The cards could depict each type of monster, or instead, show mysterious disc stone images, so you wouldn’t know which monster any given card contained until you scanned it. That’s why Monster Rancher taking inspiration from Animal Crossing’s Amiibo would be perfect for a new game in the series. Animal Crossing features a select few Amiibo figures but, with so many villagers, mainly uses cards. Realistically, the game would be better suited to a collection of Amiibo cards rather than figures - there are simply far too many monsters. I’m not talking about Amiibo figures - though I would definitely buy those if they existed. My hope is that the series will celebrate this milestone with a brand new game for the Nintendo Switch, but if I’m really pushing the boat out, I want Amiibo compatibility too. It’s only fitting that we get reacquainted with the games in time for 2022, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Monster Rancher series. RELATED: It's A Shame Monster Rancher Never Had Its Pokemon Moment That’s why Koei Tecmo introduced a digital CD catalogue allowing you to summon new monsters by selecting CDs from an online database. This experience is so universal that our own Andrea Shearon, TheGamer’s other Monster Rancher stan, had the exact same thought and made the exact same joke. Of course, there’s no room to ram mum’s Celine Dion album into your Nintendo Switch - at least, not without shattering it, but that’s probably the best thing for a Celine Dion CD anyway. Naturally, I was ecstatic to hear the recent news that the first two Monster Rancher games are being ported to Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android later this year. But the real hook was that the game allowed you to pop your PS1 disc drive open, put in a CD, and summon new monsters via the in-game Shrine.

You raised, trained, and battled with your monsters, all with the aim of increasing your rank to become a certified IMa trainer. When Monster Rancher launched in 2000, I was obsessed with it. It wasn’t because I loved music that I stole these discs though - I was using the CDs to create new monsters. It pained my mum to no end to drive halfway to the supermarket before realising that her precious Celine Dion album was once again missing. Finding every CD in our house and my parents’ cars and squirreling them away into my room was an average Saturday activity for me as a kid.

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