Best Monster-Tamer Games

Pokemon might be the most famous name in monster-taming games, maybe even one of the most famous names in all gaming. After all, the franchise includes dozens of games, a card game, many TV series, manga, and so much more. However, franchises like Pokemon and Digimon aren't the only ones where people can tame, collect, and team up with all sorts of creatures. People who have played video games for two or three decades will remember classic titles that originally launched on platforms as old as the SNES.

Related

14 RPGs With The Deepest Lore, Ranked

RPGs tend to have tons of lore that players can immerse themselves in. But these titles go above and beyond with their mythology.

Posts

What makes a monster-taming game memorable? Is it the character design, the combat, an active or passive playstyle, or simply nostalgia over time? Luckily for fans, Metacritic took out the guesswork when it comes to rating the games.

Updated October 15, 2023 by Mark Sammut: While they do not come out often, when they do, monster-catching games tend to be exciting. What are the sub-genre's best-ever offerings?

1 Persona 5 Royal

Those who enjoy monster-taming games are always on the lookout for excellent JRPGs and Dungeon Crawlers as well, and the Persona games have always scratched that itch. Persona 5, not to be confused with its Strikers counterpart (which is still well-liked but not quite as universally), is perhaps the best entry in the long-standing series.

Persona 5 is a great release for those who enjoy dungeon-crawling, monster-taming, and some of the catchiest tunes, all with some slice-of-life elements tossed into the mix. Personas can be caught, used in battle, and upgraded into more intense versions by fusing them with others, a mechanic similar to "evolving" in many other monster-taming titles.

Additionally, the Persona series has made a habit of releasing their game and then coming out with a more expansive release of the game somewhere down the road that adds more to the overall experience. Persona 4 had this with Persona 4: Golden and now Persona 5 has Persona 5: Royal. Royal is just Persona 5 but better in just about every single way, which includes new additions to the story that somehow make it even darker and more mature. Lots of quality-of-life changes, new characters, tons of new story elements, and even new mechanics easily explain why Royal ranks slightly above the base game.

2 Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride

Curiously, though this game originally came out on the Nintendo DS in 2009, the iOS version of the game has the higher score on Metacritic with a whopping 90 overall.

This RPG title is the second of the Zenithian Trilogy that was originally released on the SNES in 1992. Though it features a basic JRPG setup, gameplay includes decking out a wagon full of unique monsters, which is different from most of the other Dragon Quest games where players have a party of human or human-like companions to deck out instead.

Players will enjoy classic turn-based combat, an orchestrated soundtrack, beautiful 16-bit graphics, and a whole host of iconic Dragon Quest monsters and beloved mascots to befriend.

3 Monster Hunter World (As Well As Rise & Stories 2)

In recent years, the Monster Hunter franchise has absolutely returned to where it rightfully belongs at the forefront of gaming. Despite the incredible Metacritic score of 90 for Monster Hunter World and the equally impressive score of 90 for its Iceborne expansion, another game in the series that actually better fits the monster-taming criteria is Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, with a Metascore of 81. This sequel game, along with its predecessor, allows players to collect and hatch eggs, create teams, raise monsters, chain combo attacks, and even ride their pets around. The game also features a historic "rock, paper, scissors" combat system.

Not only that but even their most recent release (at the time of writing this) Monster Hunter Rise takes what they learned from MHW and makes the gameplay a bit more snappy overall. Not only that, but players have all kinds of classic and brand-new monsters to hunt in this game as well. Rise has a score of 88 on the Nintendo Switch, landing it right in the middle between Monster Hunter Stories (both 1 and 2) and Monster Hunter World.

4 Pokemon Y

Pokemon is the definitive monster-catching franchise, and it is not even close. While the series has produced a few underwhelming releases over its decades-long run, most of the entries are good-to-great, especially the older ones.

As the first few generations debuted before Metacritic was a thing, they don't have a presence on the aggregate site; however, most of the latter projects land somewhere in the 80s. Pokemon X and Y can be slightly divisive since they brought a few changes to the formula, but they are overall considered as representing the license at its peak.

5 Monster Rancher 1 (& The Entire Series)

Monster Rancher embraced technology in a unique way in that the actual 'lore' of the games said that every CD has a monster inside it. Also called Monster Farm in Japan, the franchise includes many games and an anime TV series. But the original game was released for the PS1 in 1997.

It bridged the digital and the real worlds in a unique, visceral way. Monster designs were original and compelling and players could breed them, too. Players could raise monsters for tournament fighting but needed support to perform at their best. It also had players combing through their library of Playstation games, trying all of them to see what monsters were unique to each one.

6 Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch Remastered

Level-5 developed this game for the PS3 to be released in 2011 in Japan and in 2013 in Western regions. The remaster was released for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Windows PCs in 2019. And, surprisingly, many fans have called it the best way to experience the game.

The game owes its fantastic Metacritic score of 86 to its beautiful and nostalgic animation style thanks to the hands of the masters in the industry as Studio Ghibli. The Ni No Kuni series as a whole delivers a relaxing, traditional RPG experience sure to bring a smile to the faces of new players and Pokemon veterans alike.

The second game, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom, somehow manages to improve upon the already mind-blowing visuals of the first game, and it also adds to the gameplay systems as well. While fans of both games do say that the first title excels in combat difficulty and story while the second game excels in visuals and mechanics, both are absolutely deserving of their scores of 86 and 84 respectively.

7 Humanity – 85

Out of everything on this list, Humanity is probably the weirdest inclusion and the one that most loosely fits the definition of a 'creature collecting' game. In this game, instead of collecting monsters or creatures, players are collecting and guiding humans as a small ethereal Shiba Inu.

And, instead of obtaining new creatures with new abilities, players slowly obtain more commands to give their humans that help solve the expertly crafted puzzles each level (whether developer or fan-made) possesses. This is a game that absolutely works as a recommendation for that niche group of people who love both puzzle games and monster-taming games, and the critics seem to agree as they gave it a respectable Metascore of 85

8 Viva Pinata, Trouble In Paradise, & Pocket Paradise

Viva Pinata merges monster-taming, resource management, and a sim game all into one intuitive and fun experience. Though it was released in 2006 for the Xbox 360, it still maintains a Metascore of 84.

The game was a bit ahead of its time with hundreds of customizable elements. Players needed to foster a garden ecosystem in real time to attract other pinata species. The game included more than 60 species with infinite ways for players to design their gardens and bring in new pinatas.

Not only that, but almost no one is aware that there are multiple Viva Pinata games, and three of them have equally favorable scores to the original. The 'sequel' of sorts that introduces co-op play, Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise, has a score of 82 while the handheld game, Pocket Paradise, is at exactly the same level, also with a score of 82.

9 Shin Megami Tensei 5

Atlus' mainline Megami Tensei series has not quite managed to reach the same critical heights as Persona, although the games have a hardcore fanbase who hold them in very high esteem. An argument could be made that Nocturne or Apocalypse represents the dark urban fantasy series at its best, but SMT 5 is also fantastic.

Hard-as-nails combat and a finely-tuned demon-negotiation system serve as SMT's cornerstones, and the fifth entry has perfected them. The story and exploration can leave something to be desired, though.

10 Cassette Beasts

Cassette Beasts is one of those games that, from the outset, know that everyone playing it is going to be constantly comparing the game to something like Pokemon. And, instead of constantly biting back on that comparison or trying to 'fight it', Casette Beasts is fine with the comparisons as it constantly surprises the player with all the ways the game separates or improves upon the tried-and-true Pokemon mechanics.

Things like the way the Partner characters are written, the creepier and foreboding story with actual consequences, or even the Fusion mechanic are all huge divergences from typical monster-taming game staples, and they all work well. Plus, as with any creature collect-a-thon game, the designs of the creatures are a huge part of the appeal. Thankfully, with over 120+ designs for these Cassette Beasts (not including all the meticulously designed Fusions), most of them are amazing designs, leading to this being one of the best recommendations on here for fans of the monster-taming genre with a Metascore of 84. Additionally, this is also a game on Xbox Game Pass' ever-expanding lineup, making it even more accessible than a lot of other titles on here.