Monster Rancher coming to the Game Boy Advance

[01.11.01] » Tecmo's monster breeding franchise hops to Nintendo's new handheld.

    Everyone knew monster breeding and battling would eventually find its way to the Game Boy Advance, but it looks like Tecmo may beat Nintendo to the punch. The company has just announced that a brand new Monster Rancher game (Monster Farm in Japan), tentatively titled Monster Rancher Mania, is currently in development for the new handheld.

   Unfortunately, the new game won't be a direct sequel to the excellent PlayStation breeding sims -- that game is on its way to the PlayStation 2. Thankfully, it also won't be another remake of Solomon's Key. Tecmo is touting the new game as a strategy title. Details are all but nonexistent at this point, but the company claims that the game will stick closer to the gameplay of the PlayStation games, while adding in a brand new battle system. Expect to see the familiar Monster Rancher creatures return, hopefully accompanied by the charm and deep gameplay that made the breeding sim one of the few to step out of the shadow of Pokémon.

   The game is currently early in development and pending final concept approval from Nintendo. However, Tecmo has stated it should be ready in time for the US launch of the Game Boy Advance.