monster-taming game
{{Short description|Video game genre}}
{{Role-playing video games}}
A monster-taming game (also known as a monster-catching game, and sometimes a Pokémon clone) is a subgenre of role-playing video games that most notably includes the Pokémon franchise. While Pokémon is the most recognizable example of such a game to Western audiences, the origins of the genre were in the Megami Tensei series, which involved fighting, negotiating with, and recruiting demons and other mythological beings.
Monster-taming games share core mechanics such as being able to capture creatures, train them, and use them in battle against similar creatures.{{Cite web |last=Werner |first=Jillian |date=2013-01-09 |title=5 Genres that have Reached Their Limit |url=https://www.gamezebo.com/news/5-genres-that-have-reached-their-limit/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Gamezebo |language=en-GB}} In many such games, these creatures are the only means of combat, although the darker-themed Megami Tensei series also allows the player to participate in combat, using weapons such as guns.
History
The origins of the genre lay in the Megami Tensei or MegaTen series, beginning with Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987). The games feature a system in which players can entice demons to join their party and battle alongside them. Due to the Satanic panic of the 1980s, the occult-themed series remained exclusive to Japan for many years and it was slow to enter Western markets.{{Cite web |last=Parish |first=Jeremy |date=2018-08-01 |title=The Shin Megami Tensei games beginner's guide |url=https://www.polygon.com/guides/2018/8/1/17509374/shin-megami-tensei-games-persona-explainer-guide |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}{{Cite magazine |last=Wallace |first=Kimberley |date=2012-10-21 |title=Games That Influenced Modern Genres |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/09/21/games-that-influenced-modern-genres.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923145239/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/09/21/games-that-influenced-modern-genres.aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=September 23, 2012 |access-date=2023-04-07 |magazine=Game Informer}} In Cosmic Soldier (1985), the player can recruit enemies into their party by speaking to them, choosing whether to kill or spare an enemy, and engage enemies in conversation, similar to the later Megami Tensei franchise.{{cite web|author=Yamaarashi|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/psychicwar/psychicwar.htm|title=Cosmic Soldier|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|accessdate=2011-03-31|archive-date=2010-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114134216/www.hardcoregaming101.net/psychicwar/psychicwar.htm|url-status=dead}} In Wizardry IV: The Return of Werdna (1987), monsters can be summoned and made to join the player's party. Dragon Quest V (1992), another title exclusive to Japan at the time, featured monster recruiting and training mechanics that inspired monster-collecting RPGs such as Pokémon, Digimon, and Dokapon.{{cite web |last=Kalata |first=Kurt |title=The History of Dragon Quest |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/the-history-of-dragon-quest |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026173617/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3520/the_history_of_dragon_quest.php%3Fprint%3D1 |archive-date=October 26, 2019 |access-date=2009-09-29 |website=Gamasutra}}{{cite web |date=2010-10-08 |title=Monster Collecting |url=http://www.gamesradar.com/f/gamings-most-important-evolutions/a-20101008102331322035/p-6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107072239/http://www.gamesradar.com/gamings-most-important-evolutions/ |archive-date=2013-11-07 |access-date=2011-03-01 |work=Gaming's most important evolutions |publisher=Gamesradar}} It spawned the Dragon Quest Monsters spin-off series in 1998.
Robotrek (1994) was another early title similar to Pokémon. It was a predecessor to the core gameplay of Pokémon in that the protagonist does not himself fight, but instead sends out robots, which are kept in capsules outside of battle.{{cite web |author=Keiser, Joe |date=July 8, 2005 |title=Unsung Innovators |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=336&Itemid=2 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051028224610/http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=336&Itemid=2 |archivedate=October 28, 2005 |accessdate=April 2, 2010 |work=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media}} There was a resemblance in functionality between these capsules and the Poké Balls used in Pokémon.{{cite web |author=admin |date=July 12, 2017 |title=Robotrek |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/robotrek/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806024426/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/robotrek/ |archive-date=August 6, 2019 |accessdate=February 22, 2020 |publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101}}{{cite web |author=Scribner, Matthew |title=Robotrek - Review |url=https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/other/snes/rtrek/reviews/rtrekstrev1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222162833/https://archive.rpgamer.com/games/other/snes/rtrek/reviews/rtrekstrev1.html |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |accessdate=February 22, 2020 |publisher=RPGamer}} Robotrek may have been the partial inspiration for Robopon, a 1998 RPG featuring customizable robots.{{cite web |author=Statt, Nick |date=April 18, 2019 |title=One of the Game Boy's weirdest games was a Pokémon clone with built-in infrared |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/18/18412495/nintendo-game-boy-anniversary-robopon-gb-kiss-hudson-software-pokemon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418145857/https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/18/18412495/nintendo-game-boy-anniversary-robopon-gb-kiss-hudson-software-pokemon |archive-date=April 18, 2019 |accessdate=February 17, 2020 |work=The Verge |publisher=Vox Media}}{{cite web |author=Jankiewicz, Joshua |date=June 2, 2018 |title=Robopon |url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/robopon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109034949/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/robopon/ |archive-date=November 9, 2019 |accessdate=February 22, 2020 |publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101}}
The Pokémon series, which debuted with Pokémon Red and Green in 1996, was largely responsible for popularizing the genre. Pokémon was many players' first experience with monster-taming games, and it remains the most successful franchise in the genre.
The contemporaneous Digimon series, which debuted in 1997, also featured similar monster-taming mechanics.{{Cite web |last=Wald |first=Heather |date=2022-11-11 |title=10 games like Pokemon for the discerning trainer |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/games-like-pokemon/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=GamesRadar+}} Another early entry in the monster-taming genre was the fantasy-themed Jade Cocoon (1998) by Genki, which saw a cult classic 2001 follow-up, Jade Cocoon 2.{{Cite web |last=IGN Staff |date=1999-07-31 |title=Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/07/31/jade-cocoon-story-of-the-tamamayu |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=IGN}}{{Cite web |last=Satterfield |first=Shane |date=2001-05-19 |title=E3 2001 Hands-on Jade Cocoon 2 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2001-hands-onjade-cocoon-2/1100-2762442/ |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US}}
While Pokémon and Digimon continued to release new games throughout the ensuing years, in 2011, Level-5 developed the monster-taming game Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, which was heavily inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli.{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Cian |date=2022-09-11 |title=The 7 best Pokémon-likes to play while you wait for Scarlet and Violet |url=https://www.polygon.com/what-to-play/23344466/best-games-similar-to-pokemon-nintendo-switch-pc |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}} They subsequently developed Yo-Kai Watch as a competitor to Pokémon, with its popularity exploding in 2014, and the franchise becoming a cultural phenomenon. However, its popularity declined significantly by 2018, attributed to a variety of factors.{{Cite web |last=Ashcraft |first=Brian |date=2019-02-13 |title=Pokémon's Former Rival Yokai Watch Is Having A Terrible Time In Japan |url=https://kotaku.com/pokemons-former-rival-yokai-watch-is-having-a-terrible-1832585148 |access-date=2023-04-07 |website=Kotaku}} In the United States, Studio Wildcard developed and released Ark: Survival Evolved (2015), an open-world monster-taming game themed around prehistoric life.
Many spin-offs from major series revolve around taming monsters, including World of Final Fantasy (2016) and Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon Every Buddy! (2019), based on the long-running Final Fantasy series of Japanese role-playing games, and Monster Hunter Stories (2016) and its sequel, based on Monster Hunter, a best-selling series of action role-playing games.
Nostalgia for the Pokémon series resulted in a wave of indie monster-taming games. Siralim Ultimate (2021) built on its longtime community for success, while Monster Crown (2021), despite Game Boy Color-inspired graphics, had an intentionally dark narrative.{{Cite news |last=Reyes |first=Jessica |date=2022-09-07 |title=Why has no Pokémon clone taken off like Stardew Valley? |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/why-has-no-pokemon-clone-taken-off-like-stardew-valley/ |access-date=2023-04-07}} One of the more popular examples, Temtem (2022), sold more than 500,000 copies in a single month on Steam. Coromon (2022) passed 100,000 sales on Windows and Mac, with more on other platforms. However, there has not been a mega-hit comparable to the influence of Stardew Valley (2016) in the farming sim genre, which developers blame on Pokémon
Palworld, a game centered around monster-catching, skyrocketed to the second most-played game on Steam after it was released for early access in January 2024.{{Cite web |last=Yin-Poole |first=Wesley |date=2024-01-23 |title=Palworld Overtakes Counter-Strike to Become the Second Most-Played Game Ever on Steam |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/palworld-overtakes-counter-strike-to-become-the-second-most-played-game-ever-on-steam |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=IGN}} The game was nicknamed "Pokémon with guns".{{Cite web | first=Zachary | last=Small | title=Mocked as 'Pokémon With Guns,' Palworld Becomes an Instant Hit | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/arts/palworld-pokemon-steam-release.html | website=The New York Times | date=22 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122233551/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/arts/palworld-pokemon-steam-release.html | archive-date=22 January 2024 | url-status=live}}{{Cite web | first=Keith | last=Stuart | title=Pokémon with guns: why Palworld could become 2024's biggest game | url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/jan/23/palworld-game-pokemon-guns-survival | website=The Guardian | date=23 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124162449/https://www.theguardian.com/games/2024/jan/23/palworld-game-pokemon-guns-survival | archive-date=24 January 2024 | url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine | first=Miles | last=Klee | title='Palworld' is a Smash Hit. Gamers Claim It's 'Pokémon With Guns' | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/palworld-pokemon-steam-game-accused-copying-1234951508/ | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=22 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122230312/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/palworld-pokemon-steam-game-accused-copying-1234951508/ | archive-date=22 January 2024 | url-status=live}} On September 19, 2024, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair for infringement of patent rights.{{cite news |last1=Stedman |first1=Alex |title=Nintendo and The Pokémon Company Officially Suing Palworld Developer Over 'Multiple' Patent Infringements |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-and-the-pokmon-company-officially-suing-palworld-developer-over-multiple-patent-infringements |work=IGN |date=19 September 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920210453/https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-and-the-pokmon-company-officially-suing-palworld-developer-over-multiple-patent-infringements | archive-date=20 September 2024 | url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Peters |first1=Jay |title=Nintendo and Pokémon are suing Palworld maker Pocketpair |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/18/24248602/nintendo-pokemon-palworld-pocketpair-patent-infringement-lawsuit |work=The Verge |date=19 September 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920154111/https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/18/24248602/nintendo-pokemon-palworld-pocketpair-patent-infringement-lawsuit | archive-date=20 September 2024 | url-status=live}}