Beneath the Surface: The Massive World of the Monster Taming Genre

How big is the monster taming genre really? Let's talk about it.
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#monstertaming #pokemon #gaming #digimon #temtem #rpg #indiegames

[@BeliasLP]

you're doing alot for this Genre AND for me personally! I dived into Nexomon and Coromon just because of your Content, so keep up your great work! you're my first stop when it comes to Monster Taming News.

[@Tronerfull]

I really miss the ds era when every big company was trying to make its own monster tamer. I specifically miss spectrobes

[@thejack5952]

Spectrobes and Fossil Fighters for me. :(

[@FTChomp9980]

I still hope Fossil Fighters make a comeback the DS era was the best era for Monster Taming.

[@Tronerfull]

@@thejack5952 Never cared much for fossil fighters, now.. dinosaur king? I loved that game

[@alexcoffey8804]

Monster Tale my beloved...

[@alistermanase2581]

It could have been a series... They even had a second but stopped after it since the BBEG was dead.

[@suicune2001]

The second you factor in Pokemon, it becomes immediately obvious monster taming is a huge genre. Even if you don't add in the other ones people might not consider, like SMT. I think Pokemon just nailed it when they launched. An awesome theme song and anime to go with their game. If they had just launched with the game and not the anime, I don't know if it would have gotten nearly as popular even though I still really enjoy those first designs. They also had mass appeal and was pretty uncontested. I'm trying to think why Pokemon won over Digimon as its only real rival. Pikachu is, of course, iconic. The simplicity of it only being able to say its name and the way it says it is simply perfect. There is also a lot of mystery surrounding Pokemon. You can't really have a full conversation with Pokemon. They obviously understand you but they can't really respond back. This kind of places them in the category of a pet dog, which adds a bit of mystery. Clefariy and the theory Pokemon actually came from outer space, the Cubone graveyard, ghost Pokemon, and Pokemon themselves were very much a mystery to be solved. That, and the "gotta catch'em all" appeals to the 100% completionists. And their mix of cute and cool designs could easily appeal to both boys and girls and within the game, all Pokemon were viable to use. Even though, yes, there are obviously elites you can still beat the game with pretty much anyone. Because Pokemon are living creatures you also had heartfelt episodes around their natural behavior, like the Butterfree episode. Them being living breathing wild creatures that everyone knows exist created a whole different dynamic for the world and culture and behavior of the monsters. Again, adding to that mystery and wonder. I think what Digimon mostly lacked was the mystery and wonder. The digimon talk, no one knows they exist, and since they are digital they don't really have natural behavior and feel more disposable.

[@andyfox4484]

I will disagree with the last part, Pokemon success over Digimon is just a matter of it being more marketable to the west and thats it, Digimon had always been more resilient with their content and refused to follow tendencies or try to appease particular groups but instead kept always sticking to their own niche, what ended up creating a very loyal fanbase but unfortunately also small, its has nothing to do with their designs being less likable, honestly thats subjective but i think Digimons are way more likeable as characters them Pokemons because they are actual characters while Pokemon are just npcs.

[@suicune2001]

@@andyfox4484 But WHY was it more marketable to the west? This is also subjective but I don't remember Digimon making many enjoyable games. I've tried a couple back in the day and they just weren't good. The Pokemon games were a lot more fun to play. Cyber Sleuth for me is the kind of monster taming game that works well with Digimon. While I understand where you're coming from on "Pokemon are NPC's", Pokemon do have personality and agency to varying degrees. Mostly, whenever it suits the plot. Pokemon are NPC's when the trainer wants to trade them like cards. But then you have Ash's Pokemon who all have lots of personality and agency. I understand why trading exists but it really puts a damper on the whole, "Pokemon are your best friends" thing.

[@JDReC100]

​@@suicune2001 My thoughts: 1. Pokémon was/is more child friendly 2. Pokémon got its international marketing down 3. Pokémon is way more formulaic in story/mechanics That's how I see it. Pokémon is focused moreso on family friendliness and rarely deviated from its formulas. In my eyes, Digimon is experimentation incarnate and is more than willing to change entire game and story formulas. It's also way more attuned to older audiences and has no issue with disturbing and risqué elements.

[@suicune2001]

@@JDReC100 All very true. But I don't remember Digimon being disturbing or risque.

[@JDReC100]

@@suicune2001 oh you sweet summer child

[@MagikarpFisherMilkwort]

I'd also throw old web browser games like Neopets and its imitators into the mix of being within the realm of monster tamer games albeit their own unique flavor.

[@suicune2001]

Is monster raising and monster taming considered within the same genre?

[@riotkitty]

@@suicune2001 I think so, since taming does fall under raising creatures, even if there’s no actual battling. I guess I’m that regard Webkinz can also be considered Monster Taming

[@suicune2001]

@@riotkitty True. In most monster tamers, you raise the monster in some way. Monster raising like Neopets would just be a non-violent way of raising a monster. Even in Neopets, there was a chance you could adopt a rare pet from the adoption center so that can kind of fulfill that monster catching aspect.

[@archeduardo]

I understand you point, but the games where I directly control the monsters for combat (digimon, pokemon, nexomon, cassette beasts, and so on) is my favorite genre

[@peachymiku6432]

For me personally, I go to whatever looks interesting to me! And not counting Digimon, Moco Moco Friends is where I branched out. All of the monsters are adorable plushies! But as the intro points out are still plenty dangerous! It never hurts to open your mind and try something new. The worst that can happen? You don't like it, and that can be true with any genre! And what I like about you is how you show your love of monster taming by covering all sorts of titles!

[@AquaSeahorse]

The only reason I love monster taming games is because I love pokemon so much.. I will admit I didn't even get to play Pokemon till I was 10 years old.. So my first official monster tamer was actually Monster Rancher 3 on the PS2! I would say actually that my love for pokemon is what makes me seek out to play new monster tamers! I always get sad when I finish a game and go to seek out the next best thing that ends up being the best thing.. Pokemon may not be the default but it is the default for me.. but I am just more willing to experience new things.

[@satibel]

Ark survival is a monster taming game and pretty popular. But imo the thing is that the mechanic of monster taming is popular, but the fan community is small.

[@FTChomp9980]

The genre is just gonna keep growing considering Triple A Monster Taming and Indie Monster Taming Games are blowing up again even the classic ones are getting love.

[@jeological5394]

Out of the more recent monster taming games i've played so far, gotta say cassette beasts has been the single game that has kept my attention for more than 5 hrs of playtime.

[@cantdestroyher7245]

Cassette beasts is awesome. Definitely scratched my monster taming itch

[@Schlumpsha]

One aspect of the genre seldom talked about is its TTRPG presence. Battlezoo Eldamon for instance is what you would get by fusing D&D/Pathfinder with monster taming. Very fascinating to see the scope of the genre grow beyond video games.

[@Jennifer-lt6wg]

Yup, played Pokemon, Digimon, Nexomon, Coromon, Monster Hunter Stories, Rune Factory, Dragon Quest Monsters, Persona, Fossil Fighters, Monster Rancher, a hunter in WoW, Monster Crown, and likely more that I'm not remembering the names of. I'm planning to play Cassete Beasts. I definitely enjoy collecting and training cool critters.

[@TheOFCMedia]

That's an awesome collection

[@riotkitty]

Like any genre there’s always games at the top. So ya really can’t help it that there’s a bit of a default, or rather, a face of something. And yeah, some people are just Shin Megami Tensei fans or Persona fans (I really can’t see em as monster taming myself) or Pokémon fans. Just because they’re fans of those series doesn’t mean they necessarily like the overall genre. There’s always exceptions to everything, including liking or disliking something. I generally don’t like shooters, especially first person, but I still play Fortnite and Gal Gun.

[@snackvet4659]

I think you re right the monster tamer genre its something thats its growing thanxs to you i relaly discover a lot of games that can be considering monster tamer and let me say casette mosnter its really great , thank you for your hard work , saludos desde el salvador

[@matthewreimer2872]

It is an interesting discussion. Its weird because, for me, Pokemon is why I love monster taming games. I tried Digimon and just didnt like it at all. The only other monster tamer I can think of that I played growing up was actually a Castlevania game that I forget the name of. I still love Pokemon, but it is annoying too to see how Pokemon holds the genre back. We're all still waiting for that monster tamer game that will really blow our socks off in every regard that takes the formula and turns it on its head and distills all the best parts of the genre. I love Pokemon, Coromon, Nexomon, Cassette Beasts, Monster Sanctuary, Temtem, etc, but it feels like each game excels in some areas while lacking in or straight up sacrificing others such as Nexomon being the best story experience but pretty miserable battling experience. I'm not saying we need a perfect game just something that will come and really shake things up for the whole genre in a meaningful way. But that is difficult to do with Pokemon being the behemoth that it is and not prone to changing for the better. Even most Pokemon fans dream of a game that comes and either completely dethrones Pokemon or a Pokemon game that finally gets it all right. When we have something we love, we want to see it grow and flourish but Pokemon has not only stagnated itself but stagnated the entire genre due to its immense popularity and refusal to make impactful changes (other than taking away features that people actually liked). So yeah. I love Pokemon and probably always will but I wish they cared more about the games and didn't have such a stranglehold on the community and the genre.

[@CrocvsGator]

Technically Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy can count for some entries as well.

[@EduSolsa]

I don't think it is small or niche, just that Pokemon is such behemoth that it over shadow everything else. Like, there are many gneres that were "clones" before, like Doom, Zelda, Mother, Rouge, etc. But those evolved to genres, even if they have big roots on their predecessors. Pokemons is a RPG variation and as you mentioned others games did monster collecting before it, but none of them (not others games that creat genres) had an impact as big as Pokemon. We are eating good with options nowadays, but it will take much longer to escape the connection with Pokemon.

[@liarman7069]

I think casual players not really into the genre much but rather fans of the brand. You can see pokemon fans worldwide really big, but if u ask them about other game other than pokemon they might be dont know much especially the one doesnt have similar gameplay. Same like digimon, SMT or rancher. I myself play digimon a lot, play it over and over but i dont play pokemon since red version. I think thats why a lot of game have gameplay similar to pokemon, its easier to lure people in with massive fanbase like pokemon. One thing that makes it massive is the casual players of the big name. But the one who expanding it, are they who fall in love with the genre.

[@nazeersadek6705]

The way i see it if it’s something that interest me then I’ll play it regardless if it’s a fully fledged monster taming game or if it’s a monster taming light title

[@vocalist92]

That Fakemon game point really hits hard for me after finding out about Nexomon and ultimately the larger monster taming genre. I remember when Pokémon Uranium got C&D'd but they could have easily just slapped a new name on the game and they probably would have gotten away with it

[@ratboialex7628]

I love pokemon, but ive played it so much ive been diving into other monster taming games, especially since im an adult now. I always knew I loved the genre because I love collecting things and this genre helps me not be as much of a hoarder, been watching all your videos really love them a lot! ❤️

[@RyanNerdyGamer]

I remember back in 2001, I was so into both the _Pokémon_ and _Zelda_ series that ideas for a monster-tamer/dungeon delver/RPG lite game started to pop into my mind all the time, with pages upon pages of notes, diagrams, and colourful images gradually building up over the course of the year. Sadly, the project formerly known as _Enigmon_ fell through when an external party seized the rights, assets, and brand name (said external party being my brother), but it paved the way to newer, arguably better ideas, and honed my creative style into a consistent, well-defined formula that affects my works to this day.

[@TamerLyriQ]

I hate the idea of Pokémon being the default. You have a game that is (in my opinion) going to be objectively better, and people are turned off by it because they don’t like the idea of “cruel Pokemon” (which is hilarious because those people REALLY don’t want to read the manga them 😂).

[@kleefirestar]

Or seeing every other game as a "pokemon ripoff" by default

[@growasowa3444]

@@kleefirestar Even when, especially when, calling said franchise a "pokemon clone" makes absolutely zero sense.

[@KTJMProductions]

The Manga doesn't have the appeal of the Videogames and Anime, first of. So your point is already kind of faltering. Second, the Manga does not focus on the main character being cruel, the cruelty is an obstacle the world throws at the protagonist. There's a huge difference that's pretty easy to see for anyone older than 13.

[@TamerLyriQ]

@@KTJMProductions okay first of all, the “manga not having the appeal of the anime or video games” is SUBJECTIVE. Something anyone over the age of 13 can understand… you condescending prick. Relax. Furthermore, if you had READ the manga you would know that the very idea of Pokémon battles in the Pokémon mangas universe are BY NATURE cruel. It doesn’t matter if the cruelty isn’t a “major plot point”… IT HAPPENS, in IMMENSE fashion. In the very first few chapters you literally see blue have his charmeleon use slash in a standard battle and it ends with the readers learning what the inside of an Arbok looks like. By the end of the first box set you’ve seen Pokémon and humans get murdered or brought close to death so many times you forget that this manga was based on a “kids game” with EASE… in short? What are you talking about? You came over here to be insulting only to be loud and wrong?

[@TamerLyriQ]

@@kleefirestar exactly. Like Ed always says, Pokemon doesn’t “own” the creature capture monopoly. Even if games “pay homage” or “take inspiration” from the more popular franchise it’s so annoyingly reductive to call something a “knock off”, especially when the very concept and story of the game is COMPLETELY different. But then, to make matters even worse, those SAME people would be crying if the similarities weren’t there because “not Pokemon enough”. Can’t satisfy “those” Pokémon fans man.

[@seankelly6620]

yeah the monster taming games are like RPGs. You got your JRPGs, Turn based, Action RPGs etc. Pokemon is just the gaint face of Monster Taming. even First Person Shooters, you got your Sniper Elites, CoD, Battlefield, Halo, Apex and a host of other games all different or with their own twist but they lack the overwelming pressence of Pokemon blinding them to the others and I hope that more games come up and show that there is more to the genre.

[@RsSooke]

It took me a bit of time to realize I just liked the monster taming genre. My favourite games as a young child were Pokémon, Jade Cocoon and Dragon warrior monsters. I was enthralled with monster rancher as well.

[@Farmers-Almanac]

tried out Siralim Ultimate recently and my god... I think I've found my favorite monster tamer game. just wish it had co-op, pvp and/or trading

[@adrienneelfrink2744]

At this point my switch is probably at least 80 percent monster games which i am happy with.

[@suicune2001]

Something I thought of is games like Ark, Atlas, and Conan have monster taming elements. I'm playing Ark and I refer to the cryoballs as Pokeballs. One of my friends seems pretty dedicated to "filling out the pokedex" by catching one of each dinosaur. lol

[@codyjacobs6899]

Sonic adventure 2 is a monster taming game. And a DAMN GOOD ONE.

[@ahabadrift2841]

I was having the itch to play Pokemon the other day, but I was pretty disappointed by Sword/Shield and Scarlet/Violet. I searched for an alternative to Pokemon due to the last couple of titles being pretty lackluster and I ended up stumbling on your channel. I saw some of your videos on Cassette Beasts and was intrigued. I started playing it two days ago and now I'm completely hooked on it. Thanks for the content, dude.

[@ShadowChaosKrystal]

Recently I realized, via and Pokémon and Persona, that I'm a big Monster Tamer fan. I'm looking to learn more about the genre and branch out some. I won't lie though, I will continue to default to Pokémon as nastolgia is a powerful force, I'm also weirdly close to "catching them all" so I really want to finish that before branching out too much.

[@TheOFCMedia]

Welcome to the community

[@nazeersadek6705]

Also I have to thank for opening my eyes to the great titles that exist in the genre when i really needed an alternative to Pokémon

[@RDK325]

Pokemon games are not famous bcuz it's a monster taming game but rather bcuz it is Pokemon.

[@kleefirestar]

The cod of the genre

[@frankbingham53]

Love this video gym leader Ed.

[@KTJMProductions]

If pokemon has the largest community base then it is, by definition, the default. That's kind of what default means. The usual option. I'm not arguing that pokemon is all that should exist, but to say it isn't the default is completely missing the point. Pokemon IS the default, and that needs to be shifted.

[@GymLeaderEd]

i disagree, the "default" is taming monsters. Not anything specific to any particular game. maybe we're looking at the idea of default differently.

[@KTJMProductions]

@@GymLeaderEd I'm not sure your definition of default is correct.

[@loiedonn4192]

@@KTJMProductions gotta agree with you pokemon is the default. You can ask anyone even not a gamer and the first thing that will pop in their mind when talking about monster taming is pokemon. I doubt monster taming is a term used before. Its like when you think of JRPG games the first thing you think is final fantasy Or if you think of fighting games the default is street fighter Or survival horror the default is resident evil. Yes they are not the first but they popularise the medium world wide so they are the default. Thats how it is. I just notice the monster taming community hates pokemon cause its over shadowing most of their games to a wider audience.

[@riotkitty]

I have to agree there as well with Pokémon being the default. It’s simply because it’s the most popular in its genre. If a game or game series got more popular than Pokémon, than that would be the new default or face of the genre. Can’t help it really, all anyone can do is show that there other games aside from the default.

[@RescueSquadCulp]

Afternoon

[@R4id3nz]

I kind of disagree that Pokemon is not the "default" Monster Taming game. With Pokemon being the biggest Franchise in the World it kind of is the default Mosnter Taming game. True it may not have been the first, but it made the genre big and a success and grew to being the default. With that being said I enjoy a lot of other Monster Taming Games just as muc has I like Pokemon, which was my introduction into this great Genre, with Dragon Quest Monsters being the second title and I must saay today one of the best i nrivaling Pokemon. Then a lot of Pokemon-fangames followed for me and the Persona games starting form Persona 3 FES and there was this one great Digimon RPG that had 2 versions like Pokemon, I think on the DS? I really enjoyed that one (also the Digimon Anime is mostly a lot better than the Pokemon Anime). Anyway now with Coromon and Casette Beasts (and a bit early Disc Creatures) we really get a lot of great new Mosnter Taming RPGs and I really enjoy it^^

[@enhancednero5896]

Has anyone played a monster taming game where you capture/collect humans? Maybe they are each a different class of human, palladin/mage/cleric etc. There was a conversation about this and I was wondering if there exist such a game? Monster Taming, but instead its Human taming.

[@andyfox4484]

Do you mean gacha games? Yeah you gonna find a lot of those in your phone store. That is basically what those games are.

[@enhancednero5896]

@@andyfox4484 Now that I think about it most gacha games are like monster taming games but with humans instead of monsters. lol. I guess there's nothing on the top of your head that isn't a gacha but more in line with Pokemon?

[@riotkitty]

Xenoblade 2 😋

[@Jesus_Student]

I see on your avatars pack 5 capture devices. What is the right arm of your avatar from?

[@nazeersadek6705]

Lumintale: memories of Trey

[@Rabbinky]

For me monster taming spans mulitple genres Think of ben 10 and skylanders they fit the bill and are really huge ones not even a game franchise Heck Ive seen loads of monster taming manga

[@GojkoGojkovich77]

What is the game at 3:42?

[@Funny24686]

I miss Miscrits

[@terrysyvertson9205]

another monster taming series is monster rancher

[@ChillAssTurtle]

The genre is great Its just that the games are pretty much all half baked garbage

[@kleefirestar]

So like pokemon then

[@KTJMProductions]

So the genre is half-baked garbage? I don't think you worded this well.