACK!
Remember when you thought monsters were lurking in every dark corner of your house? Well, you were right: EVERY CD YOU OWN CONTAINS A MONSTER. Every PC CD, every music CD and every game CD each has a monster living inside. Use Monster Rancher to safely release these monsters into a virtual environment where YOU'RE THE MASTER. TEACH YOUR MONSTER ATTACK MOVES. Capture your monster (on a memory card) and take him to a friend's house for some HEAD TO HEAD FIGHTING ACTION. We dare you to find and train your ultimate fighting machine!
• VIRTUAL BREEDING ENVIRONMENT
• RELEASE HUNDREDS OF MONSTERS FROM YOUR CDS
• HEAD TO HEAD COMPETITION FIGHTING
• TONS OF HIDDEN MONSTERS AND LEVELS
• RPG INTRIGUE & FANTASY SIMULATION
• 40-50 ATTACK MANEUVERS PER CREATURE
• FOR I OR 2 PLAYERS
- Released
- November 24, 1997
- Developer(s)
- Tecmo
- Platform(s)
- PS1
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation
Released a full year before Pokemon Red and Blue, Monster Rancher did a bit more than just beat its competitor to market. But while Pokemon tends to focus on rock-paper-scissor-type battles, Monster Rancher is a sort of quieter, more intimate experience where the player gains strong emotional connections with the monsters. It's akin to a simulator in that regard, where the monsters are built for tournaments over time, which allows the player to develop some fantastic bonds.
While it is possible to collect and train monsters from within the game itself, including favorites like Gallop, Suezo, and Teddy, Monster Rancher's unique feature is its use of CD-ROMs. By inserting certain discs, the player can obtain unique and rare monsters. These CDs range from Prince to Blink-182, from Michael Jackson to Green Day. Due to a lack of disc drives on most modern hardware, the recent remasters of Monster Rancher 1 and 2 for Switch and Steam feature a digital database as opposed to discs. Even so, it's one of Monster Rancher's most fascinating aspects that no other monster-taming game has even come close to attempting.
1 Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
September 1987
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei is a turn-based dungeon-crawling RPG that was developed by Atlus for the NES and released in 1987.
- Released
- September 11, 1987
- Developer(s)
- Atlus
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Entertainment System, SNES, Mobile
- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Dungeon-Crawler
Shin Megami Tensei has just celebrated its 35th anniversary, having first been released on the Famicom in Japan as Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei on September 11th, 1987. Launching a full decade before Game Freak's landmark RPG, SMT has often been described as 'what if Pokemon was made for adults'. Although this initial entry has never made its way to the West, it spawned an entire line of spin-offs and side stories, including Persona and Tokyo Mirage Sessions.
Since those humble beginnings, Shin Megami Tensei has become one of the premiere RPG brands and is beloved for its brand of dark, complex exploration of humanity's final days. This first outing plays more like a grid-based dungeon crawler as opposed to the third-person JRPGs that they would later become. It's still rather effective, as the tight corners and simple color palette add some dread to proceedings. Add to this the absolutely stellar list of demons and monsters to recruit, from Jack Frost to Pixie, as well as the immense challenge that it often puts on the player. It's one of the industry's most fascinating franchises, still going strong to this day.
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