Monster Rancher 4 – PS2 – Review

Lately, it seems as though
the card game and a lot of the video game industry have been dominated by the
“pocket monster” style of titles, and kids or grownups nowadays have access to
everything from Pokemon to Digimon to Yu-Gi-Oh. Back a few years ago before all
of this hype really seemed to take off here in the states, Tecmo released a
really fun, addictive, and at first overlooked title called Monster Rancher for
the Playstation system, which allowed players to not only raise but create their
own monsters from CD’s or PSX disks. Here we are past 2000 and long after the
launch of what could probably be dubbed as the original U.S. pocket monster
release for video game systems, and Tecmo has now released Monster Rancher 4 for
the PS2 system to show that they are still one of the best in the business.

 

At first glance, Monster Rancher 4 seems pretty similar
to all of the other installments that have come out over the years. Basically,
you play as a young man named Phayne who has awoken in the land of Togle. Phayne
quickly meets up with a couple of friends who help him start his own monster
ranch, and help him to train his monsters and get ready for FIMBA tournaments to
bring money, fame, and fortune his way. As Phayne, you will be responsible for
not only training your monsters, but also using them to go exploring and
adventuring to uncover new items or saucer stone pieces or whatnot in order to
unlock and use new monsters in the game.

 

All overall similarities
aside, MR4 adds in a few new features to the game as well. For starters,
breeders now have the ability to actually set training, resting, and tournament
schedules for two months versus a week to week basis as it’s been in the past.
Since it seems like Tecmo has also made monsters to be a little more resilient
and not as apt to do a typical “train, train, train, rest” format as it’s been
in the past three games, this allows for more flexibility and speeding up game
time by just checking progress of how your monster seems to be doing in his or
her focus and stamina gauges to help plan ahead or make some last minute
changes.

 

MR4 not only allows you to
do some minor alterations to your training grounds, but has added in the ability
to do a lot more customization of your area to make it a little more “you”.
While prior games have allowed players to just do some simple upgrades, MR4 adds
in some new huts and houses to place on your ranch along with the ability to do
training facility customization so that you can have a workout area for up to
five of your monsters to go in and train for upcoming bouts or possibly
skirmishes with a rival who happens to drop in.

 

Another neat feature that
was added into MR4 is the Adventure Mode, which allows players to take a monster
and go out adventuring in search of new items and things of the sort. While it’s
nifty to go and do this once again, Tecmo also did some ability modifications as
well so that certain types of creatures will be able to be used for one thing or
another. One type may not be able to access a cave for example, but will have
another power or ability that can be used where a cave – dweller couldn’t go.
While the map design remains someone simplistic, it is definitely a lot of fun
and you will find yourself going back in again and again to try different
monsters and look for new items.

 

While there were some neat
features added in to make MR4 a little more like the old days, and it does a lot
of things to improve over 3, players will be happy to know that the overall
element of the game remains the same so that there won’t be a lot of re-learning
or possible disappointment in some radical new design that just doesn’t work
like it should. Players will still train, discipline or reward, and even go on
some really cool adventures with their monster looking for treasures or fighting
some nasties along the way. Also, combat still takes place in a left and right
moving arena environment where a button press is all that’s needed to pull off
different attack or defense possibilities to knock out your opponent.

 

Graphically, MR4 shucked the
cell shaded style of the third one (which I personally was getting kind of fond
of) and while it retains a cartoony look, it now looks a little more like an
anime based RPG kind of title that you may see in other PS2 games like Dark
Cloud or something. There are a lot of the same, colorful creatures back from
original installments like golems, mocchis, dragons, and suezos … but a whole
bunch of new ones that can be greatly expanded since you can now cross breed
once again. 

 

Overall, MR4 takes a
well-needed step back to the old days in terms of gameplay to offer a little
more fun and similarity to the first two that seemed to be absent in parts of
MR3. Fans of the series should be pretty happy with the changes and options that
have been added in, but will be pleased with the same overall style that was
found in other games as well when dealing with combat and “saucer stone”
creation. If you haven’t played Monster Rancher, this offers a good one for both
veterans and newbies to hop on in and have a good time for a long, long time to
come.   

 



Gameplay: 8.1
The new features
were a welcome addition to a great series, but also didn’t do anything to
completely change the game or possibly turn off die hard fans. The overall
element remains intact … train, fight, adventure … but you can also do more
personal area customization and once again cross breed which can add hours and
hours to the gameplay.

 


Graphics: 7.9
While removing
the cell shading allowed Tecmo to add in and play with a larger variety of
monster designs, it still lacks a big flash that can be found in other titles
with really outstanding lighting or other game effects. Still, it remains very
good looking and colorful, and the monsters that make a return appearance join
in with other creatures that are new to the series.

 


Sound: 7.9
Overall, there
wasn’t a lot done in terms of new sound effects or anything really amazing.
Monsters still retain their friendly growls or roars of anger, and the music in
the background retains a bouncy, RPG kind of feel to it. Cooler Kids also
contributed two tracks to the game, but I really didn’t care much for the songs
since it’s not really my thing … but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

 


Difficulty: Medium
The game is
simple to get into, but there are a lot of menu options and the first couple of
hours might be spent learning how to customize attacks, move around, and update
scheduling. Once this is done though, MR4 provides a game that pretty easy to
figure out, but near impossible to truly master.

 


Concept: 8.1
While there were
changes made, it shows that Tecmo was careful not to disturb what made it a
great series to begin with. There are some things that could be done a little
better in terms of graphics or possibly in adding some additional 3-D based
fighting if it is wanted, but the game still is extremely addictive.

 


Multiplayer: 7.2

Players can save their monsters to their memory card and
then go at it one on one with a friend. It’s fun, but that’s about all there is
to it.

 


Overall: 8.4
While it may not
have all of the hype of Doom 3 or Halo 2, MR4 is one of those family friendly
titles that remains extremely enjoyable and shows why it’s now on it’s fourth
installment. If you enjoyed previous titles, especially the first two,
definitely pick this one up. If you haven’t played MR before, this is a great
title to pick up that the whole family can enjoy, and it offers a ton of up
front and repeated play for your buck.