Posted by sedativestorm on 06/12/2008 8:09pm

Tags: Monster Rancher, MMO, Online, Monster Farm

Many who have played Monster Rancher remember the countless switching out of the CDs and DVDs in the console to find and unlock that rare monster. There's nothing like tasting the sweet satisfaction of finding an awesome looking monster with great stats. Maybe some of you remember watching the anime show during the Saturday morning cartoons. Well, Techmo has decided to release yet another installment of Monster Rancher in a MMO form. Monster Farm Online (Japanese) is currently in beta which started in 2007. There has been no talks in whether or not a US version is to be released. I tried to dig a little deeper to find out the mystery behind Monster Rancher Online...

I am not sure about what types of monsters that are available but I have researched and found that one site said that there are 9 monsters players could choose from. And depending on what CD or DVD you put in, the pet will come out with different stats and attributes. I am still skeptical as whether those 9 monsters are just those that you can choose from a marketplace, or if you can get more with CD and DVD generation. As for customizing your toon, you can choose between 4 different customizable characters. You can choose between being a man, a woman, a boy, or a girl. The customizable features are hairstyle, haircolor, eyecolor, skincolor, face, clothes, and voice.

Below is character creation.


The gameplay for Monster Rancher Online is similar to many MMOs. To target an enemy you press tab, the right click to attack. Instead of your toon going out in battle, your pet will run out and attack the enemy for you. The difference about this MMO as opposed to being a hunter on WoW is that depending on the distance of your pet and the enemy, the pet will have different attacks and abilities. Also, your pet is more of the attacker rather than a tank. For those who have played the previous Monster Ranchers know that the distance has a huge affect on what type of attacks are made. For example, closer attacks are often melee attacks while farther attacks are special or spell attacks. Depending on the distance of your pet and the enemy it also affects their hit chance and accuracy. To make it more challenging the enemy will move and change the distances between them and the pet. Players will be able to change the distance of their pet with the commands "go," "stop," and "come." Besides being able to equip your toon, you will also be able to equip your pet, boosting its stats.

Below is the official trailer for Monster Farm Online


The graphics have a cartoon-like appearance much like the Monster Rancher games on the consoles. For some it might be a dissapointment, but for those who don't have the best computer and graphics card then they wouldn't have to worry.



I believe that Monster Rancher Online is a unique different approach to MMO and that they should release an English version for all fans to enjoy.

If you can read Japanese and want more information click here
I don't know if the beta is closed or not, but if you want to try to register but have no idea how, click here.

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