When discussing monster collectors, Pokemon is that one game that everyone brings up with some even blindly believing that the franchise is the only RPG, doing what it does best, compared to everything out there, i.e., monster taming.
But we are here to list down some of the other monster collector games which can be considered as a worthy alternative to Pokemon, with one of these even predating and technically inventing the monster-collecting genre first.
Alternative Monster collecting games to Pokemon
Shin Megami Tensei V
Shin Megami Tensei is one of the best monster collectors that started getting mainstream popularity after the release of the fifth game, and also due to the popularity of one of its spinoff game series, Persona. Chronologically, the series predates even Pokemon.
These games were never released outside Japan originally, as they deal with themes of religion and mythologies from various cultures. The first game to properly break into the Western market was Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne.
The gameplay involves the player character taking control over a chosen individual, a messiah sort of figure who finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. He must befriend figures from various urban legends and myths to decide the fate of the world.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth
Digimon is a name that is not unfamiliar to many, as it is also a monster collector franchise, and is possibly as popular as Pokemon. But this popularity mainly arises from debates between the fanbases around which one is better than the other.
In reality, Digimon video games are seldom talked about, and it’s always the Pokemon games that are at the height of popularity. Although in recent times, Pokemon games have been getting a lot of criticism for being released in a buggy state with poor visuals.
Digimon video games on the other hand have been thriving, especially with the Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth games developed by Bandai Namco.
The game looks gorgeous with beautiful 3D models of digimons to collect and fight with in a turn-based combat system. A worthy alternative to modern Pokemon games.
Temtem
Temtem is a monster collector that is completely inspired by Pokemon, and that might turn away some people looking at how ridiculously copied some aspects of the game look. But underneath that TemTem is a really good game that deserves a spot on this list.
The game takes some of the fun aspects of Pokemon and makes it a common format. Mainly the combat in which all monster battles play out in a doubles format with type advantage system at play.
Temtem was developed by Crema and released on Steam first as an early access title. Later, it went on to release for other platforms.
World of Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy is probably one of the most notable video game franchises in existence. Whenever discussions about Japanese RPGs are brought up, this franchise is always at the top of everyone’s mind.
World of Final Fantasy is one of the many spin-off titles of Final Fantasy that is not that well known, but the fun part about it is that it implements aspects of monster collectors, such as Pokemon.
In this game, the player takes control of siblings Reynn and Lann in the world of Grymoire. Gameplay involves befriending various monsters called mirages and utilizing their skills in an active time battle system.
Monster Hunter Stories (1 & 2)
The Monster Hunter series is definitely an antithesis to the Pokemon games because instead of being a monster collector, its all about hunting down the favorite creatures in the franchise in epic set pieces to acquire materials for better gear.
However, the mainline games didn’t stop Capcom from coming up with a way to dip their toes into the monster collecting niche.
In 2016, they released a spinoff game for the 3DS titled Monster Hunter Stories, which completely flipped the formula from hunting the iconic monsters to collecting and taming them, with a cleverly designed turn-based combat system.
The series has been very successful so far, with a second game that was released in 2021.
Monster Rancher
The Monster Rancher franchise is also known as Monster Farm in Japan, and it has had a niche fan following since the PlayStation days. It was developed by Koei Tecmo, similar to capturing the monster collecting craze created by Pokemon, while being different as well.
Monster Rancher takes place in a fictional universe where humans and monsters live together. Monsters were created by Gods but then sealed away in disc stones which were lost to time.
In present times, the Monsters were rediscovered from these disc stones and were reintroduced into nature. Now humans live along with these monsters while taming and training them for combat sports similar to Pokemon battles.
Palworld
This game is possibly the most controversial entry in this list, considering its history with the Pokemon franchise in recent years. But it still deserves a spot in this list because, at the end of the day, it is a monster collector title that one may choose to play over Pokemon.
The game is made by the Japanese studio named Pocketpair, and it quickly gained massive popularity in a very short time after its release.
Palworld amassed notoriety on release mainly because of how similar the designs of certain monsters looked to Pokemon, which led to the developers of the later title to file a lawsuit on certain aspects of the game’s designs.
Palworld was released at the right time when the demand for a quality alternative to Pokemon video games was rising to an all-time high.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
If Final Fantasy can be considered one of the most important RPG franchises ever released by Square Enix. Then, the alternative to that in Japan would be the Dragon Quest franchise, with iconic monster designs created by Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame.
Dragon Quest was conceived by Yuji Hori, and by the time the franchise reached its fifth installment, the developers were starting to implement a monster collecting system.
Looking at how much praise this system was gaining, and with Pokemon around the corner standing as the king of monster collectors. Square Enix decided to release the monster-taming spin-off titled Dragon Quest Monsters, which has since been receiving new installments.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
In 2010, developer Level-5 teamed up with the legendary animators of world-renowned Studio Ghibli to develop a monster collector for the Nintendo DS system named Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn.
After this, Ni No Kuni was going to be an important franchise moving forward later. In 2011, the developers released a new title in the series named Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It was not locked inside a handheld anymore but was now on a big home console.
This release gained a lot of popularity after it was released overseas in 2013, with everyone comparing it to Pokemon because of how well-designed the monster collection system and combat were.
Yo-kai Watch
Following up with another popular Level-5 developed video game, which has been constantly compared to Pokemon. Yo-kai Watch has been another monster collector franchise that was able to accurately challenge Pokemon’s aesthetics.
The game’s plot follows Nate, a kid who can befriend Yokais, which are mythological creatures of Japanese folklore. He uses a special watch that allows him to summon Yokais during combat.
The player can summon around three yokais at one time during the combat screen with an original combat system that involves filling up a meter. The series also introduced yokai evolution just like the Pokemon games.
