Monster Rancher Rebirth

Monster Rancher Rebirth is a Monster Rancher game for the Wii U and a reboot to the Monster Rancher series. It's a typical Monster Rancher game; you raise monsters and have them fight in tournaments in order to get yourself and your monsters to the top of the rankings. On top of that, there's a storyline present throughout the game and you get further through this story as you continue rising through the ranks.

Generating Monsters
There are three ways to get monsters in this game. The first is the classic CD/DVD method from previous Monster Rancher games, in which you can get monsters by using whatever CDs and DVDs you have. The second is the Magic Field/Magic Spell method from Monster Rancher DS, in which you draw images on the Game Pad's touch screen to get monsters. The third method of getting monsters is generating them from the book, another method found in previous games.

Monster Genders
For the first time ever, monsters' genders are known. Most monsters can be either male or female, but there are some monsters that are male only and some that are female only. For example, all Pixie monsters and all monsters with Pixie sub-breeds are female only. You get your first look at your monster's gender when you get to the process of naming your monster and you can get more looks at your monster's gender when examining your monster data.

The Main Character
Like in previous Monster Rancher games, the main character is a silent character whose personality and actions are determined by the player. However, this character is not faceless and can in fact be controlled by the player, much like Phayne and Julio from Monster Rancher 4 and Monster Rancher EVO, respectively. On top of that, you can not only name the character anything you want, but you can also choose their gender as well as customize this character to your liking.

Customizing Your Character
Let's go over how customizing your character works. At the beginning of the game, you'll be tasked with creating your avatar before you do anything else. Here, you choose your character's gender as mentioned above and then you get to work on selecting your character's skin color, eye color, hair color, and hair style. As for the outfit, both the male and the female character are given preset outfits that you can change at any time when the game starts. You just have to buy clothes in towns and then put those clothes onto your character. The character's hair style and hair color can also be changed later after the game starts, however, what you can't change after the game starts is the character's skin color and eye color.

Your Breeder Assistant
After you're done creating your avatar, you then get to decide which Monster Association your character joins. You have three choices: IMA, FIMBA, and AGIMA. Which Breeder Assistant you get depends on which of these associations you chose, but they all the work the same as Breeder Assistants in other games; they tell you things like what point your monsters are at in their life spans, they let you know about bad things that have happened to your monsters like Injury or Sickness, and other stuff. One thing they don't tell you in Monster Rancher Rebirth is how tired or hungry your monsters are because you can see that stuff for yourself when interacting with your monsters at your Ranch. We'll get to this later.

How Many Monsters Can a Player Have In This Game?
Well, at first, you can only have one monster. But, after you get past a certain point in the game, you will be allowed to have up to three monsters and after you get past another certain point in the game, you will be allowed to raise up to five monsters.

Training Monsters
Monster Rancher Rebirth uses the very same schedule system from Monster Rancher 4. You set up eight-week schedules, one for each monster in your possession, that repeat again and again until you decide to change them. For each week, you can have your monster either train or rest during those weeks, depending on your choices. What kind of training your monsters can do depends on what you have. At first, your monsters will only be able to do things like Exercise, which increases Power, Meditation, which increases Intelligence, and other stuff that increases other stats. But, after you have a monster win the Official Rank E tournament and make Rank D for the first time, you will unlock Training Gadgets, which are much more effective. To better understand this system, it is recommended that you either watch gameplay footage of Monster Rancher 4 showing the schedule system or play Monster Rancher 4 yourself.

Now, let's go over the stats themselves. They consist of the following.

Power: This increases damage done with Power Type moves.

Intelligence: This increases the power of Intelligence Type attacks.

Accuracy: This increases the odds of the monster hitting the enemy.

Speed: This increases the odds of the monster evading or blocking attacks.

Defense: This decreases the amount of damage a monster takes from attacks.

Life: This is the monster's HP. If it hits zero, the monster is KO'd.

As mentioned above, there are many ways to raise each and every one of these stats. How you decide to raise these stats is up to you, but I would recommend raising each and every one.

Ranking System
Monster Rancher Rebirth uses the letter system used in previous games. There are a total of six rankings. These rankings are listed below from highest to lowest.

S

A

B

C

D

E

Both you and your monsters have ranks in this game. We'll start with Monster Rank. When you get a new monster, whether through regeneration or combining, that monster starts at Rank E. To raise this rank, your monster must win Official Tournaments. Each monster you own has an individual rank. When one of your monsters wins an Official Tournament, only that monster's rank rises. Your other monsters' ranks won't rise until they win Official Tournaments too. When your monster's rank rises, higher-ranked tournaments will become available for them to compete in. A monster can only compete in tournaments whose ranks match those of the monster itself. For example, an A Rank monster can only compete in A Rank tournaments.

Now for Breeder Rank. Like your monsters, you start at Rank E when you begin your career as a Breeder. Your Breeder Rank rises when you win an Official Tournament for the first time. When you win the Official Rank E Tournament for the first time, you ascend to Rank D and stay there until you win the next Official Tournament and ascend again. Your Breeder Rank never lowers, even when you get new monsters. When your Breeder Rank rises, it also gives you access to another segment of the game's storyline. You'll gain access to the final segment of the game's story when you win the Official Rank S Tournament for the first time. Once you clear that final story segment, you beat the game. You unlock stuff as you continue getting through the game and you'll unlock more stuff when you beat the game. Things you unlock after beating the game include a special tournament that only those who have beaten all Official Tournaments can compete in and an extra dungeon that contains monsters stronger than those in any of the other dungeons and an Ultimate Boss.

Your Ranch
Just like in previous games, you have a ranch. This is where you spend most of your time in this game. The ranch is where you train, feed, and generally spend time with your monsters. The ranch is also where many in-game events happen. Like in previous games, your ranch has a house. This is where you and your Breeder Assistant live. Smaller monsters such as Mew, Garu, and Tiger can also stay in the house. As for the stable, it's not immediately available. When you win the Official Rank D Tournament and ascend to Rank C, you'll get to have a stable built on to your ranch. There's a place in the town you first access where you can ask to have a stable built on your ranch. You can get the stable any time you want after it's unlocked, but unless you do get the stable, you won't be able to raise monsters such as Baku, Dragon, or Golem because those monsters are too big to get inside your house. Also, there are no house or stable expansions in this game since your house and stable are already pretty big. Aside from the house and stable, you can also place Training Gadgets on your ranch once they become available.

Training Gadgets
Speaking of Training Gadgets, let's go over how those work. In Monster Rancher Rebirth, after you unlock them, you will be able to buy and combine materials for Training Gadgets when you head to town. First, you'll need a Gadget Kit. This is basically the gadget itself and each kit affects a different stat or set of stats. Second, you'll need what's known as a Geonyte Tank. These tanks come in three different sizes and like the Gadget Kits, each Geonyte Tank affects a different stat or set of stats. Combine the Gadget Kit with a Geonyte Tank of your choosing and you'll have your Training Gadget. You'll then need to place the gadget on your ranch. The gadget can be placed anywhere on your ranch as long as there's enough space.

As long as we're still here, let's give an example of a combination for creating gadgets.

A Gadget Kit that increases a monster's Power combined with a Defense Tank can create a Training Gadget that raises Power and Defense. Another way to do this sort of thing would be to combine a Gadget Kit that increases Defense and a Power Tank.

Another thing I probably need to address is what gadgets would be featured in Monster Rancher Rebirth. Well, all I can think of are the very same gadgets that were featured in Monster Rancher 4 plus new gadgets.

How To Place Training Gadgets On Your Ranch
There's a menu that can only be accessed at the beginning of the week before you start training. This allows you to take whatever Training Gadgets you have and place them on your ranch. As I said before, you can place Training Gadgets anywhere on your ranch as long as there's enough space. You can also move your house and stable around. So, if you decide you want your house and stable to sit somewhere else on the ranch, you can move them. Speaking of...

Free Time and Weekend
These are also taken right out of Monster Rancher 4. After a week starts and you have everything set up, you can then begin your monsters' training. After the results of the training are shown, you then move on to Free Time in which you take control of your character and have him or her run around the ranch to interact with your monsters. You move the character using the control stick on the Game Pad or whatever controller you're using. When your character walks up to a monster, hit the A Button and then you'll be able to perform the following four actions: praise your monster, scold it, feed it, and give it a present. You can perform these actions once each with each of your monsters, except for feeding, which you can do multiple times depending on how hungry your monster is. Once you decide Free Time is over, it's then on to Weekend. Here, you can enter a tournament, run around a town, go on an adventure after you unlock that mode, or just move right on to next week. However, in Monster Rancher Rebirth, there's also a new mode in which you can play minigames with your monsters. These minigames, if everything goes well, can increase your monsters stats even more and also raise their bond with both you and the other monsters in your roster.

Towns
When you go to Weekend and select Town, you'll be able to select a town and then take control of your character and run around that town. At first, you only have access to one town, but you'll gain access to other towns as you continue running through the game's story. When running around a town, you can access a wide variety of facilities. These include item shops, where you can buy food and other items for your monsters, as well as Adventure Mode items once they're unlocked and more. There are also gadget shops, where you buy materials for Training Gadgets and then put these materials together to make Training Gadgets. In the first town you access, you can also access the Shrine and the Monster Association. The Shrine, just like in previous games, is where you get your monsters, and the Monster Association is where you can access the lab where you freeze monsters and have them await combining. There are also shops where you can buy items to customize your avatar, as mentioned above.

Unlocking other towns to travel to also allows you to compete in tournaments taking place in those towns, giving you more options.

Adventure Mode
This is another mode in which the player takes control of their character and has him or her run around places. During Weekends, you and up to three of your monsters can explore a dungeon. During these adventures, you can find items, battle wild monsters, and, depending on what point in the game you're in, battle bosses.

During adventures, there's an energy meter that decreases as you move around. As long as you have energy remaining, your monsters can be healed slowly but surely as you move around the dungeon as long as they haven't been KO'd. Unlike in Monster Rancher 4, though, you can refill this energy gauge with the use of certain items in Monster Rancher Rebirth. You won't be forced to end the adventure if the energy gauge runs out, but you will need to be more careful when battling wild monsters unless you have a good stock of healing items.

Speaking of items, there are treasure boxes scattered throughout the dungeons that contain items. Be careful, though. Sometimes, when you open a treasure box, that treasure box will be revealed to be a Jack-In-the-Cho and you'll be forced to fight it. Only when you beat it will you get the item.

Speaking of battles, to battle a wild monster in a dungeon, you walk up to an enemy silhouette on the field. Once you come into contact with an enemy silhouette, the battle begins. You can gain an advantage if you come into contact with an enemy from behind, but if the enemy comes into contact with you from behind, they'll have the advantage, so be careful. If your monsters win the battle, your monsters gain experience and you can sometimes find items. When a monster gains enough experience, they'll level up, and as your monsters continue to level up, they gain Traits, which are basically passive skills, as well as new moves to use in battle. But, if all your monsters are KO'd, then the adventure ends. You can also end the adventure manually by accessing the menu and selecting End Adventure.

Other features of Adventure Mode include a map screen, being able to ride on certain monsters like Dragon or Lesione, and...actually, that's pretty much it. The only other thing I need to explain is that playing Adventure Mode is mandatory for completing the game.

Battle System and Moves
The battle system in Monster Rancher Rebirth works exactly like previous games. Your monster and the opposing monster move back and forth on a battlefield and try to knock each other out before time runs out. In tournaments, you have the option to let the monster fight on its own or take direct control and use the moves yourself. Either way, the last monster standing is the winner. Unless neither monster is KO'd by the time time runs out, in which case, the monster with more health remaining is the winner.

To use a move, move your monster either toward or away from its opponent and hit either A, X, or B when your monster is able to attack. Each button affects the move you use. If you press A to attack, your monster's chance of hitting the enemy and how much damage its attack will do when it does hit will be pretty normal. If you hit X to attack, your monster's attack will more damage, but it'll be less likely to hit. If you hit B to attack, your monster's attack will be more likely to hit, but it'll do less damage. Sometimes, however, a move won't be triggered when you hit either button. This can mean one of three things. Moves are also divided into different ranges: Long, Mid, and Short. Thus, each move can only be assigned to certain panels when choosing what moves you want your monsters to use in battle. Speaking of that, let's go over the moves themselves. Each monster species can learn a large array of different moves to use in battle. Some moves are marked in yellow to indicate that they're Power Type moves. Some are marked in green to indicate that these moves are Intelligence Type moves. All monsters have some Power moves and some Intelligence moves. When you first get your monster, it won't have many moves to use. But, as mentioned before, as your monsters battle wild monsters in Adventure Mode and level up, they gain new moves. Your monster has three sets of panels and each set of panels can hold one long range move, one mid range move, and one short range move. This means your monsters can use up to nine different moves in battle. To switch between panel sets during battle, hit Up or Down on the D-Pad.
 * 1) The monster doesn't have enough Guts saved up. Guts are basically your monster's power in battle. Different attacks use different amounts of Guts. The Guts meter charges up on its own, so all you can really do is wait.
 * 2) The monster is confused. The risk of this happening is higher when you and your monster don't have a strong bond yet. Bond with your monster and this'll happen less often.
 * 3) Your monster is in a position where it can't attack. By that, I mean the monster is either on a panel that has no moves attached to it or your monster and its enemy are too far away from each other to do anything.

Now let's go over battle formats. Aside from the regular one-on-one battles, there are also two-on-two and three-on-three battles. There are also three-against-one, three-against-two, and two-against-one battles. Each and every one of these multi-monster battles happens in a tag team format. To switch between monsters during a tag team battle, hit the L and R buttons on the Game Pad. The ZL and ZR buttons also work. Also, in tag team tournament battles, if time runs out, then whichever team has the most remaining monsters is the winner. However, if both teams have the same number of remaining monsters, then each team's monsters have their remaining health added and whichever team has the highest total health is the winning team. Rest assured that three-against-one, three-against-two, and two-against one battles are exclusive to Adventure Mode battles, which have no time limit.

Now for battle statuses. I realize what I said about not being able to explain battle statuses and such, but then I remembered that this is a reboot. That means everything is being done again from scratch, which means I can just make my own list. Now then. There are different kinds of battle statuses. Some of these help your monster and activate when certain conditions are met. There are also statuses that hinder your monster. These often come as a result of the monster being hit by certain attacks. All of these go away after a while. We'll start with the ones that help your monster.

Composed: This happens when your monster lands three consecutive hits. Its Guts charge up faster and its Accuracy gains a temporary boost, making it easier to hit the enemy.

Fury: This happens when your monster's health gets significantly low as a result of a single hit. The monster's Power temporarily increases and its odds of landing critical hits also increases. However, the monster also moves toward its enemy on its own, so be careful.

Quick: This happens when your monster evades and/or blocks three consecutive attacks. Its Speed temporarily increases, making it easier to dodge and block attacks. Its movement speed also increases.

Guard: This happens when your monster takes three consecutive blows and survives. Its Defense temporarily increases, allowing it to take less damage.

Final Guts: Sometimes, when a monster is KO'd, it'll get right back up with 1, 2, or 3 Life Points. Just hit it again.

Team Up: This only happens in tag battles. The teams have a meter that charges up over time. When it gets full, the team will be able to launch a team attack. When a monster lands a blow while Team Up status is active, its partner or partners will also attack once each. However, if the monster fails to trigger an attack or its attack misses, then Team Up status will deactivate and you'll have to wait for it to activate again. If you're down to your last monster, then Team Up is disabled for your team.

Now for the hindering statuses. The ailments, if you will.

Poison: The monster's health drops slowly over time. The monster won't get KO'd by this, though.

Slow: The monster's Speed stat and movement speed are temporarily decreased. This makes it harder for a monster to dodge and block attacks.

Addled: The monster's Accuracy is temporarily lowered, making it harder for the monster to hit the enemy.

Fear: The monster moves backwards on its own. This also lowers both the monster's Power and Intelligence, so attacks won't do as much damage.

Curse: The monster's Guts generation temporarily slows down.

Another thing you can do in battle is counterattack. When the enemy attacks, you can hit the L button on your Game Pad as well as which of the three attack buttons you think the enemy used. Do it right and your monster will not only save itself from damage, but it'll also inflict damage on the enemy. Do it wrong and your monster gets hit indefinitely.

Two last things. One, in Adventure Mode battles and basically any battles outside tournament battles, you always take direct control of your monsters. Also, I left out the Shove command. When your monster and your opponent's monster get really close to each other, you can press the Y button on the Game Pad to push your opponent's monster back to get some distance.

Tournaments
Just like in previous games, there are tournaments for your monsters to compete in. The tournaments are all divided into ranks and there are two different formats for these tournaments.

Elimination: These tournaments use a bracket system. To win the tournament, you must defeat every opponent you end up facing. Lose once and you lose the tournament. All Official Tournaments use this format.

Round Robin: These tournaments use a grid system. Every monster fighting in these tournaments faces their opponents once each. Your monster must win more battles than any of its opponents in order for it to win these tournaments. Some generic tournaments use this format.

Most generic tournaments have you do one-on-one battles. However, some tournaments have you do two-on-two or three-on-three tag battles. If you do decide to compete in these, your monsters must all be at a rank that matches that of the tournament. For example, if you compete in a B Rank tag tournament, then only monsters that are B Rank can enter.

When you win a tournament, you'll get some prize money, an item, and your monster will gain some fame. The item you get and how much prize money you get depend on which tournament you won. However, losing a tournament can mean no prize and a drop in your monster's fame. It depends on how far you did get in the tournament. If you lose a tournament, but come really close to winning, then you'll still get a consolation prize and your monster's fame will still increase, just not as much as it would have if the monster had won the whole tournament.

As stated above, your monster must win Official Tournaments to rise through the ranks. However, your monsters won't be able to get into an Official Tournament right away. They must first win the required number of Star Points. Different Official Tournaments require your monster to earn different amounts of Star Points.

Official Tournaments Rank E and D require your monster to earn three Star Points.

Official Tournaments Rank C and B require your monster to earn five Star Points.

Official Tournaments Rank A and S require your monster to earn seven Star Points.

To win Star Points, your monster must win generic tournaments. Regardless of whether you win or lose the Official Tournament, your Star Points will return to zero after the tournament is over and you'll have to start gathering Star Points again. Also, your monster can't earn any more Star Points than the required amount. Let's say your monster is still at Rank E or D. Once it earns three Star Points, it can't earn any more Star Points until it competes in an Official Tournament.

Combining Monsters
Just like in previous games, you can combine two monsters to make a new one. You do this by freezing the two monsters and then, well, combining them. In most games, only main breeds are taken into account when combining. In Monster Rancher DS, however, you can also take sub-breeds into account when combining monsters. For example...

Suppose you were to combine a Diana (Pixie/Dragon) with a Saga (Zan/Naga). You could put Zan into the main breed slot and and Pixie into the sub-breed slot to get an Aya (Zan/Pixie). Or you could put Zan in the main breed slot and Dragon in the sub-breed slot to get a Homura (Zan/Dragon). On top of that, you could also put Pixie in the main breed slot and Naga in the sub-breed slot to get an Allure (Pixie/Naga). What you can't do, however, is put a sub-breed into the main breed slot, so don't expect to get a Niezheg (Dragon/Naga) or anything like that as a result of that fusion. Anyway, I was thinking the combining system in Monster Rancher For Wii U could work just like this. To better understand this system, it is recommended that you watch gameplay footage of Monster Rancher DS showing this combining system or play Monster Rancher DS yourself.

Another thing you can do while getting ready to combine monsters is apply certain items. These items have different effects such as providing a boost to the new monster's innate stats, increasing the new monster's life span, or even changing the result of the fusion to something else entirely like a Phoenix or a Xenon.

Now, one thing you don't want to do is combine your monsters too soon or else the new monster won't turn out so good. You'll want to wait until a certain point in your monsters' life spans. See, monsters don't actually die in Monster Rancher Rebirth. However, they can get to a point where they can't do much of anything anymore. This basically makes you have to take the monster to the lab to get frozen and await combining. By this point, your monster should have great stats and you should have a great bond with it. Thanks to this, it'll have some great things to offer to the new monster. Your Breeder Assistant will let you know when that certain point in your monster's life span has come.

Bonding
Not only can your monsters bond with you if you treat them nicely and take proper care of them, but if you have multiple monsters, they can bond with each other as well. The monsters bond on their own, but, as mentioned above, you can also increase both the bond between you and your monsters and your monsters' bond with each other by playing minigames. If your monsters have a significant bond with you, then they'll do better in battle and if your monsters have a significant bond with each other, then when your monsters fight in a tag team battle, their team attacks will be stronger when they use them. Here are ways to raise the bond between you and your monsters.

Feed your monsters things they like or at least don't mind eating.

Praise your monsters when they do things well and scold your monsters when they do things wrong. As Yuri said in Monster Rancher 4, love is both carrot and stick.

Give your monsters gifts if you decide you want to do that.

If your monster gets fat and then you successfully slim it down, this will also raise your monster's bond with you as weight-watching your monster lets it know you care about it. How to check your monster's weight and how to slim it down when it gets fat is discussed further below.

All this can be done during Free Time. And how do you know when to praise or scold your monsters? Just keep an eye on things and use your best judgement.

Taking Care of Monsters
There are many things to know when taking care of monsters. Let's start with feeding your monsters. As stated above, one thing your Breeder Assistant won't mention is your monsters' fullness. That's because you can see this for yourself when interacting with your monsters at the Ranch. Each monster has a fullness meter that goes down little by little as the weeks go by and you can see how low it's gotten when you look at your monsters before you begin the week's training or rest. You can also see it by standing near your monster during Free Time. It's even shown in the Monster Data menu. Always be sure to feed your monsters every so often as too much hunger can cause your monsters additional fatigue. What you don't want to do, though, is feed your monster every single week. Wait till the hunger meter actually gets low. Feeding your monsters too much can lead it to get fat and this can also cause the monster additional fatigue. It can also cause your monster to have a harder time dodging enemy attacks in battle. The best way to slim down a fat monster is to have it do more Power and Speed training. Battling monsters can also contribute to your monster's slimness. On top of that, there are also certain food items that can contribute to a monster's slimness. To see your monster's current size, check your Monster Data.

Speaking of fatigue, this is also measured by a meter and thus, you can see it for yourself. Each monster has a fatigue meter that rises up when it trains, battles, and other things. The meter also lowers every time the monster rests. Whatever you do, don't work your monster too hard or it could end up injured, sick, or it could run away from home. This makes it a good idea to schedule rest periods for your monsters. The fatigue meter can be seen when you look at your monster before you begin the week's training or rest, stand near your monster during Free Time, or you can see it by looking at the Monster Data menu.

Speaking of injury, sickness, and running away, be sure not to let these happen to your monsters and if they do happen, don't let them happen too many times. Injury, sickness, and how many times your monsters have run away affects the monster that comes when you combine monsters. For example, if at least one of the fusion material monsters has been injured a lot, then the monster you get from the combination could end up being one that's prone to injury.

Monster and Breeder Data
There's a Data menu that you can access at any time in this game. This not only allows you to load and save your game manually, but it also lets you view your Monster Data and your Breeder Data. Let's go over these one at a time.

Monster Data is just that; it's data on your monsters. Each monster in your possession has its own profile. Here, you can see your monsters' fullness, fatigue, bonding with both you and the other monsters in your ranch, as well as how fat or slim they are. You can also see your monsters' current ranks, their ages, all the moves and Traits they've gained (This section is where you assign moves to move slots, by the way), your monsters' breeds, which I'm sure you'd no doubt know already, and how many times your monsters have gotten injured, gotten sick, and have run away. There's also how many battles your monsters have won, how many battles your monsters have lost, how many times they've KO'd enemies, and their fame.

Breeder Data is basically your own profile. Breeder Data shows your name, the day your career as a Breeder started, your current Breeder Rank, how much money you currently have, how many tournaments you've won and lost, and... I think that's it. Maybe I'll add more later.

Other Controllers You Can Use In This Game
Aside from the Game Pad, you can also play Monster Rancher For Wii U using a Classic Controller, whether it be a Wii Classic Controller or a Wii U Pro Controller. Let's go over how this works.

Classic/Pro Controller
Playing Monster Rancher For Wii U with either of these controllers works mostly the same as playing with the Game Pad. You use the left control stick to move around and use the A button to interact with stuff.

When regenerating monsters using the Magic Field/Magic Spell methods, there's a cursor that you move around. Move this cursor around while holding the A button to draw stuff on the grids.

When battling using a Classic or Pro Controller, your attack buttons consist of A, X, and B, just like with the Game Pad. Also, countering is done with the L button plus any of the three attack buttons. The Shove command is mapped to the Y button.

Multiplayer
Monster Rancher Rebirth has a multiplayer battle mode that you can access from the title screen. You can play this mode through either local wireless or Nintendo Wi-Fi. First, you select the battle format, which consists of one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-three battles. Once a battle format is selected, each player selects the monsters in their possession that they wish to use. There are also two types of multiplayer battles. You can search for just one other player and have a two-player battle or you can search for up to seven other players and the eight of you can have your own tournament. If you choose the latter, you get to select which tournament format you want to use.

In the local wireless mode, if you fail to find any real players, the game will put out random Breeders with random, AI-controlled monsters to fill in the gaps, much like how Kid Icarus: Uprising puts out AI-controlled fighters to fill in the gaps in its Together Mode.

Music
Of course we gotta have music. A full set of original tracks is okay as long as they're good, but let's think bigger. I was thinking this game could not only have original tracks, but also have music from previous games. Specifically, Monster Rancher 2, Monster Rancher Battle Card Episode 2, and especially Monster Rancher 4 and Monster Rancher EVO. Those last two games have some godly music. Some of this music would be remixed while others would just be left alone. The reason I think music from previous games ought to be included is because not only would this make things a little easier for the game developers, but it would also give Monster Rancher fans, myself included, a little nostalgic throwback to previous games. And we all know how much people love nostalgia.

Monster Rancher Rebirth's Monster Roster
These are the monsters I would include in Monster Rancher Rebirth if I actually could. Most of these will be monsters included in past games. Some of these monsters will be renamed and I might possibly give a redesign idea for some of these as well. There will also be new monsters created by me. OC's, if you will. And as for how I list these monsters, I will categorize them according to breed and I will also list their main breeds and sub-breeds. Anyway, here we go.

Pixie
It goes without saying, but all Pixies and all monsters with Pixie sub-breeds are female only.

Pixie (Pixie/Pixie)

Aero (Pixie/Tiger)

Angel (Pixie/Gali)

Archangel (Pixie/Xenon) A Pixie with white feathered wings. She has white hair and wears white armor.

Janne (Pixie/Durahan)

Sueko (Pixie/Suezo)

Jilt (Pixie/Wracky)

Allure (Pixie/Naga)

Mischief (Pixie/Ducken)

Windine (Pixie/Lesione)

Faerilina (Pixie/Ripper)

Pink Princess (Pixie/Ogyo)

Night Flyer (Pixie/Beaklon) Same name, same design, different sub-breed.

Eve (Pixie/Gitan) Originally a Special Breed from Monster Rancher 1. Don't know why they didn't just have her be the Gitan sub-breed Pixie in the first place.

Belle (Pixie/Suzurin) Originally named Rinka before the name was given to a Zan. Belle has this new name so she can be in this game along with Rinka the Zan.

Unico (Pixie/Centaur)

Columbina (Pixie/Piroro)

Lilim (Pixie/Joker)

Scarlet (Pixie/Phoenix) This Pixie has yellow hair, wears a red outfit, and has orange feathered wings.

Nagisa (Pixie/Jell)

Daina (Pixie/Dragon)

Poison (Pixie/???)

Platinum (Pixie/???)

Ariel (Pixie/???) A throwback to Monster Rancher 4.

Mia (Pixie/???)

Kasumi (Pixie/???) This Kasumi wears Kasumi's Night Sakura costume (Costume 3) from Dead or Alive 5.

Ayane (Pixie/???) This Ayane wears Ayane's Nocturnal Butterfly costume (Costume 1) from Dead or Alive 5.

Total: 27

Tiger
Tiger (Tiger/Tiger)

Bargest (Tiger/Joker)

Flazer (Tiger/Dragon) It looks way more like a Dragon sub-breed monster than an Abyss sub-breed monster.

Datonare (Tiger/Zuum)

Nightfang (Tiger/Zan)

Licorice (Tiger/Monol)

Balon (Tiger/Gali) Renamed and redesigned. It looks like the purebreed Tiger if it were gold and white, had shiny gold horns, and had golden bands on its legs like the original Balon did.

Baskerville (Tiger/Gitan)

Garum (Tiger/Lesion)

Jaguarbeat (Tiger/Beaklon)

Ryulon (Tiger/Mogi)

Jelly Hound (Tiger/Jell)

White Hound (Tiger/Xenon) This monster has horns again instead of long ears on its head.

PodDog (Tiger/Henger)

Pyramidog (Tiger/Abyss) The new Tiger with an Abyss sub-breed. It has Abyss's colors and its head resembles a jackal's head.

Clockdog (Tiger/???)

Dobor I.T. (Tiger/???)

Fenril (Tiger/???)

Pooch (Tiger/???)

Total: 19

Hare
Hare (Hare/Hare)

Fairy Hare (Hare/Pixie)

Jelly Hare (Hare/Jell)

Pulscorn (Hare/Tiger)

Evil Hare (Hare/Monol)

Tobita (Hare/Raiden)

Rocky Fur (Hare/Golem)

Gunbitt (Hare/Durahan)

Royal Hare (Hare/Gali) Originally named Prince Hare, but it needed a new name since genders are present in Monster Rancher Rebirth.

Rubberabby (Hare/Koropendora)

Jackoranta (Hare/Pancho)

Spy Hare (Hare/Wracky) Originally a Special Breed.

Marm (Hare/Maya)

Cupid Hare (Hare/Suzurin)

Rabeetle (Hare/Beaklon) A Hare covered in brown shell armor. It has green eyes.

Shellbit (Hare/Arrowhead) A Hare covered in red shell armor.

Ellyllon (Hare/Zan)

Kung-Fu Hare (Hare/???)

Sleaves (Hare/???)

Kelarino (Hare/???) A throwback to Monster Rancher 4.

Total: 20

Suezo
Suezo (Suezo/Suezo)

Pink Eye (Suezo/Pixie)

Hornie (Suezo/Tiger)

Hipzo (Suezo/Mogi)

Fukazo (Suezo/Lesione)

Zanzo (Suezo/Zan)

Eyebee (Suezo/Beaklon)

Nycta (Suezo/Raiden)

Clear Suezo (Suezo/Jell)

Melon Suezo (Suezo/Zuum)

Gamba (Suezo/Hare)

Green Suezo (Suezo/Plant)

Orion (Suezo/Gali) This monster now has a normal yellow eye. Its design is otherwise unchanged.

White Suezo (Suezo/Xenon) Originally a Special Breed.

Purple Suezo (Suezo/Naga)

Cat Eye (Suezo/Mew)

Kitsuzo (Suezo/Kitsune) An orange Suezo with fox ears and a yellow eye.

Planet (Suezo/???)

Baseball Boy (Suezo/???)

Eyengel (Suezo/???)

Total: 20

Golem
Golem (Golem/Golem)

Mariomax (Golem/Wracky) Redesigned in accordance with Golem's current design.

Pink Golem (Golem/Pixie)

Titan (Golem/Suezo)

Eagle Ruler (Golem/Raiden) Needed a new name since genders are present in this game.

Gobi (Golem/Henger)

Black Golem (Golem/Monol) Redesigned in accordance with Golem's current design.

Jailkeeper (Golem/Zan)

Angolmor (Golem/Joker) Redesigned in accordance with Joker's current design. This Golem is now black with a head shaped and colored to resemble Joker's head. It also has decorative wings.

Amenhotep (Golem/Gali)

Power (Golem/Xenon)

Poseidon (Golem/Jell)

Dagon (Golem/Arrowhead)

Mochi Monk (Golem/Mocchi)

Battle Rocks (Golem/Durahan)

Big Korobocci (Golem/Koropendora)

Gigabio (Golem/Gitan)

Strong Horn (Golem/Beaklon)

Big Tokobot (Golem/???)

Butcher King (Golem/???)

Dodongo (Golem/???) A throwback to Monster Rancher 4.

Total: 21

Mocchi
Mocchi (Mocchi/Mocchi)

PengiMocchi (Mocchi/Tiger)

Armocchi (Mocchi/Durahan)

Gelatine (Mocchi/Jell)

Beakie (Mocchi/Ducken)

Beetle Mocchi (Mocchi/Beaklon)

Black Mocchi (Mocchi/Monol)

White Mocchi (Mocchi/Xenon)

Drill Mocchi (Mocchi/Mogi)

Draco Mocchi (Mocchi/Dragon)

GentleMocchi (Mocchi/Wracky) Don't why it wasn't a Wracky sub-breed in Monster Rancher 2.

Gingie (Mocchi/Ripper)

GizuMocchi (Mocchi/Antlan)

Manna (Mocchi/Pixie)

Mucchi (Mocchi/Hare)

OwlMocchi (Mocchi/Raiden)

PumpkiMocchi (Mocchi/Pancho)

Sodacchi (Mocchi/Rhinoroller)

Fair Mocchi (Mocchi/Gali) Still has the white skin, gold scales, and even the sun pattern. What it doesn't have anymore is the high-collared cape I hear it has.

Maidchi (Mocchi/???)

Mocchini (Mocchi/???)

Total: 21

Naga
Naga (Naga/Naga)

Cyclops (Naga/Suezo)

Jungler (Naga/Plant)

Ceto (Naga/Henger)

Haktak (Naga/Ripper)

Viper (Naga/Zuum)

RoseoCobra (Naga/Mocchi)

Blobster (Naga/Arrowhead)

Crawl (Naga/Undine) Can be male or female.

Hydra (Naga/Jell)

Striker (Naga/Tiger) Redesigned with a head that's more Tiger-like.

Bazula (Naga/Gali) Redesigned in accordance with Naga's current design.

Trident (Naga/Golem) Redesigned in accordance with Naga's current design. Has Golem's current colors and glowing yellow eyes.

Wild West Naga (Naga/???)

Bloodstra (Naga/???)

Merman (Naga/???)

Total: 16

Mew
The Mew species has been reverted to its old design where it had real eyes instead of buttons for eyes and a face that can change expression. That means even the Mews that didn't appear in early Monster Rancher games will have this design.

Mew (Mew/Mew)

Mum Mew (Mew/Pixie)

Bow Mew (Mew/Tiger)

Eared Mew (Mew/Hare)

Duck Mew (Mew/Ducken)

Aqua Mew (Mew/Jell) Reshaped to be shaped like the purebreed Mew.

Mocchi Mew (Mew/Mocchi)

Ant Mew (Mew/Antlan)

Hip Mew (Mew/Wracky) Originally a Special Breed.

Bowbow (Mew/Baku)

Skullmew (Mew/Joker)

PsyMew (Mew/Rhinoroller)

White Mew (Mew/Xenon)

Black Mew (Mew/Monol)

Cat-O'-Lantern (Mew/Pancho) The new Mew with a Pancho sub-breed. I'll never understand why Mewnda, a monster that looks nothing like a Pancho sub-breed monster, was labeled as such.

Gray Mew (Mew/Ripper)

MikMew (Mew/Garu)

Devil Mew (Mew/Gitan)

MewFox (Mew/Kitsune) This monster is a living fox doll instead of a living cat doll.

Mewnda (Mew/???) Changed to a Special Breed.

Swimmer (Mew/???)

Player (Mew/???)

Calico Mew (Mew/???) A green-eyed Mew with calico patterns.

Total: 23

Plant
The Plant species is reverted to its old design where it had three flowers instead of one.

Plant (Plant/Plant)

Queen Plant (Plant/Pixie)

Mocchi Plant (Plant/Mocchi)

Maneplum (Plant/Garu)

Skeleplant (Plant/Joker)

Bug Bug Flower (Plant/Koropendora)

Coconutty (Plant/Henger)

PumpkiPlant (Plant/Pancho)

Dack Plant (Plant/Ducken)

Mandrake (Plant/Dragon)

Black Plant (Plant/Monol)

White Plant (Plant/Xenon)

Sampler (Plant/Gali) Redesigned to simply be a white Plant with three gold-colord flowers and gold-colored arms.

Blue Plant (Plant/Tiger)

Mirage Plant (Plant/Jell)

Mushtan (Plant/???)

Akihabana (Plant/???)

Jungle Plum (Plant/???)

Total: 18

Zan
Zan (Zan/Zan)

Rinka (Zan/Suzurin)

Homura (Zan/Dragon)

Abata (Zan/Koropendora)

Aya (Zan/Pixie)

Fang (Zan/Ripper)

Ryoku (Zan/Mocchi)

Guy (Zan/Raiden)

Haze (Zan/Maya)

Kagura (Zan/Ducken)

Ray (Zan/Lesione)

Saga (Zan/Naga)

Shin (Zan/Zuum)

General Death (Zan/Abyss) Originally a Special Breed. Its skeletal appearance seems to give an indication of it being related to Abyss and considering Abyss' theme, I figured why not make that the case in this game?

Agi (Zan/Pancho)

Hama (Zan/Xenon) A pure white Zan.

Mudo (Zan/Joker) A Zan whose body is black with red accents. It's head is shaped and colored to resemble Joker's head and the blades on its appendages resemble the blade of Joker's scythe.

Siva (Zan/Gali) Redesigned to be a white Zan with gold nails, golden blades on its appendages, and a gold mask on its face.

Fake Graffiti (Zan/???)

Han (Zan/???)

Izuna (Zan/???)

Total: 21

Antlan
Antlan (Antlan/Antlan)

Quintie (Antlan/Pixie)

Ecologia (Antlan/Plant)

Dolaine (Antlan/Phoenix) People think it's related to Phoenix, it certainly looks like it, so I decided to make that the case in this game. Don't know why it wasn't the case in Monster Rancher 4, where Antlan and Phoenix were in the same game.

Blakkus (Antlan/Joker)

Eval (Antlan/Zan)

Virtue (Antlan/Xenon) A pure white Antlan with blue eyes and a white wing crest on its forehead.

Pharaoh Eye (Antlan/Suezo)

Falcolan (Antlan/Raiden)

ProtoAnt (Antlan/Henger)

RageRock (Antlan/Golem)

Redburn (Antlan/Garu)

Rhinorhine (Antlan/Rhinoroller)

Skeletant (Antlan/Abyss) I've decided to let this monster be the Antlan with an Abyss sub-breed.

Ant. Red (Antlan/???)

Ant. Blue (Antlan/???)

Ant. Yellow (Antlan/???)

Ninja Antlan (Antlan/???)

Total: 18

Ripper
Ripper (Ripper/Ripper)

DarkWhip (Ripper/Gitan)

AssasiRipper (Ripper/Joker)

Folkes (Ripper/Hare)

Harlequin (Ripper/Piroro)

Horowitz (Ripper/Jell)

HowlZapper (Ripper/Tiger)

ArmoRipper (Ripper/Durahan) It has another name, but I like this one better.

Parasarian (Ripper/Lesione)

ScarClaw (Ripper/Plant)

SolaRipper (Ripper/Gali) A white Ripper with gold nails, golden sickle blades on its elbows, a gold eye mask on its face, and a sun print on its tail.

StealthRipper (Ripper/Zan) A gray Ripper covered in jet-black armor. The sickles on its elbows are black and the end of its tail is black as well.

PieRipper (Ripper/???)

Spartacus (Ripper/???) A throwback to Monster Rancher 4.

Undine
As you know, the Undine was its own separate species back in Monster Rancher 2. They were mermaid-like water spirits with a penchant for water and ice attacks. I'm bringing it back in this game and I've changed the name of Undine the Pixie so she can be in the game too. While all Undines are female only in this game, monsters with Undine sub-breeds can be either male or female.

Undine (Undine/Undine) In this game, Undine is made to look more like her anime self. She doesn't have the translucent body that makes her look like a feminine version of Jell. Instead, she looks like a mermaid with light blue skin, blue hair, a blue mermaid tail, and blue eyes. Wears a white sleeveless top.

Siren (Undine/Joker) Redesigned to look like a mermaid with pale skin, black hair, a black mermaid tail, and red eyes. She still has the third eye. Wears a black sleeveless top.

Lavendine (Undine/Naga) Has lavender skin, purple hair, a purple mermaid tail, and yellow snake eyes. Wears a purple sleeveless top.

Sea Angel (Undine/Gali) Has pure white skin, gold hair, a gold mermaid tail, blue eyes, and a gold eye mask on her face. Wears a gold sleeveless top.

Ocean Fairy (Undine/Pixie) Has skin the same color as Pixie's, has red hair, a red tail, and red eyes. Wears a red bikini top.

Arctine (Undine/Tiger) Has pure white skin, blue hair, a blue mermaid tail, green eyes, and a horn on her head. wears a blue sleeveless top.

Beauty Queen (Undine/Ogyo) Has skin the same color as Pixie's, blonde hair, a pink mermaid tail, and blue eyes. Wears a pink bikini top.

Sea Knight (Undine/Durahan) Has skin the same color as Pixie's, red hair, a silver mermaid tail, and yellow eyes. Wears silver plate armor on her upper body.

Cementine (Undine/Golem) This Undine has hair, a tail, and a top the same color as Golem's body. Her skin is a lighter shade of gray and she has normal yellow eyes instead of having glowing yellow eyes like most Golem sub-breed monsters.

Mermaid (Undine/???)

Total: 10

Why am I just now deciding what article of clothing these Undines should wear? Because it didn't cross my mind those other times. I was actually not gonna do it this time because I thought it would be fine. That Tecmo would know to give these girls some clothing instead of leaving them topless. After some contemplating, though, I decided to list what sort of clothing I wanted to see on these Undines after all.