Games with interesting monster design?

I was watching a speed run of Parasite Eve - which I've never played, and thought some of the enemies looked pretty weird/interesting. It made me think, "I wonder what other games have interesting monster design?"

Now, I realize "interesting" is a subjective term, but in general what are some games that you guys think exemplifies cool monster design? Or just list some monsters/games you think are cool design-wise. It doesn't have to be bosses either. Run-of-the-mill enemies count too.

The first game that comes to mind for me is Bayonetta. Most of the enemies in that game are angels (yeah...) and feature some sort of design related to classical religious imagery, such as cherubs. I also really like the designs of most of the Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus, with the exception of most of the humanoid ones.

Castlevania games always have some unique monsters. I'd also rate some of the old Master System games as having cool monsters like Aztec Adventure, Teddy Boy, Fantasy Zone.

@dudeglove: Yeah, I got to Gaping Dragon and thought, "Oh, an Alliga...tor?" Centipede Demon has a weird twist, the dudes in Blighttown all wield corpses as weapons, Sen's Snake people, etc. All good.

Silent Hill 2 and 3? Many, if not all of the monsters in those games have some kind of design that reflects the personal demons/trials of the protagonists.

I thought that most of the enemies in Bloodborne were superbly-designed. A lot of the bosses and enemies look unique, but not overly weird and outlandish for the sake of standing out; instead, there's consistency (well, for the most part) in their designs, even between humanoid enemies and beasts.

The Shin megami tensei-series. I don't wanna rant again but... Kazuma Kaneko, man... Love him.

I always thought Square knocked it out of the park in the 90s. From FF to Parasite Eve their monster design is really classic without being boring.

Is no one going to mention Pokemon?

As long as it's only the original 151, and you conveniently forget to mention Jynx.

Oh, come on man, don't be a genwunner. The later games had some pretty awesome Pokemon (Tyranitar, Aggron, Lucario, Haxorus, Pangoro), and besides, the first generation had it's fair share of lazy, uninspired, and just plain shitty Pokemon without even mentioning Jynx, like Dugtrio, Pidgey, Zubat, Tentacool, Magneton, etc. Honestly, I feel that Red/Blue are the worst games from a technical and gameplay perspective, but it did have some of the best designed Pokemon right from the start

You're not going to come up with 151 original ideas. At best you look outside and go, "Hey. There's a pigeon. Can one of these be a pigeon?" And then the fact that the 151 are featuring evolutions of other pokemon so the number is closer to 50. To go back to Dark Souls: Mushroom Dads.

@dudeglove: you have a link for that blog? I actually watched Kamiya's play-through on iTunes, through the Platinum podcast - which was excellent.

Persona games, love the design and how each persona has an influence in culture/religion/mythology/etc

I think Monster Hunter unsurprisingly has some really distinct and interesting monster designs. Like the Khezu. It's some sort of weird, horrifying cross between a dragon and a sea lamprey that is also electrified.

@militantfreudian: I've liked most of the enemies, but those white ghoul scholar blobs in the lecture hall made me audibly laugh at how dumb they were. I was in a chat with a friend too and when I explained my outburst he responded with they all can't be winners.

@phantommartyr: koffing!!!

I would have to probably say the Witcher series is the best that comes to mind, for me. Especially 2. The monsters look fucking awesome in it. The design in general of all the characters, clothing, etc is all great looking and very distinct. Looks lived in and worn and often elaborate (in a good way). A lot of it is typical western fantasy too, but they manage to make it unique which gets bonus points for me, when you see so much generic high fantasy.

I would also suggest Shadow of the Colossus, if we count that. Very distinct, beautiful, and haunting.

Yeah this is a good answer. Persona just has good design in general. They dodge a lot of weak anime design that turns me off. All of it is great, from characters to the monsters. It seems like it should be lame fighting like a table but they pull it off. Like you say, a variety of inspirations really works too.

Bayonetta does a good clash with its holy and grotesque angels. The sequel was more of the same with some alright looking demons. Monster Hunter does great with its ecological angle, where creatures match their environment well. Though their individual designs aren't as great as say, the way they act and react to you. Soul Sacrifice is fantastic with its crazy fucked up version of traditional fantasy monsters. Lost Planet doesn't get enough credit for its Akrid, the bug monsters. They all had really fun and gamey designs, with their obvious weak points.

You should see Parasite Eve II for even more interesting monster designs. Many of them are rather disturbing.

Some of the Silent Hill games, for me, are the pinnacle of creative creature design. They're not all great, but some are inspired genius. For all the shit that Homecoming gets, I think that game has the best creature design in the series. SH3 also had some great ones. The giant lizard boss with the vertical maw from SH1, the twin baby thing from 4, and of course Pyramid Head are all great, as well.

As mentioned, the Souls games' monsters are generally pretty astonishing. Gaping Dragon is one of the most unsettling things I've ever seen in a game. I was scared going up to that fight, but then once I realized that he's really not difficult at all, it took a lot of the fear out it.

Monster Hunter is my go to for monster design. They all fit into their environment. Then the armor looks like the monsters. Pretty cool shit

Souls games and Castlevania have a lot of standout monster designs. From what I've seen of Monster Hunter, there are some great monster designs.

The Persona games have some, uh, great designs.

@sonny6killer: I actually like Koffing. He's just a little toxic purple planetoid created by humanity's pollution, and I think that's a neat concept.

@shindig: Of course not. None of the generations have only good Pokemon and no bad Pokemon. My point was that there have always been bad Pokemon, they're nothing new to the series.

Wow I read this as "mother design". Might need to take my eyes off the screen for a bit.

hey for once a thread where dark souls deserves a mention.

@phantommartyr: That's what I was trying to say, with fewer words.

@sonny6killer: My bad, bro. Sorry.

Monster Hunter?

Morrowind's monster designs are pretty outstanding. It really made the world seem alien.

Zeno Clash games are so fucking weird that the world and it's creatures feel truly unique. It's also a nice touch that you get to see all these characters up close while you beat them on their nose.

Darks Souls has a really good monster design, and also Monster Hunter as well.

Parasite Eve and the From games immediately come to mind, but I'd also give a shout to Prince of Persia '08 and El Shaddai. And we could all use some more Asura's Wrath in our lives.

Not sure if we're counting enemies based on humans, but The Suffering games immediately came to mind. It looks super dated now, but at the time it had me intrigued...and creeped out.

@csl316: oh man, I forgot about El Shaddai. Nice mention.

@hatking: That thing has to have a Wiki page here so you're probably good.

I like how its hand is out like it's asking for directions.

Hello Poison! Monster Hunter will have to be the one to be frank! You just cannot miss it if you are into the latest creatures lurking onto our next-gen devices lately. I have really enjoyed playing it on iPad and I still cannot have enough of it. The monsters have been beautifully designed and yeah, is great to blast them off!

Shadow of the Colossus had some great designs.

The original Silent Hill games (1-4) have some of the best monster designs that I've seen.