What Pokemon-like games are worth playing?

I am in one of those wishey washey moods of "I dont want to play anything I have." and after three days of this I think I found what may full-fill me a pokemon-like game. I have played nearly all the Pokemon RPG ones and well I am burnt out, however Id like something different.

I have been searching around and trying to find good ones I have not already played. Mainly ones with different and interesting premises. Such them being customizable robots or merging to create new monster, Customization really.

Monster Rancher 1, I played alot of, have not played 2.

Zoids Legacy, I completed.

Dragon Quest Joker, I got to the end boss and couldn't proceed. Sort of completed, not really interested in Joker 2

Medabots RPG I started it up again and ran around for a bit and went..."Hang on...there was a reason why I put this down....a very strong reason...." I couldnt shake it so I just stopped before starting.

Jade Cocoon 1 and 2, completed both and 1 is better.

Played a few Digimon games never really enjoyed them.

Hell even something like Infinite space would probably sit well, pity I already completed that.

Its just been three days and still not found something on many different platforms to full fill me.

I am fine for most platforms just don't have a 3DS

There was a RPG with robots, Jeff was talking about the NEO GEO on a podcast, I was interested in exploring the logistics of a Neo Geo untill I found that while its one of the top Neo Geo games, its not a very good game outside of it.

Even a crazy one called Amazing Island on the Gamecube, has me interested. Except it's like Mario party meets Pokemon, so to win you play mini games like sprinting and skimming your monster across water. Its weird.

Any suggestions?

The earlier Dragon Warrior Monsters (read: anything before Caravan Heart) are worth checking out.

uh, you could play a shin megami tensei game I guess?

Ni No Kuni?

If you had a 3DS, I would recommend The Denpa Men. But the Persona games are basically Adult Pokemon, so I'd go with those.

@Animasta: Oh yeah, I was interested in checking out Devil Survivor. I got distracted a few weeks ago when I went "Ok Ill try and understand what Shin Megami Tensei is about...." I still dont know. I will have check up on that and other ones to see how I feel.

@Video_Game_King: Judging from Jeff's reveiw of 12 years ago. This could be a good choice. Infact as a kid I drooled over DQ Monsters, the EU version of Dragon Warrior. So yeah Ill have to check it.

@Turtlebird95: While it is an idea, Its way out of my budget

@Akyho: eh, the only thing that really ties together SMT games are the demons. references to the other games, ofc, but nothing major and devil survivor is a pretty decent place to start.

I came into this thread expecting you to ask about which Pokemon spin-off games were worth getting. Huh.

Either way I'm jelaous, I only played the demo of Jade Cocoon a million times. I wish they'd release it on PSN...

Umm. PERSONA

@JackSukeru: I too played that demo a million times. Took me years into the ps2 days before I got my copy. The I would end up just capturing as much as I could and merging it all into the weirdest and coolest monsters I could. It is worth looking for it, the none backwards compatible ps3s still run ps1 discs. Double check that before making any purchases just in case.

If you dont have a ps3 yeah mobile Jade cocoon on psp or vita would be great.

Seems the Japanese PSN has it and not any other region. That is a bummer.

I was going to say Jade Cocoon but you already beat me to it. It looks like you've got the whole monster breeding genre pretty much covered.

Ni No Kuni

That original Dragon Warrior Monsters was one of my favorites.

Also the original Digimon World for the PS1 is the best game ever made. So you should try that. It's tamagotchi mixed with pokemon mixed with a light city building game. The combat might initially turn you off since you have very little control over it but eventually it opens up. That game has one of the most powerful gameplay loops in gaming ever.

First you stay in town training your Digimon which leads to better stats and evolutions, then you go battling which doesn't give much "exp" but gets you money and new attacks, and then you recruit Digimon for your city which provides new services, items, and improves your ability to care and train your Digimon. All the while your Digimon has a fairly short life span and will die and be reborn anew. But if you spent your last life right it will be easier to raise, stronger, and get a better evolution. It is very Persona-esqe in it's time management but without any hard limit.

Persona 3 is like $10 on the US PSN. Cheap and instant monster hunting and fusing.

@Akyho: My PS3 is one of the old, backwards compatible, ones but..ahhh I dunno if I'm motivated enough to start looking for a copy online, especially a PAL copy. At the same time I've known that JC was only on the Japanese PSN for a good few years, and it's been a bummer because it makes it seem all the less likely that it will appear in other regions.

(Even though I typed the thing in bold I actually checked Ebay and there seem to be a number of German copies. Maybe I'll try that eventually.)

@JackSukeru: Oh crap, that demo was so good. I never even played the full game.

Persona 3 or 4 are pretty safe bets if you want an enjoyable experience. If you want a harder game, SMT: Nocturne is a pretty good one to dive into.

I remember really liking Monster Rancher 2, though I dunno how much of an improvement it is from the original since I never played that one. I remember not liking the 3rd game though on the PS2, and I haven't gone back to the series after that. I hear the fourth entry is decent though.

Have you played any of the Robopon games? I played the first one a really long time ago and I think it was alright. It's a pretty straightforward pokemon clone.

@C2C said:

Persona 3 or 4 are pretty safe bets if you want an enjoyable experience. If you want a harder game, SMT: Nocturne is a pretty good one to dive into.

@MikkaQ said:

Have you played any of the Robopon games? I played the first one a really long time ago and I think it was alright. It's a pretty straightforward pokemon clone.

I was just about to suggest this. Rented Sun Version on the GBC ages ago, and I remember really liking what I played. The physical version was awesome because it had a specialized IR receiver that let you get some really cool things if you used different remotes with it. I remember hunting down every TV remote in the house in order to use that feature.

And, just like everyone else in this thread: play Dragon Warrior Monsters.

And this may be getting a bit out of the Pokemon range, as it's real time combat, but I did enjoy the Custom Robo came that came out on DS

@Ryuku_Ryosake: Digimon world has been the best Digimon game I have played. I kept getting the turd monsters for so many restarts. Untill I finaly got one that was an ok digimon. Found out it was about feeding them and such. I got stuck at some point of the game.

@MikkaQ: Robopon eh? that certainly seems intresting I will have to give it ago. Thanks.

@Driadon: Custom Robo is off the pokemon line it actualy is inline with what I am intrested. I for some reason drooled over the gamecube version. Then played the adequate gba version and when my sis baught a ds i spent 100 pounds on a bunch of ds games. Custom Robo being one. Played alot of it and enjoyed it.

I realy should follow Persona games more. I watched some of the ER of 4. Except with a game like tha watching and playing are very diffrent.

It's already been said, but I'll emphasize The persona games and Ni No Kuni.

Dragon Warrior Monsters yes.

Persona 4 Golden is the best Pokemon ass Pokemon game I've played in a while.

World of Warcraft now has Pokecraft.

Gotcha Force for the Gamecube. In the same vein as Custom Robo, it's not an RPG but collecting and then fighting with all of the various borgs is a huge draw of the game.

it seems most of the guys here like mainstream stuff.

i recommend Azure Dreams, which came out for GB Color and PSX. the playstation version is much better, it's like harvest moon, pokemon mystery dungeon and digimon in one. you can help the mayor build up the city, make girls happy, battle in the tower or just collect some monsters.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 is ridiculously dull. You're right to not be interested