Ultra Kaiju: Monster Rancher gets Release Date

Monster Rancher is one of the many video game series that was created in the hope of capitalizing on the success of Pokémon. Despite a loyal fanbase, Monster Rancher never achieved the same level of success, and the latest game in the franchise was released over 10 years ago.

I never had the pleasure of playing the original games myself and only heard about the series through the internet. However, as a fan of both the monster-catching RPG subgenre and Kaiju, I was quite intrigued when Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher was announced during a recent Nintendo Direct.

The newest game in the Monster Rancher franchise is a joint collaboration with the Ultraman franchise. I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about Ultraman as most of my Kaiju knowledge is focused around Godzilla and Pacific Rim. Nonetheless, I’m sure it’s quite easy to understand for a newcomer, and I absolutely love the idea of training up a team of my own personal Kaiju monstrosities.

Just like the original games, Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher will allow players to take the role of a breeder and train up their monstrous friends in a variety of charming challenges and tournament battles. The game is set to include over 200 Kaiju from the Ultraman franchise. Players can also combine Kaiju into their very own hybrid creations. I was a huge fan of this feature in Dragon Ball: Fusions, another game published by Namco for the 3DS using an established IP. I’m sure here it will provide just as much depth and complexity to help spice up gameplay and revitalize the series.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher will be released this month in both North and South America on October 20th for Nintendo Switch. The game is currently a digital-only title, and there is no word yet as to whether the game will be available for other consoles. I’m always happy to see old, forgotten franchises make a resurgence, and hope this game can deliver something satisfactory for longtime fans.